Paul Carter, left, was voted to serve one-year as president of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America. Joining him is Rhett Evans, CEO of GCSAA.
photo by GCSAA
Since arriving at Bear Trace at Harrison Bay in 2001, Paul Carter has nurtured the Jack Nicklaus designed layout in spectacular fashion. He arrived shortly after the golf course opened and has spent the past 25 years ensuring that golfers are treated to an expertly maintained experience as the long-time superintendent.
But Carter will have additional duties on his plate for the upcoming year, playing a role that far exceeds keeping Bear Trace in pristine condition. Last Thursday in Orlando at the annual meeting of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA), Carter was elected to a one-year term as the organization’s president.
Carter is the 89th president in the association’s history and served as vice president of the association in 2025. He has been a member of the association’s board of directors since 2019, the lone Tennessee resident to serve on the board as the GSCAA celebrates a century of serving the golf industry this year. A 33-year member of GCSAA, Carter is also a member of the Tennessee GCSA and past president of the Tennessee Turfgrass Association.
“I am extremely honored and proud to be able to represent the close to 22,000 members of GCSAA,” Carter said on Sunday. “Having the support of my supervisors in Nashville and the backing of the staff at BTHB to allow me to pursue this dream is amazing. Being the first GCSAA president from Tennessee and during our centennial year gives me a great sense of pride.
“I hope that I can show the rest of the GCSAA members that you don’t have to be from a big private club to be able to give back and serve our association at the highest level. GCSAA represents all golf courses – public, private, big, small, and especially municipals. We have been keeping the game on course for 100 years and are not stopping now.”
A graduate of Auburn University in 1993 with a degree in agriculture sciences, Carter also currently serves as director of agronomy for the Tennessee Golf Trail, a division of Tennessee State Parks.
Carter is well-known for the environmental programs at Bear Trace. He was the overall winner in the 2013 GCSAA/Golf Digest Environmental Leaders in Golf Awards and in 2015 was honored with GCSAA’s President’s Award for Environmental Stewardship.
He lives in Apison with his wife, Melissa. Their daughter, Hannah, is a graduate student at Vanderbilt University.
Tennessee is one of the 94 GCSAA-affiliated chapters in North America. Founded in 1978, it is committed to providing for and enhancing the recognition of the golf course superintendent as professionals, and to collecting and disseminating information on a statewide basis to assist its members in providing for better maintenance and construction of Tennessee’s golf facilities.
Paul Payne can be emailed at paulpayne6249@gmail.com