Fundraising for the future

The Super-Scratch Foundation, founded in 2020, has created a way for amateur golfers and superintendents to come together for a bigger cause — the future of golf industry staff. The organization is a prime example of seeing an industry issue and taking a step to help solve it. 

“If you put 100 superintendents in a room right now and ask them what the biggest hurdle in the industry is, I guarantee about 98 percent of them are going to say staffing and future staffing,” co-vice president Timothy Zurybida says.  

The Super-Scratch Foundation is an organization founded by a variety of turf professionals who share a passion for the industry and its future — and that’s why they created an annual superintendent-amateur tournament fundraiser for student scholarships.

The foundation hosted its fifth annual superintendent-amateur tournament, the Super-Scratch Invitational, Oct. 17 at Huntingdon Valley Country Club in suburban Philadelphia.  

Huntingdon Valley was once home to the long-running Lynnewood Hall Challenge Cup, an amateur tournament. After the tournament was no longer held at the club, members had a desire to bring back an amateur tournament, says Zurybida, himself a club member. Planning began and each superintendent was paired with an amateur player. This year’s roster included a nationwide presence with teams joining from Florida, Maryland, Rhode Island, New York, Texas and beyond. 

“I just love the camaraderie,” co-vice president Scott Bordner says. “There’s 40 teams coming in from all over the country with a member, and that is so unique that the superintendent is playing with a scratch golfer from their club. Those are the people that can take that message in that camaraderie and say, ‘Hey, these people are all doing something that’s trying to help the industry and doing something selfless that’s for the next generation behind them.’” 

The first tournament, held in 2020, featured 12 teams and raised $1,500. Donations have doubled each year. Last year’s tournament raised $32,500 and this year’s donations were expected to reach $90,000. 

Andrew Mason, president of the non-profit, says the foundation is doing its best to encourage people to enter the industry. “It’s a great career,” he says. “More people need to get into it. And if we don’t push and do something, we’re not going to have the quality of golf courses we all want, and we’re certainly not going to have the amount of golf courses out there with those good conditions that we want, unless we get more people into it.” 

Fifteen students are receiving scholarships and six universities — including Wisconsin, Penn State, Maryland, Rutgers, Delaware Valley and UMass Amherst — are receiving funds.

The tournament’s title sponsor is Floratine, with gift sponsors of Syngenta and Toro, and reception sponsors of Turf Ventures and Simplot. The tournament now has more than 20 corporate sponsors and 15 hole sponsors.

Bordner, the director of agronomy for the Union League of Philadelphia, says people in the industry have been a key to the foundation’s growth.  

“It was just a regional event. Once we started spreading it more national, we had a lot of people that were just willing to jump on and give us a hand.” he says. “That’s what really gave the traction.”  

Mason, the winner of the 2013 Pennsylvania Open Championship and an avid golfer, says the foundation hopes to double or even triple donations next year. The organization’s goal is to donate in some proportion to every single student enrolled in school to become a superintendent in the golf industry. “I think if we are able to get the right people involved and make the right strides, we can give to every single student, in some capacity, some type of scholarship value in the future,” Mason says. “I think we’re helping the next generation. I think we’re helping memberships that don’t really realize it yet.” 

Want to get involved? Donations can be made on the Super-Scratch Foundation website (www.superscratchfoundation.org) and you can request to be invited to attend the tournament. Super-Scratch will also host another superintendent-amateur event in March 2025 at the PGA West Stadium Course in La Quinta, California.  

“The top five teams will probably come to Philly, all expenses paid to the event, next fall too,” Mason says. “We’re going to build these kind of mini-qualifiers so that we can raise money from different areas of the country.” 

Kelsie Horner is Golf Course Industry’s assistant editor.  

Tartan Talks 100

Golf talk permeated Cynthia Dye McGarey’s childhood in Urbana, Ohio. That doesn’t mean she was a tap-in to follow her father, Roy Dye, and uncle Pete Dye into the family business.

“It wasn’t something that I aspired to,” she says on episode No. 100 of the Tartan Talks podcast. “I was an athlete, and I liked to play sports. Going to dad’s office wasn’t something I desired.”

Cynthia started her career as a landscape architect. In the late 1980s, the game and industry she spent her childhood around entered her life again as she joined cousin Perry Dye’s golf design business as a consultant. By the early 2000s, she launched her own golf architecture firm, Dye Golf Designs.

Becoming a golf architect has allowed Cynthia to travel the world — and she often brought the five children she raised to sites. One of her sons, Matt McGarey, is continuing the family golf design legacy by executing projects alongside his mother.

“Our family has been in it for over 100 years,” says Cynthia, whose grandfather Paul F. Dye designed the original nine holes at Urbana Country Club in 1922, “and we have the fourth generation coming on. The future’s bright. I wish there were even more of us involved in it. It’s not the biggest field in the world, but I think it will continue for us.” To hear more family stories from Cynthia, visit the Superintendent Radio Network page of popular podcast distribution platforms.

People News

The GCSAA selected longtime turf, club management and industry association leader Pat Finlen as its 2025 Col. John Morley Award recipient. The association also announced PACE Turf founders Dr. Wendy Gelernter and Dr. Larry Stowell as its 2025 Outstanding Contribution Award recipients. … Four superintendents were selected as recipients of the 2024 Environmental Leaders in Golf Awards by the GCSAA. Mark Claburn of Tierra Verde Golf Club in Arlington, Texas, received the Communications and Outreach Award. Healthy Land Stewardship Award was awarded to Steven Tierney of Golfpark Zurichsee in Wangen, Switzerland. The Innovative Conservation Award went to Kevin Ackerman of Royal Wood and Country Club in Naples, Florida, and the Natural Resource Conservation Award went to Jim Pavonetti of Fairview Country Club in Greenwich, Connecticut. … Envu Turf & Ornamentals hired Dr. Adam Gore as a Green Solutions Team member and added Karlee Kitchel and Dr. Lindsey HoffmanChappell as key account managers. … Aquatrols hired David Libby as Northeast territory manager and Kate Garassino as marketing manager for the golf market and the company’s new sports field marketing team. … Bernhard and Company made two new senior hires with the appointment of Lee Wade as chief operating officer and Vitor Gomes as production manager. … Ten GCSAA members were selected for the Bernhard Academy Links to Success United Kingdom 2025. They will attend the 2025 BTME conference in Harrogate, England, in January. The group includes Brent Downs, Tyler Miget, Matt Gourlay, Cole Miedema, Matthew Overton, Emily Casey, Matt Earhart, Clay Payne, Ryan Franklin and Carol Turner.

Course News

A multi-million-dollar renovation of Ocean Point golf course at Fripp Island Golf & Beach Resort in South Carolina is finished. Dye Designs Group led the modernization of the original George Cobb layout. … Legacy Golf Course at the 19 in Mason City, Iowa, completed a major renovation effort that started in 2022 following the purchase of the course by the Pritchard family. The Legacy, formerly Mason City Country Club, is a 1915 Tom Bendelow design. … After two and a half years of course renovation, San Juan Oaks Golf Club in Hollister, California, reopened for daily-fee play. Developer Third Millennium Partners oversaw the project from start to finish, with insights from golf architect Gene Bates, who designed the original course in 1996 along with Fred Couples. … Troon was selected to manage Sparrows Point Country Club, a private club in Baltimore, Maryland, as well as Le Triomphe Golf and Country Club, a private club in Broussard, Louisiana. … Troon is also partnering with Tubac Golf Resort & Spa, Rancho Mañana Golf Club and Sedona Golf Resort. As part of this agreement, the three properties will benefit from Troon’s services, including increased visibility through Troon’s marketing platforms. … After undergoing a comprehensive agronomic restoration, the King & Bear Golf Course at World Golf Village in St, Augustine, Florida, reopened last month. The five-month, $2.5 million restoration, led by MacCurrach Golf, focused on improving the course’s playability while preserving its original character. … The Club at Eaglebrooke, a semi-private facility in Lakeland, Florida, will undergo a golf course renovation led by Mondragon Golf beginning in April 2025. The project is expected to take six months and will focus on the course’s greens, while replacing bridges and bulkheads throughout the property. … The Cabot Collection announced its investment in Lofoten Links. The course is built into the rugged, seaside landscape of Norway’s remote Lofoten Islands.

Industry Buzz

Sipcam Agro launched ETQ FLEX, a proprietary complex blend that provides maximum protection against heat and drought stress on turf, and complements their Enhanced Turf Quality technology line of ETQ products. … Albaugh released its 2023 Sustainability Report, “Our Journey is Rooted in Growth.” The report focuses on the company’s progress in its sustainability journey: improving safety, strengthening corporate governance, and driving innovation with sustainable solutions to boost crop yields. … Spectrum Technologies recently introduced new measurement technology for direct soil measurement of pH & EC with a single probe. Spectrum’s new glass-free sensor design provides easy and lab-accurate soil measurement via Bluetooth connection to mobile devices. … Valley Green, an Advanced Turf Solutions company, will begin operating under the Advanced Turf Solutions name starting Jan. 1, 2025.