For the students - Golf Course Industry

By Golf Course Industry staff

Michigan State University student Andrew Dorland has won the Mendenhall Award of $6,000 in the 2024 Scholars Competition offered through the GCSAA.

The GCSAA Scholars Competition is funded by the Robert Trent Jones Endowment and administered by the GCSAA Foundation. It was developed to recognize outstanding students working toward careers in golf course management or other related areas of the golf course industry.

The scholarships range from $500 to $6,000. Applicants must be enrolled in a recognized undergraduate program in a major field related to turf management, have completed at least 24 credit hours or the equivalent of one year of full-time study of the appropriate major and be a member of GCSAA.

Dorland first became interested in turfgrass management in high school while working at a local golf course. At Michigan State University, Dorland is an active member of the MSU Turf Club and received the C.E. “Tuck” and Becky Tate Turfgrass Scholarship, administered by the Department of Plant and Soil Sciences. He was also a 2023 GCSAA Scholars Competition Scholars Award winner.

In addition to school, Dorland has served as an irrigation technician at Michigan’s Kalamazoo Country Club; interned at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, New York; and interned at The Club at Seven Canyons in Sedona, Arizona.

“Being awarded the Mendenhall Scholarship is a true honor,” Dorland said. “It’s a very surreal experience, and I could not be more grateful. The scholarship will help immensely when it comes to pursuing my educational goals. I thank GCSAA for giving students an opportunity to be exposed to all aspects of the turf world. There are so many different paths that turf can lead you down, and the GCSAA does a wonderful job providing a platform for everyone to succeed.”

The top award of the GCSAA Scholars Competition is named for the late Chet Mendenhall, who was a charter member of GCSAA, a past president of 1948 and recipient of the association’s Distinguished Service Award in1986. Along with this award, Dorland will also receive an all-expenses-paid trip to the 2025 GCSAA Conference and Trade Show, Feb. 3-6, in San Diego.

Other award winners are: