Features Profiles
Witteveen to be inducted into Canadian Golf Hall of Fame

 

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.