The Carolinas Golf Course Superintendents Association has broken through the million-dollar mark in support of turfgrass research funded by the Rounds 4 Research online auction. The milestone came with recent pledges to Clemson and North Carolina State universities to help create endowed golf-specific research faculty positions.
“This is a historic milestone and one that every one of our members should be extremely proud of,” Carolinas GCSA executive director Tim Kreger says. “Remember, this program launched right here in the Carolinas in the midst of the Great Recession when traditional funding sources were drying up.
“Instead of complaining, we committed, as golf course superintendents do at their facilities every day, to be part of the solution. There’s now more than one million pieces of evidence to say we’re achieving that goal.”
In March, the Carolinas GCSA committed $100,000 over five years to each of Clemson and NC State. NC State is working to raise $2.5 million to establish a Distinguished Chair in Golf Turf Management. Clemson’s target is $1 million for a Distinguished Professorship in Turfgrass.
It was Kreger’s own inspiration and the backing of the Carolinas GCSA board of directors that led to the Rounds 4 Research launch in 2009. The model sees golf facilities donate tee-times for a foursome, or similar, and those items – including at some of the most exclusive private clubs – are then auctioned online every April.
Following the auction’s early success and adoption in other regions including Georgia and Texas, the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America took over the program in 2012 and has since raised nearly $5 million nationally.
While the Carolinas GCSA built the machinery to raise the money, Kreger stresses that the mission will never be complete.
“There will never be a magic bullet as long as golf is played on a living, breathing organism that is open to the elements 24 hours of every single day,” he says. “Which is why we must remain as committed as ever to supporting Rounds 4 Research. I urge superintendents everywhere to do whatever they can to make sure their facility contributes this year.”
This year’s auction runs from April 20 to 26.
