LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. – When Arnold Palmer first laid eyes on what would become the golf courses at Walt Disney World near Orlando in 1971, it wasn’t just what would later be billed the “Happiest Place on Turf” that caught his eye. Looking north toward what would become the hub of the resort, the King wanted a special ride from the Polynesian Village Resort to the Magic Kingdom.
Always a fan of transportation tech – he set multiple records as a pilot, including a global circumnavigation record in 1976 – Palmer had spied the new Walt Disney World Monorail. It was too good to pass up, and Palmer climbed aboard for a preview ride on the elevated system that Disney says now carries more than 50 million passengers a year.
So royalty really does have its privileges, be it for Disney princesses or golfers.
Those courses that Palmer checked out that day turn 50 this year, as does Walt Disney World. The resort kicks off the heart of its 50th anniversary celebration Oct. 1, the date in 1971 on which Magic Kingdom opened its gates. The months-long bash will be known as “The World’s Most Magical Celebration.”
Arnold Palmer at Walt Disney World (Courtesy of Walt Disney World)
Much has changed over the years – Epcot opened in 1982, Hollywood Studios in 1989 and Animal Kingdom in 1998 – but much has remained the same, true to the vision of founder Walt Disney.
Golf was part of that vision all along.
On his original maps of Disney World, Walt Disney – not a golfer himself, but a visionary for what might work in Central Florida – laid out an area dedicated to the game not far from Magic Kingdom and the Polynesian. That area is still home to three of the resort’s four courses: the Palm, the Magnolia and the short, nine-hole Oak Trail. The resort’s Lake Buena Vista Golf Course is farther east, closer to the Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa and what is now Disney Springs.
Palmer, who later lived part of each year at nearby Bay Hill, had been hired as a special consultant for the PGA Tour’s first Walt Disney World Open Invitational in 1971. It didn’t hurt the new tournament that Jack Nicklaus won the first three years. The event, played on the Palm and Magnolia, continued under various branding names through 2012 with a list of winners that included Payne Stewart, Raymond Floyd, Larry Nelson, Davis Love III, Ben Crenshaw and several other Hall-of-Famers. Tiger Woods won his second PGA Tour title there in 1996 and again in 1999.
Palmer never did take the title, but his influence continues today, even after his passing in 2016. His eponymous management company took over operation of the courses in 2011, and in 2013 he renovated the Palm that, along with the Magnolia and Lake Buena Vista courses, had originally been designed by prolific architect Joe Lee.
The PGA Tour event evolved over the years, as well. It became the Walt Disney World National Team Championship in 1974, with Hubert Green and Mac McLendon pairing up to break Nicklaus’ grasp on the Disney title. It remained a team event through 1981, with Hal Sutton beating Bill Britton in a four-hole playoff after resumption of individual competition in 1982.
It was always a special stop for many PGA Tour players who would battle it out during the day, then retreat to the theme parks with their families in the evenings. Disney World was the one Tour stop where players’ kids demanded their dads tee it up, perhaps as important to the youngsters as major championships were to the fathers.
The Mickey Mouse golf cart at Walt Disney World is a famed spot for photos at the resort and is normally parked in front of the clubhouse, but not all the carts in use sport the famous film star in such extravagance. (Courtesy of Walt Disney World)
The LPGA also staged events at Walt Disney World, with Karrie Webb then Michelle McGann capturing titles on the Lake Buena Vista course in the HealthSouth Inaugural in 1996 and ’97 before that event was moved to nearby Grand Cypress Resort. Pat Bradley won the event in 1995 on Disney’s Eagle Pines course, a layout that no longer exists, in what was Golf Channel’s first-ever live broadcast of an LPGA event.
Walt Disney World also hosted the Senior PGA Championship from 1975 to 1979 on the Magnolia Course with Charlie Sifford, Joe Jimenez and Jack Fleck among the winners.
The tour events are gone, but the golf certainly carries on with hundreds of thousands of rounds played each year. The Mickey Mouse golf cart still welcomes guests to the main clubhouse, and the Mickey bunkers are still in play. The four layouts attract a diverse group of players, with some there just for the golf while others are taking a break from the theme parks that attract some 58 million visitors a year.
The Palm and Magnolia still are the stars of the show, each evolving over time to match the modern game while presenting consistently good playing conditions. Holes are tweaked from time to time, but Walt Disney’s plans to make golf part of the experience are still being played out.
Check out a variety of Walt Disney World golf photos below.