Summer is almost here

This winter was very tough in the Great Lakes Region and the spring has been no picnic either with, superintendents working to repair damage left by the harsh winter and struggling with a cool spring that did not lend itself to growing new turf and healing existing turf. I received numerous calls from superintendents in the northern part of the Great Lakes region talking with me about Poa annua not greening up. And I received just as many calls from superintendents in the southern part of the region calling about their bermudagrass not greening up. With summer fast approaching, I hope that everyone has experienced some weather good enough to promote recovery of all of their turf! Please make sure that you are using all of the resources available to you, especially resources your GCSAA membership gives you, including webinars, forums and access to the Turfgrass Information Files.

On May 14th, National Golf Day was held in Washington, D.C., and GCSAA was well represented with staff and the Government Relations Committee present. It is extremely important that GCSAA represents its members' interests and seizes the opportunity to talk with legislators about how their decisions affect superintendents. GCSAA is also looking to take this one-on-one relationship with legislators to a new level with the Government Relations Ambassador Program. This program will put a superintendent in direct contact with every legislator in Washington and give these legislators a go-to person when issues arise the will affect the golf industry. If you are interested in being that person in your community, please let GCSAA know. You can apply for the program through the website or by contacting me and I will help sign you up. It is important that members embrace this program and participate. Many members have already signed up so we are moving in the right direction. Here is a little bit more about National Golf Day:

National Golf Day is a broad industry effort under the auspice of We Are Golf - a coalition of the game's leading associations and industry partners - designed to showcase golf's nearly $70 billion economy, $4 billion annual charitable impact, environmental value to local communities and fitness benefits.

Golf's leaders met with members of Congress throughout the day to share stories about the game's almost 15,000 diverse small businesses, which employ more than 2 million people and provide $55.6 billion in annual wage income. In addition, industry executives discussed golf courses' positive influences on ecology, tax revenues and tourism.

"National Golf Day presents a unique opportunity not only for the golf industry, but also for GCSAA and its members, to make personal connections with members of Congress and to help them understand the role the game plays in the economic, environmental and charitable life of our communities," says GCSAA CEO Rhett Evans. "The opportunity to educate lawmakers on issues of importance to our members and the stewardship role superintendents play every day is one we embrace. We are proud of our association with We Are Golf and our participation in National Golf Day."