In 2012, there were 47 applicants from universities and colleges throughout the U.S. and Canada whose career goals focused on landscape design, turfgrass management, professional golf management, or sports journalism, or were excellent amateur golfers. It was an outstanding group of applicants. The most competitive group since we began the scholarship program, and a major challenge for the five members of Scholarship Review Panel.
We are very pleased and proud to announce the following winners of our four 2012 Walter J. Travis Memorial Scholarships:
2012 SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS:
Dylan Bass (Garden Valley, Idaho):
Dylan will be a sophomore at the University of Idaho this fall, with a Business/Marketing major and PGA Professional Golf Management option. Throughout high school and his freshman year in college, Dylan has accrued an excellent academic record. In high school, he was an accomplished multi-sport athlete who earned special conference and state-level recognition for both his athletic and academic achievements. In 2011, he won his high school district golf championship and placed 6th in the Idaho high school divisional golf championship. His resume includes a very impressive list of community and school volunteer activities. Dylan’s application included numerous letters of recommendation from teachers, coaches, community and golf course officials lauding his character, maturity, leadership, motivation, and intelligence. Dylan has been around a golf course and golf shop operations for many years where he developed his love for golf, and honed his golfing skills. His ambition is to become a Head Golf Professional or Director of Golf. At the present time, Dylan is involved in his first PGM internship at the Jackpot Golf Club in Jackpot, NV.
Clyde Johnson (Athens, Georgia):
Clyde is a second-year graduate student in the Masters of Landscape Architecture at the University of Georgia. He earned his undergraduate degree in Structural Engineering and Architecture at the University of Sheffield in England. Throughout his schooling Clyde has maintained an impressive level of academic achievement. Clyde writes eloquently of his goal to become a golf course architect who, in his words, would be “willing to travel to new golfing frontiers, working closely with the land”, drawing inspiration from the “classical courses and writings of the so-called ‘Golden Age’ architects” while recognizing the need for “affordability and environmental sensibility”. Clyde’s aspirations include writing “as a way to express my views on golf course design, critique inspirational golf holes, and to reflect on the state of the industry”. His letters of recommendation provide examples of Clyde’s ability to impress and inspire others with his enthusiasm, dedication, and knowledge. One reference described him as a “rare talent”. Currently, Clyde is interning with Tom Doak’s firm, Renaissance Golf, which is constructing a new 18-hole golf course at the Dismal River Club in Mullen, Nebraska.
Daniel Robert Rude (Cottage Grove, Minnesota):
Dan is a repeat winner of our scholarship, having won in 2011. He is returning to the University of Minnesota in the Fall as a 5th year senior, completing his double major of Landscape Design and Planning, and Horticulture. Dan has maintained an outstanding academic record while pursuing experiences that are providing him with an in-depth understanding of issues involved in the design, construction, maintenance, sustainability, and accessibility of golf courses. This past year, Dan successfully completed an intensive, 6-month internship under the supervision of the Senior Superintendent of the Hong Kong Golf Club where he was praised for his understanding of the “relationship between design and maintenance of golf courses”. This summer, Dan returned to Asia to take part in a volunteer English teaching program in Vietnam and Hong Kong. It will be exciting to see where Dan’s career path takes him, but his credentials lead us to believe that he will make a very positive and significant contribution to the golf industry.
Gabriella Sinkovic (Bowie, Maryland):
In the Fall, Gabriella will begin her junior year majoring in Professional Golf Management in the College of Natural Resources at the North Carolina State University. Gabriella barely missed being a 2011 Walter J. Travis Memorial Scholarship winner (though that was not a factor considered by the 2012 review panel). Gabriella has an exemplary academic record throughout high school and college, while actively participating in a variety of community, campus, and volunteer activities. Several of these activities have involved mentoring, tutoring, or coaching interns or junior golfers. Since January 2012, Gabriella has been interning in the Bandon Dunes Golf Shop at the Bandon Dunes Resort in Oregon. This shop has been recognized as the top resort golf shop in the country for a number of years, and is one of the busiest of the resort’s golf shops. Within this setting, Gabriella is described as “calm, welcoming and friendly”, displaying intelligence, enthusiasm, and a strong work ethic. Gabriella credits her experience at Bandon Dunes as eliciting a “newfound passion and admiration for golf course architecture”, widening her horizon of golf-related career choices.
