Shawn Emerson inducted in Anuvia’s Legends Initiative

(Left to right) Matt Shaffer, Bob Farren, CGCS, Shawn Emerson, Anuvia Chief Commercial Office Hugh MacGillivray and Seth Jones. (Photo: Golfdom Staff)

Though the news was a year old, the induction ceremony was worth the wait.

At the 2021 Golfdom Summit in Orlando, previous Legends inductees Matt Shaffer and Bob Farren, CGCS, took the stage to honor longtime superintendent Shawn Emerson. The three discussed the industry, shared words of wisdom and told tales from their storied careers to enrapture the Golfdom Summit audience.

“My dad told me this, and I’ll give this advice to you all,” Emerson said in a closing comment. “If you’re 30, know someone that’s 40. If you’re 40, know someone that’s 50. And if you’re 50, know someone that’s 60. Because you’ll need that advice as you move along in your career.”

Shaffer, longtime superintendent at Merion GC, Ardmore, Pa., and host superintendent of the 2013 U.S. Open, and Farren, longtime director of grounds at Pinehurst (N.C.) Resort and host superintendent of the back-to-back men’s and women’s U.S. Opens in 2014 (and inaugural winner of GCSAA’s Col. John Morley Award) helped Emerson commemorate the honor with their own reflections on the industry.

“It was awesome, especially getting to be with Bob and Matt the entire time,” Emerson said of the event and ceremony. “I’m not kidding, I had 10 to 15 people ask me about some of the things we talked about the next day. I think it resonated with people.”

Anuvia Plant Nutrients, Audubon International and Golfdom co-sponsor the program.