David Fay, the former executive director of the USGA, has received the American Society of Golf Course Architects’ Donald Ross Award for 2025 in recognition of his significant contribution to the game of golf and the profession of golf course architecture.
A native of New York and graduate of Colgate University, Fay’s nearly four-decade career in golf began at the Metropolitan Golf Association. He spent 32 years with USGA in several roles, including tournament relations manager, director of program management and assistant executive director. In 1989 he was named executive director, a position he held until his retirement in 2010.
Fay, 75, will receive the Donald Ross Award during the ASGCA‘s Annual Meeting in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, on October 27.
“Nearly 75 percent of golf courses in the US are public facilities,” said ASGCA President Brian Costello. “David Fay made sure to shine a bright light on the accessibility and enjoyment of these courses, while maintaining the integrity of the national championship as the ultimate test of golf.”
Under Fay’s 21-year leadership, the USGA conducted the US Open at numerous courses that are open to the public, including Pinehurst No.2, Pebble Beach, Torrey Pines South, Chambers Bay, Erin Hills and most notably, Bethpage Black.
The linchpin of Fay’s legacy was his ability to transform his vision of holding the national championship at the municipally owned Bethpage State Park in New York into a successful 2002 US Open, won by Tiger Woods. Known as the ‘People’s Open’, this championship catapulted Bethpage Black into a perennial host of golf’s biggest events, including the 2025 Ryder Cup later this year.
In building or shaping Bethpage Black and other public US Open courses over the years, Fay, who retired in 2010, had help from many ASGCA past presidents, including Rees Jones, Robert Trent Jones Jr., Bruce Charlton and Mike Hurdzan, as well as ASGCA members Bill Coore and Dana Fry.
