2026 Excellence in Mentorship Awards: Brian Bossert

Before Brian Bossert arrived at Bryn Mawr Country Club in March 1991, he was more focused on himself than others.

To be fair, most twentysomethings tend to be more focused on themselves as they climb the first rungs of the proverbial professional ladder — Bossert started his career at Medinah Country Club and Barrington Hills Country Club before landing the top spot at the Lincolnwood, Illinois, club — but Bossert is especially harsh on himself as he looks back.

“I got sober in 1992, so I started thinking about other people a lot more after that,” he says. “I was a little too concerned with myself prior to that.”

Thirty-four years later, Bossert is now far more concerned with others: With the Bryn Mawr assistant superintendents and maintenance team. With other superintendents around Chicagoland. With his wife and three adult children. And he shares his experience whenever he feels like the moment is right.

“I think a great deal of success in this line of work, or any line of work, has to do with good relationships, teamwork, communication, mutual respect,” he says. “You share the experience you have. It doesn’t make my experience right or my perspective correct. … Everything we do, there’s a reason for it. You can debate the wisdom of the reason, but it’s important to explain why we do what we do.”

Those decades of sharing his experience earned Bossert a 2026 Excellence in Mentorship Award presented by Golf Course Industry and The Aquatrols Company.

Bossert and the other 2026 Excellence in Mentorship Award recipients will be honored at 2:30 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 4 at The Aquatrols Company booth #2341 during the GCSAA Conference & Trade Show in Orlando. Every mentor and mentee — and anybody who wants to share a story or a laugh — is encouraged to attend.

Following a brief ceremony for the 2026 honorees, we’ll hold an educational panel discussion with John Zimmers of Inverness Club, Courtney Young of Ansley Golf Club and Tim Moraghan of Aspire Golf from about 2:40 to 3:05 p.m.

Ahead of the roundtable and the ceremony, we’re sharing some insight gleaned from conversations with Bossert and Wyatt Byrd, the superintendent at Biltmore Country Club in North Barrington, Illinois, who nominated Bossert. The pair met at a North Shore Chemical Co-op meeting that Byrd was running when he was still an assistant superintendent. “I was impressed by him from the start,” Bossert says. “The co-op was buying $1.3 million and product, and he was in charge of it all.”

“We just hit it off really well, with all the questions he had for me, kind of drilling me on pricing,” Byrd says. “We just stayed in touch, talking chemicals and pricing, then we just got really close. I don’t even know how it happened. We became almost like father and son.”

Brian Bossert, Bryn Mawr Country Club

How do you balance developing people with your everyday work?

“It requires patience. What it generally requires is a pause and to be intentional, and to pass something along, when there’s something right in front of you that needs to be done. You just have to be intentional about spending time with people and passing along your experience. Things around here can get pretty crazy in the summer, so I have to be intentional — it doesn’t come naturally. What does come naturally is, How much can we get done?”

How rewarding is it to play a part in helping people shape their career and even their life?

“People say all the time, 'Oh, it’s just a job.' That’s a little flippant, but [the position] doesn’t define you as an individual. I’m more than a green speed or a golf course superintendent. It’s not what, ultimately, I would want to define me. It’s something I’ve had the pleasure of doing for a long time, but your character, your integrity, those kind of things, are much more important.

“Any success here has been a collective effort with a great team. Appreciating other people, we all have lives outside of here and you have no idea what’s going through somebody’s head when they walk in the door in the morning, so just having some grace with people is important.”

Wyatt Byrd, Biltmore Country Club

What is the biggest lesson you learned from Brian?

“Family comes first. We have long work days, and we’re always going to have them, but you have to prioritize your family first. I know his daughter and his two sons well. I’ve golfed with them, gone to sporting events with them. We’re almost like a family. … In the end, we’re doing it for our family.”

How do you apply what you’ve learned from Brian over the years to your day to day?

“I’m the guy who always shares a picture of everything, whether it’s first thing in the morning or last thing at night, just something that I took that day, and that just starts a conversation. You’re never too old to learn something. If you don’t learn something every day, you’re not doing it right. … Whether it’s from your staff, from your assistant, other superintendents, just think about what they have to say. Whether you apply it or not, at least you have it in the back of your mind.”

Matt LaWell is Golf Course Industry’s senior editor.