Courtesy of Georgia GCSA
Lydell Mack, CGCS from Big Canoe Golf Club in Jasper, Georgia, has been named Superintendent of the Year by the Georgia GCSA. Mack’s award, presented in partnership with Corbin Turf & Ornamental Supply, was announced at the association’s annual awards banquet during a three-day event at The King & Prince Beach and Golf Resort on St. Simons Island.
For more than a decade Mack, 45, has been one of the association’s most active volunteer leaders. His service began with the association’s assistant superintendent committee and progressed into board service, involving terms on multiple committees and as a GCSAA Grassroots Ambassador.
In 2012, he received the association’s Assistant Superintendent of the Year award while at The River Club in Suwanee, Georgia. That earned him a spot at the board table as the assistant superintendent liaison in 2013. After moving to Big Canoe and his first superintendent role, he was elected to the board in 2017.
Mack’s success as a volunteer parallels his success at Big Canoe, where he was recently promoted to the role of director of operations for the 27-hole golf course and private community on 8,400 acres set in the foothills of the north Georgia mountains.
“In my years as the general manager for Big Canoe POA, I’ve seen every kind of employee join our team. I can say without hesitation that there is no one quite like Lydell Mack,” wrote Big Canoe general manager Scott Auer, supporting Mack’s nomination. “He can think big and manage well - and also has incredible attention to detail…”
Another highlight of the banquet was the premiere of the association’s latest video project – Your VIP in Golf – a three-minute snapshot of what makes the golf course superintendent a very important player in the game of every golfer. The take home message is that the golf course superintendent is responsible for the grassroots health of every golfer’s game and an industry worth nearly $3 billion to the state economy every year.
Close to 240 association members and allied golf industry leaders attended the awards banquet. Earlier in the day, the association returned Tim Busek, from St Ives Country Club in Atlanta, to a rare second term as president. Busek’s first term at the helm was in 2020-2021. One of his chief tasks in 2024 will be identifying a successor for longtime executive director Tenia Workman, who will retire during the year.
Members also elected three first timers to the board of directors: Reynolds Lake Oconee-The Oconee’s Brad DiMascio, Atlanta Country Club’s Scott Lambert and Green Island Country Club’s Garrett Tillman.
In other news from the Georgia GCSA’s end-of-year gathering:
- Mike Crawford, CGCS, now an agronomist with the PGA Tour, was inducted to the Georgia GCSA Hall of Fame, presented in partnership with Jerry Pate Company.
- Longtime Georgia State Golf Association leader, USGA rules official and Georgia Golf Environmental Foundation trustee Gene McClure received the Distinguished Service Award.
- Busek was honored with a special President’s Award by outgoing president Chris Steigelman of The Landings Golf & Athletic Club in Savannah, for his outstanding service as a volunteer leader.
- Piedmont Driving Club’s Scott Slemp received the Environmental Leader in Golf award, in part for his efforts introducing bee colonies and pollinator habitat to the property;
- Ohoopee Match Play Club’s Jordan Gary was named Assistant Superintendent of the Year
- The Country Club of Columbus’s Keith Beaudin won his first Georgia GCSA Golf Championship with a 36-hole score of two over par 146.
