Palmer Has Designed Real Steamy Golf Course

Arnold Palmer says he hopes a new course he’s building up the Mississippi River from here will be a test for good golfers and a ball for high handicappers.

Palmer, clad in rubber boots, was wading around in ankle-deep mud and steamy heat, supervising work on his latest creation.

It’s called the The Bluffs--a championship course set in a 500-acre residential and resort community scheduled to open in the fall of 1987.

“This golf course contains aspects of Pebble Beach and Augusta National,” Palmer said after stomping around in the muck.

“The beauty of the property lends itself to spectacular golf. We don’t encounter a site this good more than once every 10 to 15 years.”

The Bluffs will have at least four holes designed around Thompson’s Creek, including the 18th, which is similar to the 18th at Pebble Beach.

“The ninth hole (a par 5) is going to be spectacular,” Palmer said. “It gives you a chance to go for the green in two if you are feeling strong or lay up. The 17th (a 234-yard par 3) is beautiful because you are shooting 60 feet down to the green. And the 18th (a 550-yard, uphill par 5) will be one of the better finishing holes in golf.

“The entire course will be a true test of golf.”