AGCSA Graduate of the Year Award

With the rise of dedicated turf education courses in recent times, the calibre of graduates increases from year to year, which makes this award one of the most difficult to judge. The AGCSA Graduate of the Year Award is special in that it gives an indication of where the future of the industry lies. Today's recipients will be tomorrow's superintendents and turf managers and will ultimately go on to play a major role in the development and direction of golf course maintenance in this country.

For the lucky graduate, the award provides a huge boost, helping to launch their career in the best possible way. And with Toro coming on board as award sponsor in 2004, a lucrative education package also goes the way of the winner.

Selection Criteria
The structure of the AGCSA Graduate of the Year Award changed in 2004 and now nominees come directly from the individual state associations' graduate awards programs. To be eligible, students must have graduated from their studies in the previous 12 months. This award is not open to persons already holding management positions within a golf turf facility.

In deciding upon who wins national honours, the judging panel will consider the graduate's academic achievements, career aspirations, ambassadorial skills and how winning the award will assist the graduate in meeting their career aspirations.

All finalists will be judged by an independent panel consisting of golf course superintendents and TAFE teachers. The finalists will be required to give a 15-20 minute presentation and take 10 minutes of questions from the judging panel. 

 2008 AGCSA Graduate of the Year Award
Winner: Chris Thompson (Maclean Golf Club, NSW)

Maclean Golf Club’s Chris Thompson became the third NSW recipient of the AGCSA Graduate of the Year Award, presented in partnership with Toro, in four years at the recent Melbourne conference. The popular winner won the crowd over with the first line of his acceptance speech commenting it would be like a mini skirt – long enough to cover the essentials but short enough to keep the gathering interested.

Having earlier in the year collected the NSWGCSA Graduate of the Year title, Thompson came out on top from a strong field of finalists which included Rhys Whitling (Safety Beach Country Club, VIC), Chris Robinson (St Lucia Golf Links, QLD), Scott Murray (Willunga Golf Club, SA) and Luke Hoglin (Wanneroo Golf Club, WA). As well as paying tribute to his fellow finalists, Thompson also made special mention of his colleagues at Maclean Golf Club, in particular their efforts in covering for him while he enjoyed the week-long conference.

Maclean Golf Club is situated inland from Yamba in northern NSW and Thompson has proved to be a valuable asset for the club. During his time there he has learnt to complete all tasks a qualified greenkeeper would be expected to do, as well as other jobs outside the normal scope. He has taken charge of the course and its employees when the superintendent has had time off, fulfilling duties such as assigning tasks to other employees, setting up the course for play and planning fertilisation programmes, disease, pest and weed treatments.

While his passion and enthusiasm for golf course maintenance highly impressed the judging panel, it was his well-rounded nature and maturity which shone through as well. Outside of work Thompson has involved himself in a wide variety of community organisations and activities.

He has been a member of the Maclean Soccer Club for the past 14 years and as well as playing and refereeing has assisted in preparing the club’s grounds. He was also a member of the Lower Clarence Amateur Swimming Club for 12 years and recently assisted in the construction of amenities in the club’s grounds.

Thompson is also a member of the Gulmarrad Volunteer Bush Fire Brigade and is involved in meetings, pre and post fire maintenance, as well as working as part of a team on the fire line. Through his membership with the Rural Fire Service he has been able to achieve many qualifications including village firefighter, advanced firefighter, chainsaw operator, senior first aid officer, and 4WD tanker driver.

In winning the award, Thompson will now pack his bags and head to the US courtesy of Toro. Thompson will attend the University of Massachusetts Winter School for Turf Managers which and will also get the chance to visit Toro’s major manufacturing facilities. Toro will also pay for him to attend the 2009 GCSAA Golf Industry Show.

AGCSA Graduate of the Year Award Past Recipients

2007: Peter Beach (Gosnells Golf Club, WA)
2006: Sean Kinsley (Yamba Golf Club, NSW)
2005: Damien Bell (Wellington Golf Club, NSW)
2004: Craig Webley (Lakelands Country Club, WA)
2003: James Dalton (13th Beach Golf Club, VIC)
2002: Glenn Dawson (Federal Golf Club, ACT)
2001: Scott Carruthers (Pennant Hills Golf Club, NSW)
2000: Brett Barsby (Royal Queensland Golf Club, QLD)
1999: Stephen Heskett (Federal Golf Club, ACT)
1998: Jason Garbutt
1997: Ian Johnston
1996: Jason Blacka