Thanks to everyone who participated in the auction! The event will net over $55,000 for turfgrass research. Here is the official press release on the results:
Auction Delivers $55,000 Insurance for $5-billion Carolinas Golf Industry
An innovative online auction has just delivered what amounts to a $55,000 insurance policy for the $5-billion a year golf industry in the Carolinas. More than 300 foursomes at courses across North and South Carolina and beyond went under the virtual hammer in the first Rounds4Research.com auction which finished yesterday (May 6).
Golfers from across the country bid for just over two weeks coinciding with nationally televised PGA Tour tournaments in Hilton Head, SC and Charlotte, NC. Proceeds will benefit turfgrass research at Clemson and North Carolina state universities at a time when traditional funding sources are drying up because of the current economic crisis.
“Golf is critical to the economic health of our region. It provides jobs and recreation and brings in out-of-state dollars through tourism,” Paul Jett, president of the Carolinas Golf Course Superintendents Association which ran the auction, said.
“All of that would be at risk if we were to lose any of the expertise of turfgrass researchers at Clemson and NC State. Their work has a lot to do with the excellent reputation that Carolinas golf enjoys throughout the U.S.”
Jett, who has hosted two U.S. Open Championships at Pinehurst No. 2, said researchers not only helped superintendents combat threats from disease and pests but also developed knowledge behind more efficient maintenance practices. Both the United States Golf Association and the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America have frozen research funding this year.
“In times like this it’s easy to get beaten down by all the negative news. But we are committed to being part of the solution for golf and for our states. Whether that’s raising money to support our colleges or improving our water conservation,” Jett said.
Rounds were donated by clubs and courses in the Carolinas, Georgia, Virginia, Tennessee, Florida, Mississippi, Bermuda and the Dominican Republic. Two lots each attracted the auction’s highest bid of $2,600.
Carolinas GCSA programs director, Tim Kreger, said there were multiple ancillary benefits to the project, which was his brainchild.
“We had tens of thousands of hits on our Rounds4Research website which told the story of how much golf means to the economies of both Carolinas. Hopefully there are a lot more golfers out there now who feel better about their game because of that,” he said.
“And when you think about all the golf course owners, managers, private club boards and members who took a look at this project and decided to take part, that’s hundreds and hundreds more people who want to solve a challenge, not wait for someone else to do it. And this was just year one.”