How Arnold Palmer and I saved the 1973 US Open

How Arnold Palmer and I saved the 1973 US Open is a True Story. It’s a Great Story of meeting my Childhood Hero and Introducing Him to My Dad,, my true hero.

How Arnold Palmer and I saved the 1973 US Open

On the morning of June 17, 1973, my father wakes me up, an hour before dawn. He needs me to go with him to a job site. This was not unusual for my father to take me with him to a job site on Sunday Mornings.

My father made sure the Construction Equipment was in working order for our family-owned Dan Sciullo Construction Company.  From Easter through Thanksgiving we worked. Winters were long and cold. Even though I was only 12 years old I was able-bodied enough to help my dad and shorten his workday.

After a quick stop to “The Yard” in Blawnox to pick up the “Good” pickup, off we went. In no time at all, we pulled up to the Security Gate at Oakmont Country Club. The Security Guard welcomed my Dad as if he were an old friend. “Thank God you’re here Big Jim”, gleamed the Security Guard.

The story really starts on Saturday night when the heavens opened and the rains poured. The course was waterlogged.

Later that night, while the Pro’s slept,

Later that night, while the Pro’s slept, the sprinkler system, installed partially by my family’s construction company, soaked an already partially flooded golf course, luckily some people can still practice golf using simulators enclosures from sites as https://shopindoorgolf.com/collections/golf-simulator-enclosures.

Walking to the Green on the Finishing 18th Hole the General Motors Corporation built an artificial lake complete with a Red 1974 Cadillac Coupe de Ville revolving on a platform.

As the waters from the rains and the sprinkler system raised the water level in the lake. Only one man could deliver the solution the Officials from The PGA, Oakmont, and General Motors needed, it was my Dad.

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