David Stone, recipient of the 1995 Green Section Award, is much more than a golf course superintendent.

by Marty Parkes

IT IS VIRTUALLY impossible for David Stone to recall a time when he was not interested in golf. A Tennessee native born in 1948, Stone grew up on his family's dairy farm and became interested in the game, like so many viewers in that era of black-and-white television, by watching Arnold Palmer's feats of daring.

Stone undertook his first golf-related task at an early age by constructing a putting green where he could practice his game. But when reality later set in and he realized he would probably never be accomplished enough as a competitor, he still managed to find enjoyment on that green -- not by playing on it, but maintaining and conditioning it. More than 30 years later, it is obvious he made the correct choice.

Stone's career has never ventured far from his birthplace, but along the way he has made his mark, as evidenced by his selection as recipient of the 1995 Green Section Award. Presented annually since 1961 by the USGA, the award is granted in recognition of distinguished contributions to golf through work with turfgrass. At age 46, Stone is the youngest recipient of the award.

Upon graduation from the University of Tennessee, Stone labored in golf course maintenance until landing his first superintendent's job in 1974 at Crockett Springs Golf Club, in Nashville. In 1977 he left for Knoxville to assume the superintendent's duties at Holston Hills Country Club.

"David took a worn-out Donald Ross course," says Dick Horton, executive director of the Tennessee Golf Association, "and transformed it into a classic Ross gem.

"I have worked with many golf course superintendents across our state, and David Stone is easily the most well respected . . . giving person I know in his profession."

Seven years later Stone was on the move again, this time to the Chattanooga area and the new Pete Dye-designed Honors Course. Stone's stewardship has not only helped The Honors Course receive recognition for its programs promoting conservation and preservation of wildlife habitats, its exemplary maintenance and conditioning have made it a favorite for championship play. The 1991 U.S. Amateur and the 1994 Curtis Cup were played there, and next year the course will host the Division I NCAA Championships.

Writing in the May/June 1992 issue of the USGA Green Section Record, Stone described his unexpected introduction to ornithology at The Honors Course. "When I accepted the job as superintendent of The Honors Course, which was still under construction, little did I know that I would become a real bird lover in a few years."

Today, conversations with Stone are filled with liberal references to his many nestboxes, constructed to promote the bluebird population at The Honors Course. The tone of his voice reveals all the affection and warmth of a parent as he describes the nurturing of generations of bluebirds that inhabit the property.

"David's contributions to his craft in the development of experimental grasses into normal use, and providing uses of several new chemical elements," wrote golf course architect Robert E. Cupp in his nomination, "will provide countless benefits for all people, golfers or not.

"Supreme conditions for a national championship is one thing. Those ultimate conditions for a national championship in the middle of summer in the south is a feat of almost legendary note."

The merit of Stone's labors at The Honors Course has not escaped the notice of others. Accolades he has garnered include the turfgrass professional of the year from the Tennessee Turfgrass Association, selection to the Tennessee Golf Hall of Fame, and service as past president of the Tennessee Turfgrass and East Tennessee Golf Course Superintendents associations. He has spoken at more than 100 national, state and local turfgrass meetings and at several conferences of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America.

Stone has received the recognition of his peers for several innovative agronomic accomplishments at The Honors Course. He introduced the first zoysiagrass fairways in the southeast and has conducted effective tests for control of zoysiagrass patch disease and for the use of new bentgrass varieties that will better withstand heat and humidity. He also assisted in the planning of The Little Course at Aspen Grove, near Nashville, which will serve as a turfgrass research center as well as a learning and playing facility for juniors.

In supporting Stone's nomination for the Green Section Award, one of his mentors, Lloyd M. Callahan, professor of turfgrass management and grass molecular genetics at the University of Tennessee, wrote: "David has been a success story from the very beginning of his college education. David has always been a very hard worker and has never wavered from his planned goals. . . . He continually seeks to improve himself and seeks to contribute in a positive way to the turf industry, and especially to his profession as a golf course superintendent."

Stone's soft-spoken and gentle manner undoubtedly reflects the feelings of accomplishment and tranquility he has developed from his job. His deep-felt commitment to promoting harmony between golf and the environment is always in evidence and serves as an ongoing, worthy example.

It'll probably always be that way. Stone and his wife, Mary, live in a home on The Honors Course property. It is not unlike his days as a youth, tending to his homemade green -- his prized turfgrass is not far from his front door.