Matt Taylor, CGCS, has been a fixture in greenkeeping in Florida for more than 30 years.
For the past 25 years, he has been director of golf course operations at Royal Poinciana Golf Club, a 36-hole facility in Naples.
Recently, Taylor (right) was named the recipient of the Florida GCSA's President's Award for Lifetime Service.
Taylor, who was presented with the award at the Everglades GCSA annual Poa Annua Golf Classic in May at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples, was nominated by the Florida GCSA executive committee.
"I think it speaks to Matt’s impact that the leadership of the state association felt it was time for him to be honored, rather than wait for his name to be put forward," said Jennifer Bryan, Florida GCSA executive director.
Taylor is a past president of the Everglades GCSA and served as Florida GCSA president in 2007-08. He received the state association’s Distinguished Service Award in 2010. Before that, he was president of the Florida Turfgrass Association (2005-06) and was honored with that association's highest recognition, the Wreath of Grass, in 2010.
Taylor spent three years prepping under Tim Hiers, CGCS at Collier's Reserve Country Club in Naples after graduating from the golf and landscape operations program at Lake City Community College — now Florida Gateway College. He spent four years as director of golf course operations at Bonita Bay Club in Naples from 1996 to 2000, before moving on to Royal Poinciana.
He went back to school from 2014-17 at the University of Florida, where he earned a bachelor's degree in business administration.
"Matt has devoted as much heart and soul to the well-being of our profession and the industry as anyone," said Florida GCSA president, Jason Zimmerman, CGCS at The Nest Golf Club in Bonita Springs. "He is so deserving of this honor."