;DI have not actually played this course but I do have a cool story about when I went to Bay Hill. I was thinking about golfing when I first came to the course, but nobody was there because of an incoming hurricane due to hit the next day. I wanted to at least get a souvenir since I was on vacation, but the pro shop was closing down. I walked around the shop and saw a worker. H e told me to go to the main lodge to see if anybody was there. It turned out that Arnold Palmer's CEO was right in the parking lot with his cart, talking to some workers. Not knowing who they were at the time, we went up and asked to purchase some souvenir's, explaining that the worker had said to come around. Not only did we get a friendly greeting, but one of the workers went around and grabbed a sleeve of logo balls for me. Then Mr. Easler, the CEO, told a worker to go get one of the 17th. A minute later she came out and handed me a lithograph of the 17th hole. COOL. Then, Mr. Easler told me and my dad to pop in his golf cart. Obviously we did, and mom and sis stayed talking to the workers. We did not know where we were going but we soon found out. Mr. Easler gave us a tour around the signature holes -16,17, and 18- and let us ntake all the pictures we wanted. Before we left he showed us where the sword presentation took place when there was bad weather, and where the president stayed when he came there. When we got back to the lodge he told my family that we could start on the first hole and walk the course, and take any amount of pictures we chose. That was so cool, but still not the end! When we got back he gave us a tour of the lodge, which was amazing, and then took us into his office, where some other workers were waiting. He gave me two bay hill hats, pins, visors, and even an official bay hill staff hat worn only in the Bay Hill Invitational. Before we left and thanked him, he told us to send the lithograph back in the winter. A little confused, we politely said OK. Later that winter we sent it back. One day before Christmas I got something in the mail. It was that same lithograph, and signed by Mr. Arnold Palmer himself. In presented it to my family as we were having a party.
I wish I had a picture of the lithograph... One last thing about Mr. Palmer. On my last trimester of freshman year in highschool I had to do a special interview (my feature interview...). I mailed Arnold and he totally did it for me, and even called my house. Anyways, the signed lithograph is a cool lithograph.