by
Shane Conroy
| May 02, 2023
Last week I highlighted Rounds 4 Research (R4R), which as most of you reading know, raises money for local GCSAA chapters to use for turfgrass research, education, scholarships, etc. While R4R is a great program and helps fill in the gaps in turfgrass research funding — especially with this year breaking all previous records and raising nearly $520,000 — GCSAA also dedicates considerable resources to turfgrass research at the university level.
40. GCSAA Foundation Research Programs
Research adds to every aspect of the game, from enjoyment to efficiently managing the resources used. Research that is important to superintendents and the courses they keep has always been, and remains, a cornerstone of the GCSAA Foundation’s efforts, dating back to when it was founded as the GCSAA Scholarship and Research Fund in 1955.
So, what grants and endowments are set up through the GCSAA Foundation which focus on research? I’m glad you asked:
O.J. Noer Research Grant
Purpose: To provide funding for turfgrass or related programs' research that incorporates training graduate students for advanced degrees. Basic research applications that benefit golf course superintendents and the golf courses they manage will receive priority ratings, provided other guidelines are met.
Dr. Michael Hurdzan Endowment
Purpose: To fund environmental research on golf courses, including but not limited to: integrated pest management, best management practices, pesticide and nutrient fate, wildlife management or any project relating to protecting the environment. (Preference may be given to projects with matching funds.)
Mark Kizziar Research Grant
Purpose: To fund research on turfgrass water use, irrigation scheduling techniques, irrigation water quality or the use of recycled water that will help produce well-conditioned golf courses while minimizing consumption of water. Preference will be given to proposals that address recycled water use and that are conducted in the Southwestern United States. (Preference may be given to projects with matching funds.)
Robert A. Moore Endowment
Purpose: To fund research for optimizing the growing environment for golf course turf, while minimizing inputs of water, fertilizer and pesticides. (Preference may be given to projects with matching funds.)
Chapter Cooperative Research Program
Purpose: To cooperate with chapters by providing matching funds for agronomic, environmental or regulatory research that has been identified by the chapter as a significant local issue. The goal is to fund research that is important to superintendents. (Preference may be given to projects with matching funds from local chapters, turfgrass foundations or golf associations only.)
Additionally, here is an excerpt from GCM on the most recent research grants:
Research grants from the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) are supporting four new research projects at universities across the country beginning in 2023. The projects will be funded through the GCSAA Foundation research endowments and its Chapter Cooperative Grant Program. One Dr. Michael Hurdzan Endowment and Mark Kizziar Research Endowment project and one Robert A. Moore Endowment project will receive funding.
The projects, which were selected by a committee that included two members of the GCSAA board of directors, superintendents, university researchers and other professional scientists, will receive a total of $170,064 from a GCSAA Foundation block grant with an additional $117,500 in matching funds from participating GCSAA chapters and the Oregon Turfgrass Foundation. GCSAA has an additional 11 research projects on-going through its program.
The following four research projects are funded for a period of two years:
- Comparing wetting agent application strategies for efficacy and longevity in sand-based putting greens; by Wendell Hutchens, Ph.D., University of Arkansas. Funded by a Chapter Cooperative Research Grant through the GCSAA Foundation’s Dr. Michael Hurdzan Endowment and Mark Kizziar Research Endowment with partial matching funds from the Mississippi Valley GCSA, the Ozark Turf Association, GCSA of Arkansas and North Texas GCSA.
- Suppressing dollar spot through adjustment of leaf surface pH; by Paul Koch, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin. Funded by a Chapter Cooperative Research Grant and matching funds from the Wisconsin GCSA.
- Effects of Moisture Management on Annual Bluegrass Weevil Movement, Oviposition, Larval Survival, and Turfgrass Damage; by Benjamin McGraw, Ph.D., Pennsylvania State University. Funded through the GCSAA Foundation’s Aquatrols’ Robert A. Moore Research Endowment.
- Influence of Nitrogen Rate on Growing Degree-Day Models for Plant Growth Regulator Reapplication Interval on Annual Bluegrass Putting Greens; by Alec Kowalewski, Ph.D., Oregon State University. Funded by a Chapter Cooperative Research Grant with matching funds from the Oregon Turfgrass Foundation.
As always, if you’ve missed a previous post, please check them out below: