GCSAA member Matthew Becker highlights professional development opportunities GCSAA provides

Matthew Becker, senior assistant superintendent at Spring Hill Golf Club in Wayzata, Minn., and eight-year GCSAA member, has always had a passion for plants, the outdoors and the game of golf.

While an undergraduate student at North Dakota State University, Becker joined GCSAA and quickly found many benefits that set him up for success.

“I wanted to be part of GCSAA because of all the opportunities it provides,” Becker said. “From attending the GCSAA Conference and Trade Show to networking with other industry professionals, there have been many personal and professional benefits of my membership.”

In 2018, he was named a GCSAA Scholars Competition winner, and he completed his Assistant Superintendent Certificate Series in 2020. In 2022, Becker was chosen to be a part of the GCSAA EXCEL Leadership Program, presented by Nufarm, which offers leadership training for assistant superintendents.

The professional development membership benefits Matthew has had through GCSAA have undoubtedly helped him advance his career by enhancing his skillset and opening doors to new opportunities, like attending National Golf Day in Washington, D.C., to witness GCSAA’s advocacy efforts alongside other allied golf industry organizations.

Through his involvement with GCSAA, Becker has also learned that you get out of your membership what you put into it, and that there are many opportunities to take advantage of.

Becker has insightful advice for other members. “If you are a student, apply for GCSAA scholarships, or if you are a professional, apply for the various national programs, including the GCSAA EXCEL Leadership Program or the Melrose programs,” he said. “Take advantage of all the education, experiences and member benefits, and you will get so much out of it.

Since joining GCSAA, Matthew has also benefited from connecting with other members as well as connecting to a wide array of valuable benefits based on GCSAA’s on-going Member Needs Assessment. Each member benefit is designed to support many different needs from career enhancement, professional development, certification and certificates, discounted access to the annual GCSAA Conference and Trade Show, access to scholarship programs and more. All benefits are supported by a headquarters staff whom members can reach out to when in need for resources, information and guidance.

“There are many people I would like to thank, but I’d like to recognize Leann Cooper, GCSAA director First Green and workforce development and Matt Brown, GCSAA director of sales for all the time they spend organizing and working on the EXCEL Leadership Program to make it the best it can be,” Becker said. “Visiting the GCSAA headquarters last fall made it easy to see how hard all the staff work to make this the best association it can be.”

As a member of the EXCEL Leadership Program Class of 2025, he has one more year left in the three-year program. To learn more about EXCEL and other opportunities for assistant superintendents, visit gcsaa.org.