LATROBE, PA – The Saint Vincent College Department of Athletics has announced that the historic Latrobe Country Club will serve as the home course for both the Bearcat men’s and women’s varsity golf teams. Both programs will begin playing all home matches at Latrobe Country Club in fall 2020.
Located less than three miles from the Saint Vincent campus, the legendary course is known as the home of golf icon Arnold Palmer, a longtime friend of Saint Vincent College, and it is widely regarded as one of the top golf venues in the region. The course had previously served as the Bearcats’ home from 2006 through 2014.
“We are grateful for this opportunity to return to Latrobe Country Club,” said Father Paul R. Taylor, O.S.B., Saint Vincent College president. “In addition to the competitive benefits, it will also serve as a welcoming and hospitable venue for our student-athletes, as well as our opponents. We cherish the friendship between the Palmer family and Saint Vincent College over these many years. Now returning to Latrobe Country Club is the next chapter as we continue to grow together.”
“We are very happy to be back at Latrobe Country Club,” added athletic director Father Myron Kirsch, O.S.B. “It is a great place to be associated with and certainly a great place to play.”
Don Emery, representing Latrobe Country Club, stated, “It is wonderful to have two iconic Latrobe institutions come together and strengthen their bonds. This kind of relationship is indicative of the Latrobe spirit, its respect for the city's history, for working together and for supporting the next generation of this incredible community. Mr. Palmer was a big champion for student-athletes and he would be happy to see Saint Vincent College golfers at Latrobe Country Club.”
The 2020 season marks the 100th anniversary of the 1920 founding of the Latrobe Country Club, with Palmer’s father, Deacon, working on the crew that built the original 9-hole course. Deacon would later become the grounds superintendent and golf professional at the course while introducing Arnold to the sport in which he would soon captivate audiences around the globe.
The course would expand to its current 18-hole layout in 1964, with the Palmers heavily involved in the design of the nine new holes and the revamping of the preexisting holes to fit the new layout. In addition to the demanding, picturesque 6,500-yard layout, the course boasts a number of eye-catching features, including a series of covered, wooden bridges over a stream that runs through the course and a large wood carving of Deacon Palmer located between the first and 18th holes.
Both the Saint Vincent men’s and women’s golf teams have enjoyed recent success. The Bearcat women won the 2018 Presidents’ Athletic Conference title, advancing to the NCAA Championship for the first time in team history, while the SVC men were crowned PAC champs in 2013 and 2014 and have since finished no lower than third at the annual conference event.
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PHOTO: The 12th hole at historic Latrobe Country Club
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