In addition to his fitting surname, as the newly elected President of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, Peter J. Grass of Hilands GC in Billings, Mont. brings the unique perspective of a nine-hole facility to his new post.
Peter J. Grass, CGCS, Superintendent of Hilands Golf Club in Billings, Mont., was elected to a one-year term as President of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) at the association’s annual meeting on February 11, held in conjunction with the Golf Industry Show in San Diego.
Grass served as Vice President of the association in 2015 and has been a member of its Board of Directors since 2009. A 31-year member of GCSAA, Grass is also a member and Past President of the Peaks and Prairies Golf Course Superintendents Association, one of 98 GCSAA regional chapters.
A native of Mankato, Minn., the 56-year-old Grass earned a bachelor’s degree from Eastern Montana College in Billings. He succeeds John J. O’Keefe, CGCS and Director of Golf Course Management at Preakness Hills Country Club in Wayne, N.J., who served as GCSAA’s President for 2015. O’Keefe will continue on the GCSAA Board as Immediate Past President.
Hilands GC has a nine-hole course that opened in 1923 and the club has remained on its original site, which was originally selected by golf legend Walter Hagen, since its inception. It is the oldest private golf club in Yellowstone County and one of the oldest in Montana.
“A lot of people have told me how cool they think it is that someone from a nine-hole facility can serve on the Board of Directors and become President of the association,” Grass said. “But if I can convince others that they too can benefit from being a GCSAA member, than I’ll consider my year in office to be a success.”
Other officers selected to serve on the GCSAA Board for 2016 included Bill H. Maynard, CGCS, Director of Golf Course Maintenance Operations at the Country Club of St. Albans near St. Louis, Mo., as Vice President, and Darren J. Davis, CGCS, Superintendent of Olde Florida Golf Club in Naples, Fla., as Secretary/Treasurer.
Kevin P. Breen, CGCS, Golf Course Superintendent at La Rinconada Country Club in Los Gatos, Calif., was elected to the Board after serving in 2015 as an appointee. He was elected to a two-year position along with Rafael Barajas, CGCS, Director of Golf Course Operations at Boca Grove Plantation in Boca Raton, Fla.
John Walker, Director of Golf Course Maintenance at Bentwater Yacht and Country Club in Montgomery, Texas, was appointed to complete the one-year remaining on Davis’ two-year term.
Others continuing service on the nine-member board are John R. Fulling Jr., CGCS, Grounds and Facilities Manager at Kalamazoo (Mich.) Country Club; and Mark F. Jordan, CGCS, Natural Resources Leader of Westfield Group Country Club in Westfield Center, Ohio.
In other news from the Golf Industry Show, Shawn Westacott, Superintendent of Maridoe Golf Club in Carrollton, Texas, won the GCSAA golf tournament, posting a two-day total of 5-over-par 149 in the competition held at Aviara Golf Club & Resort and the South Course at Torrey Pines. Westacott’s final score was four shots better than defending champion Matt Cowan from the Fazio Canyons Course at Barton Creek in Austin, Texas. More than 450 players competed in some aspect of the event, which was sponsored for the 22nd consecutive year by The Toro Co.
In the 2016 GCSAA Collegiate Turf Bowl, presented in partnership with John Deere Golf, Penn State University Team 20 took first place, to send the foursome of Kirk Bender, Jeff Reggio, Thomas Goyne and Rob Sicinski, along with advisor Ben McGraw, Ph.D., back to return to State College, Pa., with the traveling trophy and a $4,000 prize. The second- and third-place teams were Team 34 from Cal Poly Pomona and Team 30 from the University of Maryland.
Rounding out the top 10, in order, were: Team 35 from Auburn University; Team 31 from Iowa State University; Team 11 from the University of Massachusetts – Amherst; Teams 28 and 47 from Michigan State University; Team 25 from Rutgers University, and Team 18 from Penn State.
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