In recognition of their commitment to environmental stewardship, Stone Mountain Golf Club in Stone Mountain, Ga., and its Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) certified golf course superintendent, Anthony L. Williams, have been named the overall winner of the 2006 GCSAA/Golf Digest Environmental Leaders in Golf Awards (ELGA).
Williams and Stone Mountain Golf Club will be featured in an upcoming issue of Golf Digest magazine and the February issue of GCSAAs Golf Course Management magazine. Syngenta Professional Products and Rain Bird Corp., Golf Division are the presenting partners of the award.
Judges selected winners in three national categories (public, private and resort courses), and an international winner, with an overall winner being selected from those four. Additional recognition was given to the top entry from each GCSAA affiliated chapter, and merit honors were awarded to those who did not earn national or chapter honors, but deserved special recognition in the opinion of the judges.
The national winners include (facility, location, chapter):
National Public & Overall: Anthony L. Williams, CGCS, Stone Mountain Golf Club, Stone Mountain, Ga.; Georgia GCSA
National Private: Michael Perham, CGCS, The Landings Club, Savannah, Ga.; Georgia GCSA
National Resort: Ryan J. Bancroft, Salishan Spa & Golf Resort, Gleneden Beach, Ore.; Oregon GCSA
International: James Beebe, Priddis Greens Golf & Country Club, Priddis, Alberta, Canada; Canada GCSA
Golf course superintendents and their courses that have been named national, chapter or merit winners will be formally recognized at the GCSAA Education Conference (Feb. 19-24) and Golf Industry Show (Feb. 22-24) in Anaheim, Calif. In addition, program sponsors will make donations to The Environmental Institute for Golf, the philanthropic organization of the GCSAA, in the names of all national and chapter winners.
"Our 2006 award winners are truly leaders," said GCSAA President Sean A. Hoolehan, CGCS. "They, along with their facilities, have demonstrated that golf courses are environmental assets to their communities."
"Golf Digest has been an active participant in generating discussion regarding golf and its relationship with the environment, dating back 10 years ago to the Golf and the Environment Initiative," said Roger Schiffman, vice president and managing editor of Golf Digest. "We are pleased to share the good story that golf is indeed achieving positive results."
Williams, a 10-year GCSAA member, won the overall award in his first year at Stone Mountain Golf Club. Williams previously won the 2005 national public ELGA and was a 2004 ELGA chapter winner at Renaissance PineIsle Resort and Golf Club in Sugar Hill, Ga. His environmental leadership efforts at Stone Mountain are built around water management. Filing a Best Management Practices for water management with the state of Georgia, Williams worked with the University of Georgia to develop a detailed water-quality testing program. A Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary, Stone Mountain Golf Club is a 36-hole public facility located 16 miles from Atlanta.
Perham, a 28-year GCSAA member, oversees golf course maintenance operations at The Landings Club, which consists of six championship golf courses on Skidaway Island in Savannah, Ga. All six golf courses are certified Audubon sanctuaries and The Landings won Best Overall and Best of the Atlantic Flyway in the 2006 North American Birdwatching Open sponsored by Audubon International, with 99 species of birds identified. Perham's team purchased electric utility vehicles in 2006 to decrease the dependency and emissions of petroleum products. A water resource plan has been developed for all six golf courses that aims to reduce water usage by 30 percent.
Bancroft, a 10-year GCSAA member, is a four-time ELGA chapter winner at Salishan Spa and Golf Resort, located on the Oregon coast. He collaborated with the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife to install a fish ladder at the outlet of the irrigation lake to aid the passage of migratory salmon from Siletz Bay to the upper reaches of the Sijota Creek watershed. Bancroft also requested that Salishan Golf Resort be a release site for a threatened species of Oregon pond turtles. His staff maintains and provides guided tours of the nature trails throughout the resort and they released a new yardage book in 2006, that includes information on wildlife and habitat, in addition to details for every hole.
Beebe, a 13-year GCSAA member, won the 2005 Canadian Golf Course Superintendents Association Environmental Achievement Award. In addition to operating with a precise water management plan, Beebe and staff employ an extensive recycling program. He provides content for an Audubon section on the club's Web site and monthly newsletter as well, informing members how environmental programs are beneficial to the environment and the golf course.
An independent panel of judges representing national environmental groups, turfgrass experts, university research and members of the golf community conducted the award selection.
The Environmental Leaders in Golf Award recognizes golf course superintendents and their courses for overall course management excellence in the areas of resource conservation, water quality management, integrated pest management, wildlife/habitat management and education/outreach. In addition, these categories are judged on sustainability, criticality, originality and technology implementation/use.
In addition to the national winners, 12 chapter winners as well as 11 merit winners were selected from GCSAA's 104 affiliated chapters.
2006 ELGA Chapter Winners
Public Facilities (facility, location, chapter)
Jeff Clothier, CGCS, Golf Courses at Incline Village, Incline Village, Nev., Sierra Nevada GCSA
Christopher S. Gray, Marvel Golf Club at Kentucky Lake, Benton, Ky., Quad-State Turfgrass Association
Paul Grogan, CGCS, TPC Deere Run, East Moline, Ill., Minnesota GCSA
Jason M. Kubel, TPC Tampa Bay, Odessa, Fla., Florida West Coast GCSA
David C. Phipps, Stone Creek Golf Club, Oregon City, Ore., Oregon GCSA
Timothy P. Powers, CGCS, Crystal Springs Golf Course, Burlingame, Calif., GCSA of Northern California
Private Facilities (facility, location, chapter)
Thomas DeGrandi, CGCS, TPC River Highlands, Cromwell, Conn., Connecticut Association of GCS
Michael Powers, CGCS, TPC Twin Cities, Blaine, Minn., Minnesota GCSA
Roger Stewart, CGCS, TPC Jasna Polana, Princeton, N.J. GCSA of New Jersey
John M. Kulka, CGCS, TPC Michigan, Dearborn, Mich., Greater Detroit GCSA
Resort Facilities (facility, location, chapter)
Pam Brown, Keystone Ranch Golf Course, Keystone, Colo., Rocky Mountain GCSA
Terry W. Stratton, Little River Inn Golf & Tennis, Fort Bragg, Calif., GCSA of Northern California
2006 ELGA Merit Winners
Private Facilities (facility, location, chapter)
Michael Cornette, The GC at Gray's Crossing, Truckee, Calif., Sierra Nevada GCSA
Michael D. Crawford, CGCS, TPC Sugarloaf, Duluth, Ga., Georgia GCSA
David R. Dettmer, CGCS, TPC Piper Glen, Charlotte, N.C., Carolinas GCSA
Dennis Ingram, TPC Avenel, Potomac, Md., Mid-Atlantic Association of GCS
Mark Johnson, CGCS, TPC Craig Ranch, McKinney, Texas, North Texas GCSA
Scott Johnson, CGCS, Shadow Glen Golf Club, Olathe, Kan., Heart of America GCSA
Patrick Kriksceonaitis, Essex Country Club, Ipswich, Mass., GCSA of New England
Richard Lawrence, CGCS, TPC Wakefield Plantation, Raleigh, N.C., Carolinas GCSA
David Major, CGCS, Shady Canyon Golf Club, Irvine Calif., San Diego GCSA
Jim Pavonetti, The Edison Club, Johnsonville, N.Y., Northeastern GCSA
Russell C. Vandehey, CGCS, The Oregon Golf Club, West Linn, Ore., Oregon GCSA
