Craig Ammerman named Arnold Palmer Lifetime Service Award recipient

  When Dan Burton phoned Craig Ammerman to inform him he had been selected to receive the Arnold Palmer Lifetime Service Award, his response was not what Burton expected: Silence.

  "He was speechless," recalled Burton, president of the Golf Association of Philadelphia. "He had no idea this was coming. And I’ve got to tell you, we were both very emotional."

CRAIG AMMERMAN

  For Ammerman, 60, who was president of the Golf Association of Philadelphia from 2000-02 and served as a member of the U.S. Golf Association’s ruling Executive Committee from 2002-07, the Palmer Award couldn’t be more fitting or meaningful.

  Not only is it the highest honor bestowed by the GAP, it is named for a man Ammerman idolized as a kid and came to know personally and admire as an adult. When Ammerman finally met Palmer, in 1997, he discovered that there was a rich and famous athlete who actually lived up to his generous image.

  It was the night of the Association’s Centennial Gala, where Palmer was to be the keynote speaker, and it was Ammerman’s duty, as chairman of the Centennial Committee, to host the living legend for the evening.

  As Ammerman introduced Palmer around the room that night, he was struck by the number of people who approached with some variation of the same opening line: "Arnie, you probably don’t remember me but we met in 1968 as you were walking off the 13^th green at ..."

  Clearly, Palmer had no idea who most of these people were, but you never would have known it from his responses.

  "Arnold would put his hand on their shoulder and say, ‘Nice to see you again. How’ve you been?’" said Ammerman, marveling at the very quality that has made Palmer one of the most beloved figures in sports. "He sure knows how to make people feel good."

  The respect and affection Ammerman feels for Palmer is not unlike the trail of goodwill that marks his own life and career. Whether it was at the old Philadelphia Bulletin, which he ran at the ridiculously young age of 31, or the GAP or USGA, the word on Ammerman is always the same: smart as a whip, works hard as a mule, loyal as a dog, volunteers for everything, talks more than a teenage girl on her cell phone and full of stories and tales from the front lines of golf.

  "I didn’t know Craig from the man on the moon when he came onto the Executive Committee," said Jim Reinhart, a Milwaukee financial adviser who would become one of Ammerman’s best friends on the USGA’s 15-member board.

  During Ammerman’s first USGA Executive Committee meeting in 2002, in Colorado Springs, Colo., Reinhart said he couldn’t help but notice that this newcomer had an opinion and running commentary on every item on the agenda – and he wasn’t shy about speaking up.

  "I remember chuckling to myself and thinking, ‘Who is this knucklehead?’" recalled Reinhart. "He turned out to be one of the most special people you could ever meet. He is just a rare individual who gave his heart and soul to the game of golf and to the USGA. He was the consummate volunteer."

  Jim Vernon, another buddy on the USGA Executive Committee who is now president of the organization, cites Ammerman’s devotion to the game and his can-do spirit, but also his intellect.

  "He has this ability to put all the pieces together into one big picture, and to see the story behind the story, whether it’s technical, human or political," said Vernon. "Maybe that comes from his earlier career."

  After growing up in Richmond, Ky., where he got hooked on golf at the age of 10 playing with his dad on a nine-hole course, Ammerman landed in Philadelphia in 1980, as the last editor of the Bulletin. When even heroic efforts were not enough to save the newspaper, Ammerman and a colleague launched a company, Health Ink & Vitality Communications, the eventual success of which has enabled him to semi-retire in comfort.

  Ammerman’s first involvement in golf administration came in 1984, when the president of Riverton Country Club, Colton O’Donoghue, who passed away last month, asked him to fill a vacancy on the club’s board. O’Donoghue was so impressed that eight years later, in 1993, he saw to it that Ammerman was appointed to the GAP board, hand-picked to chair the committee on the upcoming Centennial.

  When the Centennial was a resounding success, Ammerman was elected GAP President until he was tapped for the USGA Executive Committee.

  "Craig’s presidency of GAP came at a crucial time," said Burton, the current President.

  Crucial because of the changes that lay ahead for GAP, even before the unexpected occurred. At the time, GAP’s two top staffers, longtime executive director Jim Sykes and tournament director Fred Christman, were both past 60 years old and facing retirement. Ammerman and the GAP Executive Committee had already worked out a plan for succession. Christman would retire at the end of 1999 to be replaced by Kirby Martin. Sykes would stay three more years, to be replaced by a promising young man who had already joined the GAP staff, Mark Peterson.

  When Sykes fell ill in 2000 and was forced to retire three years ahead of schedule, the choice for Ammerman and the GAP board was whether to bring in an experienced outsider as executive director or to stick with Peterson, who was only 24.

  "I thought we should go with Mark anyway and the Executive Committee agreed," said Ammerman. "All we did was wait two months until he turned 25 to make the announcement."

  To this day, Ammerman cites the smooth changing of the guard at GAP -- especially the decision to appoint Peterson -- as one of his proudest moments in golf. "He has been in the job nine years and he’s still only 33," said Ammerman. "And he keeps raising the bar."

  Said Peterson. "I will be forever indebted to Craig. His friendship and willingness to guide and encourage me during my first few months as director will stay with me for a lifetime."

  During his five years on the USGA Executive Committee, working as a rules or tournament official, it was not unusual for Ammerman to spend 100 nights a year on the road and $20,000 out of his own pocket in travel money. He spearheaded an initiative to improve communications between the USGA, the PGA Tour, the PGA of America, the R&A and the LPGA. Behind-the-scenes, lobbying his colleagues on the Executive Committee, Ammerman also played a significant role in helping Merion Golf Club land the 2013 U.S. Open Championship.

  "Craig was Merion’s biggest cheerleader," said Reinhart, his fellow Executive Committee member.

  No one can spend any time around Ammerman and not come away with a story or two, many of which do not involve stains on his neckties. One of the best comes from USGA president Vernon.

  The scene was the 2005 Amateur Public Links at Shaker Run Golf Club in Lebanon, Ohio, a tournament Ammerman ran during his years on the Executive Committee. After Clay Odgen won, 1-up, the USGA hurriedly set up for the awards ceremony. Within minutes, Ammerman, microphone in hand, was presiding.

  "Craig, who is always sensitive to the people who make the championship possible, mentioned the fans, the tournament staff, the volunteers, the pro and his staff, the facilities chairman and the greenkeeper and his staff," said Vernon. "He concluded by saying thank you and see you next year in Bremerton, Wash. Problem was, he had forgotten to award the trophy."