ELMSFORD, N.Y. (February 17, 2005) - Tim O’ Neill, CGCS, golf course superintendent at the Country Club of Darien, Darien, CT, was elected president of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America on February 11th at the Association’s Annual Meeting in Orlando, FL.  A native of Pawtucket, RI, O’Neill will head a 12-person Executive Committee and will succeed Mark J. Woodward of Mesa, AZ.

O'Neill, who has served on the board of directors since 2000, is the chairman of the Environmental Programs and Chapter Relations committees, and chairs the Conference and Show Resource Group and Industry Advisory Council. 

O'Neill has been at the Country Club of Darien since 1981.  Before moving to Darien, he was an assistant superintendent at Greenwich (CT) Country Club (1979-81). He received a bachelor's degree in turf grass management from the University of Rhode Island in Kingston, RI, in 1979.

A GCSAA member for 22 years, O'Neill became a certified GCS in 1988. He has participated in GCSAA's Ambassador Speakers Program, and is a member of the Rhode Island GCSA, Connecticut GCSA and the Metropolitan GCSA (affiliated chapters of GCSAA). O'Neill has chaired numerous committees and served as the Met GCSA president (1992-93). He also served as president of the Met Area’s Tri-State Turf Research Foundation.

One of O’Neill’s goals as president of the national organization will be to change the direction of the Association’s Golf Industry Show to bring in other organizations like the Golf Course Builders, the Golf Course Owners Association, Golf Course Architects, and in the future, the Club Managers Association of America.  This will help the already hugely popular show grow relationships and attract attendees from around the nation.

 

Regarding the role of the golf course superintendent, O’Neill feels that “we can no longer focus only on the course.  Golf is now, more than ever, a business.  That said, today’s superintendent must focus on and be an integral part of the success of the entire facility—the golf course, clubhouse, whole operation.”

 

The GCSAA is a national organization representing some 21,000 golf course superintendents.

 

For more information contact GSCAA.org