The app that changed turf

The most disruptive golf maintenance innovation unveiled in the last 16 years doesn’t possess reels or blades. It doesn’t directly thwart pests or disease. Distributors don’t sell it. Some industry lifers dismiss it. Newbies can’t recall a time performing the job without it.

Unexpected friendships have been forged because of it. A few relationships have been ruined because of it, too.

The cost? Nothing.

The ROI? Unquantifiable.

The staying power? It’s still here.

Launched on July 15, 2006, by the San Francisco-based podcasting company Odeo, a messaging service called Twttr morphed into Twitter, a platform with more than 200 million daily active users. The origins of Twitter’s rise among golf maintenance professionals and turf enthusiasts extends to 2008-11, when early adopters created accounts and started sharing course imagery and practical ideas with peers. Golf Course Industry opened its account in 2008 and partnered with Aquatrols on the first #GCITweetUp and Super Social Media Awards in 2012. @GCIMagazine reaches more than 19,000 followers and the awards are celebrating their 10th anniversary.

Followings grew rapidly from 2013 to 2018, as industry influencers emerged throughout the United States and the world. Twitter has democratized the industry, giving instant voices and networking opportunities to innovators and turf enthusiasts once overlooked by publications and associations. Neither budget nor course status are barriers to entry.

“It makes the entire industry a smaller network,” The Union League of Philadelphia director of agronomy Scott Bordner says. “Whether you ever meet somebody or not, there a lot of people who post what they are doing on there all the time and you kind of get a feel for who they are.”

Followers are more prevalent than posters. The number of global industry users who post at least once per month hovers around 6,000, according to Asian Turfgrass Center founder Dr. Micah Woods, who conducts annual turf Twitter studies. A trio of superintendents — Hazeltine National’s Chris Tritabaugh (@ct_turf), Royal St. George’s Paul Larsen (@PaulLarsenRSG) and Carolina Golf Club’s Matthew Wharton (@CGCGreenkeeper) — each have amassed more than 8,500 followers. The thoughtful and creative content shared by Tritabaugh, Larsen, Wharton and their peers are spreading the golf maintenance message to outsiders, elevating profiles of superintendents and their teams.

“The people who do it right and have a big following of their membership … my gosh,” Michigan GCSA executive director Adam Ikamas says. “How big of an opportunity is that to be in front of your members at their leisure at any given time with short bits of information, especially with new members coming in who are very likely to be Twitter users?”

Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and TikTok are also on phones, tablets and desktops. None of them are embraced like Twitter, the 280-character-or-less, use-wherever-you-go app that has changed how the turf community networks, shares ideas, recruits, communicates with customers, promotes work and spreads the greatness of golf.

Perhaps Standard Golf director of marketing Matt Pauli sums it up best: “It is the social media channel for superintendents and the turf industry.”

Superintendents are busy (and sharing) people

A Mississippi kite spotting. The arrival of a new pump station panel. The green-up of sod along bunker slopes. More sod work on newly leveled tees. Tree trimming.

One week in May. One effective way for director of turf care and grounds David Levin (@DavidBLevin2) to show The Palencia Club (@PalenciaClub) members what happens around the course. Levin opened a Twitter account in 2015, two years before he took the top turf job at The Palencia Club, a private course in St. Augustine, Florida. Behind-the-scenes agronomic posts fill his feed. The posts are a powerful public relations tool for Levin and his team. “If I post all these little things, people wonder: ‘How do I get that much done in a day?’” he says.

Colleagues understand the work it takes to prepare a golf course for play. But they might not realize a 50-50 mow on greens can save labor without sacrificing playability or turf health. Levin shared this idea on Twitter in 2019. Multiple superintendents, including one at a tournament-level Texas course, contacted Levin about the practice. “Nowadays, with labor down, you have to think of different ways to accomplish things,” Levin says.

Twitter is full of labor savers. Levin has learned of equipment such as a speedseeder by following Florida-based St. Johns Turf Care. “I would have never known those things save a ton of time without seeing them on Twitter,” he says. “We’re probably going to buy one.” When Levin integrates new equipment or plant protectants into his operation, he frequently shares it on Twitter, a gesture suppliers and distributors appreciate. “Some of these guys, if they see you are going to do a little bit of advertising for them and post a picture, they might be a little bit quicker to tend to your needs,” he says.

Digital job interview

What is the most you ever gained thanks to a tweet? For Chad Braun (@CBraunEM), the equipment manager at Town & Country Club (@TCC_CLUB) in Saint Paul, Minnesota, the answer is simple and astounding: His job.

Braun says superintendent Bill Larson (@tcturf) “called me up — he actually first reached out to me through direct message on Twitter — and said, ‘I absolutely love what I see in your equipment fleet, and I want you to bring that mantra over to Town & Country Club,’ and that’s what we did.”

Geography helped Larson’s interest and Braun’s mobility — he already lived in the Twin Cities and had worked the previous 23 years at Prestwick Golf Club (@PrestwickMN) in nearby Woodbury — but without his now-13-year-old Twitter account, Braun would have never stood apart from the rest of the digital crowd. His library of more than 7,000 categorized iPhone photos helps him diagnose all sorts of equipment questions and share information with equipment managers and technicians across the industry.

“I’m a firm believer that a picture’s worth a thousand words, and since we’re limited with our words on Twitter, I like to be detailed with my pictures,” Braun says. “If someone has an issue, I can usually find a picture to reply. When I post my own tweets, I’ll normally take the best four or five pictures and go from there.

“I kind of use Twitter like a blog. I like to promote professionalism on our side of the industry, and I like to share what I do and what we do as equipment managers.” Braun has noticed some EMs opting for “short, little videos now, and I think that’s just phenomenal.”

One fringe benefit of Braun’s move across the Twin Cities? “Bill told me, ‘It’s going to be good for a few hundred followers,’ and he was right. I probably picked up about 300 followers after I started here. He always pushes me to tweet, too: ‘You should really tweet that. People need to know that!’”

On an island, but not alone

Carol Turner started her turf career long enough ago that, at least for the first couple years, Twitter did not exist.

Turner worked from 2004 to 2006 at Bigwin Island Golf Club (@bigwinisland) in Baysville, Ontario — including a construction stint when she was 18 — back when a flip phone was still considered top of the line. She remained off Twitter throughout the next seven years as she worked in landscaping and as a personal trainer. “I had Facebook,” she says. “I never really understood Twitter or knew anything about it. I didn’t get the idea of followers. It seemed kind of weird to me.” But three months after jumping back onto the course — at Lambton Golf & Country Club (@lambtongcc) in Toronto — and transitioning from what she described as working jobs to developing a career, Turner had signed up and logged on.

“Phil Song (@yellaturf) was the assistant superintendent there and he was using Twitter,” Turner says, “so a bunch of us got into it, tweeting things like sunrises or mowers.” She figured out how to use the app for work, winnowing out most personal tweets, and by the time she moved to Ladies’ Golf Club of Toronto (@LGCToronto) in Thornhill, @greensgurl was thriving. She has developed Twitter friendships across Canada and around the globe over the last eight years, many with other women in turf, like Kendra Kiss, Karen Rumohr (@megolftoo) and Lesley Thomas (@les8thomas).

“It made it feel more like a community, and it makes it more fun,” Turner says. “Obviously, social media isn’t all good, but 20 years ago, I wouldn’t have known there were a bunch of people out there willing to help me. There’s a whole community of people who want to congratulate you, or check in on you, and it just makes you feel really good.”

Turner received plenty of congratulations earlier this year after she was promoted to superintendent at Bigwin Island following the retirement of Kevin Schultz. “I don’t feel like I’m alone,” Turner says. “No matter what problem comes up, I always have someone to call. And I really hope I can help people, too.”

Everybody’s now asking

One tweet helped Union League National Golf Club, a gargantuan construction project in southern New Jersey, become an eventual industry social media star. It also helped The Union League of Philadelphia director of agronomy Scott Bordner (@ScottBordner) sell a talented employee on a grand golf vision.

The tweet originated from a giant dirt hill being constructed in the middle of the 27-hole course. Bordner turned the view from atop the hill into a 360-degree video into one of his first Twitter posts.

“That’s actually what hooked one of our assistants, Ryan Moore,” says Bordner, who opened his account in late 2019 to increase awareness for the Union League of Philadelphia’s growing golf efforts. “He contacted me — and I think it was over Twitter, too — saying that he was going to be at his sister’s place in New York and he’d love to see what’s going on, because he loved the video.”

All 27 holes at Union League National (@ULNationalGC), a multi-year transformation of the former Sand Barrens Golf Club guided by architects Dana Fry and Jason Straka (@FryStrakaGolf) are scheduled to open this summer. The project has generated attention from the turf community and beyond.

“A lot of it is because of social media,” Bordner says. “We have had a lot of people come visit the golf course and ask if they can post pictures. Everybody wants to see what’s going on here. It’s been fun.”

Twitter has helped the Union League of Philadelphia (@UnionLeagueGolf) promote other golf events and programs, including its Union League University employee training program and the 2022 PGA WORKS Collegiate Championship at Union League Golf Club at Torresdale (@TorresdaleGolf) and Union League Liberty Hill. The weeklong PGA WORKS event attracted two dozen turfgrass maintenance volunteers, many of whom learned of the volunteer program via Twitter.

“I think we have put ourselves on the map,” says Bordner, who encourages employees to post thoughtful images and videos on Twitter, Instagram and other social media apps. “Going to Liberty Hill and Torresdale for the tournament and talking to the volunteers, everybody is asking about what we are doing at Union League National. And they are asking me about things like Union League University. People are seeing what we’re doing.”

Sharing the science

Dr. Mike Richardson (@ArkansasTurf) directed silly glances toward a former University of Arkansas Ph.D. student for spending too much time on a seemingly silly app.

“I just kept looking at it, going ‘Why are you wasting so much time fooling around on Twitter?’” says Richardson, a professor in the university’s horticulture department. “In the end, I have probably wasted 10 times as much time as he has fooling around on Twitter.”

Richardson, whose first social media experience came via Facebook, opened a Twitter account in 2014. He quickly discovered the app offered professional opportunities that Facebook didn’t provide. Twitter allowed Richardson to reach new audiences and expand his personal network, bringing increased attention to his team’s scientific research of Transition Zone turfgrass problems and solutions. “At its core, it’s really about developing a professional network,” he says.

The network of close to 5,000 followers includes hundreds of turf managers, including golf course superintendents whom Richardson might not otherwise reach without Twitter. Predicting what posts will receive widespread response is an inexact science. One of Richardson’s go-to topics is ultradwarf Bermudagrass greens management in the Transition Zone. His posts warn of potential perils, especially in harsh winter conditions.

Perils also exist if somebody in Richardson’s positions relies too much on Twitter.

“Whatever I’m promoting, or if I’m doing something to highlight the research that we are doing, it still must be backed up by the good science,” he says. “It can’t be me thinking that it’s now my scholarship. My scholarship can’t be that I have a bunch of followers on Twitter. I still have to share work in the scientific publications, the trade industry journals or whatever the case might be to backup what I’m doing on Twitter.”

There’s nothing silly about that thinking.

The brand

Matt Pauli (@mattpauli) represents an industry brand. The brand he represents, Standard Golf (@StandardGolf), is 112 years old. Venerable brand. Faster ways to reach customers than the print-it-and-wait era.

Pauli joined Standard Golf as its director of marketing in 2014. Early in his tenure, he established a corporate social media strategy focusing heavily on Twitter.

“If you’re doing something in print, you have to get that done a month in advance,” Pauli says. “Twitter allows you to get a message out that’s timely and you can reach a pretty big audience. It gives marketers more tools to be able to reach people.”

When the COVID-19 pandemic intensified in March 2020, Standard Golf created a line of no-touch products and pandemic-related signage. Courses needed the products immediately to remain open. Twitter helped raise immediate awareness for offerings such as no-touch cups and personal bunker rakes. Initial product brainstorming commenced in mid-March 2020. A few products were completed by April 1.

“But how were we going to let the golf industry know about it?” Pauli says. “Twitter was a way to get out the message with pictures and videos. The best thing about Twitter is that if you create something of interest or something people think is useful, then they share it with their followers and friends. It gets out quick.”

Industry companies face a delicate balance on social media. Do they use it as a sales tool? Do they use it to increase brand and product awareness? Do they use it to better understand an industry they serve?

“We use it for a lot of things,” Pauli says, “but to sell directly is not one of those things. We certainly listen. Standard Golf has always wanted to be the friend of the superintendent and the industry. How do we help the superintendent do the job? We do introduce products through Twitter, and we have learned of new products from watching and seeing superintendents doing things.”

The view from Asia

Dr. Micah Woods (@asianturfgrass) leads the Asian Turfgrass Center, which he established in 2006 to provide technical information to golf and sports field managers in Asia. His travels are extensive. His zest for sharing lessons from his travels and academic research are immense.

The Thailand-based ATC operates from the GMT+7 time zone. Woods is 11 hours ahead of EDT when he’s home. His evenings coincide with the beginning of your day. Woods is from Oregon. He studied turfgrass management at Oregon State University and Cornell University. Twitter shrinks his academic world.

“I can keep up on things that are happening in the United States better with Twitter than I could without it,” Woods says. “It might not be that way forever. There might be something that comes up to take its place. At the moment, I find it quite useful.”

Woods opened a Twitter account on Jan. 1, 2011, because a late 2010 blog post about nutrient availability and cation exchange received a boost in web traffic after industry veteran Dave Wilber (@TurfgrassZealot) shared the link on the app. Woods wanted more industry professionals to see his work. Twitter proved ideal for driving traffic to the Asian Turfgrass Center website. His posts now reach 7,500 followers, allowing Woods to share blog entries, observations, research and podcasts to a global audience. Forty percent of the Asian Turfgrass Center’s web traffic originates from Twitter, according to Woods.

“I’m interested in turfgrass management, grass selection and things like that on a global scale,” he says. “It’s nice for me to be able to have this app that I can do a quick scan and see what a lot of people all over the world are doing. But the primary thing I want to do is to be pushing information like a publisher. I really enjoy writing and sharing my ideas. I want more people to read my website.”

Twitter and the association

Twitter hasn’t destroyed industry associations. In fact, effective usage of the app might be strengthening associations committed to a social media strategy.

Don’t have time to leave the course and head to Kalamazoo for a monthly meeting? Twitter can partially replace the technical talk — or spark interest in attending next month’s meeting in Battle Creek. Executive director Adam Ikamas (@AdamIkamas), CGCS, operates the social media accounts for the Michigan Golf Course Superintendents Association (@MiGCSA). The association has more than 2,600 Twitter followers, the second-largest following of any GCSAA chapter. Ikamas implements what he calls an “octopus” approach to chapter communication. Twitter is one of the largest and most active tentacles of the strategy.

“I want our members to interact with the chapter in some way, small or big, every day,” Ikamas says. “Is that putting on a hat with our logo? Is that putting a sticker on the back of your truck? Is that coming to an event for 24 hours? Or is that seeing something on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram or getting the magazine? I want us to be constantly available without being intense. You couldn’t do that before Twitter or social media.”

Content on the MiGCSA Twitter feed ranges from humorous GIFs to event recaps. Ikamas uses his turf sense — he was the golf course superintendent at Crystal Mountain Resort & Spa (@CrystalMountain) before joining the MiGCSA full-time in 2011 — to retweet member-driven ideas and inspiration on the feed. Monitoring Twitter discussion on current topics such as mental health helps determine programming and educational focuses, making the chapter more meaningful to members.

“It’s a live look into the market you are serving,” Ikamas says. “To not pay attention to that is such a disservice to your business. What else are you doing that’s more important than listening to what’s happening in real time?”

Little app, big world

Who knows what Dr. John Dempsey might be doing today had he never signed up for Twitter and created his popular @J_J_Dempsey account in November 2010? Still working as the course manager at Royal Curragh Golf Club (@RoyalCurragh_GC) in Kildare County, Ireland? Researching turf in general isolation and obscurity? “I probably would just be doing the gardening now,” Dempsey says with a laugh.

Dempsey was among the first and more prominent international voices on Turf Twitter. Over the last almost dozen years, he has remained among the more active, too — racking up nearly 45,000 tweets, more than 32,000 likes, and just shy of 6,000 photos and videos. His first tweet, he says, “was a picture of some infected turfgrass. That sort of set the tone.” Dempsey was pursuing his Ph.D. during those early Twitter days. Now retired from everyday course maintenance, he does in fact send out a fair number of photos from his garden, but he also remains an active member of the turf conversation, handling research trials focused on experimental products.

Dempsey also turned his early Twitter curiosity into global travel. In large thanks to sharing his scientific research on Twitter, he was invited to present at conferences and events in Canada, Czechia, Denmark, France, Sweden and the United States, among other countries. Still on the circuit today, he plans to travel to Iceland later this year. “If I hadn’t been putting my research out onto Twitter, people wouldn’t have heard of it,” he says. “They wouldn’t have found it, simple as that.

“Early on, I was amazed: I would put something up on Twitter and someone from the other end of the world would get back to me about it within a matter of minutes. It was fascinating to me, that you could communicate so easily. … Unless you’re near another golf course, you don’t really get to talk with many (people) about grass when you’re in the middle of Ireland. They think you’re stupid or a headcase. The whole country’s covered in grass — hello!”

Many of the avatars Dempsey interacted with years ago have disappeared. “Hopefully, they’ve just got off Twitter,” he says. “Hopefully, they’re not dead.”

Terrific tweeters

Golf Course Industry and Aquatrols have partnered on the Super Social Media Awards since 2012 as part of the annual #GCITweetUp. Let’s relive our list of winners.

2022

Kaminski Award: Paul Larsen, Royal St. George’s Golf Club, Sandwich, Kent, England,

Best Overall Use of Social Media: Jennifer Torres, Westlake Golf and Country Club, Jackson Township, New Jersey; NC State Turf Pathology Team, Raleigh North Carolina

Best Twitter Feed: John Reilly, Longboat Key Club, Longboat Key, Florida; Jeremy Boone, Springdale at Cold Mountain, Canton, North Carolina

Best Use of Video: Mike Rollins, SIP, In the van, Everywhere USA

Best Idea Shared: David Jones, Club at Indian Springs, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, “Value of playing other golf courses”

Conservation Award: Isaac Breuer, A.L. Gustin Golf Course, Columbia, Missouri

2021

Kaminski Award: Drew Miller and the Brentsville District High School Turfgrass Management Program, Nokesville, Virginia

Best Overall Use of Social Media: James Bledge, Royal Cinque Ports Golf Club, Deal, Kent, England; Ryan Cummings, Elcona Country Club, Bristol, Indiana

Best Twitter Feed: Dan Grogan, The Sagamore Club, Noblesville, Indiana; Jeff Sexton, Evansville Country Club, Evansville, Indiana; Thad Thompson, Terry Hills Golf Course, Batavia, New York

Best New Program: Morgan Creighton, Women in Turfgrass Management, Alberta, Canada

Best Idea Shared: Trey Kemp, Kimley-Horn and Associates, Dallas-Fort Worth, #GolfCourseAerialoftheDay

Rookie of the Year: Matt Shaffer, happily retired

Conservation Award: W. Craig Weyandt, The Moorings at Hawks Nest Golf Course, Vero Beach, Florida

2020

Kaminski Award: Tyler Bloom, Sparrows Point Country Club, Baltimore

Best Overall Use of Social Media: Carolinas GCSA Assistants, Liberty, South Carolina; Bill Bergin, Bergin Golf Designs, Atlanta

Best Twitter Feed: Maggie Reiter, University of California Cooperative Extension, Fresno, California; Michael Vessley, Culver Academies Golf Course, Culver, Indiana

Best Video: Rush Creek Turf, Maple Grove, Minnesota, “Maintenance Monday”

Best Idea Shared on Social Media: Trent Manning, Ansley Golf Club, Ansley, Georgia, “Dew Roller”

Conservation Award: Lesley Thomas, Scarboro Golf & Country Club, Toronto, Ontario

2019

Kaminski Award: Jason Haines, Pender Harbour Golf Club, Pender Harbour, British Columbia

Best Overall Use of Social Media: Craig Boath, Carnoustie Golf Links, Carnoustie, Scotland; Jessica Lenihan, Hayden Lake Country Club, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

Best Twitter Feed: Paul Van Buren, Kanawha Club, Manakin-Sabot, Virginia; Scott Ramsay, The Course at Yale, New Haven, Connecticut

Best Blog: Tyler Bloom, Sparrows Point Country Club, Baltimore, Maryland; Kevin Komer, Stowe Mountain Resort, Stowe, Vermont

Best Use of Video: Ontario GCSA, “Today in Ontario”

Conservation Award: Matthew Gourlay, Colbert Hills, Manhattan, Kansas

2018

Kaminski Award: Matthew Wharton, Carolina Golf Club, Charlotte, North Carolina

Best Overall Use of Social Media: Ian Andrew, Ian Andrew Golf Design, Brantford, Ontario; St Andrews Turf Team, St Andrews, Scotland

Best Twitter Feed: Steve Hammon, Traverse City Golf & Country Club, Traverse City, Michigan; Steve Wright, Pine Tree Golf Club, Boynton Beach, Florida

Best Blog: Chris Harriman, Cattail Creek Country Club, Glenwood, Maryland; Richard Johnstone, Nairn Dunbar Golf Links, Nairn, Scotland

Best Use of Video: Atlantic Golf Course Superintendents Association, “Deep Roots”

Megaphone Award for Hurricane Recovery: South Texas Superintendents

Conservation Award: Paul Carter, The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay, Tennessee

2017

Kaminski Award: Chris Tritabaugh, Hazeltine National Golf Club, Chaska, Minnesota

Best Overall Use of Social Media: Kyle Callahan, Victoria National, Newburgh, Indiana; Steffie Safrit, TPC Piper Glen, Charlotte, North Carolina

Best Twitter Feed: Matthew Marsh, Santa Ana Country Club, Santa Ana, California; Sean McCue, The Country Club at Castle Pines, Castle Rock, Colorado; Mike Richardson, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas; Jesse Shaver, Gull Lake Country Club, Richland, Michigan

Best Blog: Brian Stiehler, Highlands Country Club, Highlands, North Carolina; East Lake Golf Club Agronomy Team, East Lake Golf Club, Atlanta

Best Video: Phil Scully, Granite Golf Club, Stouffville, Ontario, “It’s Your Course!”; Georgia GCSA, “Golf is Greenspace”

2016

Kaminski Award: Paul Carter, The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay, Harrison, Tennessee

Best Overall Use of Social Media: Rick Tegtmeier, Des Moines Golf and Country Club, West Des Moines, Iowa; Joe Wachter, Glen Echo Country Club, St. Louis

Best Twitter Feed: Eric Bauer, Bluejack National, Montgomery, Texas; Paul Koch, University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wisconsin; Patrick Reinhardt, Georgia Southern University Golf Course, Statesboro, Georgia

Best Blog: Joel Kachmarek, Tacoma Country & Golf Club, Lakewood, Washington; Brad Novotny, Hillendale Country Club, Phoenix, Maryland

Best Video: Graeme Roberts, Camberley Heath Golf Club, Surrey, United Kingdom

Megaphone Award for Outstanding Advocacy: Mike Huck, Irrigation and Turfgrass Services, Orange County, California

2015

Kaminski Award: Steve Cook, Oakland Hills Country Club, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan

Best Overall Use of Social Media: Matthew Wharton, Carolina Golf Club, Charlotte, North Carolina; Pat O’Brien, Hyde Park Golf and Country Club, Cincinnati

Best Twitter Feed: Scot Dey, Mission Viejo Country Club, Mission Viejo, California; Kevin Hicks, Coeur d’Alene Resort Golf Club, Coeur D’Alene, Idaho; Jason Hooper, Quilchena Golf & Country Club, Richmond, British Columbia

Best Blog: Joey Franco, Brookstone Golf & Country Club, Acworth, Georgia; Adam Garr, Plum Hollow Country Club, Southfield, Michigan

Best Video: Georgia GCSA, “Stewards of the Land”

2014

Kaminski Award: Micah Woods, Asian Turfgrass Center

Overall Social Media Program: Nick Christians, Iowa State University; Adam Ikamas, MiGCSA

Best Use of Facebook: Gary Grigg, Idaho/Florida; Jason Chennault, Turfgrass World

Best Blog: Jason Haines, Pender Harbour Golf Club, Madeira Park, British Columbia; Jason VanBuskirk, Stow Acres Country Club, Stow, Massachusetts; Tom Vlach, TPC Sawgrass, Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida

Best Use of Twitter: Randy Samoff, Champions Golf Club, Houston Texas; Ellie Parry, TurfJobs, Loughborough, Leicestershire, England; Justin VanLanduit, Briarwood Country Club, Deerfield, Illinois; Cale Bigelow, Purdue University

Best Multimedia: Adam Garr, Plum Hollow Country Club, Southfield, Michigan; Rick Brandenburg, NC State

2013

Kaminski Award: Bill Brown, Hartefeld National Golf Club, Avondale, Pennsylvania

Outstanding Blogger: Andrew Hardy, Pheasant Run Golf Course, Sharon, Ontario; Dan Meersman, Philadelphia Cricket Club, Philadelphia; Brian Boyer, Cinnabar Hills Golf Club, San Jose, California

Outstanding Use of Twitter: Chris Tritabaugh, Hazeltine National Golf Club, Chaska, Minnesota; Matthew Gourlay, Colbert Hills, Manhattan, Kansas

Special Achievement in Video/Other: PACE Turf LLC, San Diego, PACE Turf YouTube Videos; Steve Biehl, Naperville Country Club, Naperville, Illinois; GCM Blogging World

2012

Kaminski Award: Darren Davis, Olde Florida Golf Club, Naples, Florida

Best of Blogs: Chris Tritabaugh, Northland Country Club, Duluth, Minnesota; Steve Cook, Oakland Hills Country Club, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan; Bill Brown, Hartefeld National Golf Club, Avondale, Pennsylvania

Innovative Use of Twitter: Greg Shaffer, Elcona Country Club, Bristol, Indiana; David Phipps, Stone Creek Country Club, Oregon City, Oregon

Excellence in Video: Justin Ruiz, Indian Summer Golf & Country Club, Olympia, Washington