Michael Hurdzan, Ph.D., ASGCA past president, recently received the annual Donald Ross Award for “being a respected, passionate voice of reason and knowledge for golf.” Hurdzan received the award on Apr. 30 during the American Society of Golf Course Architects’ 61st Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Ga.
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Hurdzan’s work to educate the golf industry on environmentally-sensitive development and advocate for affordable, accessible golf were what brought him to the attention of the group’s Awards Committee. Hurdzan is a past president of the Environmental Institute for Golf and has written two editions of the well-received book “Building a Practical Golf Facility: A Step-by-Step Guide to Realizing a Dream.”
Hurdzan accepted the award before an audience of golf industry leaders and ASGCA members. In his acceptance speech, he described the current marketplace for golf course architects, observing that the “only requirement to be a golf course architect is to have a client. It’s a totally free market.” That’s why it is imperative that golf course decision-makers carefully evaluate the credentials of the golf course architect they hire. He went on to congratulate those who had just joined the organization and pointed out that “to hire an ASGCA designer is to get the full package with complete confidence that things will be done right.”
He also said that ASGCA members have become the “‘go to’ guys on technical issues” in golf course design, and called for the ASGCA logo to “carry the name recognition of the PGA, USGA, GCSAA, PGA TOUR, etc.” He recognized that “in the global marketplace we are now entering, reputations will be made or lost on one’s ability to adapt to new site conditions, limitations in available construction and maintenance equipment or materials…you will only get one chance to make a good impression.”
Hurdzan was the 32nd winner of the Donald Ross Award. ASGCA founder and Past President Robert Trent Jones was the first honoree in 1976.