Schupak Wins Inaugural Best Golf Story Award

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (June 4, 2018) – Adam Schupak, former senior writer at Golfweek, is the winner of the National Sports Media Association’s Best Golf Story of 2017 award, presented by the Wyndham Championship. Schupak’s story, After The Earthquake, How One Man Rebuilt Golf In Haiti By Hand, finished on top in voting by a select group of current and former sports journalists. The award, along with a check for $1,000, will be presented at the 59^th NSMA Awards Banquet, on June 25, at Lawrence Joel veterans Memorial Coliseum, in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Schupak told the story of Sylvain Cote, who with the help of a small group of volunteers, rebuilt a private nine-hole golf course that had been destroyed after Haiti’s earthquake of 2010 that killed 300,000 people. The course was not destroyed by the quake, but by 55,000 homeless people living in tents, who had streamed to the course to escape their wrecked homes and future damage.

“I am honored to be the first recipient of this prestigious award,” Schupak said. “This was a story bigger than golf and what was accomplished by the people of Haiti in the aftermath of a horrific earthquake in 2013 was a story begging to be told. Thank you to the Awards Committee for recognizing me and those in Haiti who continue to beat the odds.”

NSMA executive director Dave Goren said, “We honor excellence in sports media, and Adam’s story deserves this honor because he masterfully connects a story about people overcoming adversity back to sports.”

After earning a bachelor’s degree from Colgate University, where he played on the varsity golf team, Schupak received a Master’s degree from Columbia University. Since 1997, he has traveled all over the world to write about golf. He is editor of NCGA Golf Magazine and a regular contributor to The New York Times, The Athletic and a host of other golf-centric publications. He is the author of Deane Beman: Golf’s Driving Force. His trophy for winning the 1999 TPC Sawgrass ‘A Flight’ Club Championship is on permanent display in his living room as a reminder that he once could play this maddening game a little bit.