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- Updated: November 26, 2006

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  • Main Articles Listing: Awards

    3. Dave Kopec to be inducted in Golf Hall of Fame



    PGA golf professional Joe Bartko, amateur champion Donna Cunning and U of A Turfgrass researcher Dr. David Kopec have been selected as the 2006 inductees into the Arizona Golf Hall of Fame that will take place on Monday, Nov. 20 at Moon Valley Country Club in Phoenix.



    This prestigious honor recognizes individuals for service to the game of golf in the state and is spearheaded by the Arizona Golf Association (AGA), Southwest Section of the PGA (SWSPGA), Arizona Women's Golf Association (AWGA) and the Cactus and Pine Golf Course Superintendent's Association of Arizona (CPGCSA). Since its establishment in 1968, a total of 61 people have been recognized.





    Dave Kopec has had his green thumb in the Arizona turfgrass industry for over 21 years. At the University of Arizona, he teaches Golf and Sports Turf Management, Bermudagrass Greens Management, and conducts applied research problems that address new varieties of grass, weed control, water use, overseeding and spring transition management, and other items that are unique to growing turfgrass in a desert environment. Dr Kopec is also an instructor for the Golf Course Association of America were he co-teaches seminars in Irrigation Water Quality, Bermudagrass Greens Management and Irrigation Scheduling. His contributions as a professor are valued through his level of enthusiasm and ability to engage his students daily.



    "It's a great honor," Dr. Kopec said. "I guess people are paying attention to the work that gets done and were glad it has real relevance and people appreciate it. It's nice to know that things are on track and have a meaningful value for the things that you have done. To be included with all the great individuals who have received this honor, I would have never thought it was possible."



    Not one to be content with just extension and classroom duties, Dr. Kopec has his hands full developing and researching new turfgrass varieties, transition techniques, poor water quality management and other items specific to our climate too numerous to list. Dr. Kopec makes sure this information is not only documented for the U of A, but, in conjunction with the Cactus and Pine association, is offered to the 350+ Arizona golf courses through educational seminars, classes and other outreach programs with the enthusiasm and engaging qualities that are unique only to Dr. Kopec.



    "The most rewarding part is doing the research and delivering the outcome so people can use it," he said. "I'm just one person and there is a whole team of people at the U of A and they need to be recognized as well and I'm accepting this award on their behalf as well.



    "I also have to recognize all the help and assistance from the Cactus and Pine GCSA, the GCSAA at the national level and the AGA because there are so many issues that are related to golf that it shows the system works well when everyone works well together when they get the information and can use it. We are here to help."



    This is no small task as the golf industry has exploded in the past 20 years and the bar for premium playing conditions is continually raised. The need to find solutions for new diseases, poor water quality, transition and all the other arising issues superintendents come across on a daily basis is never ending. The ability to keep his research current and financed is supplemented by charity golf tournaments and other fundraising efforts in which he is directly involved. He has played a huge role in growing turf on Arizona golf courses; starting from the soil it is grown on to the persons who manage it. Arizona is truly lucky to have Dr. Kopec in our corner as a professor, researcher, speaker, consultant, fundraiser and friend of the golf industry.



    With this golf honor, Dr. Kopec says he will need to work on his game, "On my own, I guess I invented the two cart scramble," he said. "During a tournament I hit a house right square on the tile roof. We all got in our carts and scrambled. I guess I'll have to take lessons now."



    David Kopec received a Ph.D. in Turfgrass Science Breeding, Science and Culture from the University of Nebraska - Lincoln. He also has a Master's Degree in Turfgrass Breeding and Pathology, which he received from Rutgers University.

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