Innovative irrigation industry pioneer Edwin J. Hunter (1917-1998) was recently named as the 2007 recipient of the prestigious Don A. Rossi Award. Presented annually by the Golf Course Builders Association of America (GCBAA), the award is given to an individual who has made significant and long-lasting contributions to the sport of golf.
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Hunter became the first person with a background in the field of irrigation to be honored with the Rossi Award. Prior recipients have primarily consisted of course designers or builders, equipment manufacturers, professional tour players, and administrators.
Hunter’s son, Richard Hunter, president and c.e.o. of Hunter Industries, accepted the award on his father’s behalf at the GCBAA’s annual banquet, which was held at the conclusion of the Golf Industry Show in Anaheim, California.
A lifelong inventor, Hunter was an engineering wizard who pioneered the usage of thermoplastics in the manufacture of irrigation equipment during the 1950s. Prior to his involvement in the industry, most components were made of machined brass and were costly to manufacture.
Hunter’s inventive contributions, highlighted by the first electric valve-in-head rotary sprinkler, have revolutionized golf course irrigation.
Hunter’s first irrigation company, Moist-O-Matic, became so successful that it was purchased by Toro Company and became the core of their irrigation division. In 1981, Hunter founded yet another irrigation company, Hunter Industries, which has grown to become one of the largest operations in the irrigation industry today.
The GCBAA award is named after Don A. Rossi, who was president of the National Golf Foundation from 1970 to 1983. While president of the Foundation, Rossi was instrumental in forming the National Golf Course Owners Association. Rossi also served as Executive Director of the GCBAA from 1984 to 1990.
Past recipients of the Rossi Award include Robert Trent Jones Sr., Alice O'Neal Dye, Geoffrey Cornish, Stanley Zontek, Arnold Palmer, Dr. James Beard, Brent Wadsworth, Jack Nicklaus, and the late Karsten Solheim.
For more information, visit Hunter Industries on the internet at www.HunterIndustries.com.