Myrtle Beach, S.C. - Golf course superintendents in the Carolinas topped $500,000 in gross revenues for the first time at their annual conference and trade show in Myrtle Beach, S.C. The Carolinas Golf Course Superintendents Association staged the four-day event (Nov. 15-18) that attracted about 2,500 attendees and provided more than 100 hours of education.
“Reaching that milestone of a half million dollars in revenues is clearly healthy for our association, but the figure is also a good indicator for the golf industry as a whole,” said Chuck Borman, Carolinas GCSA executive director. “Golf has endured some challenging times in recent years, but we have all learned some valuable lessons as a result and the game will be stronger for it in the long run. Support of the kind that we enjoyed this past week tells me that business confidence is coming back.”
Borman said challenges in recent years had shown a need for improved communication between all aspects of the industry. Stepping towards that goal, the Carolinas GCSA staged a breakfast meeting for golf course owners during the conference and offered owners complementary admission to the trade show and general sessions, normally a $170 ticket.
Paul Jett, host superintendent for next year’s U.S. Open in Pinehurst, said the operations of the Carolinas GCSA play a critical role in the health of the golf industry in the two Carolinas states.
“Without this association, we simply wouldn’t see the quality of the golf courses that we enjoy in this region,” Jett said, speaking on a special 20-minute documentary screened to celebrate the association’s 50th anniversary.
Jett, who hosted the 1999 U.S. Open at Pinehurst’s famed No. 2 course, said the association’s 1,700 members benefited greatly from research support offered by turfgrass departments at Clemson and North Carolina State universities. Researchers from both universities work closely with golf course superintendents advancing environmentally sound maintenance practices and in identifying and resolving disease issues.
Nine-time PGA Tour winner, Jay Haas, and golf course architect, Tom Fazio, also spoke highly of the golf course superintendents in the Carolinas on the documentary. Haas, of Greenville, S.C., and Fazio, of Hendersonville, N.C., served as patrons of the 50th anniversary year.
“You just never hear enough thanks from the Tour pros or the club members for the work golf course superintendents do,” Haas said.
A record 202 individual companies bought exhibit booth space during the conference and trade show. Golf course superintendents also filled a record 1,220 seats in education seminars.
Gene Scarborough, golf course superintendent at Santee Cooper Resort in Santee, S.C., won a week-long golf vacation for two to Scotland at the conference. The golf vacation, valued at $6,000 was the main prize in an annual contest staged by the Carolinas GCSA in partnership with John Deere distributors, Revels Tractor Company, Greenville Turf and Tractor and Georgia Turf and Tractor.
Rob Roy, golf course superintendent at The River Club in Suwanee, Ga, won the 2004 Carolinas GCSA golf championship shooting a one-over-par round of 73 at The Dunes Club. The golf championship, sponsored in partnership with Smith Turf and Irrigation, the Toro Co., and Toro Financing, attracted 336 golfers, another record.
The Carolinas GCSA was formed at Myers Park Country Club in Charlotte April 13, 1954. The association’s mission is to promote excellence in golf course maintenance and professional expertise among its members.
