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1992
An Environmental
Approach to Golf Course
Development
published
1996
50th ASGCA Annual Meeting held in
Pinehurst, North Carolina
1997
Alice Dye, ASGCA, is
first female president
were approved and the purpose of the
group defined.
By creating a new organization
of professional architects, the
group aspired to be the influential,
collective voice in the industry,
under the name proposed by
Langford—the American Society of
Golf Course Architects.
Among the key areas of concern for
those founding fathers were issues
that remain relevant today. Richard
Tufts, the head of Pinehurst and
ASGCA’s first Complimentary Member,
addressed the group: “We feel that a
golf course is designed for a certain
type of shot to the green, and that as
you increase the length of the tee shot,
you throw the golf course all out of
scale. Therefore, it spoils the pleasure
of the play to have this continual
increase in the flight of the ball.”
Growth in the game
Over the following years, the founding
members’ hopes for a surge in new golf
courses were realized, and the group
evolved and grew, recruiting influential
new members like James G. Harrison
of Pennsylvania and Howard Watson, a
protégé of Stanley Thompson. In 1951,
William Gordon’s son David joined
ASGCA. In 1959 he became president,
six years after his father, and he
remains a member today, the longest
serving in ASGCA history.
During its early years, annual
meetings were typically attended
by 10-15 members, and involved
education and discussion on issues
of the day, new trends in design, and
the advancement of the profession.
Robert Trent Jones was known for his
promotional skills, and encouraged
the group to engage with influential
publications of the time. In the early
1960s the ASGCA developed its first
piece of literature—on the benefits of
retaining a golf course architect.
A new era
By the late 1960s, ASGCA had grown
to such an extent that it was no
longer practical for its members to
handle all aspects of administration.
Membership had reached almost
50, with recent recruits including
Pete Dye and Bill Amick. In 1970,
incoming President Larry Packard
strongly pushed for a central office to
be established.
Those discussions led to the
appointment of Paul Fullmer of
Chicago PR firm Selz, Seabolt &
Associates as ASGCA Executive
Secretary. Association management
would be a new venture for the firm,
but Packard was confident that
Fullmer was right for the job.
Fullmer’s first annual meeting was
in Palm Springs, California, in 1971.
By that time, he had established the
ASGCA Suppliers Directory so was
already demonstrating the value
he could add. But an extract from
Fullmer’s book about his time at the
ASGCA,
Presidents I Have Known
,
reveals the meeting to be something
of a baptism by fire.
“The largest firestorm in ASGCA
meeting history broke out over the
relationship of members with touring
pros. Many members at that time felt
extremely threatened by the pros and
believed no ASGCA member should
have any relationship with a pro.
13
The contributions
of
ASGCA
, and
each individual
member, have been
instrumental to the
enjoyment of the
game
by millions
around the world
Mike Davis, CEO,
United States Golf Association