Frank Dobie Recognized by GCSAA

October 18, 2010 in 2-year, Alumni, Awards

Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) member Frank Dobie, superintendent and general manager at the Sharon Golf Club in Sharon Center, Ohio, has been selected to receive the 2011 GCSAA Col. John Morley Distinguished Service Award.

Frank, pictured above, gives Penn State students a tour of his maintenance facility prior to the 2009 Cutter Cup.

Dobie, a 52-year GCSAA member, will be acknowledged at the 2011 GCSAA Education Conference during Celebrate GCSAA! presented in partnership with Syngenta, Feb. 8. The conference (Feb. 7-11) will be held in conjunction with the Golf Industry Show (Feb. 9-10) in Orlando.

“Frank is most deserving of the Col. John Morley Distinguished Service Award,” said GCSAA President James R. Fitzroy, CGCS. “He has made outstanding and significant contributions to the advancement of the golf course superintendent profession as well as to the game of golf. His service to our profession has been invaluable. He has the utmost respect from his peers and those at Sharon.”

Dobie got his start on the maintenance crew at Homelinks Golf Club in Olmsted Falls, Ohio, in 1954. He did an internship at Bob O’Link Golf Club in Highland Park, Ill., before earning a GCSAA scholarship in 1960 to Penn State University, where he graduated first in his class with a two-year certificate in turfgrass management. Starting in 1961, Dobie served as superintendent at Sleepy Hollow Country Club in Brecksville, Ohio, then Fairlawn (Ohio) Country Club before assuming his current role as superintendent and general manager at the Sharon Golf Club. He co-supervised the construction of the golf course in 1964-65, and under his management, Sharon has made an operating profit for the past 44 consecutive years.

Dobie has mentored more than 30 students, many who have gone on to become superintendents. Several members of his staff, including the assistant superintendent, project foreman and irrigation specialist, have been at Sharon more than 40 years. Dobie conceived and implemented the first bunker liner concept in 1967. He was a pioneer in sub-surface air movement technology and he helped design the first double-row fully automatic irrigation system in northern Ohio. Dobie also established a nationwide group of superintendents in 1995 to test materials for putting green moss control and published his findings in GCSAA’s magazine, Golf Course Management.

Read the full news release at GCSAA.com.