ORLANDO, FLA. (Feb. 1, 2008) – Oakmont Country Club’s John Zimmers, who survived a scare from Mother Nature to help his club host what many have called the best U.S. Open of the modern era, Friday was named the 2007 golf course Superintendent of the Year.
Zimmers, 37, was selected from superintendents throughout the U.S. who were nominated for the honor by club members, general managers, assistants and club professionals in recognition of their contributions to course conditions, labor and budget management and service to golf clientele.
The eighth annual Superintendent of the Year award was presented by TurfNet Media Network, which covers the golf turf industry, and sponsored by Club Car, which manufactures golf cars and turf utility vehicles.
“The work John and his team did to overcome challenges they had no control over and provide the conditions Oakmont and the USGA required for the U.S. Open was phenomenal,” saidMike Packer, vice president of Worldwide Sales for Club Car, who presented a Club Car Carryall Turf 252 utility vehicle to Zimmers during last week’s Golf Industry Show.
After planning for more than five years in anticipation of hosting the Open, Zimmers watched as a late-spring snow turned to freezing rain and a sheet of ice covered Oakmont’s prized greens. “It was like watching five or six years of work just go down the tubes,” Zimmers said. “You couldn’t have prepared for it and you couldn’t stop it, either.”
Zimmers and his crew ramped up their schedule from 14-hour days to 16- and 17-hour shifts to cover the greens and nurture them back to health prior to the Open in June. “It was a very, very trying time, but as a staff and crew we came together to do what we had to do,” said Zimmers, who is in his ninth year at the Oakmont club outside Pittsburgh.
Club Car’s new Carryall Turf 252 was designed with superintendents like Zimmers in mind. The vehicle’s IQ Plus electric battery technology allows superintendents to customize the vehicle’s top speed and realize increased useful range and hill-climbing power over what electric vehicles traditionally have provided. The vehicle features a nearly six-foot cargo bed, independent front suspension, all-terrain tires, headlights and trailer hitch to give superintendents a comfortable ride with plenty of versatility to pitch in on a wide range of jobs around the course.
Club Car, a business of Ingersoll-Rand Company Limited, a diversified industrial firm, Honors the Game in its service to customers and support of the golf industry. Club Car is the exclusive premier partner of the National Golf Course Owners Association and a sponsor of the European Golf Course Owners Association and the National Golf Course Owners Association Canada. It is the Official Supplier of Golf Cars and Utility Vehicles to the 2010 Ryder Cup, the Official Golf Car and Golf Utility Vehicle and an Official Sponsor of the PGA European Tour, the official supplier of golf cars and utility vehicles to PGA Tournament Players Clubs, and leading sponsor of the PGA Professional National Championship, The First Tee and the Executive Women’s Golf Association.
About Club Car
Club Car provides fleet, turf, hospitality and financing solutions for golf, agricultural, recreational and industrial markets. For more information on Club Car, go to www.clubcar.com. Based inAugusta, Ga., Club Car is part of the Industrial Technologies sector of Ingersoll-Rand Company Limited. Ingersoll Rand (NYSE:IR) is a diversified industrial company providing products, services and integrated solutions to industries ranging from transportation and manufacturing to food retailing, construction, and agriculture. Driven by a 100-year-old tradition of technological innovation, Ingersoll Rand enables companies and their customers to create progress. For more information, go to www.ingersollrand.com.
Contact:
Bill Bryant, Bryant Marketing Communications
(678) 366-3232, bbryant@bryantmarcomm.com
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