Jimmy St. John is the new pro at Otter Creek Golf Course in Columbus, Ind.. He is pictured at Otter Creek Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2022.
Mike Wolanin | The Republic
Jimmy St. John had a rewarding job as head golf professional at The Pfau Course, but the appeal of Otter Creek was too much to pass.
The 52-year-old Columbus native will begin as head pro at Otter Creek on Monday. He had been at Indiana University’s The Pfau Course since it opened three years ago.
“The relationships that I was able to make in those three years were really special and something that I hope will continue,” St. John said. “But Otter Creek is just different. I’ve been playing there since the mid-70s, and it’s where I grew up and a place I’ve always kept track of. The Pfau course is new and brilliant, but I really like the vision of Bob Haddad, and that made the decision a lot easier.”
Bob Haddad Jr., the chief operating officer at Harrison Lake Country Club, is the registered agent for Architerra, LLC, which purchased Otter Creek in October from the city of Columbus and Otter Creek Management Corp.
Prior to going to The Pfau Course, St. John had been assistant pro for three years and head pro for one year at Harrison Lake.
“I was excited about the prospect, having worked with Bob before,” St. John said. “The fact that he took the ownership, I wanted to talk to him and Austin Wright, the director of golf who had replaced me at Harrison Lake. The opportunity to work with them at a place that’s super special to me in Otter Creek was very appealing.”
While he was in middle school, St. John worked at Otter Creek, cleaning golf carts and gathering golf balls from the practice range. He played golf for Columbus North High School and attended IU as an Evans Scholar.
St. John left IU in 1992 to work at Houston Country Club. He returned to the area and worked at Timbergate for 12 years, the last 11 as head pro.
In the early 2010s, St. John got out of the golf business for a few years and worked in local radio and television, while continuing to work as an analyst on local high school football and basketball games with Tom Rust on MOJO 102.9.
When he took the job at The Pfau Course, St. John had to take a break from appearing on high school broadcasts since it was prohibited by the NCAA because he was an employee of IU.
“That was the case when I started,” St. John said. “I was in touch with compliance and making sure I was doing the right thing. During that time, the NCAA changed that rule, so I’ve been back doing it since January (2022).”
An exterior view of the clubhouse at Otter Creek Golf Course in Columbus, Ind., Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2022.
Mike Wolanin | The Republic
Architerra has committed to invest at least $5 million in Otter Creek to address deferred capital and maintenance needs for the clubhouse and course and maintaining the Robert Trent Jones-designed original 18 holes as a “premium, championship golf course” for 15 years.
St. John is excited to get started at Otter Creek.
“What I’m going to do is try to meet every customer’s needs, try to make everybody else feel at home out there,” St. John said.
