Penn State captures Turf Bowl title at GIS

Penn State won 2017 GCSAA Collegiate Turf Bowl presented by John Deere at the Golf Industry Show in Orlando. The team was awarded the traveling trophy and a $4,000 first-place prize at the closing celebration. The team also received an invitation to volunteer with the course maintenance crew at THE PLAYERS Championship 2017, courtesy of John Deere.

More than 200 students from 58 colleges and universities competed for a chance to win bragging rights and a monetary reward in support of their school’s turf program. The Turf Bowl tested teams on both their turf management knowledge and ability to think quickly under pressure in order to identify solutions to challenges superintendents often face.

“Every year, the Turf Bowl inspires myself, and others at John Deere in our ongoing commitment to elevate and equip the next generation of turf professionals to grow and succeed,” said David Plaster, sales manager, John Deere Golf. “The Turf Bowl competition builds a strong foundation for their career, and John Deere is proud to play a role in it.”

In addition, a “Turf Bowl Rally” was held in conjunction with the Turf Bowl competition. Competing teams and industry members were invited to vote for a Turf Bowl team of their choice in the form of tweets and posts on Twitter and Instagram, using a custom hashtag. The school with the most support through hashtag votes, which was Michigan State University, was awarded “Best School Spirit” and received a $1,000 cash prize from John Deere.