GCSAA: Happy 85th

That is more than simply a large rock beneath the flagpole at Sylvania, Ohio, Country Club. On closer inspection, you realize the rock (pictured to the right) comes with a plaque, featuring an inscription. It reads like this:

BIRTH PLACE OF GOLF COURSE SUPERINTENDENTS ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA 

FOUNDED AS NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF GREENKEEPERS OF AMERICA

SEPTEMBER 13, 1926

SYLVANIA COUNTRY CLUB

Actually, it is a replacement plaque because the original was weathered, a victim of Mother Nature. And time.

What it represents, however, has endured for decades.

Happy anniversary, GCSAA. You turn 85 years old today. Sylvania Country Club often is where the organization was formed that day. Its founding father, Col. John Morley, presided as greenkeepers gathered there for a meeting to initiate the National Association of Greenkeepers of America (now known as GCSAA).

"Obviously, it's kind of unique to be the superintendent here," says Steve Brown, a 15-year member of GCSAA. "Definitely it's a big part of our history. It's special to me. It means something to us."

Brown, who provided the image of the plaque, indicated that the plaque had to be replace five or six years ago because the copper had worn, so much, in fact, that it was difficult to read. Not anymore. The new-look plaque is spiffy, a combination of copper and brass, something that appears to be able to withstand the long haul.

That is exactly what Morley envisioned for his organization, something everlasting, when he addressed members 85 years ago. Here is a snippet of what he said that monumental day:

"A large number of greenkeepers feel that greater progress may be obtained if they were united to solve the many vexing problems which confront greenkeepers in general. To those who have had several years' experience on their courses, it is only natural to expect that they feel they are the best judges as to what may be considered the right or wrong thing to do."

What follows is a great line from Morley:

"He (greenkeeper) is in love with every blade of grass that he causes to grow upon it."

Thirty-one greenkeepers appear on the original list of charter members, and they were asked to pay $5 for one-half year of dues up to the time of the annual meeting the following March. Before that, though, the association quickly gained steam. Fifteen more members signed up Oct. 22, 1926, at a meeting in Chicago.

Brown (pictured) thinks superintendents who joined the association in those days knew a good thing when they saw it. Kind of like he did so many years later.

"I worked for a superintendent who was involved, and I saw what opportunities were available through the association," Brown said. "The education is good, and I'm a big log-in guy on the forums. Becoming a part of it was a no-brainer for me."