Texas Golf Hall of Fame adds legendary agronomist as 2024 inductee

Marvin H. Ferguson, Ph.D., a 2024 inductee into the Texas Golf Hall of Fame, is celebrated nearly 40 years after his passing on Jan. 10, 1985. Renowned as the “father of the green construction method,” he authored the USGA Method of Putting Green Construction, a guide that remains the cornerstone of green construction in the U.S. and worldwide.

Born in Buda, Texas, on June 16, 1918, Ferguson graduated from Texas A&M in 1940 with a bachelor’s degree in agronomy. He began his career at Arlington Turf Gardens in Virginia, contributing to USGA-USDA turfgrass research. When the Pentagon replaced the gardens, he oversaw the relocation of turfgrass specimens to the USDA Plant Industry Station in Beltsville, Md.

After serving for a year as a U.S. Navy medical corpsman in 1943 and earning a Ph.D. in plant sciences in 1950 from the University of Maryland, Ferguson returned to his home in Bryan, Texas, as a professor of agronomy at his alma mater.

In 1953, while teaching and counseling graduate students at Texas A&M, he joined the USGA Green Section, where he developed innovative methods for testing soil and sand mixtures to improve putting green performance. In 1959, he built the first USGA-standard putting green at Texarkana Country Club and published the USGA Method of Putting Green Construction the following year.

Ferguson transitioned to private industry in 1969, founding Agri-Systems of Texas. His company designed and constructed 10 golf courses while conducting soil analysis. He also joined the American Society of Golf Course Architects, contributing to its research committee and the newly formed USGA Turfgrass Research Committee in 1983.

After 60 years, Ferguson’s pioneering work in putting green construction has profoundly influenced the game of golf, leaving a legacy that endures today.

To learn more about the life and accomplishments of Marvin H. Ferguson, Ph.D., please visit the Texas Golf Hall of Fame website.

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