Chad Mark and his crew have finished hosting cracking back-to-back weeks at Muirfield Village. Now, preparations are intensifying in Toledo, Ohio, where superintendent John Zimmers and his Inverness Club team are anticipating the LPGA’s first event since play ceased due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Drive On Championship is a three-day event from July 31-Aug. 2.
The LPGA didn’t officially add the Drive on Championship to its schedule until June 16. “Staff morale has been good,” Zimmers says. “This is something to look forward to and they are doing an incredible job.” The LPGA hasn’t conducted a tournament since the ISPS Handa Women's Australian Open concluded Feb. 16. The tour last played in the United States in late January.
Zimmers is happy to be back in Ohio after spending more than 18 years in western Pennsylvania at Oakmont Country Club. He gleaned plenty of experience with world-class events, including the 2010 U.S. Women’s Open and a pair of U.S. Opens, at Oakmont, but early in his career he helped build Sand Ridge Golf Club in Chardon (where he mentored Mark). Building on that experience and continuing the trend of outstanding golf in Ohio, in 2021, the Solheim Cup (yes, THE Solheim Cup!) will be at Inverness. The Solheim Cup will be contested 101 years after the 1920 U.S. Open, the first of six men’s majors held at Inverness. The club hosted its first of four U.S. Opens shortly after unveiling its Donald Ross-designed championship course.
Zimmers
Zimmers joined Inverness in 2017 and was part of the renovation led by architect Andrew Green, which was heavily inspired by that famous Ross creation. McDonald & Sons executed the work and the Drive On Championship will be the first LPGA event held at Inverness since the renovation. The Inverness Invitational Four-Ball was a LPGA event held in 1954, won by Betsy Rawls and Betty MacKinnon.
It’s exciting for Inverness to host the LPGA again and it was approached with the idea to restart the tour the week before the Marathon Classic. Everyone paused to consider how hosting the event would affect the community, players and membership in a positive way, Zimmers says. The consensus was generous. “All credit to the members and board for being willing,” he adds. “We have been really, really busy. There aren’t a lot of activity options and the club is being utilized a lot.”
Besides hosting during the month of July, notoriously difficult for multiple reasons, one big challenge for Zimmers is that the course is not going to close before the tournament. The members will play right up until practice rounds begin Wednesday, July 29. The players are going to see the club just like the members play it, which is fun for both the members and the women. The rough, Kentucky bluegrass and perennial ryegrass, will be about 2 inches high and the bentgrass/Poa annua greens will be running 12-plus on the Stimpmeter. The length of the course will be around 6,800 yards. “These ladies are good,” Zimmers says.
While keeping agronomics at an elite level, Inverness has implemented thoughtful practices in response to COVID-19. “We continuously disinfect and emphasize our policies for distancing and cleanliness,” Zimmers says. “All these things we keep going over and over. The reality is that you can only do so much.”
Continual communication has been a theme as the LPGA prepares for its arrival in Toledo. “The board of governors and key staff have weekly Zoom meetings with the LPGA to work together,” Zimmers says. The tournament will be staged without two staples: a sponsor and spectators. “Without any fans, you don’t have to setup like a major championship,” Zimmers says. “There are fewer TV towers and concession areas but usually we work with vendors six to seven months out. We just don’t have that much time. We are coordinating meals for the staff, renting equipment, recruiting volunteers and making this successful.”
With two water hazards, thought-provoking fairways and 86 bunkers, the women will need to be ready. For Zimmers and his full-time staff of 30 (about 16 are year-round), connecting has required extra effort, particularly with staggered work crews. “It’s not the same if you don’t have one-on-one interaction with your people when you communicate, you have to,” he says. “If you don’t, the outcome is just not the same.” Though notice was short and there are a lot of challenges, Zimmers is confident the event will be a success. “We are going to figure it out,” he adds.
The Marathon Classic will be played the following week, just a few minutes away at Highland Meadows Country Club. Superintendent Greg Pattinson and the Highland Meadows team are accustomed to hosting the LPGA. The course has served as a regular LPGA venue since 1989.
This year’s doubleheader is elevating golf excitement in Toledo. “When everyone works as hard as they do and you have a chance for your community and a televised audience to see your work, that’s a great thing,” Zimmers says.
Lee Carr is a Northeast Ohio-based writer and frequent Golf Course Industry contributor.
