News

Golf Industry Show volunteers join fight against hunger

Two hundred attendees of the 2010 Golf Industry Show in San Diego will partner with the San Diego Food Bank Feb. 8 to help fight hunger, feed those in need and give back to the community.

The Golf Industry Show will send two shifts of 100 volunteers, one in the morning and another in the afternoon, from the San Diego Convention Center to the work site. In addition, during the entire week of the Golf Industry Show and accompanying education conferences, Feb. 8-13, attendees will have the opportunity to donate food and money at the convention center.

Registration for the Golf Industry Show service project opens Oct. 1 at www.golfindustryshow.com with a 200-volunteer limit closing no later than Dec. 31. For more information contact Kyla Dotson, GCSAA marketing specialist, at 800-472-7878.

More than 480,000 people are fighting hunger in San Diego County alone. The San Diego Food Bank provides nearly 24,000 meals per day and feeds more than 360,000 people per month. Last year, the food bank distributed 11.2 million pounds of food, the equivalent of 8.75 million meals. To help so many people in the community, the food bank relies entirely on volunteers to sort, pack and distribute food.

At the 2009 Golf Industry Show, held Feb. 5-7 in New Orleans, $10,000 was raised for the New Orleans Habitat for Humanity. Almost 200 volunteers from the trade show worked over two days on the construction of eight new houses in two areas of the city devastated by Hurricane Katrina.

Phoenix Environmental Care launches reward programs, including GIS assistance

Phoenix Environmental Care announces its 2009 PERKs (Phoenix Environmental Rewards Kustomers) incentive program, which enables superintendents to financially support golf industry organizations and education.

In addition to PERKs, superintendents can qualify for $2,500 worth of travel funds to attend the 2010 Golf Industry Show in San Diego by purchasing a special selection of Phoenix Environmental Care products called the PERKs Pak.

With PERKs, superintendents can earn up to 10 percent of their total purchase price on qualifying Phoenix Environmental Care product purchases. Earning rewards with PERKs starts with a minimum product purchase of $7,500. Incentive amounts are converted into donations or sponsorships for customer-chosen, golf- or turf-related organizations, such as turfgrass associations, university turf programs, local superintendents’ groups or associations such as RISE, GCSAA, Wee One Foundation and more.

“PERKs is different than other incentive programs because we let our customers designate the organizations they want to support,” said Owen Towne, president, Phoenix Environmental Care. “This year, we’re helping superintendents even further by providing travel and accommodation funds to attend the 2010 Golf Industry Show through PERKs Pak. With superintendents experiencing shrinking budgets, we want to offer them the opportunity to receive support to attend this important industry event.”

Superintendents who order and pay for one PERKs Pak by Dec. 11, 2009, will receive a $2,500 travel and accommodations allowance to attend the 2010 Golf Industry Show in San Diego. A PERKs Pak is a special mixed pallet of 11 of Phoenix Environmental Care’s most popular plant protection products including Kestrel MEX, GoldWing and Firebird Pro.

GCSAA awards 12 collegiate scholarships

GCSAA has awarded scholarships to 12 college students as part of the GCSAA Scholars Program administered by GCSAA's philanthropic organization, The Environmental Institute for Golf.

Sean Elverd is the first place winner in the competition. He receives a $6,000 scholarship and is honored as the Mendenhall Award Winner. Elverd, a senior from Chattanooga, Tenn., is a turfgrass science and management major at the University of Tennessee.

The second place winner, Thomas Ham, receives a $5,000 award and is designated as the recipient of the Allan MacCurrach Award. The MacCurrach Award is funded by the PGA Tour. Ham is from Jenison, Mich., and is in his final year of a golf course turfgrass management certificate at Michigan State University.

Both Elverd and Ham also will receive an all-expense-paid trip to the 2010 GCSAA Education Conference (Feb. 8-12) and Golf Industry Show (Feb. 10-11) in San Diego.

Niels Dokkuma, an international student at Penn State University, was awarded a $2,500 Ambassador Award. The following students were awarded stipends ranging from $2,500 to $500:

• Joshua Lewis, Oregon State University, $2,500
• Steven Hutzell, University of Maryland, $2,500
• Scott Wasser, University of Arkansas, $2,000
• Glen Obear, University of Wisconsin, $2,000
• Diego Penapareja, Michigan State University, $1,500
• Brian Ervin, Colorado State University, $1,500
• Robert Pray, Michigan State University, $1,500
• Manuel Gonzalez, Michigan State University, $500
• Matt Carstens, Washington State University, $500

The GCSAA Scholars Program, funded by the Robert Trent Jones Endowment, was developed to recognize outstanding students planning careers in golf course management. Winners were selected to receive scholarship awards based on the final ranking in a competition judged by GCSAA's Scholarship Committee. Factors considered were academic achievement, potential to become a leading professional, employment history, extracurricular activities, and recommendations from a superintendent with whom the student has worked and a current academic advisor.

Applicants must be enrolled in a recognized undergraduate program in a major field related to golf/turf management and be a GCSAA member. Undergraduate applicants must have successfully completed at least 24 credit hours or the equivalent of one year of full-time study in an appropriate major.

Downturn slashes Dubai prize

The organizers of golf’s Dubai World Championship have cut prize money by a quarter because of the global economic downturn.

Citing the “developing global situation,” European Tour officials earlier this week announced that prize money for the Race to Dubai bonus pool and the Dubai World Championship will be cut by 25 percent to $7.5 million each, reducing the total purse to $15 million. The winner of the bonus pool will receive $1.5 million, while the winner of the Dubai World Championship will take home $1.25 million.

The announcement expands the list of golf’s losses, which earlier this year included the withdrawal of Deutsche Bank AG, Morgan Stanley, Wachovia Corp. and Northern Trust Corp. as tournament sponsors amid the biggest downturn since the Great Depression.

Reminder: ELGA applications due Oct. 18

Applications for the 2009 GCSAA/Golf Digest Environmental Leaders in Golf Awards are now available online.  The deadline for applications is Oct. 18, 2009.

The ELGAs, presented in partnership with Syngenta and Rain Bird, Golf Division, recognize golf course superintendents and golf courses for their commitment to environmental stewardship.   

Applicants are judged on five areas:  Resource Conservation, Water Quality Management, Integrated Pest Management, Wildlife/Habitat Management and Education/Outreach.

National winners will be determined from the top public, private, resort and international applicants. From the national winners, an overall winner will be announced. In addition, Chapter and Merit prizes are also awarded. Chapter Awards are given to the applicant from each chapter with the highest score who is not a National winner.
All ELGA winners receive:

• Recognition in Golf Digest and GCSAA publications
• Recognition at the 2010 GCSAA Education Conference and Golf Industry Show in San Diego.
• An invitation for the winner's employer to attend the recognition activities in San Diego.
• A personalized trophy or certificate of achievement
• National, regional and local publicity

For more information about the ELGAs, contact Greg Lyman, GCSAA’s director, environmental programs, at glyman@gcsaa.org or at 800-472-7878, ext. 3625.