Ontario Turfgrass Symposium - Sessions

Tracy Eso is the risk assessment and solutions manager in the Risk Management Department at Intact Public Entities. She has over 20 years’ experience in the insurance industry—with expertise in insurance claims, risk management, and captive insurance. 

Her focus at Intact Public Entities is to research risks that municipalities across Canada are facing, develop ways to mitigate those hazards, and educate municipal clients in best-practice solutions to create resilience in the face of an ever-changing risk landscape.

Tracy is an instructor for the Insurance Institute of Canada and has spoken at various industry conferences on topics ranging from climate change to liability claims. 

Tracy Eso, BFA, CIP, CRM, ACI | Risk Assessment & Solutions Manager, Intact Public Entities | tracy.eso@intactpublicentities.ca  

Terry Piche, CRFP, CIT is the director, training, research and development for the Ontario Recreation Facilities Association (ORFA). Terry has been in the business of recreation for over 30 years, having experience at all levels of operations and management.

In his role at the ORFA, Terry works with experts in the fields of ice and refrigeration, aquatics, buildings and grounds, and management to help identify, document, and disseminate the latest information on recreation facility-related industry best practices. He develops leading edge education and training sessions, and teaches in several ORFA professional development courses.

Terry has been an invited speaker at many recreation industry events across Canada and the United States. He holds both the Certified Recreation Facilities Professional
and the NHL- recognized Certified Ice Technician designations.

Terry Piche CRFP, CIT | Director, Training, Research and Development, Ontario Recreation Facilities Association (ORFA)| tpiche@orfa.com 

David C. Smith is a registered professional agrologist (P.Ag) with over 45 years’ experience with turfgrass management and specialty horticulture. He is a qualified plantsman, and Ontario-certified horticulturist, and maintains pesticide application certification. Dave was a certified golf course superintendent (CGCS) for over 25 years and is a graduate of The Ontario Agricultural College, University of Guelph, with an Ontario Diploma in Horticulture. He is a registered qualified agronomist and consultant with the Amplify Network of Agronomic Consultants and Brookside Laboratories Inc.

In 1996, Dave established DCS & Associates, an independent consulting company that provides analytical services and consultation for turfgrass establishment and maintenance as the primary scope of practice. DCS & Associates serves clients throughout Eastern Canada—including Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. DCS has developed nutritional and cultural management recommendations for over 100 golf courses, 3500 acres of sod production and approximately 500 athletic fields, equestrian facilities, park land and horticultural projects.

Additionally, David has provided construction and grow-in recommendations for numerous golf courses and athletic field projects. David is past president of the Ontario Turfgrass Research Foundation and has been active in several golf superintendent associations. He was a Sports Turf Canada committee member during development of the Athletic Field Construction Manual and has been a speaker at several provincial and national conferences presenting to golf course superintendents, athletic field turf managers, arborists, and general landscapers. David has authored articles for industry publications such as Green Master Magazine and speaks on subjects such as: Specialty Growing Medium Design, Holistic Approach to Turf Grass Management, IPM, Trends in Golf Course Management, Product Inputs for Turf Management, Basic Soils, Green and Athletic Field Site Evaluations, and Soil Management for Trees.

Before establishing DCS & Associates, David gained over 20 years of experience in the golf and sports turf industry. In that time, he acted as a golf course superintendent throughout Ontario including four years as coordinator of Outdoor Sports Facilities with the City of Hamilton.

Dave Smith | Principal Consultant, DCS Agronomic Services | dave@dcsturf.com 

Steve Mann of SJM Consulting and DCS Agronomic Services, is an I.S.A. board certified master arborist with extensive experience in evaluating the specific health, safety, and environmental importance of individual as well as more significant stands of trees in both urban and rural settings.

He specializes in large-scale tree inventory, evaluation, management, research, & impact studies. He has managed hundreds of projects related to the identification of important natural features and the significance and/or sensitivity of these features to development. Steve has developed numerous master plans, arboricultural management plans, and replanting plans related to golf course properties.

Steve’s extensive industry involvement, of over 20 years, has enabled him to interact with numerous provincial as well as municipal officials on matters regarding tree conservation and large-scale planning applications. Since the beginning his career, Steve has developed a keen interest in turf management and has become well known within the golf and sports turf industry here in Ontario. Steve recently purchased DCS Agronomic Services and looks forward to providing the quality analytical services, client education and non-biased consultation that DCS has become known for.

Steve Mann | President and Consulting Partner, DCS Agronomic Services | steve@dcsturf.com

Brian Macklin is the west supervisor of Parks Maintenance for the City of Brampton. In his role he has been involved with the maintenance of sports fields and project management for sports field construction.

A graduate of the University of Guelph with a Diploma in Horticulture, Brian has over 20 years' experience in the turfgrass industry. He also completed the Turf Managers' Short Course at the University of Guelph.

Prior to working with Brampton, Brian worked at Downsview Park and in various positions in the golf industry. He has extensive experience in golf courses and sports fields, specializing in turfgrass management. He has been involved in many construction projects throughout his career. His work includes the renovation and restoration of golf courses, sand-based soccer field construction, synthetic field construction, baseball field construction, construction of new park facilities, and most recently, cricket pitches.

Brian Macklin | West Supervisor, Parks Maintenance, City of Brampton | brian.macklin@brampton.ca 

Dr. Michael R. Barnes is a researcher and lecturer at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. His work specializes in utilizing interdisciplinary approaches to understand complex social-ecological-technological systems, primarily involving urban lawns and sits at the intersection of social science, sustainability, and health. 

Dr. Michael R. Barnes | Researcher, University of Minnesota Twin Cities | mrbarnes@umn.edu 

Dr. Eric Lyons is an associate professor in the Department of Plant Agriculture and director of the Guelph Turfgrass Institute at the University of Guelph.

Dr. Lyons specializes in nutrient management, stress physiology and plant competition in sports field, golf course and landscape turf. In addition, Dr. Lyons oversees extensive testing of new emerging products for turfgrass managers and focusses on outreach and education to further the turfgrass industry.

Dr. Eric Lyons | Associate Professor, University of Guelph, and Director, Guelph Turfgrass Institute | elyons@uoguelph.ca 

Dr. Eric Lyons is an associate professor in the Department of Plant Agriculture and director of the Guelph Turfgrass Institute at the University of Guelph.

Dr. Lyons specializes in nutrient management, stress physiology and plant competition in sports field, golf course and landscape turf. In addition, Dr. Lyons oversees extensive testing of new emerging products for turfgrass managers and focusses on outreach and education to further the turfgrass industry.

Dr. Eric Lyons | Associate Professor, University of Guelph and Director, Guelph Turfgrass Institute | elyons@uoguelph.ca 

Cam Shaw has over 25 years’ experience working with people and turfgrass. He has built his career on being an effective communicator, educator, industry leader and passionate lover of grass and the environment. Having worked in multiple towns, provinces and countries, Cam has developed an intricate understanding of the various challenges our industry faces when it comes to legislation, public perception, and stakeholder communications.

In his former role as communications and outreach coordinator at the Guelph Turfgrass Institute, Cam had the opportunity to speak with many homeowners and clients of the lawn care industry, which helped to generate the inspiration for this presentation.

Now manager of the Diploma in Turfgrass Management program at the University of Guelph, Cam spends his days planning, instructing and preparing the next generation of Canadian turfgrass managers.

Cameron Shaw | University of Guelph | cshaw12@uoguelph.ca 

Dr. Dana Sullivan earned an M.Sc. in soil science from Auburn University in 1999. In 2003, she completed a PhD in Auburn as a NASA space grant fellow where her research focused on the use of remotely sensed imagery for precision agriculture and natural resource management.

She worked as a remote sensing scientist at the USDA ARS Southeast Watershed Laboratory from 2003- 2008 developing image analytics for water resource management in a southeastern Coastal Plain watershed.

Currently, Dana owns and operates TurfScout, LLC, an online image analysis toolkit for turfgrass and agriculture.

Dr. Dana Sullivan | Owner, TurfScout, LLC | danasullivan@turfscout.com

Dr. Guillaume Grégoire has a degree in agronomy from Université Laval, a masters degree in horticulture from the University of Guelph, and a PhD in plant biology from Université Laval.

His experience includes more than 20 years of research focused on turfgrass management on golf courses and home lawns. Guillaume is currently an assistant professor at Université Laval where he holds a teaching chair on living green infrastructures.

Dr. Guillaume Grégoire | Assistant Professor, Université Laval | guillaume.gregoire@fsaa.ulaval.ca 

Dr. Sara Stricker specializes in plant pathology and science communication. She is the junior board member of the Canadian Phytopathological Society and the chair of the American Phytopathological Society Turfgrass Pathology Committee.

Dr. Stricker has a passion for science education and has taught high school science and volunteered extensively with Let’s Talk Science and the Canadian Association for Girls in Science.

Dr. Sara Stricker | Communications and Outreach Coordinator, Guelph Turfgrass Institute | gti@uoguelph.ca 

Dr. Jim Kerns focuses on etiology, epidemiology and management of diseases of both warm- and cool-season grasses. His research program focuses on understanding the biology of ultradwarf bermudagrass diseases, large patch of zoysiagrass, plant parasitic nematodes in turf and diseases of creeping bentgrass. The mission of the program is to provide efficacious and cost-effective management strategies to turfgrass managers in NC and beyond. His program also houses the Turfgrass Diagnostic Lab, which is managed by Lee Butler.

Dr. Jim Kerns | Professor and Extension Specialist, NC State University Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology | jpkerns@ncsu.edu 

Dr. Tom Hsiang is a professor in the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada specializing in fungal diseases of plants.

Before arriving in Guelph, he worked on tree and landscape plant diseases in Washington State, USA, where he obtained his PhD (University of Washington) and conducted post-doctoral studies (Washington State University).

He is from Vancouver, BC, Canada, and obtained his B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Forest Biology & Pathology at the University of British Columbia.

His current teaching and research involve diseases of trees and turfgrasses, particularly biology and genomics of fungal pathogens as well as disease management. He has done extensive work with snow molds of grasses and on fungicide resistance.

Dr. Tom Hsiang | Professor, University of Guelph | thsiang@uoguelph.ca 

Dr. Geunhwa Jung is a professor in the Stockbridge School of Agriculture, University of Massachusetts Amherst. Jung received a M.Sc. and PhD in plant breeding and genetics from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1995. Jung has conducted a research/extension program on diseases of turfgrasses at UMass since 2006 and was assistant professor in the plant pathology department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (2000-2006).

His research interests include genomics and molecular understanding of fungicide resistance mechanisms, fungicide resistance management, sustainable management of turf diseases, and product evaluation for control of turf diseases. Jung has been a member of APS since 2000 and NED-APS since 2006. For the Northeast Division of APS, he served as president. 

Dr. Geunhwa Jung | Stockbridge School of Agriculture, University of Massachusetts Amherst | gjung@umass.edu

Ed McNab is a M.Sc. student in the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of Guelph with an honours bachelor of science degree in biochemistry.

Ed grew up in Acton Ontario, where he worked as an assistant turf manager at Acton Golf Club. Ed’s research project is to develop a field assay for turf managers to assess the sensitivity of the dollar spot fungus to DMI fungicides. The project began in 2020 and is being supervised by Dr. Tom Hsiang. Research for this project was conducted at the GTI from 2020-2022 and at participating golf courses across southern Ontario.

In addition to the field kit, Ed has also worked on microbiome analysis of creeping bentgrass, investigated alternative fungicide-sensitivity assays, and the genetics linked to DMI resistance in the dollar spot fungus.

Ed McNab | M.Sc. Student, University of Guelph | emcnab@uoguelph.ca 

Andrea Rether is a graduate student in the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of Guelph, specializing in dollar spot disease of turfgrass.

Andrea is from Clinton, Ontario and completed her bachelor of science degree at the University of Guelph in 2022, majoring in microbiology.

Andrea Rether | Graduate Student, University of Guelph | arether@uoguelph.ca

Jenny Andrews holds a bachelor of science in environmental science with a minor in biology and a master of landscape architecture.

She has several years of experience as a field biologist conducting bird, amphibian, bat, plant, and pollinator surveys, as well as experience as a landscape technician maintaining and planting ornamental gardens.

Her expertise lies in bird ecology, but she is well versed in general wildlife ecology and ecological design. She is most passionate about intersecting landscape design and conservation biology and believe that restoring native habitats, wherever possible, is vital to the survival of our planet and wellbeing of our species.

She has volunteered with RARE Charitable Research Reserve and Bird Safe Guelph conducting bird surveys and increasing awareness of the issue of bird-window collisions. She dedicates most of her time to collecting citizen science data with eBird and iNaturalist. She is currently working as a consulting ecologist and landscape designer with Aboud & Associates. 

Jenny Andrews | Terrestrial Ecologist, Aboud & Associates | jenny.andrews.33@gmail.com 

Frank Cain has worked for the University Guelph Athletics Department as the manager of facilities and business development for the past 15 years. He has been involved in the construction, operation and capital repair and replacement of the department’s facility assets. Frank also serves on the technical advisory committees for the ORFA and is an instructor for their Ground Management and Operations programs. Frank joined the University after a long private sector career in facility design, construction and operations that took him across Canada and internationally to work with the largest parastatal company in China. 

Frank Cain | Manager, Facilities and Business Development, University of Guelph | fcain@uoguelph.ca

Brad Gregus played baseball in Stratford, Ontario in the 70s. His expertise is in baseball field construction and performance.

He is a huge supporter of the industry, working with local service clubs, his municipality, and industry experts. Brad is willing to learn something new and look at options for sports field success. He often reaches out to others to gain knowledge, such as reaching local agronomists with turf seed expertise.

Brad worked for EllisDon Construction, and later for Mar-Co Clay products, which expanded his knowledge of turfgrass.

Now that he’s retired, Brad spends his time taking care of the fields in Exeter along with fellow retiree Doug Fairbairn. Their focus is on field maintenance, which delivers the ultimate playability.

Brad Gregus | Exeter Minor Baseball | bradgregus1955@gmail.com 

Ian McDonald has been the applied research coordinator for the Field Crops Unit of OMAFRA since 2000 and crops innovations specialist since 2016. Before that, he spent 15 years in the ag industry as a researcher on new pesticides with Hoechst and Dupont. Through research, demonstration, networking, and other means, Ian works to find tools and build knowledge to share with producers and agri-business that enhance farm profitability and reduce agriculture’s environmental footprint.

His areas of focus include agrobotics, precision agriculture, soil compaction, and cropping systems integration.

Ian MacDonald | Crop Innovation Specialist, OMAFRA | ian.mcdonald@ontario.ca 

Sean Kelly, OALA, CSLA, ASLA, is an associate professor and director of the School of Environmental Design & Rural Development at the University of Guelph.

Much of his instruction of landscape architecture (+25 years) has emphasized oversight of successful implementation in landscape construction and contract administration courses.

Sean flavours his courses with 30 years of landscape architectural practice and consulting experience in design, contract administration, and construction oversight of community, resort, recreational and environmental service landscapes.

As a landscape architect, facilities planner, and educator, Sean has worked worldwide and maintains a role as a consulting senior advisor with the firm Pl.ural, a multi-faceted, design/planning firm, located in Centre Wellington.

Mike Schiedel is from Greenhorizons Group of Farms and is a bred Sod Farmer from Cambridge, Ontario. He has a passion for the greenspace industry as a whole, and most specifically Sod.

Spending his whole life in the industry, it has encompassed his craft, his business, his hobby, and his life. He is always looking for ways to improve upon the long-term practices of the company, as well as looking to improve as an industry.

Mike Schiedel | Vice President, Greenhorizons Group of Farms | Mike@greenhorizonssod.com 

Chris Spere has over 30 years of relevant experience in the civil engineering field—including design, contract administration, and construction inspection of both vertical and linear infrastructure. Having worked in both the private and public sectors, he is currently overseeing the City of Kitchener’s capital construction program as part of a team that includes project managers and construction inspectors. Kitchener typically tenders about $30M of road reconstruction and rehabilitation projects per year, and this program will include the completion about 10 full road reconstruction projects all including sod restoration.

Chris Spere, E.I.T., C.E.T. | Manager, Construction Engineering, City of Kitchener | chris.spere@kitchener.ca 

Gavin Vermeer is a graduate of the civil engineering program at McMaster University, with 15 years’ experience in engineering. He has been a senior project engineer with the City of Waterloo’s Design and Construction team for the last five years, and worked in private consulting for 10 years prior to that.

Typical projects managed at the city include road reconstructions, stormwater management pond cleanouts/retrofits, drainage improvements, and creek rehabilitation. Many of the projects, especially road reconstructions, require the restoration of turfed areas using sod. Success of sod using the City’s previous construction specifications resulted in frequent failure of the sod to survive the first couple years, leading to much property owner frustration.

Over the last several years, Gavin has been involved in a process to learn more about the method of establishing new turf and working to improve construction specifications.

Gavin Vermeer | Senior Project Engineer, City of Waterloo | gavin.vermeer@waterlo.ca 

Dr. Guillaume Grégoire has a degree in agronomy from Université Laval, a master's degree in horticulture from the University of Guelph, and a PhD in plant biology from Université Laval.

His experience includes more than 20 years of research focused on turfgrass management on golf courses and home lawns.

Guillaume is currently an assistant professor at Université Laval where he holds a teaching chair on living green infrastructures.

Dr. Guillaume Grégoire Assistant Professor,  Université Laval | guillaume.gregoire@fsaa.ulaval.ca 

David C. Smith is a registered professional agrologist (P.Ag) with over 45 years’ experience with turfgrass management and specialty horticulture. He is a qualified plantsman, and Ontario-certified horticulturist, and maintains pesticide application certification. Dave was a certified golf course superintendent (CGCS) for over 25 years and is a graduate of The Ontario Agricultural College, University of Guelph, with an Ontario Diploma in Horticulture. He is a registered qualified agronomist and consultant with the Amplify Network of Agronomic Consultants and Brookside Laboratories Inc.

In 1996, Dave established DCS & Associates, an independent consulting company that provides analytical services and consultation for turfgrass establishment and maintenance as the primary scope of practice. DCS & Associates serves clients throughout Eastern Canada—including Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. DCS has developed nutritional and cultural management recommendations for over 100 golf courses, 3500 acres of sod production and approximately 500 athletic fields, equestrian facilities, park land and horticultural projects.

Additionally, Dave has provided construction and grow-in recommendations for numerous golf courses and athletic field projects. David is past president of the Ontario Turfgrass Research Foundation and has been active in several golf superintendent associations. He was a Sports Turf Canada committee member during development of the Athletic Field Construction Manual and has been a speaker at several provincial and national conferences presenting to golf course superintendents, athletic field turf managers, arborists, and general landscapers. Dave has authored articles for industry publications such as Green Master Magazine and speaks on subjects such as: Specialty Growing Medium Design, Holistic Approach to Turf Grass Management, IPM, Trends in Golf Course Management, Product Inputs for Turf Management, Basic Soils, Green and Athletic Field Site Evaluations, and Soil Management for Trees.

Before establishing DCS & Associates, Dave gained over 20 years of experience in the golf and sports turf industry. In that time, he acted as a golf course superintendent throughout Ontario including four years as coordinator of Outdoor Sports Facilities with the City of Hamilton.

Dave Smith | Principal Consultant, DCS Agronomic Services | dave@dcsturf.com 

Steve Mann

He specializes in large-scale tree inventory, evaluation, management, research, & impact studies. He has managed hundreds of projects related to the identification of important natural features and the significance and/or sensitivity of these features to development. Steve has developed numerous master plans, arboricultural management plans, and replanting plans related to golf course properties.

Steve’s extensive industry involvement, of over 20 years, has enabled him to interact with numerous provincial as well as municipal officials on matters regarding tree conservation and large-scale planning applications. Since the beginning his career, Steve has developed a keen interest in turf management and has become well known within the golf and sports turf industry here in Ontario. Steve recently purchased DCS Agronomic Services and looks forward to providing the quality analytical services, client education and non-biased consultation that DCS has become known for.

Steve Mann | President and Consulting Partner, DCS Agronomic Services | steve@dcsturf.com 

Dr. Richard Heck, P.Ag., is a professor (soils and landscape processes) in the School of Environmental Sciences, at the University of Guelph. He obtained his undergraduate agronomy and graduate soil science degrees from the University of Saskatchewan.

Richard assumed his current position in 2000, following several years as a visiting professor in Brazil. His research focuses mostly on the characterization of soil structure dynamics, using x-ray computed tomography, as a function of land management practices. He also conducts research related to delineating soil drainage in agricultural landscapes using electromagnetic induction sensors.

Over the past 30 years, Richard has taught various courses on land evaluation, soil chemistry, remote sensing, as well as various field courses on soil variability.

Dr. Richard J. Heck, P.Ag. | Professor (Soils and Landscape Processes), University of Guelph | rheck@uoguelph.ca 

Dr. Jim Kerns focuses on etiology, epidemiology and management of diseases of both warm- and cool-season grasses. His research program focuses on understanding the biology of ultradwarf bermudagrass diseases, large patch of zoysiagrass, plant parasitic nematodes in turf, and diseases of creeping bentgrass. The mission of the program is to provide efficacious and cost-effective management strategies to turfgrass managers in NC and beyond. His program also houses the Turfgrass Diagnostic Lab, which is managed by Lee Butler.

Dr. Jim Kerns | Professor and Extension Specialist, NC State University Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology | jpkerns@ncsu.edu 

Dr. Geunhwa Jung is a professor in the Stockbridge School of Agriculture, University of Massachusetts Amherst. Jung received a M.Sc. and PhD in plant breeding and genetics from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in 1995. Jung has conducted a research/extension program on diseases of turfgrasses at UMass since 2006 and was assistant professor in the plant pathology department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison (2000-2006).

His research interests include genomics and molecular understanding of fungicide resistance mechanisms, fungicide resistance management, sustainable management of turf diseases, and product evaluation for control of turf diseases. Jung has been a member of APS since 2000 and NED-APS since 2006. For the Northeast Division of APS, he served as president. 

Dr. Geunhwa Jung | Stockbridge School of Agriculture, University of Massachusetts Amherst | gjung@umass.edu

Dr. Manish N. Raizada is a professor in the Department of Plant Agriculture at the University of Guelph. Dr. Raizada holds a PhD in plant molecular genetics from Stanford University and conducted post-doctoral research in microbial directed evolution at Caltech with Nobel Laureate Frances Arnold.

The Raizada lab focuses on the discovery of probiotic microbes to combat crop disease and improve crop nutrition, and has worked on turfgrass for nearly 10 years. In its outreach activities, the lab also empowers the world’s small scale farmers by developing low-cost Sustainable Agriculture Kits (SAKs), which have thus far impacted an estimated 272,000 rural peoples.

Dr. Raizada has authored 98 scientific publications and has been invited on several occasions by the U.N. Food & Agricultural Organization to discuss how microbes can reduce the need for fertilizers and prevent malnutrition.

He is Founder of The Encyclopedia for Small Scale Farmers (Farmpedia.org) as well as The Picture Book of Best Practices for Subsistence Farmers (SAKBooks.com).

Dr. Manish Raizada | Professor, Dept. of Agriculture, University of Guelph | raizada@uoguelph.ca 

Randy Booker is currently the director of operations at Otter Creek Golf Club in Otterville Ontario, Canada. He is a past president of the Ontario Golf Superintendents Association and a 25-year member of both Golf Course Superintendents Association of America and OGSA. He has been a golf course superintendent for nearly 30 years, the first 20 following the industrial chemical methods and the past 10 years in a regenerative manner focusing on natures ways and biomimicry.

In 2019, Randy travelled to Australia to spend a week learning about the connection between soil health, plant health and human health with Graeme Sait, of Nutri-tech Solutions.

He most recently completed the inaugural CREATE program with Nicole Masters of Integrity Soils where the focus was on a systems approach, paradigm shift, and a dive into the plant/microbiome relationship.

Randy is also the president/owner of Turfevolution Inc., a regenerative coaching/teaching business focusing on Turfgrass and the need to “Transform the ground we play on."

Randy Booker | Owner, Turfevolution Inc. | turfevolution.ca@gmail.com

George Waters is the manager of USGA Green Section Education. He has an extensive background in golf course maintenance, design, construction and sustainability.

George worked on the golf course maintenance teams at Royal Dornoch, Merion, and the California Golf Club—among others. While working for renowned golf course architects like Tom Doak and Coore & Crenshaw, George contributed to the restoration of classic courses like Pasatiempo and Pinehurst Number 2, and the construction of highly regarded new designs like Sebonack and Barnbougle Dunes.

George has also published an award-winning book titled, 'Sand and Golf: How Terrain Shapes the Game'. George is an associate editor of the USGA Green Section Record and regularly contributes articles related to golf course maintenance, design, and sustainability for USGA publications.

George Waters | Manager of USGA Green Section Education, United States Golf Association | gwaters@usga.org