Warren Simmons became the executive director of the Colorado Golf Association in 1986. However, his lifelong dedication to the sport of golf dates back to 1954 when he won the first of his many championships: the Rochester (N.Y.) District Golf Association Junior Championship. In 1955 he claimed the New York State Junior title. In 1956 and ’58 he became the RDGA men’s champion. At age 18, he played in the 1956 U.S. Open at Oak Hill Country Club in Rochester.
Simmons was the Eastern Intercollegiate champion in 1957. He was named a first team All-American in 1959. He won the Albuquerque City Championship and New Mexico State Amateur Championship in 1961. He was the 1965 Air Force World-Wide champion and 1965 and 1966 Interservice champion. He won the Pikes Peak Amateur in 1966 and 1968, the Broadmoor Men’s Invitational in 1969 and 1974, the Colorado Springs City Championship in 1970 and 1981, and the Denver City Championship in 1988 and 1991.
Simmons coached the U.S. Air Force Academy golf team from 1964 to ’70, and was a member of the NCAA Tournament Committee in 1968 and ’69. He was president of the CGA from 1982 to 1985. He also served as a board member of the Pacific Coast Golf Association (president 1983, now a Governor Emeritus), the Colorado Golf Hall of Fame (president 1983-1985), and the Colorado Junior Golf Association (1984-2000). He was elected president of the International Association of Golf Administrators in 1993.
He retired from the CGA in 2000 and moved to Arizona, where he volunteers for the Arizona Golf Association and the Arizona Women’s Golf Association as a course rater and rules official. He is a member of the USGA Handicap Research Team, the USGA Course Rating Committee (chairman 1992-98) and the committee that proofreads the Rules of Golf and the Decisions book every other year. In 2009, Warren was presented the USGA’s Ike Grainger Award in recognition of more than 25 years of service as a USGA volunteer.
2000 Lifetime Achievement
The longtime Colorado Golf Association executive director upon his retirement.
