Some 40 Years Later, Golf Legend Enjoys Another Round On Legendary Layout
Bedford Springs, Pa. – September 22, 2007 – Two Pennsylvania golf legends got back together recently, when all-time great Arnold Palmer played the recently unveiled Bedford Springs Old Course.
Palmer (above right, with host club professional Ron Leporati) had played the Bedford Springs course during the 1960s and recently heard from a close source – his sister, Sandy – that the golf course has been restored to meet the design integrity of its original architects: Spencer Oldham, A.W. Tillinghast and Donald Ross. Palmer even called himself to book a tee time.
Palmer actually visited Bedford Springs Resort twice – first when his sister was a guest visiting on a golf package, and then returning with his own foursome a couple of weeks later.
"He was very gracious," said Bedford Springs head pro Ron Leporati, who played in a group behind the Palmer foursome. "He toured the whole property and was very intrigued by the golf course and the history of the resort. And he said he would be back."
The Old Course is part of the masterful revival of the circa 1796 Bedford Springs Resort, which re-opened in July following the completion of a $120-million restoration and expansion. In its glory days Bedford Springs, which had been closed for 21 years, played host to U.S. presidents, heads of state and countless celebrities, and was where the first Trans Atlantic cable was received by President James Buchanan from Great Britain’s Queen Victoria in 1858. The resort also served as Buchanan’s summer White House.
The golf course now retraces the steps of early American golf course architecture, with designs originally contributed by Oldham (1895), Tillinghast (1912) and Ross (1923). This unique and historic collaboration — with holes thought to be among some of America’s oldest — stretches between ridges of the Allegheny Mountains along Shobers Run creek, a tributary of the Juniata River, weaving amid the 200-year-old oaks, serene meadows and marshes of picturesque Bedford Springs Valley.
The course is now open to the public, with preferred tee times reserved for resort guests. For information or reservations access the web site at www.bedfordspringsresort.com or call (866) 623-8168.
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Bedford Resort Partners, Ltd. is the owner and developer of the Bedford Springs Resort project. The partners include The Ferchill Group of Cleveland, Ohio, a real estate development company that specializes in historic rehabilitation projects, Chevron TCI, Inc., a leading investor in tax credit rehabilitation projects in the United States and The Bedford Springs Company, LLC.
Benchmark Hospitality International, an independent hospitality management company based in The Woodlands (Houston), Texas, operates resorts, conference centers, hotels and condominium resorts both domestically and internationally. For locations of Benchmark Hospitality properties and for additional information, visit Benchmark’s Website at www.benchmarkhospitality.com .
Contact:
Karen Moraghan
Hunter Public Relations – East
908/876-5100
908/963-6013 (cell)
kmoraghan@hunter-pr.com
www.hunter-pr.com
