GCSAA announces schedule change to February 2014 industry gathering in Orlando

The Golf Course Superintendents Association of America has announced slight schedule alterations to various events associated with its annual education conference and industry trade show set for February 2014 in Orlando.

The GCSAA Education Conference will be at the Orange County Convention Center, Monday through Thursday, Feb. 3-6. The trade show will be held Wednesday and Thursday, Feb. 5-6, at the same venue. Unlike in recent years, there will be no activities on Friday in 2014. The USGA session moves to 8-10 a.m. Thursday, prior to the start of the second day of the trade show, and will become the General Session.

In addition, to alleviate the amount of overlap between the GCSAA Golf Championships and the education conference, the golf tournament dates have been shifted back one day from last year. The four-ball competition will be Saturday, Feb. 1, with the fun event (shamble format) being held Sunday, Feb. 2. The GCSAA National Championship and the GCSAA Golf Classic will be held Sunday through Monday, Feb. 2-3. All the golf events will be at Orlando-area golf facilities.

“The focus will remain on keeping the agenda as condensed as possible to minimize expense and time away for both attendees and exhibitors,” GCSAA CEO Rhett Evans said. “Our post-event surveys indicate that our efforts to shorten the week were seen as a positive, but there were a few instances where conflicts were created. We have shared the new schedule with some of our committees, and the response has been good.”

A working schedule of events is now available on the conference website – http://www.gcsaa.org/conference, with additional information added as it becomes available.

Housing reservations will open Aug. 6, and GCSAA member registration for the golf tournament, conference and trade show opens in early November.