Elevating outstanding examples of those who unite, showcase, govern and advance the game of golf, the United States Golf Association has announced the recipients of its 2022 Annual Awards.
This year’s honorees are Ede Rice, the recipient of the Joe Dey Award, which recognizes meritorious service to the game as a volunteer; David Franklin “Frank” Dobie, the Green Section Award recipient, for introducing new technologies and processes that advance golf course management; and “A Matter of Course: The Life of William Herbert Fowler, 1856-1941, Golf Course Architect,” by Derek Markham, the winner of the Herbert Warren Wind Book Award, which recognizes and honors outstanding contributions to golf literature.
“We need more people in golf like Ede, Frank and Derek, who are ensuring that the game of golf is better for all of us 50 or 100 years from now,” said Mike Whan, CEO of the USGA. “Just as Fowler did a century ago, we can be inspired and learn from the past as we propel the game forward, and these awards are a shining light for all of us.”
The USGA recently announced that it would conduct its Annual Meeting in a virtual setting for the second year in a row, with the result that its in-person Annual Awards Dinner will move from February to its biggest stage in June during the week of the U.S. Open Championship, which will be played at The Country Club in Brookline, Mass.
Joe Dey Award - Ede Rice
Rice, of Edina, Minn., the first woman to serve on the Western Golf Association’s Board of Governors, has served as a leader, Rules official, mentor and active supporter of the game for more than 35 years. She has officiated at 39 USGA championships and countless other golf events at the local, state and national levels. An avid supporter of the Evans Scholar program who has served on numerous committees, she has inspired generations of golfers to give back to the game and to their communities.
Named for Joseph C. Dey Jr., the USGA’s executive director from 1934-1968 and the first commissioner of the PGA Tour, the Joe Dey Award has been presented annually since 1996.
