TurfNet Superintendent of the Year 2008
Finalist Profile:
Mark Hughes, CGCS, Monroe Golf Club, Pittsford, N.Y.
 Serving others was a calling for Mark Hughes.
From teaching as a high school horticulture teacher, to education director for his local GCSA chapter, to being active in his sons' boy scout troop, to heading south with fellow members of his church to assist victims of Hurricane Katrina, to the day he saved the life of his wife while giving his own, Hughes lived to serve.
His desire to teach and serve others served him - and others - well throughout his personal and professional life.
Hughes, who ended his career in golf turf maintenance as superintendent at Monroe Golf Club in Pittsford, N.Y., died Oct. 26, 2007 in a drowning accident while he and his wife, Lisa, were celebrating their 25th anniversary.
The couple had been swimming in the ocean when both were caught in an undertow. Hughes, who was 49, lifted his wife to safety and dragged her onto some nearby rocks before he was pulled under again.
"He was a fine friend who paid the ultimate sacrifice," said Mark Kuhns, CGCS, of Baltusrol Golf Club, and a friend and mentor to Hughes. "That was so much like him.
"He was always giving back to his community. He didn't sit back and watch the world go by."
According to those who knew him, Hughes also was a pretty good superintendent, excelling both as a grass-grower and a manager of people.
"I have worked for many great golf course superintendents . . . it was clear in just a few weeks at Monroe that there was something different about Mark," wrote Matt Delly, Hughes' former assistant and eventual successor. "Behind the strong Pittsburgh accent, there was a person I will never forget in my life. He was as knowledgeable as any I have worked for, yet he treated his people differently. We were not staff members, we were team members."
Not only could use relate to those who reported to him, he was a master at getting them to perform to the highest possible standards.
"When Mark was complimented on course conditions, he credited the team," Delly said. "He always made me feel as if I was working with him, rather than for him. There was no babysitting on a daily basis. If you were honest, you earned Mark's trust. If you worked hard, you earned Mark's respect. It was as simple as that."
After spending several years mentoring under Kuhns at multiple courses throughout Pennsylvania, another teaching stint and his first gig as a head superintendent at Allegheny Country Club, Hughes spent the last three years of his career at Monroe Golf Club.
There he not only is remembered for the care he showed others, but also for the tough-as-nails approach he took with the club's members.
Hughes ate lunch daily in the club's restaurant, where he often was confronted by members questioning him over various maintenance practices. Members took to Hughes, not because he cowed to them, but because the teacher in him enabled him to explain the method behind his practices and the benefits they would have on long-term playing conditions. And he would show up for lunch in the grill the next day, said club professional, Jim Mrva.
"Mark never backed down from the interrogations, and never stopped going to the grill for lunch" Mrva said. "He answered their questions in a simple and straight-forward manner that made sense to them."
When he arrived at Monroe in 2004, the club was in the initial stages of a master plan review. Hughes' teaching skills again came into play as he was able to educate the membership on the merits of renovation work. His willingness to seize teaching moments applied not only to members but to his staff. In fact, his skills at educating others were exemplified by Delly's promotion after Hughes' death, Mrva said.
"Matt did a great job bringing the crew together after the tragedy and managed an exceptionally successful renovation," Mrva said.
Hughes' career in turf maintenance began in the early 1980s, when Kuhns hired him as a horticulturist at Laurel Valley Golf Club. It wasn't long before Kuhns named him assistant superintendent.
After a second teaching stint, Hughes returned to work for Kuhns in 1988 at Laurel Valley. When Kuhns was hired to oversee the golf course at Oakmont Country Club near Pittsburgh, he took Hughes along with him.
"The tragic ending of Mark's life on October 6, 2007 only further supports his character," Mrva said. "Mark's legacy will live on through the many assistants, interns and staff he has trained over the years and through his son Justin, who is a turfgrass management major at Rutgers University."
The Superintendent of the Year award, sponsored by PrimoMAXX® from Syngenta, is presented annually by TurfNet to one outstanding superintendent selected from among those nominated by club officials, course owners, members, casual golfers, or staff members.
The winner will be announced at GIS in New Orleans, and will travel with a guest to Ireland for a week-long golf course tour, courtesy of Syngenta.
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