Member Clubs
Member Clubs
The King’s March Lives On
The final five holes at Hermitage honor the one and only Arnold Palmer
by CHRIS LANG
O
n a sun-splashed September
afternoon at Hermitage Coun-
try Club in Manakin- Sabot,
golfers assembled on the club’s
Sabot Course could almost feel the history.
Looking down the 14th fairway, past the
dogleg that winds to the left, it was easy to
visualize Arnold Palmer’s approach shot.
Palmer used a birdie on that very green
in 1988 to jumpstart his closing run to the
championship in the Crestar Classic, the
final victory of his storied career.
On Sept. 20, Hermitage commemo-
rated this slice of history by unveiling
the “King’s March.” Near the 14th tee, a
plaque detailing Palmer’s final victory
was unveiled. Now anyone who plays the
Sabot’s final five holes will gain an appre-
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ciation for what Palmer accomplished
in 1988.
Just down from the teeing ground,
where the cart path bisects the fairway, the
club installed a sign noting that Palmer’s
first professional victory came in 1955 at
the Canadian Open. Similar signs through-
out the King’s March detailed other key
moments of Palmer ’s distinguished
career—his victories in the U.S. Open, the
Masters and the Open Championship.
(The King missed out on adding a PGA
Championship for a career grand slam).
Palmer’s grandson, professional golfer
Sam Saunders, could not make it to the
ceremony, but he sent a video message
thanking Hermitage to be played following
the day's golf event.
ABOVE: A new plaque near the 14th tee tells the
story of Palmer's final victory. BELOW: The ceremo-
nial unveiling of the King's March was held on Sept.
20 at Hermitage Country Club.
Hermitage, one of six founding clubs of
the Virginia State Golf Association, prides
itself in its history. It opened in 1900
on the site of what is now Belmont Golf
Course before moving west in 1977. Sam
Snead won the 1949 PGA Championship
at the old Hermitage Course. In all, five
World Golf Hall of Famers have won titles
at Hermitage. Ben Hogan won the 1945
Richmond Open on the former layout,
and Chi Chi Rodriguez, Peter Thomson
and Palmer won Crestar Classics on the
Sabot Course.
Thirty years after Palmer’s victory, Her-
mitage has ensured its membership will
forever remember the “King’s March” to
the Crestar trophy.
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