Fresh off National Golf Day, the mantra that numbers matter could not be any clearer.  Speaking to legislators regarding the size of the golf industry, economic impact, and membership numbers helped give our industry perspective to those who are not as knowledgeable as we are.  At the 2018 delegates meeting and Annual Meeting, initiatives were undertaken to address these areas.

During the GCSAA Annual meeting, there were a few items on the ballot which required a membership vote. There were two new association membership classes up for vote: Facility Membership and Friend of the Golf Course Superintendent, as well as a bylaw change needed to make those happen.

Both membership classifications were voted through by the chapter delegates and are now official classifications of GCSAA. If you are not familiar with the new classifications, they are as follows:

Facility Membership

To be eligible, a facility must not have had a GCSAA member in the last three years, and the facility’s green fee must be below the 50 percent median in their region (regions will be based on GCSAA field staff regions). Dues will be $200 a year for the facility and its employees, who will have access to GCSAA resources, but will not receive individual membership benefits such as term life insurance, Class A eligibility, board eligibility, voting rights and tournament entry benefit.

Facility Membership is geared towards golf courses across the U.S. which do not currently employ a GCSAA member. The Facility Membership will target lower budget facilities to offer the facility employee(s) limited benefits and privileges. The Facility membership will be in the name of the facility, and not in the name of the individual member.

Friend of the Golf Course Superintendent

The Friend of the Golf Course Superintendent Membership is for individuals who want to support superintendents and the game of golf but do not qualify for any other membership category. Friends will not receive traditional membership benefits such as access to restricted areas of the GCSAA website, voting rights, insurance benefits or tournament entry.

The Friend of the Golf Course Superintendent classification will target golfers, potential advocates, teachers involved in First Green field trips and supporters of the game and industry to name a few. This classification will help create GCSAA brand awareness and allow us to promote the profession to a new audience.

If you have a colleague that might benefit from the Facility Membership or know potential advocates for our profession and game who would enjoy a Friend membership, please visit GCSAA.org and sign them up or contact me for assistance in doing so!