Rod Lingle, Longtime Golf Course Superintendent, Bermudagrass Expert and Inventor of Mach 1 Ultradwarf, Wins Prestigious USGA Green Section Award

Rod Lingle, CGCS, inventor of Mach 1 Ultradwarf Bermuda, GreensPerfection greensmower brushes and The Lingle System of ultradwarf greens management, was named the 2025 USGA Green Section Award Winner this morning during the Opening Ceremonies and General Session of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA), held in San Diego.

Lingle was honored for his lifetime dedication to the golf industry. He was nominated by Chris Hartwiger, USGA Green Section’s director of agronomy. In his nomination, Hartwiger described Lingle this way:

“I can say with confidence that through all Rodney’s work over the years, his love towards fellow turfgrass superintendents and professionals is his greatest contribution to the industry. He used what he had and what he developed for the greatest and highest good of those that sought his counsel. He provided them with knowledge and he gave them the courage to go back to their golf courses and do things differently. These superintendents will all say in one way or another that they wouldn’t be where they are today if it were not for Rodney Lingle.”

Lingle is a Certified golf course superintendent with more than 50 years of experience. He invested 37 years at Memphis Country Club in Tennessee, and another six at Escondido Golf Club in Texas.

Lingle holds two golf-related patents. Mach 1 Ultradwarf Bermuda is a variety of bermudagrass that delivers extremely fast yet true putting greens, (grown by Modern Turf in Rembert, South Carolina). Its putting quality is on par with bentgrass greens but with all of the heat tolerance and drought resistance of a bermudagrass. Mach 1 Ultradwarf is currently used worldwide on golf course greens. It is also suitable for tees, as well as grass tennis courts and croquet lawns.

The GreensPefection brush is a mower attachment that lifts the grass blades just before cutting and helps control grain. For several years, the Toro company used it in their mower units, and is now available for John Deere mowers through their dealerships.

He may be best known as the developer of The Lingle System, an ultradwarf bermudagrass management protocol now considered the standard for high-quality ultradwarf greens management. In tandem with the USGA, he taught this protocol to hundreds of golf course industry professionals through USGA seminars and field days.

He also collaborated with Dr. Jim Brosnan at the University of Tennessee to advance research into off-types in ultradwarf bermudagrasses.

“I’m very honored to be in the group of people who received this award before me, especially since most of them are researchers or Ph.d.’s,” Lingle said. As is characteristic of Lingle, he qualifies the accomplishments he achieved—especially advancements in ultradwarf greens management—as a team effort. He noted that teaching the system he created with his staff at Memphis Country Club was a product of that group’s contributions.

“It’s just nice to know that what we did helped to improve the game of golf. The way I think about it is, that work benefits all the people who play golf, and all of the clubs with ultradwarf greens. Who it really helped the most were the small clubs that could achieve some phenomenally good greens with ultradwarf bermuda. They did what we taught them to do, and they would have never had that quality of greens if it hadn’t been for us and the USGA. And, you know, it’s humbling. It’s an honor. But I’m glad that the USGA thought enough of what we did to recognize it, because I do think it really helped a lot of people.”

The USGA’s Green Section Award honors an individual’s distinguished service to the game through work with turfgrass. Presented annually since 1961, the USGA Green Section Award recognizes an individual’s distinguished service to the game of golf through his or her work with turfgrass, including research, maintenance, and other areas that positively impact the landscape upon which golf is played.

Through the work of its Green Section, which was established in 1920, the USGA is one of the world’s foremost authorities on turfgrass management, as well as research, development, and promotion of environmentally friendly practices and a more sustainable game. Click Here for a full list of previous winners.

ABOUT MACH 1

Mach 1 Ultradwarf is a premium greens-grade grass that delivers golf’s purest, fastest bermudagrass putting greens, most comparable to bentgrass. Mach 1’s finer leaf blades, shorter leaf length, and closer internodes create exceptionally dense putting surfaces that putt true with no swirling grain. Some of the world’s most elite clubs have selected Mach 1 to differentiate themselves and deliver the highest quality greens possible for their members and guests. Click here for a full list of Mach 1 golf courses. Mach 1 is also suitable for use on golf course tees, grass tennis courts, croquet courts, and lawn-bowling surfaces. It is produced exclusively in the United States by Modern Turf, with a foundation farm in Rembert, South Carolina, and is represented outside of the U.S. by Atlas Turf International. To learn more, follow us @mach1_greens or visit mach1greens.com

ABOUT MODERN TURF

Modern Turf is an advanced turfgrass production company that specializes in cultivating and planting a diverse range of premium grass types for the golf, sports, and landscaping sectors.

The company was established by a group of former golf course superintendents, each bringing a wealth of knowledge and experience to the table.Collectively, they have extensive involvement in all aspects of golf course management and construction, accumulating over 125 years of turf management across the U.S., Bermuda, Puerto Rico, and the Bahamas.

Our team of experts firmly believe that turfgrass cultivated and installed by former golf course superintendents delivers a superior product for architects, builders, owners, sports turf managers, golf course superintendents, and landscape contractors. With various business divisions such as turf farms, Modern Turf Care, retail locations in Columbia, SC & Irmo, SC, Sports Turf section, and organizing top golf events like the Ultradwarf Revolution, the experts at Modern Turf are the ideal partners to have by your side.