Environmental Institute for Golf announces national campaign to boost funding through auctions of donated rounds, after successful regional efforts through Rounds 4 Research.
The Environmental Institute for Golf (EIFG) will launch a national campaign to generate resources to address the critical shortage of funding for agronomic research.
The program is an extension of the Rounds 4 Research campaign created by the Carolinas Golf Course Superintendents Association in 2009, which has generated nearly $350,000 since its inception. Through that program, facilities generate funds by securing donated rounds and making them available to the public through an online auction.
Demand from affiliated chapters of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) resulted in the search for an organization to take the project national, potentially going a long way toward plugging the drain on funds for the $76 billion industry.
“There have been severe cutbacks in funding for golf course research regionally and nationally,” GCSAA President Sandy Queen, CGCS, said. “Research has been vital in developing resources that support golf course environmental management programs, which have made the game more enjoyable for golfers. The golf industry’s long-term strength is threatened by this lack of funding. A key point in this effort is that this is a program designed to generate funds for chapters. It is not about building the EIFG pool of funds.”
The EIFG will give opportunities for GCSAA’s 100 affiliated chapters to participate and solicit rounds that will then be made available through the Bidding for Good auction site and distributed back to participating chapters.
“We believe this is a critical program for the golf industry,” Queen said. “When the Carolinas chapter conducted it, it got widespread support from all aspects of the industry. This is not a golf course superintendent issue, this is a golf issue. That is why we saw strong support on the chapter level in the past. Our preliminary discussions have shown the golf industry to be supportive of the program.”
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