Sal Johnson of Golf Observer reports that the U.S.G.A. announced that David Fay retires as executive director effective December 31, 2010. It was widely known that Fay wanted to retire at the same time he turned 60 years old, which he did in October. He gave the U.S.G.A. 32 years of faithful, dedicated, graceful service. Mike Butz, the deputy executive director will ascend to the top position effective January 1, 2011.
The U.S.G.A. has this announcement. From the article:
“Fay’s most lasting legacy may well be his successful campaign to bring the U.S. Open to Bethpage State Park on Long Island in 2002. Bethpage’s Black Course became the first public facility ever to host the national championship, and since then the USGA has strongly affirmed its commitment to bringing the U.S. Open to venues that are accessible to the public. From 1999 through 2019, the U.S. Open will have been played at Pinehurst No. 2 (1999, 2005 and 2014), Pebble Beach (2000, 2010 and 2019), Bethpage Black (2002 and 2009), Torrey Pines (2008), Chambers Bay (2015) and Erin Hills (2017), making a total of 11 U.S. Opens in 21 years on publicly accessible courses.
Fay was born in 1950 in New York City and is a 1972 graduate of Colgate University, where he majored in English and political science and was a member of the varsity golf team. He was employed as communications director at the Metropolitan (N.Y.) Golf Association from 1976 to 1978 and was the recipient of the MGA’s Distinguished Service Award for 2009.”
We here at AWIPT doff our golf cap and offer a hearty round of applause to a man who exemplified many of the important virtues of golf: grace, dignity, and altruism. For a powerful CEO and a man who controlled the keys to a great kingdom, David was remarkably human. He was approachable, he was genuine, he was honest. He was a graceful throwback to the age when people cared about the game and sought to care for its greater good, rather than just lining their pockets with as much money as they could prize. David never used the game’s virtues as a shield to accomplish pecuniary ends – like Tim Finchem does every day in denying that the PGA Tour’s steroids/PED policy, implementation, and enforcement are a mess. Instead, David looks to use the U.S.G.A.’s money and influence to protect and promote our great game. Great work David. And Happy Retirement. May a star shine on the end of your road, as they say in England…
Mike, you have big shoes to fill, but as you were trained by a great, chances are if you stay the course, you’ll do just fine. Slante to both of you…and Merry Christmas!
