Billy Ziobro: Second Man To Win State Open & Amateur In Same Year
By Mke Moretti, NJSGA Dir. Communications
Billy Ziobro, the product of Union County, was truly a trailblazer and a New Jersey success story when he dominated the scene in the early 1970.
As a junior player standing barely 5-foot-5 and weighing 125 pounds, Billy Z (Billy the Kid) was one of the very first public links golfers to dominate in a way no others had.
He came out of the ranks of the Juniors as a champion of both the N.J. Public Golf Organization and the NJSGA for back-to-back years in both events in 1965 and 1966.
As a 21-year-old college golfer for the University of Maryland, he became the second man in NJSGA history to win both the State Amateur and the State Open in the same year, matching Charles Whitehead of Plainfield who did it in 1942.
Ziobro was the first player in NJSGA history to win the Amateur, Open and Junior championships.
If that wasn’t enough, he won his first professional event, the Dodge Open at Rockaway River in the spring of 1971. “I gave the Dodge to my mother. I won five cars in my career,” said Ziobro, who also won the Datsun Open at Woodlake in Lakewood.
He has competed in five U.S. Opens, making two cuts, played on the PGA Tour from 1971-1977 and made 10 Top Tens, made the cut at The Players Championship, played in the PGA and Senior PGA Championships. He has also won the New Jersey PGA Section championship, two Dodge Opens and a Vermont Open.
He then became a very successful club professional, leaving a legacy as he has mentored 32 assistants who became head pros.
Born in Elizabeth, Ziobro lived in Linden until age eight, when his family moved to Scotch Plains, directly across the street from the Ash Brook Golf Course.
“When we moved to Scotch Plains, we were way out in the country. The only thing nearby by was the Ash Brook Golf Course across the street,” he said. “My dad, Michael, was a phys ed teacher and coach at Thomas Jefferson High School. He was a single-digit golfer. He took me out there and I immediately became committed to it.
“What I remember is that I used to practice so hard and for so long, that I felt I was more prepared to compete than anybody else and I wouldn’t be denied. I never gave up when things looked bad because I had prepared well enough to win.
“I see that across all sports and across people’s quality of life. People who are committed, people who prepare, are frequently more successful than others.”
Ziobro attended Union Catholic High School in Scotch Plains, which had no golf team. He did compete as an individual in the state high school championships and was both Union County and Central Jersey champion before finishing third overall in the state.
After his back-to-back titles for both the PGO and NJSGA Juniors, he went on an annexed the Met Junior Championship in 1966. He also competed in the USGA National Championships and reached the quarterfinals. Semifinalists that year included Tom Kite and Lanny Wadkins.
“I grew up on the public links. I used to go out and play golf by myself every day after school. Other than my father, my mentors were Eddie Famula and Charlie Tatz, the pros at Ash Brook. They set an example for me and I have always had great respect for PGA members. They influenced me. As a young man, all I ever wanted to do was get on the golf course. It was a love affair.”
Back in those days, it was not easy for public course golfers to gain entry into state wide events. By winning the PGO Juniors, he was eligible to qualify for the NJSGA Junior and the State Amateur. Generally, the state majors were restricted to country club members.
“Being a public links player, it was difficult,” said Ziobro, only the fourth amateur to ever win the State Open.
Ziobro also gain motivation from those who said his lack of physical size would eventually work against him.
“I remember being told I was too small. And that I didn’t have enough game to compete on the highest levels. As much as my friends were good and encouraged me, I wanted to prove the doubters wrong. I gained a lot of motivation from people who didn’t expect me to do well.
“I played on the PGA Tour at 130, 135 pounds. There are very few small guys like that now.”
In the 1970s, Ziobro competed successfully on The Second Tour, the predecessor to today’s Web.com Tour. He won four times at the Carlton Oaks Open, the Salinas Open, the Newport Beach Open, and the Bakersfield Open. California certainly agreed with Billy Z.
“The only breakthrough I can reflect back on was the commitment of my parents making golf available to me,” he said. “I always aspired to compete and to win I remember one time driving to an event with my father. When I got out of the car, he told me to do well. I said, ‘I’ll try.’ He then said, ‘Billy, they’re all trying. Trying isn’t good enough. You have to get the job done.’ “
“I always tried to win my parents’ satisfaction with my accomplishments.”
It has been said his strengths were his driving and putting. He says that today, thanks to today’s technologies, he can drive the ball 265 yards, as far as he could as a pro decades ago.
“I was able to save strokes as a competitor. I got the most out of my game as I could. I was small and had some limitations. What gave me an edge in competition was being so prepared and seeing things on the course others might overlook. I managed my game better than most. I could anticipate trouble areas. I seemed to know when to be aggressive and when not to be,” said Ziobro, who has recorded eight holes-in-one.
“I remember Billy as a great chipper and putter,” said Paul Samanchik of North Jersey, who played against Ziobro’s Maryland team as a member of the University of Virginia golf team. “One of the best I ever met since Bud Zachary, who won two State Amateurs (1967 and ’69).”
Mike Preston, who retired in 2014 after 31 years as head professional at Echo Lake Country Club in Westfield, spent one year as an assistant under Ziobro at Salem C.C. in 1983. The two had met in the early 1980s when they both worked at Bergen County courses, Tammy Brook and Montammy, and would shoot a few nine-hole rounds after work.
“I learned a tremendous amount about the game of golf, the game and the business of golf. Billy was very underrated as businessman, because people saw him as a great player. He really knew the business of golf. If you talk to a lot of his former assistants, they’ll tell you Billy is a very sharp guy.
“It was perfect timing for me when I assisted Billy. My aspirations after college (Alabama) was to play. I was 28 when I was working with Billy and I had played the mini-tours and overseas. I finally realized if I was going to be making a living in golf, it would be as a head pro. At Salem, they were getting ready to host the U.S. Women’s Open.
“I was trying to learn the business. He was a good manager who knew how to handle his staff. He always hired good people. He told me never be afraid to hire someone who’s better than you because they’ll only make you look better and make the operation go smoother.”
Preston remembers practicing mock interviews at Ziobro’s house before he met with officials from Echo Lake. He also remembers reading about Ziobro’s exploits in the local newspapers
“As a young high school player, I’d see name Billy’s name all the time. I was inspired by the success he had, and he had early success. He won the State Amateur and State Open, then won Dodge Open and came through his Q-School with Tom Watson and some other great players.”
This past winter, Preston met up with Ziobro in Florida and the two had dinner and played some golf.
“Billy has charisma and he’s very supportive of you. If he calls you, you’ll drive 100 miles to meet him for dinner. Billy was a good player. It was hard not to respect his game. He wasn’t afraid of anybody. He was not intimidated by anybody, that’s for sure.”
Another long-time New Jersey head pro who also retired in 2014 is Russ Helwig of Essex Fells. Helwig was a public links player like Ziobro, playing out of Bloomfield’s Broadacres Golf Course.
“We’re the same age and we were playing in a PGO Amateur at Ash Brook, his home course, and I had him 3 down after nine. He stepped it up another speed and I didn’t handle it. Billy’s a good friend; we understand each other.
“He can still play golf. When you play the Tour, you have a dynamic to you we don’t understand. There’s definitely a swagger from playing with the world’s best,” said Helwig, who also met up with Ziobro this past winter.
“I don’t think he ever forgot where he came from. He’s a serious competitor, but not serious where he would take the fun out of the game. He was going to enjoy the competition. He’s good to be with. He respects the game and that’s great. If you do that, you will respect your fellow competitor or opponent.”
Ten years after Ziobro, Helwig won the State Open in 1980, and repeated two years later.
“Billy brings a smile to my face. He clearly showed Babe Lichardus and Bobby Shields, the veteran pros at that time, that he was a dominant player. If he stayed in state and not gone on tour, he would’ve had name all over those trophies.
“When he was on Tour, Billy gave us back in Jersey a reason to read the newspaper every morning to see how he stands. He made us all proud and showed us that it could be done, coming from New Jersey,” Helwig added.
Ziobro is analytical when it comes to the golf swing.
“I would try to eliminate motion that was unnecessary. The golf motion is the same as every other sport, the same as throwing a ball, throwing a punch or shooting a basket. All of the energy is going toward the target. The idea is to eliminate the excess variables.”
After leaving the PGA Tour in 1977, he became head pro at Beaver Brook Country Club in Annandale. In 1980, he moved to the Salem Country Club in Massachusetts and helped host the U.S. Women’s Open there in 1984. In 1986, he moved just a few miles to Ipswich Country Club.
He returned to New Jersey in 1992 as the head pro at Forsgate Country Club in Monroe. During those years, he helped host annual fundraising exhibitions that included former PGA pals like Lee Trevino, Arnold Palmer, Hale Irwin, Raymond Floyd, Tom Watson, Kite and Wadkins.
In 1998, he was hired by Caesars Entertainment to manage and develop its new golf division. He oversaw the company’s golf properties in Atlantic City, Las Vegas, Biloxi, Miss., Memphis and Louisville.
Ziobro helped in the restoration of venerable Atlantic City Country club, paying close attention to its historic attributes.
“I either developed or restored those five properties around the country. In 2006, I retired at age 57and moved to Palm Beach Gardens.”
Of all the greats he has met in his years in golf, one name stands out.
“The most encouragement I got from all the big names was from Arnold Palmer. You’d see him on the range and he always went out of his way to promote golf and help all the young guys on the Tour. That wasn’t true of everybody. Arnold was exceptional and still is in the way he promoted the game and the aspiring professionals.”
A member of both the New Jersey PGA and Union Catholic High School Halls of Fame, Ziobro is proud of his daughters, Lauren and Regan, who have both earned Ph.D. degrees.
Lauren was salutatorian at Boston College and holds masters’ degrees in human development and early childhood education. She is also a mom to two young sons. Regan, a graduate of Miami of Ohio and Virginia Tech, holds degrees in architect and molecular biology and is the mom to one young son.
Ziobro is blessed with future golfer grandsons, ages 4, 2, and 1-1/2.
“Golf will always be an important part of my life. I’m single. I play a lot of golf. I enjoy fine dining. I frequent the beach and the golf course. I’m happy every day.
“I competed well and influenced other golf professionals. That is satisfying to me on both counts. That would be my legacy. They are equally satisfying to me.”
One final thought?
“To young New Jersey golfers, I would say, prepare properly. I quote John Wooden: ‘The real reward is in the effort, the journey, the hard fight. Trophies are a byproduct of success.’ ”
