 |
 |
CEO's message |
An Institute milestone
 |
The Environmental Institute for Golf recently marked its third birthday, which is cause for celebration, but also is a bit misleading. The Institute was preceded by the GCSAA Scholarship and Research Fund, begun in 1955, then became The GCSAA Foundation in 1995 and evolved into The Institute in 2003.
So why the evolution over the years? After the extremely successful “Investing in the Beauty of Golf” endowment campaign of the late 1990s, which raised $5 million, we asked GCSAA members and other industry stakeholders, “Where do we go from here?”
The response was resounding. We heard that The GCSAA Foundation didn’t resonate much beyond our membership, that the environment is perhaps golf’s biggest issue, and that GCSAA is the logical organization to take a lead in the environmental arena, collaborating with other industry groups.
We also heard that GCSAA could make a strong statement about how its membership views the environment’s importance, a statement that now is reflected in The Institute’s mission, which is to strengthen the compatibility of the game of golf with our natural environment.
The Institute’s fund-raising efforts took a major step forward when golf legend Greg Norman became impressed enough with The Institute’s mission to become a member of its board of trustees and chairman of its advisory council. He also made a contribution to The Institute of $500,000, the largest single donation ever.
Norman also helped add 15 new members to the advisory council, each of whom has pledged $100,000. By the end of this year, we hope to have 25 members, and 30 by the end of 2007, which would generate $1 million a year in Institute funding.
GCSAA Environmental Programs Director Greg Lyman has spearheaded the development of five Institute areas of focus: water management; integrated plant management; wildlife and habitat management; siting, design and construction; and energy and waste management. The Environmental Programs Committee oversees the work, with task groups created for each focus area.
Through The Institute’s funding of research, education and outreach to the golf industry, it seeks to identify best management practices and make them available to end users so that golf courses can be environmental, economic and recreational community assets. This work is a collaboration among GCSAA, golf’s other stakeholders and the environmental community, and it is building on all the good work of the past, including that of USGA, Audubon International, the Center for Resource Management and others.
In addition, almost all Foundation programs, including scholarships, have carried over unchanged, and The Institute has received greater attention and support than The Foundation, resulting in significantly increased fund raising.
Through The Institute, you as a member have access to environmental information that you never had before, including The Edge Web tool. And The Institute’s Golf Course Environmental Profile project, which I urge you to participate in, is collecting data that will establish a baseline against which to measure the progress of golf’s environmental compatibility. Find more information about the project and The Edge at www.eifg.org.
We also expect that sound science from The Institute will help inform decision makers about golf’s positive relationship to the environment, which is good for the growth of the game. That’s the ultimate member benefit.
The 50 years of success of the Scholarship and Research Fund, The Foundation and The Institute is a result of generous support from members, chapters, industry, allied organizations and many other friends associated with the game. Thank you for your strong commitment to help strengthen the compatibility of the game of golf with our natural environment.
RECENT issues
 |
 |
April |
March 2006 |