Chances are, there probably will never be another person in this business quite like Frank Dobie.
Dobie, who retired in 2020 after more than a half-century - in the same job - recently was named the recipient of the 2021 USGA Green Section Award. For 60 years, the award has been given annually to those who exemplify outstanding contribution and dedication to the game of golf through their work with turfgrass, meaning the award, which was first given in 1961, was in its infancy when Dobie accepted his most recent job at Sharon Golf Club near Akron, Ohio. The 81-year-old Dobie will be honored in June at this year’s U.S. Open at The Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts.
A 1958 graduate of the Penn State two-year turfgrass program, Dobie was general manager and superintendent Sharon for an almost-unbelievable 56 years that stands as a testament not only to Dobie, but also to the club. His tenure there began in 1964. For a little perspective, that was the same year the Beatles first toured America, the same year the Warren Commission completed its investigation into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, the same year heavyweight boxer Cassius Clay (who later changed his name to Muhammed Ali) won the heavyweight title when he defeated Sonny Liston and it was the same year the Mustang first rolled off the Ford assembly line in Dearborn, Michigan.
Dobie was ahead of his time in many ways, including career longevity and developing ways to make the job easier for himself and his colleagues through his many innovations.
In 1967, Dobie developed the first bunker liner system designed to eliminate contamination from the surrounding soil. All the bunkers at Sharon were installed with this system and no bunker sand has ever been replaced due to contamination. Even after his retirement, Dobie is willing to share his bunker construction method with anyone who is interested.
Dobie always maintained his connection to Penn State and was instrumental in forming the Penn State Turfgrass Alumni Association in the 1960s, and since 1989 he has been president of the Musser Foundation, which supports doctoral students in turfgrass science.
Throughout his career that spanned parts of seven decades, Dobie had plenty of opportunities to move on from Sharon. He was even invited to interview at Augusta National and declined. In the end, the workplace culture fostered by the late Jerry O’Neil, the former General Tire executive and longtime Sharon GC president, was a perfect fit for Dobie.
"The key to my longevity at Sharon was that I showed respect to the members at all times, and Jerry O'Neil demanded that they respect me. It's why I loved my job," Dobie told TurfNet last August. "I think the fact that I loved going to work every day had a lot to do with my health."