Dr. Victor Gibeault To Receive 2013 USGA Green Section Award

By USGA

| Dec 16, 2012

Far Hills, N.J. – The United States Golf Association has announced that Dr. Victor Gibeault of the University of California, Riverside, is the recipient of the 2013 USGA Green Section Award.

The Green Section Award is presented annually by the USGA to honor those persons who deserve special recognition for distinguished service to golf through their work with turfgrass. The award will be presented to Gibeault on Feb. 8, 2013, at the USGA Green Section Education Conference at the Golf Industry Show in San Diego, Calif.

Dr. Gibeault, 71, a cooperative extension specialist, emeritus, has been researching and educating the golf industry on turfgrass for more than 40 years. He served 13 years on the USGA Turfgrass and Environmental Research Committee. As a member of the committee he played a key role in formulating its policies, establishing research priorities, analyzing proposals and monitoring the progress and results of funded projects.

“I am both pleased and honored to have been selected to receive the USGA Green Section Award,” said Dr. Gibeault. “Now retired, I have been fortunate to spend my career as a University of California Cooperative Extension specialist, and in that role, I have worked on turfgrass research issues and educational projects and programs. My activities with the golf course industry have been enjoyable, fruitful, and have given me a sense of personal accomplishment, for which I am grateful.”

Dr. Gibeaultholds the U.S. patents for two zoysiagrass cultivars, De Anza and Victoria, and one buffalograss cultivar, UC Verde. Additionally he co-edited the 1985 book, Turfgrass Water Conservation.

In 2004 the board of directors of the Southern California Turfgrass Foundation presented him with the Turfgrass Hall of Fame Award. The Golf Course Superintendents Association of America awarded him its Distinguished Service Award in 1993, and he was recognized by the USGA with its Piper & Oakley Award in 1999.

Gibeault retired from the University of California, Riverside in May 2007.

“Dr. Gibeault is a man who recognized the importance of water issues for the golf industry long before it came into vogue over larger segments of the country,” said Dr. Kimberly Erusha, managing director of the Green Section. “He was a leader in the development of the 1985 publication, Turfgrass Water Conservation, which was a standard for the industry for many years. The USGA directly benefited from his 13 years of service as he volunteered his time, expertise, and thoughtful guidance to the USGA Turfgrass and Environmental Research Committee from 1985-1997. This came at a critical time when water-quality issues were at the forefront of research program funding.”