Aspiring golf course superintendent Victor Manuel de la Cruz has won a $9,500 scholarship to Michigan State University from Valderrama Golf Club in Sotogrande, Spain.
The award is funded through a grant by The Environmental Institute for Golf (EIFG), the philanthropic organization of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA).
The Valderrama Award is a two-year grant that allows citizens of Spain to study turfgrass management in the U.S. The award is based on leadership potential and academics and the winner also receives an all-expense paid trip to the 2011 GCSAA Education Conference (Feb. 7-11) and Golf Industry Show (Feb. 9-10) in Orlando. de la Cruz was chosen by Valderrama President Felipe Ortiz-Patiño.
Valderrama Golf Club is located in Andalucia, the largest and southern-most region of Spain, a few miles north of Gibraltar. The golf course was designed in 1974 by Robert Trent Jones Sr., recipient of GCSAA's highest honor in 1987, the Old Tom Morris Award. Valderrama hosted the 1997 Ryder Cup, the 1999 and 2000 World Golf Championships - American Express Championship, and the European Tour's Masters from 1988-1996 and currently since 2001.
A Certified Audubon Cooperative Sanctuary since 1997, Valderrama is frequented by more than 90 bird species, as the golf course sits directly in the path of the narrowest part of European birds' migration route to Africa and back. With 40 acres of wildlife sanctuaries at Valderrama, made up of mixed woodland, dry grassy banks or damp valley floors, wildlife can flourish in peace and safety, developing the diversity that naturally occurs within the norms of the local geology and climate.
The EIFG is a collaborative effort of the environmental and golf communities, dedicated to strengthening the compatibility of golf with the natural environment. The EIFG concentrates on delivering programs and services involving research, education and outreach that communicate the best management practices of environmental stewardship on the golf course. Backed by the organizations of Golf 20/20 and the World Golf Foundation, the EIFG is leading the golf course industry's commitment to continual improvement through its initiative Golf's Drive Toward Sustainability. For more on the EIFG, visit www.eifg.org.
