Zimmers to crew: You’re the best in the world

By |  June 14, 2016 0 Comments

Maintenance crew at OakmontThe crew here at Oakmont is 50 strong. For the U.S. Open, another 140 volunteers are here to help out.

Many are over-qualified for the jobs they’re on, but they just want to lend a hand. It’s a who’s who of golf maintenance out here, courses like Shinnecock, Merion, Erin Hills and many more.

Superintendent John Zimmers strikes me as a soft spoken guy, but when he addresses the crew, he takes on the persona of a football coach. Here’s his pep talk from yesterday afternoon:

“Nothing is more important than your name. Put your name on your quality of work. You’re the best in the world at what you do. We’re going to hold you at that standard. You’re only going to take what’s out there and make it look better. We’re relying on you, we’re counting on you. There will be a time to have fun, and a time to work, and a time to celebrate. This is the serious side. Be disciplined, and take care of yourselves.”

As I’ve been talking to the guys individually, there’s one reoccurring thing I keep hearing: They thought this course looked good in 2007. But the 2016 U.S. Open is somehow looking even better.

Photo: Golfdom

This is posted in Columns, Featured, Industry News

About the Author: Seth Jones

Seth Jones, a 18-year veteran of the golf industry media, is Editor-in-Chief of Golfdom magazine and Athletic Turf. A graduate of the University of Kansas School of Journalism and Mass Communications, Jones began working for Golf Course Management in 1999 as an intern. In his professional career he has won numerous awards, including a Turf and Ornamental Communicators Association (TOCA) first place general feature writing award for his profile of World Golf Hall of Famer Greg Norman and a TOCA first place photography award for his work covering the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. In his career, Jones has accumulated an impressive list of interviews, including such names as George H.W. Bush, Samuel L. Jackson, Lance Armstrong and Charles Barkley. Jones has also done in-depth interviews with such golfing luminaries as Norman, Gary Player, Nick Price and Lorena Ochoa, to name only a few. Jones is a member of both the Golf Writers Association of America and the Turf and Ornamental Communicators Association. Jones can be reached at sjones@northcoastmedia.net.


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