The Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) has awarded scholarships to 17 college students as part of the GCSAA Scholars Program administered by GCSAA's philanthropic organization, The Environmental Institute for Golf.
Glen Obear is the first place winner in the competition. He receives a $6,000 scholarship and is honored as the Mendenhall Award Winner. Obear is from Sheboygan, Wis., and a student at the University of Wisconsin.
The second place winner, Robert Tibbetts, receives a $5,000 award and is designated as the recipient of the Allan MacCurrach Award. The MacCurrach Award is funded by the PGA Tour. Tibbetts is from from Liberal, Kan., and attends Kansas State University.
Both Obear and Tibbetts also will each receive an all-expense-paid trip to the 2011 GCSAA Education Conference (Feb. 7-11) and Golf Industry Show (Feb. 9-10) in Orlando.
Andrés Gil, an international student at Michigan State University, was awarded a $2,000 Ambassador Award. Other recipients include:
- Brody Dillard, Texas Tech University, $2,500
- Royal Healy, University of Massachusetts, $2,500
- Mike McNamara, Penn State University, $2,500
- Martin S?rensen, Penn State University, $1,500
- Ernie Bendzak, Penn State University, $1,500
- Andrea Patussi, Michigan State University, $1,000
- Tanner Coble, Kansas State University, $1,000
- Eloy González, Michigan State University, $750
- Luis Román, Michigan State University, $750
- Jeremy Galvin, Oregon State University, $750
- Matt Carstens, Washington State University, $750
- Daniel Graft, Michigan State University, $500
- Tim Kelly, Penn State University, $500
- Brian Hilfinger, Michigan State University, $500
The GCSAA Scholars Program, funded by the Robert Trent Jones Endowment, was developed to recognize outstanding students planning careers in golf course management. Winners were selected to receive scholarship awards based on the final ranking in a competition judged by GCSAA's Scholarship Committee. Factors considered were academic achievement, potential to become a leading professional, employment history, extracurricular activities, and recommendations from a superintendent with whom the student has worked and a current academic advisor.
Applicants must be enrolled in a recognized undergraduate program in a major field related to golf/turf management and be a GCSAA member. Undergraduate applicants must have successfully completed at least 24 credit hours or the equivalent of one year of full-time study in an appropriate major.
The Mendenhall Award is given in memory of the late Chet Mendenhall, a pioneer in the golf course management industry. A native of Kingman, Kan., Mendenhall's upbringing on an Oklahoma farm served him well. His career in working with the land began in 1920 as an employee of the Wichita (Kan.) Parks and Forestry Department, where he designed and built his first course despite having no previous experience with the game.
In 1928, Mendenhall accepted an invitation to become superintendent at the Wichita Country Club. It was during his tenure there that Mendenhall assisted California-based golf course architect Billy Bell in designing and constructing a new course. Smitten by the process, Mendenhall entered night school to learn surveying, drafting, bookkeeping and other related subjects.
He moved in 1934 to the Kansas City, Mo., area, where he served as superintendent of the Mission Hills Country Club until his retirement in 1965. Mendenhall was a charter member of GCSAA and his service to his profession included serving as a director of GCSAA from 1940-1946, vice president in 1947 and president in 1948. He was honored by the association with its Distinguished Service Award in 1986, and by the USGA in 1990 with its Green Section Award. Mendenhall passed away in 1991 and was inducted into the Kansas Golf Hall of Fame in 1996.
Internationally recognized for his expertise in the turf management field, Allan MacCurrach began his career as a golf course superintendent at Valley Country Club in Warwick, R.I., in 1962. In 1972, he became the 45th person to receive the title of Certified Golf Course Superintendent from GCSAA. MacCurrach became the PGA Tour's first agronomist in 1974 and played a leading role in establishing the standard of excellence for course conditioning at PGA Tour events. MacCurrach was named senior agronomist in 1988 and in 1994 received the GCSAA's Distinguished Service Award. He passed away in 1997 at the age of 57.
