Fundraising for the future

“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 to raise money for student scholarships.  

The foundation is hosting 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. The tournament eventually stopped being held at the club, and fellow members had a desire to bring back an amateur tournament, Zurybida, a member of the club, says. Planning began and each superintendent was paired with an amateur player. This year's roster includes a nationwide presence with teams joining from Florida, Maryland, Rhode Island, New York, Texas and more. 

“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, and 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 the industry and doing something selfless that's for the next generation behind them.’” 

The first tournament held in 2020 had 12 teams, and depending on each team's place in the final standings would determine where the fundraiser money would be donated. $1,500 was raised and the foundation's donations have doubled each year. Last year's tournament raised $32,500 and this year's donations are expected to reach $90,000. 

Andrew Mason, president of the non-profit and, says the foundation is doing its best to encourage people to get into 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.” 

For 2024-25, 15 students are receiving scholarships, and six universities are receiving funds. Schools include Wisconsin, Penn State, Maryland, Rutgers, Delaware Valley and UMass Amherst. 

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

Bordner, 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 their donations next year. Their 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.” 

To get involved in the non-profit, donations can be made on the Super-Scratch Foundation website or requests can be made to be invited to attend the annual tournament. Super-Scratch will also be hosting 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.