by
Shane Conroy
| Nov 21, 2019
A first in the Great Lakes region is set to take place this December as attendees of the Ohio Turfgrass Foundation (OTF) Conference will have the opportunity to take part in a GCSAA Facility Best Management Practices (BMP) Workshop. With the Best Management Practices for Ohio Golf Courses manual published last year, superintendents and assistants in the state have the opportunity to create facility BMP guides. This unique workshop at the OTF Conference will allow attendees to begin working on their facility-specific BMP and leave with their manual well underway.
GCSAA, in partnership with the USGA and PGA Tour, embarked on a bold initiative to have all 50 states in the nation publish a golf course best management practices guide by 2020. As no surprise, superintendents, assistants, vendors and industry representatives stepped up to the plate and began working on state-specific BMP guidelines utilizing the GCSAA Best Management Practices Template and Guide.
Through the hard work and dedication of state BMP committees, many states have published their state-specific BMP manual over the past year, and many more are near completion. As state BMP guidelines are published and available, the next natural phase is to create facility-specific BMP. GCSAA is working with affiliated chapters and industry partners to ensure superintendents have the support and tools they need to create their facility-specific BMP guide; facility BMP workshops help do just that.
Attendees of the workshop will need to bring their laptop or tablet as they will have the opportunity to work on their own facility BMP during the hour-long workshop. Please be sure to have your GCSAA username and login ready as well, as you will need to log-in through GCSAA.org to access the Facility BMP Template and Guide. If you need assistance with your GCSAA username or password, please reach out to me.
The OTF Conference GCSAA Facility Best Management Practices Workshop is being facilitated by Shelia Finney and will take place on Thursday, December 9 at 9:00 a.m. In addition to the benefit of having a BMP plan, you will also earn education points from GCSAA for attending the session, and you can also earn 0.50 service points once you complete your plan.