8/15/2013 9:08 AM
Steve,
I'm not going to question Annika's being worthy. She seems like a great golf ambassador. My frustration is the lack of recognition of Col. John Morley. I challenge any of you to read the following words of John Morley and explain to me how he is not in the World Golf Hall of Fame!
Words of Wisdom:
GCSAA's Founding President Col. John Morley
Aims and Objectives: of the National Association of Greenkeepers of America
Following are excerpts from John Morley's address to the Sept. 13, 1926, organizational meeting at Sylvania Country Club, Toledo, Ohio ("A History of the Organization of the National Association of Greenkeepers of America," The National Greenkeeper, Vol. 1: No. 1, Jan. 1927):
The association of mankind for the purpose of advancement and improvement is a divine arrangement. Men are made for companionship. No life is, or can be, self-existent. We depend upon each other. We should organize on those principles which have lived and been recognized wherever men have been found who have devoted themselves to the happiness of others, and sought to make men wiser, braver and better, and imbued them with aspirations of a nobler manhood. If these teaching could find a throne in every heart, if they could find expression in the daily acts of men, they would put a new color into life and a new light on the face of humanity.
This Association will be founded on justice, faithful brotherhood and generous benevolence. It will seek to so mould and influence human character as to make men rightly appreciate and esteem one another. We will endeavor to make our Association the outgrowth of the spirit and the prevailing sentiments of the times. Character has more to do with healthy human progress than any other of the many elements of civilization. It is the gem of life, which ennobles man and lifts the human to the divine image.
It will be the purpose of the National Association of Greenkeepers of America to build up the highest type of character, and stand as the champion advocate and auxiliary of the best interest of Golfdom. We present its teachings and principles as a good moral force, with the utmost confidence and appeal to its fruits as verified by our record. …
A greenkeeper, after two or more years of experience, becomes attached to his course. He is in love with every blade of grass that he causes to grow upon it. In no sense of the word can an Association of greenkeepers be classified as a labor organization, for the greenkeeper would be out of place in one. Greenkeeping is a profession rightly known among the Arts and Sciences. I have often known of greenkeepers who were on the course at six o'clock in the morning, after supper return and labor until midnight watering the putting greens.
We desire co-operation with one another, to give and receive advice whenever desired, and we believe that in time we will be in a position to give the golfing fraternity all the assistance it needs. In other words, we want an organization that the chairman of the Green committee can look at with pride. You show me a course that is up to date, and I will you show you a chairman of the Green committee and a greenkeeper who are like two peas in a pod. But we must remember that with so many new courses being constructed din all parts of the country, and the lack of men fully conversant with the art of greenkeeping, often there is a strained feeling between employer and employee. We propose to try and remedy this by instructing them as far as possible as to what is the right thing to do. To those who wish to study along theoretical lines, we invite them to enroll in our Correspondence Course in Greenkeeping.
We hope to secure the publication of a magazine entirely devoted to the interest of greenkeeping, and to encourage our members to express themselves by writing articles pertaining to their methods, written in their own way, and to invite them to send for any information they may care to ask for.
We want to know what there is on the market for sale which may apply to the welfare of a golf course, and save the manufacturers and their agents the expense of sending out circulars and other printed matter to clubs where some of them are never read, but often thrown into the waste basket by the club secretary.
We expect to get a copy of this monthly magazine into the hands of all greenkeepers, than all a manufacturer needs to do is to advertise what he wants to sell in its pages. …
The article continued, "Mr. Morley's address met with applause, following which a motion was unanimously carried approving the purposes as outlined, including the adoption of an official organ to be published for the National Association, such magazine to be issued monthly and known as ‘The National Greenkeeper.'" Morley was elected the first president of the association, a position he held from 1926 until 1932.
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A Message to Members
Following is an excerpt from a 1927 editorial by Morley ("A Message to all Members and Prospective Members of the National Association of Greenkeepers of America," The National Greenkeeper, Vol. 1: No. 3, March 1927):
"What are we going to get out of it, if we become members of the Association?" is a question I have been asked several times since the organization of the National Association of Greenkeepers of America.
It is not what we can get out of it that will make this movement for the improvement of greenkeeping conditions and the advancement in knowledge of the greenkeepers of tomorrow something which will stand as an everlasting monument in the Golf world. It is what we put into it.
If we put Strife, Jealousy and Envy into it, every member will feel their lash. But if we put into it Fraternity, Concord and Love, these we shall be able to give in full measure. Selfishness is the rock upon which many lives have been wrecked, and from which no man can look clearly and with a free conscience into the great world about him.
Greenkeepers seeking to enter this fraternity should do so without regard for material gain or worldly advantages, but to associate themselves with those who believe in the inculcation of the higher ideals of human conduct.
Let the warm sympathy that goes out into the highways and byways, that seeks out the needy fellow member and holds out a helping hand govern the future of this brotherhood. Let the primary objects of this association be the union of worthy greenkeepers, carefully selected and strictly obligated, without reference to the accident of rank, fortune or social position.
Let us work together in harmony. Blessed s the greenkeeper whose voice is raised in the interest of Peace, whose words are kindly spoken, and whose character is real. Let Character be built into the foundation of this association, and may our motto always be: "Justice, Faithful Brotherhood, and Generous Benevolence."
Time only will tell whether I have acted wisely in bringing into existence the National Association of Greenkeepers of America. I have done my duty as God gave me power to see the light. If you desire to show your approval, attend the first annual meeting in Chicago March 26, and help create conditions which will give this association aims and objects drawn to meet the approval of all greenkeepers and the golfing fraternity in general.
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Cooperation Not a Sentiment
Following are excerpts from "Morley Reviews Year's Progress" in the January 1929 edition of The National Greenkeeper:
Cooperation is not a sentiment. It is an economic necessity. We want everyone to realize that we cannot be classified as a labor organization for a greenkeeper would be out of place in one. Greenkeeping belongs to art and science. The remuneration of a greenkeeper will always be based upon practical knowledge and experience.
Up-to-date information and training enables a greenkeeper to save his club thousands of dollars through efficient methods and expert diagnosis of soil conditions. Dearth of printed knowledge, lack of opportunity for contact and cooperation, and the absolute need for every possible bit of information were the real controlling factors which actuated the organization of the National Association.
The object of this association is to advance the art and science of greenkeeping, to cement the greenkeepers of the United States and Canada into a closer relationship with each other, and to collect and disseminate practical knowledge of the problems of greenkeeping with a view of more efficient and economical maintenance of golf courses. With this in view it has been the aim and purpose of the National Association of Greenkeepers of America to study and devise ways and means to lessen the cost of golf and at the same time to endeavor to improve service. …
Chairmen of Green committees and greenkeepers who attend our 1929 Conference and Golf Show will go away with a new interest in their work and relationship and a far better realization of the benefits that the National Association of Greenkeepers of America is offering to every golf club in America….
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Loyalty and Human Sympathy
Following are excerpts from the annual report given by John Morley, president of the NAGA, at the 1932 annual meeting ("President Morley Urges Loyalty and Human Sympathy in Annual Report," The National Greenkeeper, Vol. 6: No. 2, February 1932):
Since we have been organized we have won the friendship of the golfing world by our progressive work. For the first time in the history of greenkeeping we have been honored by having four of our member greenkeepers placed on the Advisory Board of the Green Section. We must all pull together with a determination that when we meet in annual session in 1933 we will be able to report that our association has more than held its own.
The year just past has to a large extent brought to me many sad and distressing letters from members who have lost their positions, appealing to me to try and secure another position for them. While we have on several occasions been able to do so, the demand has been so great that it has been an impossibility to obtain positions for all. From a charitable standpoint, I would recommend that our association retain all members in good standing who have lost their positions until such time as each and every one is able to secure another position.
Let us keep in close touch with all of our unemployed members to that if you find any that you know are worthy of aid to let us know. For we will not allow anyone to go hungry, especially if they have a family to support, while we have a reasonable balance in our Benevolent Fund.
John Morley, President (1926-32)
Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA)
• Born in Middleboro, England in 1867.
• Came to America and settled in Ohio at an early age. He was a gardener and was active in many service clubs (Elks, Moose, Owls). He also dedicated himself to feeding the poor of Youngstown, Ohio during the depression.
• He managed the Bass Lake Hotel and a dining club. Because of this experience he was appointed greenkeeper of Youngstown C.C. in 1912 at the age of 45.
• Because he did not know much about greenkeeping, he visited numerous golf courses in Cleveland and Pittsburgh and the newly created Turf Gardens in Arlington, Va., to learn more about the trade.
• He also became acquainted with Piper, Oakley and Carrier – all noted turf experts and Ph.D.s -- who helped him visit many prominent golf courses in the Northeast. He also attended several of the early USGA Green Section meetings.
• Morley's visits to other golf courses helped him further his greenkeeping skills, and his reputation as a very qualified greenkeeper grew over the years. Golfing greats such as Harry Vardon, Ted Ray, Walter Hagen, Gene Sarazen and Joe Kirkwood traveled to visit Morley and see his work.
• In 1923, Morley (at the age of 57) helped organize the Cleveland District Greenkeeper's Association and was integral in the formation of the fledgling National Association of Greenkeepers of America.
• On September 13, 1926, sixty greenkeepers met at Sylvania C.C. in Toledo, Ohio for the inaugural meeting of the National Association of Greenkeepers of America (NAGA). Colonel John Morley was elected the president of the NAGA from 1926 to 1932. The association published its first magazine in 1927.
• Morley was recognized in a letter from Donald Ross, famed golf course architect, dated October 17, 1926 for forming the NAGA. Donald Ross said, "I congratulate you on your work as a greenkeeper of outstanding ability and with leaders of your type an Association would unquestionably be a great success, not only from the standpoint of the members but also from the Clubs who employ them."
• Morley, along with John MacGregor and Fred Burkhardt (both officers in the NAGA and future presidents of the association) tirelessly toured the country (including Toronto and other parts of Canada) in efforts to promote the NAGA and build membership. Not only did they meet with greenkeepers, but also with leaders of private clubs to build support of the organization. It is estimated that Morley himself visited more than 200 clubs in that time.
• In 1933 Morley (at the age of 65) turned the reigns of the NAGA over to John MacGregor. However, Morley continued to serve the NAGA for 10 more years.
• At the 1940 NAGA Conference in New York, Morley was presented the "Man of the Year" award by William Richardson, Golf Editor of the New York Times.
• In April of 1946 at the age of 79, John Morley died.
• Elected to the Northern Ohio Golf Association Hall of Fame, Sept. 13, 2006.