John Zimmers has directed course management activities at Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club since 1999, and will see the culmination of all his work, from a massive tree-removing restoration project to the fine-tuned management of firm, true greens, when the 2007 U.S. Golf Association Open Championship tees off June 14.
Zimmers, a 14-year Golf Course Superintendents Association of America Class A member earned a two-year turfgrass certificate from Rutgers University. He was groomed by veteran golf course superintendent Paul R. Latshaw, working under the 41-year GCSAA member for six years at Wilmington (Del.) Country Club and Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md. Zimmers landed his first head superintendent job at the beginning of Sand Ridge Golf Club's construction in Chardon, Ohio. Four years later, he assumed his current post at Oakmont Country Club and immediately began preparing for the 2003 U.S. Amateur.
A story published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in February details the restoration project that removed approximately 5,000 trees from the interior of Oakmont's golf course over the decade following the 1994 U.S. Open. In a recent article in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Mike Davis, USGA director of rules and competitions, was quoted as saying: "There is no individual who has bigger impact on any U.S. Open than the golf course superintendent."
"I've kind of watched John grow up in this industry a little bit going back to our days at Congressional, back as early as 1994," said Tim Moraghan, USGA director of championship agronomy, in the cover story of the upcoming June 2007 edition of GCSAA’s monthly magazine, GCM, which previews Zimmers' preparations for the U.S. Open. "He is one of the best. I'm not going to say the best, because there are a lot of great superintendents I've dealt with over the years. But you'd be hard pressed to find a guy as good as John."
Oakmont Country Club has hosted more major Championships than any other course in the U.S., including seven United States Opens, five U.S. Amateurs, three PGA Championships, and one U.S. Women's Open. Oakmont remains perhaps the most difficult course in North America, with 180 deep bunkers (personified by the Church Pews), hard and fast greens that slope away from the player, and tight fairways requiring the utmost precision.
Oakmont was the site of the "the greatest round of the 20th century," Johnny Miller's final round 63 at the 1973 U.S. Open. Golf Digest ranks Oakmont No. 5 in its most recent version of America's Top 100 courses. Henry C. Fownes, who designed Oakmont as his only venture in golf course architecture, founded the club in 1903. The course has been consistently rated among the top 10 courses in America.
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