Bay Hill Club & Lodge
Bay Hill Club & Lodge is a private golf club and hotel located in Bay Hill, Florida, southwest of Orlando, in the Southeastern United States. The Bay Hill Club & Lodge is a member of the United States Golf Association (USGA). The first 18 holes at Bay Hill (the Champion and Challenger nines) were planned by Dick Wilson and completed by Bob Simmons in 1961. The course is now known as Bay Hill. The golf course is considered one of Wilson’s best works. It exemplifies his standard strategy of gently elevating the putting surfaces to increase vision and drainage. Following Wilson’s death, Simmons constructed the additional nine holes (known as the Charger nine).
A total of 270 acres are dedicated to the golf course located between the hamlet of Bay Hill and the Butler Chain of Likes. There are three nine-hole courses to choose from: the Challenger, Champion, and Charger nines. Amy and Roy Saunders, who are the daughter and son-in-law of Arnold Palmer, currently own the property, which was formerly held by the golf legend from 1974 until he died in 2016. Among the other amenities at Bay Hill Club and Lodge are a 69-room Lodge, six guest cottages, the Arnold Palmer Golf Academy, and a marina. Tennis courts, instructional golf lessons, a spa and fitness center, and a marina are all available. Members and registered Lodge guests have access to the golf course and all of the Club’s amenities, but non-members are not permitted to use them. The Golf Shop is available to the general public. Bay Hill Club & Lodge has been the site of the Arnold Palmer Invitational, a PGA Tour event that has taken place every year since 1979. The event is held once a year in March.
Dr. Phillips sold his interests to Granada Groves, a subsidiary of the Minute Maid Corporation, in 1954 and kept only the raw land he had acquired in the process. In the hopes of finding a constructive purpose for his father’s unused land, Phillip’s son took on the responsibility of developing it. Even though the ball was now in motion for the commencement of Bay Hill, it wasn’t until 1959 that two crucial men became involved, one of whom had a lifelong passion for building a championship golf course. Tom Barnes, a native of Minnesota, and his business partner, Tom Dore, a Michigan businessman who studied the area and developed an immediate vision of what this land could become, purchased an option on the land with Tom Barnes. The collaboration and construction began in 1960 and was dubbed “Bay Hill” after the bay that ran along the northwest boundary and hills which encircled the lakes and wetlands.
Image Gallery
Orlando’s The Mall at Millenia (often referred to as The Millenia Mall or Millenia) is an indoor retail mall located off of Interstate 4 (exit 78) at Conroy Road, near the northern end of International Drive. Opening in 2002 now features over 150 businesses, including Macy’s, Bloomingdale’s, and Neiman Marcus, which has a location that looks similar to the one at International Plaza and Bay Street in Tampa, Florida. Read More
