GCSAA Honors Two

Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) past president Melvin B. Lucas Jr. and Cal Roth, senior vice president of agronomy for the PGA Tour, have been selected as recipients of the association's 2015 Col. John Morley Distinguished Service Award.

Lucas and Roth will be acknowledged at the 2015 Golf Industry Show in San Antonio, Wednesday, February 25, during the opening session at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center.

The award is given to individuals who have made an outstanding, substantive and enduring contribution to the advancement of the golf course superintendent profession. The award was renamed in 2009 in honor of Col. John Morley, GCSAA's founder and first president. He was the first to earn the Distinguished Service Award, in 1932, and he received it again in 1940.

"These gentlemen embody what the Col. John Morley Distinguished Service Award represents," GCSAA president Keith A. Ihms, CGCS, said. "They have made significant contributions to the game of golf and have dedicated themselves to the advancement of the superintendent profession."

Lucas, retired CGCS, has been an association member for 52 years, serving on the board of directors from 1974-81 and holding the title of GCSAA president in 1980. In addition, the 72-year-old Lucas has served as agronomy consultant for more than 60 golf course projects.

A graduate of Penn State University where he earned his degree in turfgrass management, Lucas began his career as an assistant superintendent at Piping Rock Club in Locust Valley, N.Y., in 1961. He continued to be associated with Piping Rock and nearby Garden City Golf Club in Garden City, N.Y., for most of his career, until 1985, when he took on the role of golf architect and superintendent at Round Hill Community Golf Club in South Dartmouth, Mass.

He also served the Long Island Golf Course Superintendents Association as an executive committee member for seven years and was that association's president from 1973-75. Since his retirement in 1991, he has continued to serve the golf course management profession as a consultant both domestically and abroad.

Roth, 64, has been a PGA Tour Golf Course Properties Inc., employee since 1983. He currently holds the title of senior vice president of agronomy and oversees course conditioning for the TPC network facilities and more than 120 professional golf tournaments annually. He is a graduate of Southern Illinois University and has been a member of GCSAA since 1979.

Roth began his career with the PGA Tour at TPC Plum Creek in Carmel, Ind., and now oversees agronomy at all 17 TPC owned and/or operated courses. Roth is a sought-after speaker at national conferences and has received other honors too, such as Turfgrass Man of the Year. He has served on several GCSAA committees since 2004 and currently is in his second year as a member of the board of trustees for the Environmental Institute for Golf, the philanthropic arm of the association. As a trustee, Roth helps make the financial decisions that determine the environmental programs and activities that are funded by the EIFG.

Under his leadership, TPC courses have been encouraged to demonstrate environmental leadership, which has led to participation in the Audubon International program, ePar USA and numerous Environmental Leadership in Golf Awards from GCSAA.

The GCSAA Board of Directors selects the winners from nominations submitted by affiliated chapters and/or association members.

The above report is courtesy of the GCSAA. For more information and to view the complete list of GCSAA Col. John Morley Distinguished Service Award past recipients, visit www.gcsaa.org.

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