Golf may be slow in much of the country but industry vendors remain committed to the game in the Carolinas. Commercial suppliers have come out early and strong in support of this year’s Carolinas Golf Course Superintendents Association Conference and Trade Show in Myrtle Beach, SC.
Nearly 250 exhibit booths, or more than two-thirds of those available, have already sold even though the event is still almost five months away. That number exceeds sales for the same time last year even though registration opened nearly a month later this time around.
“This is a great show of confidence in the game in our region,” says Carolinas GCSA executive director, Tim Kreger. “For so many of our vendors to commit so heavily so far in advance says something about their faith in the game here and the men and women who present the courses we play on.”
The Carolinas GCSA’s annual event is the largest regional conference and trade show for superintendents in the country, regularly drawing attendees from as far afield as Florida and Virginia. The show has weathered the recession well with near record numbers in 2008 and 2009 while many other regional events struggled.
The two-day trade show fills more than 100,000 sq. ft. of floor space at Myrtle Beach Convention Center with the latest innovations, products and services for golf course maintenance. Three days of seminars led by educators and researchers from across the country provide more than 100 hours of formal education for superintendents and their assistants on subjects ranging from water conservation to soil physiology.
“All of you continue to amaze and impress us with your ability to make each year better than the previous year,” Irby Shipp, vice-president of Charleston, SC-based Agri-Business Technologies wrote to organizers after last year’s event. “All of you deserve our thanks for improving the morale of the industry. Great show.”
The Carolinas GCSA’s Kreger says companies see superintendents engaging on behalf of the golf industry beyond the course and that inspires confidence. “Our members have been very active in a host of areas from issues such as water and tax legislation to grow-the-game initiatives,” he says. “Collectively, vendors and suppliers recognize that the future of the game is in our hands. One company recently presented our association with a check for more than $30,000 to continue the work we’re doing for golf. That’s an enormous compliment and illustrates the depth of commitment that industry suppliers have in the game right here in the Carolinas.”
This year’s Carolinas GCSA Conference and Trade Show runs November 15-17.
