GCSAA Conference attendees select annual “Dog of the Year” winner in Orlando, Fla.

In February, attendees of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) Conference and Trade Show at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla., selected Mac, a 1-year-old border collie mix from Hyannisport Club in Hyannis Port, Mass., to become the 2026 “Dog of the Year.”   

In what’s become a “must do” on the trade show floor each year, attendees visited LebanonTurf’s booth to vote for their personal choice of all of the dogs featured in the annual “Dog Days of Golf Calendar” to determine which one would be honored as the “Dog of the Year”. 

“Mac clearly won the hearts of this year’s crowd at the show,” said Christopher Gray Sr., director of marketing for LebanonTurf.  “He’s a deserving winner who represents our industry very well as true golf course working dog.”  

Mac, who began patrolling the Hyannisport Club property at only eight weeks old, has earned the title “The Chief of the Geese Police.”  Mac also enjoys checking irrigation heads to ensure they’re working properly and playing with the syringe hose while his dad, first asistant golf course superintendent David Kennedy, keeps the greens cooled. 

Mac and Kennedy will also receive $500 and a plaque. Additionally, Mac earned $3,000 for David’s local GCSAA chapter and a $2,000 donation to K9 for Warriors. 

LebanonTurf and the GCSAA partner together annually to develop and provide the annual calendar. Submissions for the 2027 calendar will open up this summer.