Marsh Benson's footprint on golf is, to say the least, immense.
For more than a quarter century, Benson was a major influence on the direction of golf's grandest championship when served as superintendent and later director of golf course and grounds and ultimately senior director of golf course and grounds and long-range planning at Augusta National Golf Club.
In recognition of his contributions to the golf industry, Benson has been named the recipient of the Don A. Rossi Award presented annually by the Golf Course Builders Association and “recognizes those that have made significant contributions to the game of golf and its growth as well as those that have inspired others by their example.”
While overseeing long-range planning at Augusta National, Benson influenced the careers of countless up-and-coming interns, assistants and superintendents. He also built and directed teams that implemented the visions of the club established under the guidance of chairmen Jack Stephens, Hootie Johnson and Billy Payne, including enhancements to the golf course, clubhouse, The Masters championship, player and patron-support facilities at one of the world's most recognizable sports venues.
A 1975 graduate of the University of Georgia where he earned a degree in environmental design, Benson was a product of the Penn State turfgrass management program. His tenure at Augusta started in 1981 when he interned under Billy Fuller. He was the superintendent at the Country Club of Florida in Boynton Beach and Jennings Mill Country Club in Athens, Georgia before returning to Augusta in 1989 as superintendent.
His ability to improve maintenance practices at golf course facilities achieved world-wide recognition after he invented and patented the SubAir System in 1994. The popularity of the system has grown over the past 25 years, starting with golf course greens and expanding to all types of playing and sports field surfaces.
Due to the demanding tournament turf conditions at Augusta under an array of weather scenarios, Benson has been instrumental in working with golf equipment manufacturers to improve mower performance, grass disbursement, irrigation concepts and more.
His ability to improve maintenance practices at golf course facilities achieved world-wide recognition after he invented and patented the SubAir System in 1994.
Benson retired in 2015 but continues to consult with the club on several projects. In 2015 he founded his own company WMBIMAGINE, which provides design, construction and project consulting services for clients throughout the world.
Benson continues to give back to the industry he loves by serving on the board of The Musser International Turfgrass Foundation that awards top doctoral graduate students the Musser Award of Excellence to provide financial support of their educational endeavors.
He also is active in an effort to grow turfgrass scholarships at Penn State in memory of his mentor Joseph Duich, Ph.D., also a former Rossi winner, and serves on the board of the Warrior Alliance, whose mission is to drive skills development in the golf industry for veterans transitioning from active duty to civilian life.
The Rossi award is named for Don A. Rossi, who served as executive director of the National Golf Foundation from 1970 to 1983, was instrumental in forming the National Golf Course Owners Association and served as executive director of the GCBAA from 1984 to 1990. The award will be presented at the 2020 Golf Industry Show in Orlando.