By: Fred Altvater
On a visit to Gulf Shores, Alabama, I was introduced to Robert Craft and learned one of the great stories in golf, with a solid Arnold Palmer twist. Craft shared a unique story of turning a sleepy south Alabama beach town into one the most vibrant resort areas in the country.
It revolved around a sewer line and Arnold Palmer’s impromptu relationship with Robert’s father. 
The elder Craft, R.C, was a farmer, who moved his family from Ft. Myers, Florida to southern Alabama, when real estate development in southern Florida made land more valuable as condos and strip malls. He did not attend fancy schools and preferred getting dirty from work over social functions.
The Crafts grew corn, soybeans and Gladiolus. The flowers took to the Alabama climate and Craft Farms became one of the leading producers of these flowers in the eastern United States.
After graduation from Auburn, the younger Craft returned to Gulf Shores, but did not want to be in his father’s shadow. He succeeded in using a portion of the family land to start a sod business, which fit nicely into the growing southern Alabama economy.
Always looking for a new opportunity and realizing that the area could use more golf (only the Gulf Shores Golf Club existed then), he set upon a plan to build a new course on the family farm. There was one minor problem, however. The property needed a sewer line to permit development. As you can imagine, the Gulf Shores Town Council was not overjoyed with the aspect of spending a couple of million dollars to accommodate his request.
A new plan had to be devised. 
Seeking the help of a marketing research professional, Robert learned he needed a “Marketing Accelerator.” He didn’t know what that was but came to realize he needed someone with a big enough name to add credence to his idea.
In 1986, he read an article that mentioned Arnold Palmer was expanding his golf course design company to include management and construction. Craft needed a big name and a turn key operation, plus there was no bigger name in golf than “The King.”
Robert secured an audience with Palmer at the Bay Hill Classic and made his pitch. At the end of the meeting Arnie agreed to at least visit the site.
The day that Palmer visited Gulf Shores, preparations had been made and the media was alerted. Arnold and Robert’s father, R.C. hit it off like two old friends. Arnie immediately took to R.C.’s hard-nosed work ethic and the pair ended up on the back of a sod harvester stacking sod.
Not quite the plan Robert had envisioned, but before he jumped back on his plane to fly back to Orlando, Arnold committed to build the proposed golf course.
Robert Craft once again met with the Gulf Shores Town Council and only had to ask one question,
“How would you like to have Arnold Palmer involved in golf in Gulf Shores?” Craft got his sewer line and it helped turn Gulf Shores into a golf mecca, which now encompasses not only the two Arnold Palmer Signature courses at Craft Farms, Cotton Creek and Cypress Bend, but also Kiva Dunes, Peninsula Golf Club, Gulf Shores Golf Club and Lost Key.
Gulf Shores not only has great golf and beautiful beaches, it now has fantastic restaurants and a variety of entertainment for the entire family; thanks, in part, to the foresight of the Crafts, along with a little help from Arnold Palmer.
This article is taken from an interview with Robert Craft and can be heard in its entirety on the October 20, 2016 Back 9 Report at: http://tunein.com/radio/The-Back-9-Report-p620823/
