June 19, 2020 —Renee Powell, the second Black woman to play on the LPGA Tour and longtime ambassador for the game around the world, has been chosen as the 2020 recipient of the ASGCA Donald Ross Award. Presented annually since 1976, the award is given to a person of distinction who has made a significant contribution to the game of golf and the profession of golf course architecture. Powell will receive the award in October 2020 as part of the 2020 ASGCA Annual Meeting in Cleveland, Ohio.
Powell is Head Golf Profession at her Clearview Golf Course located in East Canton, Ohio. Built in 1946 by her father, the late William Powell, Renee became the first African American woman to earn a Class-A PGA of America membership, and in 2015 and she was one of the first women to be named Honorary Member of the Royal & Ancient Golf Club in St. Andrews, Scotland.
The positive impact and ongoing achievements of Powell have continued to grow her family’s legacy in the sport. Her father, William, still is the only African American to design, build, own and operate his own golf course. Seventy years later, Renee and her brother, Larry, work tirelessly in operating their beautifully landscaped golf course, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places by the U.S. Department of Interior in 2001.
“Renee and her family have improved the lives of countless people in their hometown and around the world through the game of golf,” ASGCA President Jan Bel Jan said. “She, Larry, and the Clearview Legacy Foundation are carrying on what Bill Powell first set out to do in the 1940s: be a beacon of social justice and economic empowerment.”
Larry Powell has been successful in his career serving as Clearview’s superintendent. His knowledge has brought not only new ideas and products to the course, helping sustain the property under his careful guidance. His diligent work during long, hot summer months is vital to the upkeep of the venue that he operates, especially without an automated irrigation system to keep the course automatically watered. Larry’s efforts in the industry were recognized when he became one of four inductees into the National Black Golf Hall of Fame (NBGHF) on May 21, 2017.
Renee attended Ohio University and Ohio State University – where she was captain of the women’s golf team at both schools. Afterward, she played professionally for 13 years in the U.S. and United Kingdom. A USO tour to Vietnam in 1970 started what would become a lifelong role as golf’s global ambassador. In that role, duties lead her to travels around the world, including to Australia, Japan, Morocco, Spain, and made more than two dozen visits to various countries in Africa. A grand honor was bestowed on her in 2018, when the University of St. Andrews named its new residence hall after her.
Today, Renee Powell is recognized worldwide as a trailblazer in golf and she leads the Clearview Legacy Foundation for Education, Preservation and Turfgrass Research, whose educational mission is to, “use golf as a tool to reach youngsters, minorities, seniors, troubled individuals, women military veterans, and those with mental and physical challenges.”
The Donald Ross Award is presented by the ASGCA Awards Committee, co-chaired by ASGCA Past Presidents Steve Smyers, ASGCA, and Rees Jones, ASGCA Fellow (the 2013 Donald Ross Award recipient).
Past Donald Ross Award Recipients
2019 Joe Passov, golf writer
2018 President George Herbert Walker Bush, U.S. President
2017 Alice Dye, ASGCA Fellow, golf course architect
2016 Michael Bamberger, golf writer
2015 Bradley S. Klein, golf writer
2014 Maj. Dan Rooney, founder, Folds of Honor Foundation
2013 Rees Jones, ASGCA, golf course architect
2012 Bill Kubly, golf course builder
2011 James Dodson, golf writer/editor
2010 Tim Finchem, PGA Tour Commissioner
2009 Ron Dodson, sustainable golf advocate
2008 George Peper, golf writer
2007 Dr. Michael Hurdzan, ASGCA, golf course architect
2006 Jim Awtrey, chief executive officer, PGA of America
2005 John Singleton, irrigation pioneer
2004 Thomas Cousins, philanthropist, urban golf developer
2003 Bill Campbell, president, USGA, captain, Royal & Ancient Golf Club
2002 Byron Nelson, professional golfer
2001 Jack Nicklaus, ASGCA, professional golfer, golf course architect
2000 Jaime Ortiz-Patino, owner and president, Valderrama Golf Club
1999 Arnold Palmer, professional golfer
1998 Judy Bell, president, USGA
1997 Gene Sarazen, professional golfer
1996 Ron Whitten, golf writer
1995 Pete Dye, ASGCA, golf course architect
1994 James R. Watson, agronomist
1993 Brent Wadsworth, golf course builder
1992 Paul Fullmer, ASGCA executive secretary
1991 Michael Bonallack, secretary, Royal & Ancient Golf Club
1990 John Zoller, executive director, Northern California Golf Association
1989 Dick Taylor, editor, “Golf World” magazine
1988 Frank Hannigan, executive director, USGA
1987 Charles Price, writer, “Golf World” magazine
1986 Deane Beman, commissioner, PGA Tour
1985 Peter Dobereiner, “London Observer” columnist, author
1984 Dinah Shore, sponsor of women’s golf tournaments
1983 Al Radko, director, USGA Green Section
1982 Geoffrey Cornish, ASGCA, golf course architect, historian
1981 James Rhodes, governor of Ohio
1980 Gerald Micklem, captain, Royal & Ancient
1979 Joe Dey, executive director, USGA
1978 Herb and Joe Graffis, founders, National Golf Foundation
1977 Herbert Warren Wind, “The New Yorker” columnist, author
1976 Robert Trent Jones, ASGCA, ASGCA founding member
ASGCA Background
Founded in 1946 by Donald Ross, Robert Trent Jones and 12 other leading architects, the American Society of Golf Course Architects is a non-profit organization comprised of experienced golf course designers located throughout North America. Members have completed a rigorous application process that includes the peer review of representative golf courses. ASGCA members are able to counsel in all aspects of golf course design and remodeling and comprise many of the great talents throughout the golf industry.
