A career superintendent with more than a half-century of service at golf clubs across Ontario and Quebec, Witteveen was the founding director of the Canadian Golf Superintendents Association (CGSA) and was a renowned golf writer, author, featured speaker and educator.

 

He is being inducted in the builder category, becoming the 70th honoured member of the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame. The first superintendent inducted was John B. Steel in 1988.

 

“The Canadian Golf Hall of Fame seeks to recognize excellence as golfers, contributors and supporters of the game,” said Ian Clarke, chairman of the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame selection committee. “Gord Witteveen made tremendous contributions as a superintendent, author and educator and it is only fitting that as such, he is recognized for his accomplishments.”

 

“Gord made significant contributions to the CGSA and to golf course management in Canada and around the world during the course of a remarkable career,” said Ken Cousineau, executive director of the Canadian Golf Superintendents Association. “His mentorship of countless young men and women left an indelible mark on the superintendent profession, ensuring the continuity of knowledgeable and capable golf management professionals for generations to come.”

 

Witteveen will be posthumously inducted into the Hall at a ceremony in January 2013, the details of which will be released at a later date.

 

Over the course of a 52-year career as a golf course superintendent,  Witteveen built a legacy as one of Canadian golf’s most prominent keepers of the green. Born on May 19, 1934, he immigrated to Canada in 1954 and attended the Ontario Agricultural College (now the University of Guelph) where he earned a science degree.

 

After assuming the role of superintendent at Noranda Mines Golf Club in Quebec between 1956 and 1957, Witteveen became the superintendent at London Highland Country Club in Ontario upon graduation from college in 1958. Three years later, he moved to Toronto to assume the superintendent role at the now defunct Northwood Golf Course, a position  he held for 12 years. During this period, he became active with the Ontario Golf Superintendents Association (OGSA) and helped found the Canadian Golf Superintendents Association (CGSA), serving on the CGSA’s board of directors between 1966 and 1972, and also serving as CGSA President in 1970. 

 

From 1973 to 1999, Witteveen served as superintendent of the Board of Trade Country Club in Woodbridge, Ont., expanding the facility to 45 holes during his tenure. Upon his retirement from Board of Trade after 36 years of service, he owned and operated Pleasant View Golf Club, a nine-hole course near Brantford, Ont., until its sale in 2008.

 

A frequent contributor to industry publications, including Turf & Recreation, Ontario Golf News, TurfNet Monthly and Golf Course Management among others, Witteveen was also the founding editor of the CGSA’s GreenMaster magazine and later a featured columnist. He is the namesake of the Gord Witteveen Award for outstanding writing by a superintendent for publication in GreenMaster magazine, and received the Leo Fesser Award from the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) for the best superintendent-written article in Golf Course Management magazine in 1983.

 

Witteveen also travelled globally to provide education on golf course maintenance.

 

During the course of a storied career, Witteveen authored several books, including A Century of Greenkeeping in 2001 and Keeping the Green in Canada in 2008. He also co-authored Practical Golf Course Maintenance: The Magic of Greenkeeping in 1998 and Keepers of the Green in 2002.

 

He was recognized with the SCOREGolf Award as Superintendent of the Year in 1983 and earned the CGSA’s John B. Steel Distinguished Service Award in 1999, before earning similar honors from the GCSAA and the OGSA in 2004 and 2007 respectively.