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From left, Carolinas Golf Course Superintendents Association executive director, Tim Kreger; Carolinas Chapter of the Club Managers Association of America executive director, Corinne Grimaldi, NC Commerce Secretary, Keith Crisco; North Carolina Golf Marketing Alliance leader, Caleb Miles; and Carolinas PGA Section executive director, Ron Schmid; with the Governor’s NC Golf Day proclamation.
North Carolina Gov. Beverly Purdue declared Wednesday, April 26, “North Carolina Golf Day” in recognition of the golf industry’s significant impact to the state’s economy, along with the game’s environmental responsibility and social benefits.
State lawmakers took time away from their busy schedules to eat lunch and talk shop with golf industry leaders from across North Carolina on the lawn of Halifax Mall, some even rolling up their sleeves and shedding short coats to take a swing or two in a simulated hitting area staged by the PGA Carolinas Section.
North Carolina golf leaders were also honored in the State House and State Senate on Tuesday after a roundtable meeting and sharing of ideas with Lt. Gov. Walter Dalton and N.C Secretary of Commerce Keith Crisco. Dalton is an avid golfer, while Crisco is a part owner of Tot Hill Farm, a public golf course located south of Asheboro.
“I am like a kid in a candy shop,” Dalton said of his two-day participation in the North Carolina Golf Day initiative. “I’ve always wanted to be involved in something that was addictive, legal and good for your health. When you think about it that’s what golf is.
“Golf is in the DNA of North Carolina,” added Dalton. “We have the St. Andrews of the United States with Pinehurst, and there is such connectivity with this game. It’s not only golf, it’s the chemical industry, it’s the tourism, the lodging and dining industry, it is the First Tee and helping kids who are in tough situations to learn discipline and social skills; golf does so many things for North Carolina.”
There are more than 550 golf courses in North Carolina, which create more than 70,000 jobs and an annual economic impact of $5.3 billion.
Dalton said one of the “best days of the year” in a tough economy was when the PGA of America announced that the 2017 PGA Championship would be staged at Quail Hollow Country Club in Charlotte. In addition, the U.S. Open and U.S. Women’s Open will be held in consecutive weeks for the first time in USGA history in 2014 on course No. 2 at Pinehurst Resort.
This is the third such event staged in North Carolina dating to 2007. The “North Carolina Golf Day” was an initiative developed and spearheaded by the Carolinas Golf Course Superintendents Association in an effort to help inform lawmakers about benefits the golf industry brings to North Carolina. The sharing of ideas and partnership now includes the Carolinas PGA Section, Carolinas Golf Association, Carolinas Chapter of the Club Managers Association of America, North Carolina Golf Course Owners Association, the First Tee Chapters of North Carolina, North Carolina Golf Marketing Alliance and others.
Golf Course Superintendents Association of America chief executive, Rhett Evans, and PGA of America chief executive, Joe Steranka, also attended events in Raleigh.
“This is an opportunity to recognize that a sport can bring 70,000 jobs to a state, the fact that the equipment we’re using on our facilities is manufactured here at home in North Carolina, and so much more,” said Tim Kreger, executive director of the Carolinas Golf Course Superintendents Association. “We’re larger than NASCAR in North Carolina – golf brings a phenomenal financial benefit to the state. And it’s amazing that we can get all the golf bodies together with the Legislature to show them we’re more than just one face at the table.”
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