Kingdom: How much did you enjoy hosting the 50th staging of the Bob Hope Classic?

Arnold Palmer: Hosting the Bob Hope was exciting and interesting after playing in it for all those years. I met up with a lot of old friends and other people I knew pretty well, and it raised more than $250,000 for our hospital in the area. However, I won’t be hosting it again. I shall go along each year from now on to catch up with old friends, but as far as hosting it that’s it!

k: The scoring by the professionals for the first four days was astonishingly good. Why was this?

ap: The weather and the course were impeccable, and that’s the reason for the low scoring on the first four days.

k: Many of the leading players seem to give the Bob Hope a miss these days. Why is this and how can this trend be reversed?

ap: I believe it’s a tournament the top players should try to play in. I realize the format has some influence over their decisions, but I never tire of telling the guys that I have made a lot of friendships and forged important business relationships as a result of playing in the Bob Hope over the years. It is also very successful from a charitable standpoint and for that reason alone they [the organizers] are keen to continue with the current format. The committee and volunteers are very dedicated and the tournament also invites the sponsors of other events and other key supporters of the PGA Tour to play.

k: We understand you plan to make some significant changes to Bay Hill after this year’s Arnold Palmer Invitational. What will they be and when will they kick in?

ap: The program begins on May 15. We will start preparing to change the greens. We’re going to take the dirt out of them. This means we will dig down about 18 inches and then re-seed them with Emerald, which is a Bermuda grass. We’re also going to update some of the bunkers, mainly by turning them around so they face slightly differently. A lot of this work is going to be put together during the summer and that will hurt our business somewhat because we welcome visitors here all the year round. Some people might look at our course here as it is now and say you don’t need to do anything, but we know this work has to be done and it’s in the interests of the business long-term that we get it done.

k: You must be delighted with the fact that the world’s leading players will once again be teeing up at Bay Hill this year?

ap: We now have the tournament just two weeks before the Masters, which was the whole idea. We always want to get as many of the world’s leading players here as possible and the fact that they’re all looking to tune up for the Masters is very much in our favor. Tiger Woods is the defending champion, so hopefully he will be here—if he’s healthy. There are a lot of great players around now and the overall standard is so high.

k: You have given the very young Japanese player Ryo Ishikawa an invitation; do you think he has a special future?

ap: We have not only invited young Ishikawa from Japan, but we have also extended invitations to Rory McIlroy from Northern Ireland, who’s only 19, and Danny Lee from New Zealand who is the US amateur champion and recently won a European Tour event in Australia. They’re all impressive young men but who knows whether they will fulfil their potential. We have had some young guys here who we thought were going to be world beaters and I don’t have any idea where they are any more. So picking the stars of the future is a tough call. You never know with young players. I’ve got a grandson [Sam Saunders] who I thought right now would already be a great player but he needs to do a lot of work on his game.

k: We understand you recently met up with Donald Trump. How did this come about and are you planning a round of golf with him any time soon?

ap: We were going to play at Latrobe last year but there was a hitch so it didn’t happen. He is certainly a great supporter of the game, even though his plans for expansion might mean he’s going against the trend right now. I’ve heard of his plans to build a big golf resort north of Aberdeen [in northeast Scotland]. It sounds as though it’s quite cold up there for most of the year round, so it’s a brave decision on his part.

k: In the absence of Tiger Woods, Padraig Harrington finished last season as the dominant player. How impressed are you with his performances?

ap: I’ve never played with Padraig, but he’s an extremely nice man. His play towards the end of last year was truly outstanding and he is clearly a force to be reckoned with in the game right now. But whether he can challenge Tiger on a consistent basis is another question altogether. Don’t forget that Padraig won his two majors last year when Tiger wasn’t around. I think trying to outplay Tiger once he’s fully fit will be very tough. The bottom line is that he’s going to come back better than ever. I have been watching him train and manage his recovery and I can tell you he has been working very hard. And don’t forget, he’s still very young.

k: Do you see him at all when you visit White Oak, North Carolina, and do you think he will be able to win The [British] Open again this year?

ap: We see Padraig from time to time at White Oak—he clearly likes the place and it is a good base for him in the U.S. As for the British Open, his game seems to peak around that time of year so he must have as good a chance as anyone there at Turnberry.

k: Paul Azinger credits his improvement as a golfer at the age of 19 to a summer he spent working at Bay Hill. What is it about the environment here that helped bring this about?

ap: Paul was one of my instructors and when he was here he just got on with doing his thing. I just asked him what he wanted to do and it all seemed to work out well for him after he had stayed here. He did a very good job for the U.S. Team during the Ryder Cup at Valhalla last year, so Corey Pavin [Azinger’s successor as captain] has a lot to live up to. But Corey is one of my guys and he lived here at Bay Hill for a while with his family. He played here regularly and during that time he became one of the toughest players on Tour.

PAUL AZINGER HAS GIVEN COREY PAVIN SOME BIG SHOES TO FILL AT NEXT YEAR'S RYDER CUP

k: It is now nearly 40 years since President Eisenhower died. How clear are your memories of him and has your perspective on his life, achievements and friendship with you changed at all?

ap: I started playing with him at Augusta National in 1958 and the relationship continued ever since. We played a lot together, particularly in exhibitions to raise funds for charity. Then his health got bad and he couldn’t play any more but we carried on spending time together. Every now and then we used to sit on his back porch for an hour or so and talk, and tell each other stories about our respective lives. We both thoroughly enjoyed that. We had fun together and I found him a very intriguing man.

k: As you know one of the articles in this issue of kingdom is about Laurel Valley and its history. When did you last play the course and how much does it mean to you personally?

ap: I think I’m the only founder of the club left alive. I started there in 1957 with a meeting of the founders and we opened in 1959. I go there every year—either to play or do something to the golf course—and this year is no exception.

k: We see Cherry Hills has been selected as the host course of the Palmer Cup. How did this come about and what will be the effect of the course renovations there?

ap: They’ve made some renovations there but I’ve had nothing to do with these. I made some alterations to the course when it was preparing to host the PGA Championship a number of years ago. This time they have chosen to do without my expertise! The Palmer Cup will be held during the first week of June and I will definitely be there. My grandson [Sam Saunders] is trying to get on the U.S. Team but he will only do that if his form improves dramatically.

k: Do you plan any public on-course appearances during 2009?

ap: No—I have no plans to play in anything competitive this year apart from the occasional shoot-out here at Bay Hill.

k: Have you introduced hybrid and/or rescue clubs into your bag?

ap: I’m a firm believer in golfers using whatever equipment they feel will help them. Callaway are at the forefront of this part of the game and their hybrids and rescue clubs are becoming increasingly popular. Even though I think a lot of Tour pros will continue to carry long irons in their bags, these hybrid clubs are not just for the higher-handicap players. A lot of serious players are using them too.

k: What brand of putter are you using at the moment, or do you vary your choice from time to time?

ap: I have been using the Callaway two-ball putter since it came on the market and I see no reason to change. The putter in my bag is one of the original models.

k: What do you feel about the bye-law decision of various governing bodies around the world to allow the use of rangefinders during competition, even though this remains against the Rules of Golf?

ap: Golfers are going to be using these gadgets everywhere. They’re definitely here to stay and it seems they help to speed up the pace of play as well.

k: Doc Giffin is to be presented with this year’s Met Golf Writers Winnie Palmer Award on June 16. How much does this mean to you, your family and colleagues?

ap: Doc has been with me forever and he has not only worked for me but he has been a great friend for a lot of years. So this obviously means an enormous amount to me and my family.

k: You won the Texas Open three years in a row, what are your abiding memories of playing golf in the Lone Star State?

ap: When I started playing, the Texas Open was one of the major events on the Tour schedule. It’s certainly one of the older events. Because of its standing, I set it as a personal goal to win it and I was fortunate enough to succeed. People say it’s always windy in Texas, but that’s not necessarily true. However, we used to play there in early spring and the conditions were pretty tough, though always fair. I always enjoyed playing there.

k: On the topic of Texas and the Texas Open how pleased are you with the APDC course at Westin La Cantera?

ap: This is a resort that’s very supportive of golf. It has a nice course, but it was tough to build because the property is very hilly and rocky, and a lot of earth needed moving. However, it has worked out well and has been open now for five or six years.

k: We understand you will again be the Honorary Starter at The Masters. How will the week unfold for you?

ap: Yes, I’m doing it again for the third year. I go there on the Tuesday morning of Masters week and attend the [champions] dinner that night. Then my other main assignment is to do the honorary starting on Thursday morning and after that I’ll leave and watch the tournament on television. I’ll play again this year in the par-three tournament which I always enjoy. I won it in 1967 after a playoff with Billy Casper. But like every other par-three winner, I didn’t go on to win the Green Jacket that year.

k: How pleased were you with the Steelers’ win in Super Bowl XLIII?

ap: That was nice but it was difficult for me because two of the coaches [Arizona head coach Ken Whisenhunt and Steelers’ defense coordinator Dick LeBeau] are friends of mine. Believe it or not they are both scratch golfers, which, when you consider how much time their jobs take up, is a considerable achievement.