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GCSAA Honors Carlson with National Environmental Award

The Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) board of directors has selected Jeff Carlson, GCSAA certified golf course superintendent at Vineyard Golf Club, located on Martha's Vineyard near Edgartown, Mass., to receive its 2008 President's Award for Environmental Stewardship.

Carlson oversees an all-organic turf-care regimen at Vineyard Golf Club, one of the few golf courses in the country considered organically managed. Organic management is generally recognized as using only products that consist of naturally occurring organic compounds or mixtures of organic compounds.

"We recognize Jeff with this prestigious award because he has chosen a different path of golf course management and has effectively communicated its virtues to the members of Vineyard Golf Club so that he has their full support," said GCSAA President Ricky D. Heine, CGCS. "All-organic turf care would not work in every climate, but Jeff has created awareness for environmental practices and he has been a leader in meeting environmental challenges."

The award will be presented during the Opening Session at the 2008 GCSAA Education Conference, Thursday, Jan. 31, 2008. The conference (January 28-February 2) will be held in conjunction with the Golf Industry Show (January 31- February 2) at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando.

The award was established in 1991 to recognize "an exceptional environmental contribution to the game of golf: a contribution that further exemplifies the golf course superintendent's image as a steward of the land."

A 22-year GCSAA Class A member, Carlson has established himself as an environmental leader through his work on the golf course, in the community and on behalf of the industry. He spent 30 years working on Cape Cod at Brewster Golf Course, later known as Ocean Edge, where he worked with the local conservation committee to emphasize the superintendent's role in environmentally sensitive golf design, construction and maintenance.

In 1998, he left Cape Cod at Brewster to work with architect Michael Hurdzan in building the environmentally acclaimed Widow's Walk in Scituate, Mass. The course is known as America's first environmental demonstration course. Carlson was responsible for meeting numerous environmental challenges, one of which was to collect data and measure the impact of the golf course on the surrounding environment. His work at Widow's Walk earned him a GCSAA Environmental Steward Award in 1998. The research was designed to benefit the industry and was featured as the demonstration course for the Golf and the Environment Conference hosted by The Center for Resource Management (CRM) in 1995.

Vineyard Golf Club president Owen Larkin, a member of the Environmental Institute for Golf's Advisory Council, brought on Carlson as construction superintendent in 1999, and Carlson continues to guide the management strategies for the property today. Vineyard Golf Club was the first golf course built on Martha's Vineyard in 30 years. The property features a 25-acre frost-bottom, an unusual and protected habitat that has a special maintenance regimen.

Carlson was also the national private course winner for the 2003 GCSAA/Golf Digest Environmental Leaders in Golf Award for his work at Vineyard Golf Club. He was a member of the original group of participants who crafted the Environmental Principles for Golf in 1996. The project was guided by the CRM, and this group recently met at the 2007 Golf Industry Show in Anaheim, Calif., to celebrate its 10th anniversary. Carlson hosted the organic golf symposium at the Vineyard Golf Club for the CRM and this group is currently working to develop a definition for organic golf that will be recognized nationally.

Previous President's Award for Environmental Stewardship winners

2008 Jeff Carlson, CGCS, Vineyard Golf Club, Edgartown, Mass.
2007 Pinehurst (N.C.) Resort's Safe Harbor Program
2006 Golf in Colorado: An Independent Study of the 2002 Economic Impact and Environmental Aspects of Golf in Colorado
2005 Stephan A. Kealy, CGCS; Peter Lund, CGCS; Oregon Golf Course Superintendents Association
2004 Jeffrey L. Gullikson, CGCS
2003 Center for Resource Management (CRM)
2002 Canadian Golf Superintendents Association's Environmental Management Resource Manual
2001 Michigan Turfgrass Environmental Stewardship Program (MTESP)
2000 Thomas L. Watschke, Ph.D.
1999 Edward C. "Ted" Horton, CGCS
1998 Joseph A. O'Brien, GCSAA chief operating officer
1997 Michael Hurdzan, Ph.D., golf course architect
1996 USGA Environmental Research Program
1995 William "Timothy" Hiers, CGCS
1993 Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program for Golf Courses, administered by Audubon International/sponsored by the USGA
1991 Cape Cod Study participants

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