Pitch Perfect

David Hewitt recalls how American golfer Arnold Palmer came to design putting courses that became synonymous with the British seaside

- By David Hewitt

There was a time when no seaside holiday was complete without a turn around an Arnold Palmer putting course. And while those days might seem distant now, they haven't entirely disappeared. The great golfer built his first course in the US in the early 1960s. He was at the height of his fame then, with US Masters and US Open victories to his credit, and he was looking to expand his empire. He started selling golf paraphernalia, created a soft drink that became a bestseller, and lent his name to dry-cleaning shops and foot deodorant.

The first British course opened in Southport in 1965, which was fitting, given that Arnold had won the British Open in the town four years before. He had by now claimed four Masters titles, and the new course was named The Masters in honour of that fact. There would eventually be around 50 of them, the owners having each bought a franchise from Arnold's company. And the £8,000 fee the first ones paid – equivalent to more than £100,000 in today's money – had risen to £9,000 in no time at all.

Reputedly based on full-size courses Arnold had come across on his travels, the British ones were all very similar. The “greens” were synthetic strips sunk into concrete and separated from each other by patches of gravel or grass. They had a kiosk, where an attendant would give out clubs, balls, score cards, and stubby green pencils with Arnold's name written down the side. Many were floodlit. And there would be a big square sign above, which came on at dusk and went on shining late into the summer evenings.