Association news

Study earns award for golf’s impact on environment
Lawrence, Kan. – The Golf Course Superintendents Association of America board of directors selected “Golf in Colorado: An Independent Study of the 2002 Economic Impact and Environmental Aspects of Golf in Colorado” for its 2006 President’s Award for Environmental Stewardship. The award will be presented during the general session of the 2006 GCSAA Education Conference in Atlanta.

The award was established in 1991 to recognize an exceptional environmental contribution to the game of golf, a contribution that further exemplifies golf course superintendents’ image as a steward of the land.

The study examined the financial impact the golf industry made on Colorado in 2002, especially golf facilities’ environmental stewardship efforts. Colorado’s golf industry contributed more than $560 million of direct revenue to the state’s economy in 2002. When indirect economic activity was included, golf’s total impact on Colorado was $1.2 billion. People traveling to Colorado to play golf spent an average of $387 per day on ancillary items such as lodging, ground transportation, food and entertainment, which resulted in a total contribution of more than $250 million annually.

The study also found Colorado golf courses encompassed 36,500 total acres. Of this total, 19,800 acres were irrigated, leaving more than 12,000 acres unmaintained to provide wildlife habitat. In 2002, Colorado golf courses used 15.6 billion gallons of water, which represented just under one-third of 1 percent of the state’s water consumption that year.

The Rocky Mountain Golf Course Superintendents Association was a participant in the study, along with various state allied golf organizations.

Certification recommended by task force
Falls Church, Va. – A California task force looking at water use in landscapes is recommending statewide certification for landscape irrigation managers, according to the task force’s report. The report calls for the Irrigation Association to work with California water and landscape organizations to create a certification for landscape irrigation managers by 2008. The certification should cover landscape water management, water budgets and irrigation system maintenance, and it should include continuing education, according to the report.

The IA presented extensive information to a task force working group on the components of an effective certification program, including steps to ensure certification exams are a meaningful measure of a candidate’s skills and knowledge.

The report will be sent to the governor and the state legislature after a comment period.

Superintendents in the Carolinas help victims
Liberty, S.C. – Golf course superintendents from throughout the Carolinas are pitching in to help colleagues in areas affected by hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Members of the Carolinas Golf Course Superintendents Association gave $35,000 to relief efforts the week of Sept. 26. The money went to golf course superintendents in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas to help pay for food, clothing and housing.

GCSAA forum to provide help with recovery
Lawrence, Kan. – In response to the destruction left in the wake of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America added a new members-only forum to its Web site (www.gcsaa.org) to provide assistance with hurricane recovery, including remedies for members and their golf facilities. The forum gives members the opportunity to post open positions for workers that might have been displaced by the storms and allows golf courses affected by the storms to request assistance with labor.

GCSAA members can post questions about recovery, suggest resources to help in the cleanup or offer resources for nonwork-related recovery. General discussion about the storms should be conducted in the GCSAA Talking it Over forum.

GCSAA sponsors Special Olympics golf tournament
Lawrence, Kan. – The Golf Course Superintendents Association of America was a supporting sponsor of the 2005 Special Olympics Golf National Invitational Tournament Sept. 16 through 19 at the Ames (Iowa) Golf & Country Club.

In addition to a financial contribution, the GCSAA and members of the Iowa Golf Course Superintendents Association conducted an educational walking clinic at the club. The clinic was designed to showcase the many aspects of a golf course, the environmental compatibility of golf courses, and to educate players about the preparation and conditioning of the playing surface. It covered: the history of the course and game of golf; greens construction and management/hole cutting demonstration; hazards/bunkers; golf course irrigation; fairways, rough and natural areas; tee construction/management; course set up; and golf and the environment.

Coldwater Golf Links hosted competitors for the individual skills competition and nine-hole alternate shot team play. Ames Golf & County Club hosted 18-hole alternate shot team play and nine-hole and 18-hole individual stroke play.