For his accomplishments as an environmental steward and educator to staff members and colleagues, Anthony Williams, CGCS at Stone Mountain (Ga.) Golf Club on Feb. 11 was named TurfNet’s 2009 Superintendent of the Year.

Anthony Williams, CGCS and Scott Cole, Turf Market Manager of Syngenta.

Williams was chosen by a panel of judges from a field of nine finalists that included Doug Ayres of Corral de Tierra Country Club, Salinas, Calif.; Thomas Bastis, CGCS at California Golf Club of San Francisco in South San Francisco, Calif.; Scott Bower, Martis Camp, Truckee, Calif.; Craig Currier, Bethpage State Park, Black Course, Farmingdale, N.Y.; Bob Lively, Flossmoor Country Club, Flossmoor, Ill.; Aaron Porter, Fargo (N.D.) Country Club; Jeff Stauffer, Credit Valley Golf and Country Club, Mississauga, Ontario; and Dave Visocan, Chester Valley Golf Club, Malvern, Pa.

The great-great grandson of a Cherokee national, Williams has embraced the tribal ways of his forefathers, including a deep respect for nature, a quest for knowledge and the responsibility to share with others what he has learned.

“I have a deep commitment to the tribal ways and I have always seen my role as a golf course superintendent to be a steward of the land first,” Williams said. “I tend to blend old tribal/agriculture traditions with the latest science and innovations. This is what I try to teach to others.”

And his 28 years – and counting – of studying the martial arts provide the self discipline required to remain humble when times are good and to endure when they’re not.

“(Martial arts) help me remain humble in great times and persevere in difficult times,” Williams said. “I have reached many milestones that others thought impossible through a mastery of basics and keeping a student’s heart and a teacher’s mind.”

Among the many environmental and educational accomplishments achieved by Williams are:

helping develop a statewide water management plan for golf courses, sharing the knowledge with other superintendents and educating state officials on their efforts in times of severe drought; leading Stone Mountain to certification as an Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary in less than five months; guiding Audubon certification efforts for Marriott’s Evergreen Resort grounds, making it the first hotel to earn the distinction; earning the 2010 GCSAA President’s Award for Environmental Stewardship; three-time winner of the GCSAA Environmental Leaders in Golf Award; two-time winner of the Marriott Golf Grounds Professional of the Year, J. Willard Marriott Award of Excellence (2008); winning the Green Award from Golf Inc. (2009); hosting the GCSAA Green Links program (2009); winning the J. Lamar Branch Award by Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Alumni Association (2008); establishment of a professional development program for his staff.

Scott Cole prepares to announce the winner. Behind me, from the top left, are Doug Ayres, Thomas Bastis, Scott Bower, Bob Lively, Aaron Porter, Jeff Stauffer and Anthony Williams.

The award is presented annually by TurfNet to a superintendent who demonstrates the ability to excel in one or more of the following areas: labor-management skills, maximizing budget limitations, educating and advancing the careers of colleagues and assistants, negotiating with government agencies, preparing for tournaments under unusual circumstances, service to golf clientele, upgrading or renovating the course and dealing with extreme or emergency conditions. As the winner, Williams also receives an all-expenses-paid trip for two to Ireland, courtesy of Syngenta. He and a guest will go to Ireland on TurfNet’s weeklong members-only trip in October.

Past winners are MacKenzie, John Zimmers, Oakmont (Pa.) Country Club (2007); Scott Ramsay, Golf Course at Yale University, New Haven, Conn., (2006); Mark Burchfield, Victoria Club, Riverside, Calif., (2005); Stuart Leventhal, Interlachen Country Club, Winter Park, Fla., (2004); Paul Voykin, Briarwood Country Club, Deerfield, Ill., (2003); Jeff Burgess, Seven Lakes Golf Course, Windsor, Ontario, (2002); Kip Tyler, Salem Country Club, Peabody, Mass., (2001); Kent McCutcheon, Las Vegas Paiute Golf Resort (2000).

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