Ohio superintendent Frank Dobie wins Green Section Award

The United States Golf Association announced the recipients of its 2022 Annual Awards, with longtime Ohio superintendent David Franklin “Frank” Dobie among them as the latest winner of the Green Section Award for his introduction of new technologies and processes that have advanced golf course management;

Dobie, the superintendent, senior agronomist and retired general manager of Sharon Golf Club in Sharon Center, Ohio, has passionately promoted turfgrass research, education and innovative course maintenance practices throughout his career. A mentor and friend to countless golf management workers over 60 years, he started working on golf courses at age 15 and went on to graduate from Penn State’s turfgrass management program. He would later dedicate himself to the stewardship of the Musser International Turfgrass Research Foundation, which honors top doctoral turfgrass students nationwide.

Through hands-on trial and error, he co-developed more than a dozen golf course innovations, including bunker liners that improve drainage and quality, air pumps on greens and automated irrigation systems. 

Other honorees include Ede Rice, the first woman to serve on the Western Golf Association’s Board of Governors and an official at 39 USGA championships. She is the recipient of the Joe Dey Award, which recognizes meritorious service to the game as a volunteer. Derek Markham, the author of “A Matter of Course: The Life of William Herbert Fowler, 1856-1941, Golf Course Architect,” won the Herbert Warren Wind Book Award, recognizing and honoring outstanding contributions to golf literature.

“We need more people in golf like Ede, Frank and Derek, who are ensuring that the game of golf is better for all of us 50 or 100 years from now,” USGA CEO Mike Whan said. “Just as Fowler did a century ago, we can be inspired and learn from the past as we propel the game forward, and these awards are a shining light for all of us.”

The USGA recently announced that it would conduct its annual meeting in a virtual setting for the second year in a row, with the result that its in-person annual awards dinner will move from February to its biggest stage in June during the week of the U.S. Open Championship, which will be played at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass.