As far as my own golf is concerned, I have sadly decided that the time has come to bring down the curtain on my playing career. The game has given me so many wonderful memories, and I am very proud of all that I managed to achieve as a player, right from my days as a young amateur. Unfortunately, my standard of play has not been at the level I would have liked in recent years and it seemed obvious to me that I should step back from this part of my life.

However, as one door closes in life another invariably opens, and it has given me enormous pleasure to be able to devote even more time than before to my course design projects. We have recently moved the company across Florida from Ponte Vedra to Bay Hill, and have changed the name to Arnold Palmer Design Company.

I am pleased to be able to report that considerable progress is being made with the Palmer Premier course designs which I am personally overseeing, and I am very excited about the prospect of seeing them come to life in the not-too-distant future.

Certainly, 2007 promises to be an extremely busy year for myself and my team of colleagues, especially as we have an important tournament to look forward to at Bay Hill again in March. The dates are similar to those in previous years, but the tournament has changed title for this coming season and it is a particular honor for me that it has been re-named the Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by MasterCard.

Finally, all that remains is for me to wish Kingdom readers and golfers everywhere a very happy and successful 2007, both on and off the course.