GCSAA President John Fulling recently announced that the annual Golf Industry Show scheduled for the first week of February 2021 in Las Vegas will now be conducted in a virtual format. 

With the ongoing health concerns caused by the coronavirus, travel restrictions, global economy, monitoring of other national tradeshows and bans on large gatherings, it was decided by GCSAA and its presenting partners, The American Society of Golf Course Architects and Golf Course Builders Association of America that it was in the best interest and safety of all parties involved to move to a virtual format. 

GIS 2021, “Your space. Your pace. All in one place.”, will take place the first week of February and will allow show participants the opportunity to attend from the safety of their homes or workplaces while still consuming all of the great content that GIS is known for. 

Education, trade show and special events will take place live via the virtual platform and attendees will also have the opportunity to view or review the events/education/materials for an extended period after the conclusion of the live event. 

Registration for GIS 2021 will open October 13 at https://www.golfindustryshow.com/.  At the time of this article, registration costs for the event are still being determined. The event will now be held the first week of February. A short demo video of the virtual platform is available at https://player.vimeo.com/video/447145809.

While moving to a virtual format was a difficult decision, it will allow those who have attended GIS in the past to save on travel costs this year and will allow many others who have never had the opportunity to attend, a chance too see what great opportunities and education that GIS has to offer.  The safety of our members, vendors, sponsors and other attendees always comes first. 

In other related news, an upcoming announcement on the status of the GCSAA Golf Championships scheduled to be held in Palm Desert, CA. will be made shortly. 

I hope that you and your families are safe during these unusual times and we appreciate your continued support of GCSAA and our affiliated chapters.  If I can be of any assistance to you, please don’t hesitate to contact me at jjensen@gcsaa.org and follow me on Twitter @GCSAA_SW for daily industry updates.