LAWRENCE, KAN.—Call them the Fab Four: Frank Lamphier; Ken Mangum, CGCS; Dennis Lyon, CGCS; and Dr. Roch Gaussoin have been chosen to receive the 2013 Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) Col. John Morley Distinguished Service Award.

All four men will be acknowledged at the 2013 GCSAA Education Conference during the Opening Session, presented in partnership with Syngenta, Wednesday, Feb. 6, at 8 a.m. The conference (Feb. 4-8) will be held in conjunction with the Golf Industry Show (Feb. 6-7) at the San Diego Convention Center.

“It is indeed an honor to recognize Frank Lamphier, Ken Mangum, Dennis Lyon and Roch Gaussoin for their distinguished service to GCSAA, the profession and the game,” says GCSAA President Sandy Queen, CGCS. “They have not only been successful throughout their careers, but they have been givers as well. Their contributions have had an impact and will continue to make one for many years to come.”

Lamphier, who spent several years as superintendent at Aspetuck Valley Country Club in Bethel, Conn., was instrumental in reviving the popular GCSAA National Championship & Golf Classic. The event began in 1938 as an annual affair, endured interruptions throughout the ensuing years, and went dormant from 1964-67. Lamphier stepped up to become coordinator of the golf classic in 1968, and helped breathe new life into it. This year’s national championship portion of the event at the famed Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego is sold out.

“If you’re going to be involved in an association like GCSAA, you should really become part of it,” says Lamphier, 78, a retired 51-year member of GCSAA who graduated from the University of Massachusetts’ Stockbridge School of Agriculture and in 1987 was selected as the Superintendent of the Year by the Connecticut Association of Golf Course Superintendents.

Mangum, director of golf courses and grounds at Atlanta Athletic Club since 1988, has overseen two PGA Championships, including the 2011 event. Mangum, who earned an associate’s degree in golf course operations from Lake City Community College (now Florida Gateway College), was the 2002 Georgia Superintendent of the Year.

Mangum has been a member of the USGA Green Section Committee for more than two decades. In March, he will receive a plaque from the USGA for 25 years of service. His decision to replace bentgrass surfaces with Diamond zoysia fairways, Tifton 10 bermudagrass rough and Champion ultradwarf greens in time for the 2011 PGA Championship proved to be a risk that was rewarded and just may have helped establish a trend in the South. Mangum also served on the GCSAA Board of Directors.

“We’re under the microscope every day here,” says Mangum, 58. “There are high expectations. “That’s OK because I’ve always been competitive, whether I’m playing cards or golf.”

Lyon, GCSAA president in 1989, managed the golf program for the city of Aurora, Colo., for nearly four decades. He was president of the Colorado Golf Association and was elected to that state’s golf hall of fame in 2005. A 2011 USGA Green Section Award recipient, Lyon became golf course superintendent at Aurora Hills Golf Course in 1973. He helped initiate a program in Aurora called “Keep Pace” in which golfers who did not complete nine holes in 2 hours, 15 minutes, were subject to removal with a 9-hole rain check.

“I think I have a servant’s heart to some degree,” says Lyon, 64, a graduate of Colorado State’s horticulture program (he also earned a master’s in management from the University of Northern Colorado). “I’m just an average guy.”

Gaussoin, department head for agronomy and horticulture at the University of Nebraska, earned his bachelor’s degree in agronomy and master’s in crop science at New Mexico State University, where he aided local turfgrass legend Arden Baltensperger in developing NuMex Sahara. The research for this seed-propogated bermudagrass was funded by the USGA. Gaussoin, who earned his doctoral degree in turfgrass science from Michigan State University, has published more than 80 scientific research articles and at least 250 pieces for trade journals, newsletters and Extension programs.

“I just did what I thought I perceived superintendents needed in terms of research and education,” says Gaussoin, 55, who speaks at numerous turfgrass conferences and helped undergraduates at Nebraska form a student chapter of GCSAA. “Nothing earth-shaking other than listening to the needs of superintendents, seeing what they thought was important, getting a consensus from them. I spent as much time listening as doing. I think that an open ear helped most.”

The GCSAA Board of Directors selects the winners from nominations submitted by affiliated chapters and/or association members. The award is given to individuals who have made an outstanding, substantive and enduring contribution to the advancement of the golf course superintendent profession. The award was renamed in 2009 in honor of Col. John Morley, GCSAA’s founder and first president. He was the first to earn the Distinguished Service Award, and received it again in 1940.