Getting To Know: Arnold Palmer's Bay Hill Club

An Insightful Interview With Blake Terry, Head Golf Professional

By Brian Weis

Whether you have played a course 20+ times a year or looking to play the course for the first time, insights from an insider can help enhance your golf experience. Below is an interview with Blake Terry who shares some valuable tidbits about the course, memorable holes and must eats and treats at the 19th.

Give Our Readers An Overview of the Golf Course/Property
Arnold Palmer's Bay Hill Club & Lodge is charming, inviting and all about being the best of the best - and not just when it comes to golf. Your experience will give you a sense of belonging to a private club. Amenities include a 70-room lodge, Spa, Salon, fitness center, pool, and tennis courts. The Challenger, Champion and Charger links comprise our 27 holes of championship golf.

If Someone Was Looking To Golf In The Area, Why Should They Play Your Course?
Each March, The Bay Hill Club & Lodge plays host to the best players in the world during the PGA TOUR's Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by MasterCard. The Bay Hill Club gives members and guests the opportunity to play a Championship course that golf greats such as Tiger Woods, Ernie Els, & Phil Mickelson have competed on and won at in recent years.

What Tips or Local Knowledge Would You Provide To Help Them Score Better At Your Course?
The Bay Hill Club's Challenger / Champion course is a very fair yet challenging test of golf. The old cliché of fairways and greens could not be truer here. The course has many doglegs and plenty of water waiting to penalize the aggressive player. Play it safe, keep the ball in play, and be patient for a good score on this course.

Recent Awards or What You Are Most Proud About The Course?
The Bay Hill Club & Lodge continually ranks among the very best and we are particularly proud of awards that are based on reader or guest reviews/response. Listed below are a number of the awards of this type we have received in 2013 thus far:

Platinum List of Best Hotels, Golf Courses, Spas & Cruises - Celebrated Living Magazine
2013 Certificate of Excellence - TripAdvisor Gold Tee Award - Meetings & Conventions Magazine Top 10 Florida Golf Resorts - Links Magazine Best Courses You Can Play - Golfweek Magazine Best Golf Club/Course - Southwest Orlando Bulletin World's Top 1000 Golf Courses - The Rolex, Second Edition (France)

What Is The Signature, Most Talked About, or Most Photographed Hole?
The finishing holes at Bay Hill are some of the toughest the PGA Tour sees all year. Our 17th and 18th holes certainly stand out among these. The 17th is a 221 yard par three over water from the professional tees. It is both beautiful and difficult. The final hole is a 458 yard par 4 from the professional tees. A slightly blind tee shot to a wide fairway will leave you with one of the most famous last shots in golf.

What Is Your Favorite Hole? Any Tips to Play It?
I believe hole number 8 is the best and most beautiful hole on the golf course. This 460 yard par 4 requires a perfectly shaped tee shot between trees and sand. A ball in the fairway will leave you between 150-175 yards over a pond to a wide green surrounded by bunkers. The green is framed in the background with some of the most beautiful trees on the entire property.

Must Have Dish or Drink after the round at the 19th Hole?
The Bay Hill "Hummer" is the go to refreshment after a day on the course and is Mr. Palmer's after dinner drink of choice at Bay Hill. This creamy "adult milkshake" is a favorite in the Member's Lounge.

Who Holds Course Record and What Was Their Score?
Since the most recent renovation to the golf course in 2009, Graeme McDowell has scored the best round; 63 (-9 under par), second round, 2012 Arnold Palmer Invitational Presented by MasterCard. In 1981, during the second round of the then named Bay Hill Invitational, Andy Bean shot a 9 under par 62 (par 71), which is the lowest tournament score recorded at Bay Hill.

More Information
Arnold Palmer's Bay Hill Club
9000 Bay Hill Boulevard
Orlando, FL, 32819
888-422-9445
http://www.bayhill.com/

Revised: 07/31/2013 - Article Viewed 33,385 Times - View Course Profile

About: Brian Weis

Brian Weis is the Publisher of GolfTrips.com, a network of golf travel and directory sites including GolfWisconsin.com, GolfMichigan.com, ArizonaGolfer.com, GolfAlabama.com, etc. Professionally, Brian is a member of the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA), International Network of Golf (ING), Golf Travel Writers of America (GTWA), International Golf Travel Writers Association (IGTWA) and The Society of Hickory Golfers (SoHG). In 2016, Brian won The Shaheen Cup, an award given to a golf travel writer by his peers.

All of his life, Brian has been around the game of golf. As a youngster, Brian competed at all levels in junior and high school golf. Brian had a zero chance for a college golf scholarship, so he worked on the grounds crew at West Bend Country Club to pay for his University of Wisconsin education. In his adult years, his passion for the game collided with his entrepreneurial spirit and in 2004 launched GolfWisconsin.com. In 2007, the idea for a network of local golf directory sites formed and GolfTrips.com was born. Today, the network consists of a site in all 50 states supported by national sites like GolfTrips.com, GolfGuide.com and GolfPackages.com. It is an understatement to say, Brian is passionate about promoting golf and golf travel on a local, regional, national and international level.

On the golf course, Brian is known as a fierce weekend warrior that fluctuates between a 5-9 handicap. With a soft fade, known as "The Weis Slice", and booming 300+ drives, he can blast it out of bounds with the best of them.