Our History

Established in 1959

Our History – A Legacy of Tradition
 
There are certain places in the world of golf that seem to be touched by a different hand, where the game feels more like a tradition and, the grounds themselves, a sanctuary. Since 1959, such a place has existed in the rolling Laurel Highlands of Western Pennsylvania. A club built around the greatest pleasures associated with the game combined with a course designed to present a pure, unrelenting challenge... Laurel Valley Golf Club.

Its story begins not on a pristine fairway, but amidst the steel and smoke of Pittsburgh, that “indispensable city” that powered a nation, forged in iron and industry. And from that industrial crucible, a group of visionaries — titans of American enterprise — sought a different kind of meeting room. A tranquil retreat, far from the city's ceaseless energy, where the most important work could be done not in a boardroom, but on the quiet expanse of a rolling green. They found their canvas on land from the Mellon family, and when the great architect Dick Wilson first laid eyes upon it, he knew. “The most natural, beautiful site,” he said, “I have ever seen for a golf course."

But every great story needs a hero to elevate it into legend. And for Laurel Valley, that hero would be a king – native son of Pennsylvania, Arnold Palmer, whose very presence as a founding member and its touring professional would advance the fortunes of this special Club into the highest echelons of the sport.

It was in 1965, with the 47th PGA Championship, that Laurel Valley formally introduced itself to the world. It was a major moment for the Club and the first of many historic events – including the 1970 National Four-Ball Tournament, 1975 Ryder Cup and the 1989 U.S. Senior Open Championship – that would forever place these hallowed grounds on the radar of all who cherish this great game.