THE USGA ’ S TWO-YEAR PLAN
If it takes a village to raise a child , then consider Howe and the behind-the-scenes community as the ones responsible for the championship ’ s prosperity . They are the unsung , unseen heroes . That includes nearly half of the 300-plus employees from Golf House ( the USGA ’ s Far Hills , N . J . headquarters ) who will trek to Oakmont , members and more than 5,000 volunteers . The majority , in some capacity , will play some role outside the ropes .
With more than 235,000 spectators anticipated to attend the championship June 13-19 , there is little room for error . Howe , in concert with Oakmont leadership , has been executing long drawn-up contingency plans that touch on everything from infrastructure to logistics to the mundane .
Take security and safety . Over the past two years , countless meetings have been had with local and state police agencies . Throw in the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Homeland Security , too . Or consider various tent construction minutiae . For instance , Howe has had to be in lockstep with the HVAC ( heating , ventilating and air conditioning ) vendor over the logistics of the 250 or so tents and estimated 100 trailers that now adorn the grounds .
It ’ s hard to get excited about something as banal as restrooms , but they ’ re an obvious necessity . There is a placement strategy for each port-a-john , or clustered areas , so that foot traffic moves seamlessly around the course . The goal is to ensure there are no distractions to the action inside the ropes .
“ What takes most of my time , actually , is figuring out the parking and transportation ,” said Howe , adding that roughly 16,000 cars will inundate Allegheny County , including the courtesy vehicles given to the 156 players in the field .
“ We can ’ t introduce that many cars to the immediate local area . The goal is to have less of a net impact there and have shuttles operating efficiently ,” he said .
Plans for transportation and shuttle routes started in earnest almost seven years ago . The decision to return to Henry Fownes ’ famed design a record ninth time was announced on-site at the 2009 U . S . Open at Bethpage . ( Incidentally , it will also mark the 16th USGA event conducted at Oakmont ).
Almost immediately , Oakmont organized a special committee that eventually visited all U . S . Open venues through last year ‘ s event at Chambers Bay . It was an eye-opener , said Oakmont U . S . Open Co-chairman Rob Hofmann .
“ When we went to Pinehurst , we really saw how big the U . S . Open has become [ since Oakmont last hosted it in 2007 ],” said Hofmann . “ At the Olympic Club it was much bigger than it had been than any other Open there . So we saw how massive it has become . As a result , we knew we had to do something to prepare for ’ 16 and to make sure we could accommodate the USGA .”
A tough , yet essential , decision was made in early 2014 by Oakmont ’ s long-range planning committee . Close to 25 acres of property that lay behind the second green and third fairway on the East Course was regraded in the fall two years ago . An unfathomable 700,000 yards of dirt was moved prior to the land being reseeded with fescue last year .
“ These were not little dump trucks at work ,” said Zimmers . “ This was major , major excavation with scrapers and pans and big trucks you see in mines .”
The decision to do this was threefold : To accommodate the USGA ’ s growing needs ; to make it more attractive for future championships ; and to give the club options for other activities if a final decision is made — to come after the championship — to eliminate the East Course entirely .
The choice to regrade the acreage cannot be overstated .
Zimmers has been through three USGA championships and understands the course setup process . Graduated rough ? Piece of cake . It ’ s the stuff that goes on outside the course that proves challenging , and the extra space has been a godsend .
“ Working with the USGA and the partnership we have , we both know how to get out in front of things ,” said Zimmers . “ We want to be there to assist the USGA , to
Fans prepare to enter the gates at the 2015 U . S . Open Championship , held at Chambers Bay in Washington .
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22 V IRGINIA G OLFER | M AY / J UNE 2016 vsga . org