TEXAS GOLF INDUSTRY DRIVES POSITIVE ENVIRONMENTAL & ECONOMIC IMPACTS FOR THE LONE STAR STATE
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The Spirit of Texas
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Video shows ecosystem benefits gained from 85,000 acres of golf course green infrastructure and $7.4B in economic impact
The Lone Star Golf Course Superintendents Association (LSGCSA) has released a new video in collaboration with Radius Sports Group showing the mission of Texas golf course superintendents to provide valuable ecosystem services, quality playing conditions, jobs, and economic impact for the state. The video highlights the benefits of approximately 85,000 acres of greenspace, $7.4 billion of total economic impact, and 100,000 jobs driven by the Texas golf industry.
Texas golf’s green infrastructure includes 57,000 acres of rough, wetlands, and native terrain which supports wildlife and pollinator habitats, cools urban heat islands, mitigates flooding, and filters stormwater runoff. The 3-minute video features water conservation best management practices (BMPs) including use of drought tolerant turfgrass species and recycled water for irrigation at 40 percent of Texas golf courses.
“It is crucial to protect the open space within our great state,” said General Manager Squaw Valley Golf Course and LSGCSA President Jeff Hansen. “This video shares how sustaining the health of our golf courses contributes to ecosystem benefits from 85,000 acres of green infrastructure – from cooling our cities to providing wildlife habitat, and so much more.”
Texas Golf BMPs drive sustainable resource management through thirteen key areas including water conservation and management, pollinator and wildlife protection, and energy conservation. A formal Texas Golf Industry BMP Guide was developed in collaboration with Reno-based sustainability consulting firm, Radius Sports Group, in 2020.
“We're proud that Texas golf facilities are leaders in environmental stewardship,” said General Manager High Meadow Ranch Golf Club and LSGCSA BMP Committee Chair Cody Spivey. “Texas golf course superintendents strive to leave the land better than they found it. Science-based BMPs ensure our golf courses are as healthy as possible now and for generations to come.”
The video and educational content was developed with the support of the Texas Golf Association, Professional Golfers ’ Association North Texas and South Texas Sections, Texas Lone Star Chapter of the Club Management Association, Texas Alliance of Recreational Organizations, and supported in part by a grant from the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA). The Texas Golf BMP Guide contributed to successful attainment of the GCSAA’s nationwide goal of 50 states establishing state specific BMPs by 2020. The initiative is a significant sports industry “first” showing the golf industry’s desire to lead environmental efforts through proactive measures.
The video may be viewed online at: https://www.texasgolfbmp.org/texas-golf-bmp-video
A giant thank you to all who were able to attend a successful Texas Trophy. The record turnout this year was just a lot of fun. Congratulations to champion Chris Edmonson and all the winners. Congratulations to team champion, North Texas GCSA! They will be defending the title next year somewhere in the Texas Gulf Coast. It takes a pile of work to make this event appear seamless on the surface and a ton of appreciation needs to be handed out beginning with our title sponsor, Helena, and all the sponsors who stepped up. As we all know, we could not pull of an event like this without our sponsors. Thank you to Steve and Veronica and their staffs for being so hospitable and being prepared to help it run quickly and smoothly. Thank you to Trevor and the maintenance staff for having the course in perfect shape following a debilitating summer. Thank you to the tee prize vendors who made every effort to accommodate all the changes. Thank you to Terry, Carol, Mike, Craig, Corby, and Trevor for sharing my stress and being there for advice and support. I know there are others who stepped up and I appreciate everyone. Finally, it really helps when the weather cooperates!
LSGCSA held its annual board meeting, December 14th, in conjunction with the winter Texas Turfgrass Association conference in Denton. Following a board vote, Jeff Hansen, president, Mike Upchurch, vice president, and James Stowe, secretary/treasurer will continue to serve for 2023. Among the projects your Lone Star GCSA is involved with, we hopefully have good news coming from our participation with the Texas Golf Hall of Fame. Golf Course Superintendents may finally have their own, solitary category. It is not approved yet by the HOF board, but we are hopeful that it will be approved in the coming year. Rounds 4 Research can really help raise monies needed for our participation in the HOF and we will be asking for a split of R4R for 2023. We are challenging the 5 Texas chapters to raise 160 rounds for R4R for the April 2023 auction. Expect to hear more about this very soon. As far as the BMPs, facility adoption is the next big step. Some of the chapters have already set up BMP meetings for the beginning of the new year to assist you so watch for those communications. Katie Manor, executive director for the Texas Golf Hall of Fame was our guest speaker during the annual meeting. She presented a history of the HOF and gave us details on the move to an interactive, virtual HOF to be housed at PGA Frisco. Finally, we unveiled the BMP video to those in attendance and feedback was positive. Nationally, Lone Star GCSA still has business to take care of as we head into 2023. Your Texas voting delegates attended the GCSAA Delegates meeting in Kansas, October 25-27 and they came back with information that will be voted on at the GCSAA Conference and Trade Show in Orlando. There are 4 items specifically that will be voted on. Kevin Sunderman resigned from the GCSAA board to assume the role of GCSAA COO. GCSAA by-laws will allow for Kevin Breen to serve as GCSAA president for a second term but currently there is no allowance for immediate past president, Mark Jordan, to continue for a second term. GCSAA is asking for a by-law change to allow for this. Another by-law change that will be up for vote is an amendment to allow the entire GCSAA board of directors to oversee the activities of the Benevolence fund. Also on the ballot in February, GCSAA is asking for a $35 increase for class A and B members and a $20 increase for class C members. Finally, delegates will be voting on the slate of candidates to fill 3 open seats on the GCSAA board of directors.
Importantly, your chapter voting delegates are currently working on the Texas voting list. It appears that the number of Texas votes has declined in the last few years and we are trying to find out why. We have learned that there are quite few individual votes spread among the 5 chapters. We have also learned that not everyone is sure of where they assigned their vote or if they even did so. We have also learned that
some may have their vote assigned to another chapter outside of Texas where they were previously employed. So delegates and executive directors may be contacting you just to make sure that you are aware of where your vote is and if you would like to maintain it that way. You can easily assign and reassign your vote in your account profile on the GCSAA website and each voting delegates voting list will be updated automatically. If you are contacted about your vote but you are fine with where you have it, just ignore the contact. Also be aware that if you vote individually but will not be able to attend the GCSAA Conference and Trade Show in Orlando this year, you can vote by proxy through one of the voting delegates. If you have any questions about your vote status or any of the issues on the ballot, please contact your chapter voting delegate. They are Anthony Williams for North Texas GCSA, Rey Gomez for Central Texas GCSA, Kyle Brown for South Texas GCSA, Lewis Fry for Texas Gulf Coast GCSA, Fore Brown for West Texas GCSA, and myself for Lone Star GCSA.
Alluded to earlier, the Lone Star BMP video was launched on December 12th. Over a year in the making, this video is chock full of valuable information about Texas golf and its value to our great state, including economic impact, acreage of green recreation space, and the number of jobs golf courses contribute to in Texas. This tool is an addition to each of us completing our BMPs to promote our use of best management practices to all interested groups invested in Texas. We expect each chapter and partner to embed the video on their website and share our message with everyone. The video can be found on the front page of the Lone Star GCSA website and the Texas BMP website www.texasgolfbmp.org/texas-golf-bmp-video. The video and our message will be provided to every Texas legislator when the new session begins in 2023. Thank you to the partners who directly helped with this project, TARO, TGA, North Texas PGA, South Texas PGA, and Lone Star CMAA. Thank you to Gina Rizzi, Radius Sports Group, and Ken Goryzki and Cody Spivey for spearheading this effort!
It has been my pleasure to serve you in 2022. While I am not sure that I did everything correctly, I did learn a ton. Most satisfying has been meeting people and the in-depth conversations on what drives our associations. Our profession is packed with great people with great ideas all the way around. I really owe a debt of gratitude to the current board for all of their support and guidance. We all owe a debt of gratitude to all who serve and have served on each member’s behalf in this great state!
Christmas is absolutely my favorite time of year. While I still have the giddy kid in me, this is always a time where I get nostalgic and find peace. My Christmas wish this year is that we can all find more kindness in our words and actions and that it continues for more than just Christmas time. Remembering the reason for the season serves that peace, joy, and kindness. Whatever you to choose to celebrate at this time, I wish you the best! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
