Greg Brandriet

Spearfish, South Dakota | USA

Bio

Greg has been a golf course superintendent for 12 years, and before that, spent a decade in the landscaping industry. As he developed an inclination towards natural landscapes and plant materials, he began to see the need for more education and outreach not only to his peers, but the general public as well, to the benefits of naturalizing the approach to lawns and golf courses. Brandriet also began to see how food production, wildlife protection and water conservation could be incorporated into these areas. In recent years he became involved with GCSAA’s Grassroots Ambassador program and BMP (Best Management Practices) initiative, serving on the South Dakota BMP steering committee where he and his peers completed their manual in 2019. At his former golf course, Greg incorporated honeybees, a community garden, an orchard, and other conservation projects that received national attention. Brandriet has spent the last six months travelling the country visiting Agrihood communities and golf courses that are incorporating food production as a part of their lifestyle model.

What made you want to get involved as an ambassador?

I have been looking for more ways to promote the environmental benefits of the green industry. I first heard of The FairWays Foundation after seeing one of their funded projects at Cog Hill Golf Club, and quickly set out to find more information. When I learned I could become an ambassador, I signed up!

Bob Cook

Ashford, Kent | UK

Bio

Bob has worked in the Golf/Sportsturf industry for 44 years and has a long history of working in partnership with Aquatrols. Bob has been a keen supporter of The FairWays Foundation from day one and we are delighted that he is now part of the ambassador team. Bob is a distributor for Aquatrols products in the UK, having set up his own business in 2003.

What made you want to get involved as an ambassador?

As an Aquatrols distributor I was invited to the launch of The FairWays Foundation. I was so impressed with the presentations that immediately after I offered my services to Matt Foster the C.E.O. of Aquatrols. It is a way for me to be able to give something back to the environment and industry which has served me well for 44 years.

Anthony Williams

Dallas, Texas (TPC Four Seasons Golf and Sports Club Dallas at Las Colinas) | USA

Bio

Anthony L. Williams, MG, CGCS,CGM is the Director of Golf and Landscape Operations at the TPC Four Seasons Resort and Club Dallas at Las Colinas and is a 40+ year Green Industry veteran. Anthony holds a degree in horticulture from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College. Williams’s is an award-winning environmental steward, author and speaker from Indian Creek, Georgia currently living in Lewisville, Texas. He is BIGGA Master Greenkeeper #82, PGMS Certified Grounds Manager #42, Georgia Master Gardener Class of 1995, GCSAA Certified Golf Course Superintendent Class of 1998 and ISA Certified ArboristClass of 2008. His Green Industryaccolades include the 2020 GCSAA Environmental Leaders in Golf Award (ELGA) for Communication and Outreach, the 2018 inaugural GCSAA Grassroots Ambassador Leadership Award for advocacy, 2017 National Private and Overall winner of the GCSAA/ELGA contest completing the ELGA Triple Crown by winning all three national categories, Resort (2005), Public (2006) and Private (2017) and two Overall awards (2006, 2017). He was also the winner of the 2014 GCSAA Excellence in Government Relations Award and the 2010 GCSAA President’s Award for Environmental Stewardship and was recognized as the 2011 Environmental Communicator of the Year by the Turf and Ornamental Communicators Association.Williams is a vibrant story teller and philanthropist who enjoys martial arts and archery in his free time. He is a 9th degree black belt and 2001 inductee in the International Martial Arts Hall of Fame and a 2018 inductee into the Georgia GCSA Golf Course Superintendent’s Hall of Fame

What made you want to get involved as an ambassador?

It has been my life’s work to promote environmental stewardship. I believe in the words of my Grandfather, that if you take care of the land, the land will take of you and that we do not inherit the land from our parents but rather we borrow it from our children. I have been a steward over some of the world’s best green spaces that just happen to also be great golf courses. Now more than ever we must educate and perpetuate the skills and spirit of true environmental stewardship starting locally and moving globally. The Fairways Foundation is actively making our world GREENER! I want to help in this effort and becoming a Fairways Foundation Ambassador will allow me to add my experiences to The Fairway Foundations Ambassador network helping to grow the synergy that is cornerstone of all
sustainable environmental stewardship.

Tony Hanson

Wokingham, Berkshire | UK

Bio

Tony has been involved in general, facilities and environment management in leisure and estates since 1985, with 6 years as Environment and Sustainability Director at The Facilities Management Group. In 2009 Tony set up Environmental Solutions International Ltd, an environmental consultancy working with the leisure, estates & commercial property sectors, specialising in resource efficiency, compliance, and the achievement net zero and beyond.
Tony, is a Certified Member of Institute of Workplace & Facilities Management (CIWFM), a Practitioner Institute of Environmental Management & Assessment (PIEMA) and an Associate Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers (AMICE). Tony is also a member of the GB&I Golf Sustainability Committee along with representatives from the R&A, the Home Golf Unions, British & International Golf Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA) and Golf Environment Organisation.
In 2012 Tony was appointed a Golf Environment Organisation Sustainability Associate (GEOSA) providing application advice, and also performing over 40 GEO verification audits. In 2016 Tony also became an Associate with The Planet Mark, the Eden Project endorsed Environmental Certification Programme.
Tony works with clients to develop environmental management systems, ensure compliance, reduce resource consumption, minimise waste to landfill, and measure emissions and onsite sequestration to allow the calculation a carbon balance sheets.
Over the last few years Tony has worked extensively with the Environment Agency, and water companies to provide advice to help the leisure sector transition towards more sustainable turf irrigation.

What made you want to get involved as an ambassador?

In addition to their primary function offering recreation, health and mental health benefits, there is a tremendous opportunity for the leisure sector to enhance the natural environment, improve water and air quality, reduce summer air temperature, and surface water run-off. These additional benefits are increasingly important as we face the impacts of climate change, there is support from the Government, NGO’s wildlife charities and many others, but there is often a need for funding to enable wonderful project.
I am looking forward to highlighting the work of The Fairways Foundation, encouraging facilities to develop innovative projects, and to help them access the funding available to enable their project.

Charlie Fultz

Heritage Oaks Golf Course, Harrisonburg, VA | USA

Bio

Charlie has spent his entire life in one form or another managing turf. He’s been in and around golf for 25 years and this is his 15^th year as a golf course superintendent, after being out of golf course management for 13 years. 

When offered the opportunity to come back to golf 2+ years ago Charlie jumped at the chance to, once again, run a golf course. Now also being a general manager as well, he oversees the entire operation and loves every day of it. He says he has the best office window in the world, an 18-hole municipal course designed by Bill Love in the heart of the Shenandoah Valley.  

Charlie has been published over a dozen times in various trade magazines like Golfdom, Golf Course Industry, and GCSAA’s GCM. In 2006 he was chosen at the Leo Feser Award winner for best superintendent written article of the year for the article How To Keep Those Above and Around You Educated and Informed.  

Lastly, Charlie has also been a featured speaker on Lean Management in golf operations. He has spoken at dozens of conferences and shows across the United States about Kaizen (continual incremental improvement over time) and how it can be used to make operations more efficient.  

When not on the course, Charlie enjoys spending endless amounts of time with his wife of 6 months Kim and their sons Jakob, Josh, and Dave, and their pet family of cats GiGi and Greta and dogs Sophie and Lily. Charlie is also a drummer in a local rock band and a diehard KISS fanatic.

What made you want to get involved as an ambassador?

After applying for and winning a grant from the Foundation in 2021, I became extremely interested in the other awarded grants and researched them. I was blown away by the scope (large and small) of the projects and the changes these projects would make for the better. After looking through the various projects I knew I wanted to be more involved with the program and what could be done with it.

John Milne

Garmouth and Kingston Golf Club, Inverness | Scotland

Bio

John has been involved in the golf industry for over 30 years, in a career which has allowed him to travel the world and work in various countries including Spain, Cyprus, Australia and of course Scotland. He has been fortunate to tap into an eclectic wealth of greenkeeping knowledge whilst working on construction projects of highly ranked courses and also the fine details required to prepare and present courses for professional golf tournaments of the highest level.

John has previously studied Sustainable Environmental Management and has recently returned to education to complete a course on Golf Course Management.

He is very much of the mindset that a golf course should be as natural as possible and adopts a sustainable approach for every golf course maintenance task.

His desire to make golf courses interactive wildlife havens for not only golfers but also for the wider community has led to him being nominated as a finalist Conservation Greenkeeper of the year in the Golf Environment Awards in 2020, 2021 and 2022 with his golf club at the time, Dufftown Golf Club nominated as a finalist in the Operation Pollinator Award in 2022 also.

John also sits on the steering group for BIGGA Scotland for all topics relating to ecology and sustainability.

What made you want to get involved as an ambassador?

To ensure a greener future for golf and for our planet, in which golf can lead the way in true environmental stewardship, education is of paramount importance. From greenstaff to club management, from committee members to golfers and to our wider communities including local schools, the voice for sustainable golf requires platforms to be heard, but not just heard, to be understood, adopted and incorporated into the management of all green spaces.

By becoming an ambassador for The FairWays Foundation, I am instantly connected to a network of like minded individuals globally who share the same goal of spreading the word on the benefits of golf in terms of health and well-being, community interaction and wildlife conservation. By raising awareness of what The FairWays Foundation can offer, I can contribute to the acceleration of more golf clubs and courses becoming greener and enhancing the image of our sport to a wider audience.