La Quinta Tutors Come To You

One of La Quinta’s most notable residents was Arnold Palmer whose restaurant “The Arnold Palmer Restaurant” still exists in the La Quinta Village. Arnold Palmer’s father was the greenskeeper at Latrobe Country Club in Pennsylvania; this gave Arnold access to the grounds in his formative years and awoke his interest in golf.

His career began by winning the U.S. Amateur championships, that year (1954) he decided to turn professional. When he announced his decision, he is quoted as saying, “What other people find in poetry, I find in the flight of a good drive.”
Arnold Palmer was well known not only for his success and skill at the game of golf but also for being affable and for his incredibly charismatic personality. La Quinta tutors suggest he drew attention to the sport beyond that of a rich man’s game played at country clubs. The game became televised in the 1950s and Palmer was the reason that viewers tuned in.

Palmer’s first big win was at the 1958 Masters Tournament, and this got the attention of legendary sports agent Mark McCormack. Palmer ventured to Scotland in 1960 to compete in the British Open after having won the Masters and U.S Open hoping to emulate Ben Hogan’s feat of winning all three tournaments in one year. He lost by a single shot, which further endeared him to fans, and grew his fan base in the U.K. and Europe. La Quinta tutors say he was gracious in his defeat, his reaction to losing was incredibly positive, he himself called the game the four best rounds of his career.

His success continued over the next few years, and in 1960 he was named Sports Illustrated’s “Sportsman of the Year”. His fan base grew and grew and they received a moniker of their own “Arnie’s Army”. The increase in popularity of the sport golf meant an increase in sponsorship and prize winnings. Arnold Palmer was the first man to reach $1 million in career earnings on the PGA Tour. He became known as “The King”, and in 2000 was ranked as the sixth greatest player of all time.

You might be more familiar with the beverage called the “Arnold Palmer” than the golfer. The beverage consists of a mix of iced tea and lemonade. The drink grew in popularity after it is said Arnold Palmer requested it at a restaurant at lunch after a busy day designing a golf course in the Palm Springs area. A fellow patron overheard and ordered “that Palmer drink.” It became known as an “Arnold Palmer” in the golfing community but has since transcended into mainstream America.