Carolinas GCSA show wraps up

Sometimes, the best plan is to have, well, no plan at all.

That's probably over-simplifying things a little bit, but that adage definitely came to mind this past week in Myrtle Beach, S.C., at the Carolinas GCSA conference and trade show. I traveled east with only a handful of firm objectives on my to-do list, yet somehow I'm walking away with a pocket full of business cards and a notebook crammed with information I gleaned. Funny how that works.

I honestly didn't have a long list of objectives as I came into this week. I wanted to visit a few of the magazine's industry partners on the trade show floor, check out a couple of the educational sessions, touch base with a few superintendents who have become Official Friends of GCM and give my regards to the fine folks who work for GCSAA's largest affiliated chapter. That was about it. To my way of thinking, the broader opportunity to put GCM front and center at an event where a sizable number of our readers and GCSAA members had gathered — an overall philosophy I firmly believe in, by the way — was more important to me than any specific event or session on the agenda here in Myrtle Beach.

But as I mentioned, that not-having-a-plan plan certainly seems to have paid off in this situation. So I thought the best way to recap this week here on the blog (you can read a more formal report on the conferfence and show in the January issue of GCM) was to drop a few tidbits of information on you. To wit:

• I had a chance to sit down with Tim Kreger, the executive director of the Carolinas GCSA, on Tuesday morning. A good chat about the state of golf affairs in that part of the world, how superintendents in the Carolinas came through the difficult summer on 2010 and how they're fairing on the economic front. We also talked about the state of the chapter's conference and trade show, and the best way to describe that is "two thumbs up." Although official numbers won't be available for a little bit, they sold out their available space on the trade show floor (even had a short waiting list), and matched their education and attendance numbers from last year, a solid feat in this day and age.
• Dollars from Rounds 4 Research, a project that raises funds for turfgrass research by auctioning off tee times at golf courses across the Carolinas, Virginia and Georgia, have already made their way to NC State and Clemson. During Wednesday morning's general session, final funding was announced, with projects studying nematodes and BMP scorecards, among other things, already well under way.
• One of my favorite experiences of the week was the opportunity to sit down for lunch with former GCSAA president David Downing, CGCS and The Golf Channel's Charlie Rymer, who was the keynote speaker during the afternoon general session (I owe my buddy Trent Bouts for setting up that opportunity). Rymer, a former touring pro who's been with The Golf Channel since 2009, was well versed in the golf course management side of the business and kept up as Downing and I discussed the summer's weather, the golf business in Myrtle Beach, growing the game, etc. He also caught my attention when he mentioned his friendship with Bertis Downs, the adviser and legal counsel for the rock band R.E.M. — one of my all-time favorites — and the occasional rounds of golf he's played with the band's bassist, Mike Mills. I have no idea if I was able to hide my jealousy or not.
• I also spent some time with a couple of members of GCSAA's corporate sales and marketing team, Jim Cummins and Bill Parker, as they visited with some of our valued industry partners who were attending the show. It might go against the grain a little, but almost all of them were expressing cautious optimism about the year ahead. Sure, they'd felt the economic sting like most segments of the golf industry have this past year, but it seems company's in the golf course management industry generally came out of 2010 unscathed and optimistic about what they'll be able to do in 2011. That's a good message to hear right about now.