Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) members Dan Dinelli, Anthony Williams and David Yanez are among Golf Inc. magazine's annual 20 most admired operators list.

"Congratulations to David, Anthony and Dan on this tremendous recognition," GCSAA CEO Mark Woodward, CGCS, said. "This further cements the fact that GCSAA members are critical to the success of the facility and valued leaders in the industry."

Dinelli, a GCSAA certified golf course superintendent, is in his 35th year at North Shore Country Club in Glenview, Ill., and is a third-generation golf course superintendent. He recently conducted a golf course satisfaction survey for North Shore members to gain additional feedback, help prioritize his maintenance budget, and collect numerical data to compare with a similar survey conducted in 2004, ultimately ensuring golfer satisfaction. Dinelli is a staunch supporter of integrated pest management (IPM) and an advocate for new practices to reduce the inputs needed to provide competitive golf turf conditions. He is also involved with developing means of measuring the value of a golf facilities' ecological and economic value of carbon sequestration. Dinelli earned the 2009 GCSAA President's Award for Environmental Stewardship.

A 27-year GCSAA member, Dinelli served on the association's Environmental Programs Committee for five years and as chair of the IPM Task Group. A portion of this work resulted in a research proposal to create a national IPM template. The project began in 2007 and is expected to be available for use in 2010. He also assisted GCSAA and The Environmental Institute for Golf with the production of environmental programming on the Golf Channel.

Dinelli has also provided two case studies for GCSAA's online database, EDGE. One describes a pond restoration project at North Shore Country Club. The other is about an innovative program through the American Forests organization called CITYgreen software that provides an evaluation of the carbon storage and sequestration, stormwater runoff reduction, and energy conservation via the cooling effect and air quality improvements due to the forest areas of a golf facility, calculating dollar benefits for the services provided by the trees and other green space.

Dinelli holds two associate's degrees from William Rainey Harper College in Palatine, Ill., one in park and grounds management and one in horticulture, as well as a two-year turfgrass management certificate from Michigan State University. He has co-authored several technical research papers that have been peer-reviewed and published, and contributed to many more. Dinelli has won multiple GCSAA/Golf Digest Environmental Leaders in Golf Awards, as well as several regional environmental stewardship awards. He earned his Master Gardener designation from the University of Illinois, and he has achieved Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary Program certification for North Shore from Audubon International.

Dinelli is also a registered falconer and breeds red-tailed hawks, donating them for educational programs to be free flown in front of an audience. Some of his hawks are located at Disney World's Wild Animal Park, Dollywood, Six Flags Over Texas, the Minnesota Zoo, a Birds of Prey show in Wisconsin and an exhibit in Germany.

Williams, the GCSAA certified golf course superintendent at Stone Mountain (Ga.) Golf Club by Marriott, is a three-time GCSAA/Golf Digest Environmental Leaders in Golf Award winner, capturing the overall award at Marriott's Stone Mountain in 2006. A 13-year GCSAA member, Williams holds an associate's degree in horticulture from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton, Ga. He is one of only approximately 40 people to have completed all six specialized certification programs of GCSAA's Environmental Management Program. Williams is also a certified grounds manager, certified turfgrass professional, certified ornamental landscape professional, certified arborist, certified pool and spa operator and a certified Georgia master gardener. A master fifth dan black belt in Tenshi GoJu Karate, Williams is a member of the International Martial Arts Hall of Fame.

Williams is a two-time Marriott Golf Grounds Professional of the Year winner and was honored with the 2008 J. Willard Marriott Award of Excellence for his record of success in directing golf grounds operations at two distinguished Marriott Golf-managed properties, the Renaissance Pine Isle Resort and Stone Mountain. He is a four-time Marriott Golf Crystal Achievement Award for Public Relations Excellence winner and he also received the 2008 J. Lamar Branch Alumni Award from his alma mater for outstanding agricultural leadership. Williams serves as vice president for the Georgia GCSA and will take over as President in October. He is also the director of the Georgia Turfgrass Association and the southeastern director for the Professional Grounds Management Society.

Williams' environmental leadership efforts are built around water management. Filing a Best Management Practices for water management with the state of Georgia, he worked with the University of Georgia to develop a detailed water-quality testing program. Williams was co-chairman of the Georgia Golf Course Superintendents Association government relations committee and played a key role in the Georgia GCSA receiving a 2007 GCSAA Excellence in Government Relations award.

A Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary, Marriott's Stone Mountain Golf Club is a 36-hole public facility located 16 miles from Atlanta. Williams also developed a maintenance plan that resulted in Marriott's hotel property at Stone Mountain, the Evergreen Conference Resort, being recognized as the first hotel to become a Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary. Williams hosts Green Links, a feature on The Environmental Institute for Golf's Web site, www.eifg.org, that highlights a different case study in EDGE each month. He has authored two case studies for EDGE, the first focuses on water conservation and management at Stone Mountain and the second is a collection of effective integrated pest management initiatives.

Yanez, the GCSAA Class A superintendent at The Grand Del Mar in San Diego, is a 10-year GCSAA member and has been at The Grand since 2001. He recently oversaw a major renovation of the course. Yanez and his staff did the construction, which included building a 15-foot waterfall by the 18th green. He also oversees maintenance of the adjoining 249-room luxury resort. Yanez earned a horticulture degree from California State Polytechnic University in Pomona, Calif., and was a member of GCSAA's student resource board during that time. He oversees a staff of 44 and is an active member of GCSAA's San Diego chapter.

Yanez has 35 acres of native areas on the golf course and is exploring areas for turf reduction elsewhere on the resort's property for further resource conservation. He is working toward Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary certification at The Grand. Yanez is also working with Bayer on new product trials on test plots at The Grand. A junior golf program at The Grand includes a stop at the maintenance facility for a presentation by Yanez.

"The men and women recognized as the 2009 Most Admired Operators by Golf Inc. come from a variety of different backgrounds and experiences," magazine officials said. "But all have one trait in common: They're great leaders who have demonstrated an uncanny ability to deliver a quality product with great customer service. From a list of almost 60 nominees solicited from readers, operators, developers and vendors, we asked a panel of industry experts, who included developers, management company officials, consultants and brokers to vote on the 20 individuals selected as honorees."

The Golf Course Superintendents Association of America is a leading golf organization and has as its focus golf course management. Since 1926, GCSAA has been the top professional association for the men and women who manage golf courses in the United States and worldwide. From its headquarters in Lawrence, Kan., the association provides education, information and representation to more than 20,000 members in more than 72 countries. GCSAA's mission is to serve its members, advance their profession and enhance the enjoyment, growth and vitality of the game of golf. The association's philanthropic organization, The Environmental Institute for Golf, works to strengthen the compatibility of golf with the natural environment through research grants, support for education programs and outreach efforts. Visit GCSAA at www.gcsaa.org.