Sunday, March 20 marks the first official day of spring. In most places in the country, we have already sprung the clocks forward. Golf season in the Mid-Atlantic is ramping up. My home course, Northampton Country Club, took the tarps off of the greens and tees. We are seeing a lot of courses with their first day announcements. All of the spring changes makes me very excited. I am also excited because I will be hitting the road more to see everyone's courses.

   

2022 is a great time to get your facility BMP completed. The BMP initiative is in phase II which is facility adaption. First, we reached our phase one goal of all 50 states creating a state BMP. Now we are working on getting facilities on board with their own personal manual. We are here to help make the process streamlined and as easy as possible. Our environmental department is here to help you as well with Mark Johnson in the lead, supported by Emily Fuger. Please reach out to any of your field staff representatives if you need help or guidance in getting started. Chapters all across the country are offering workshops to help you. GCSAA also has great resources and videos online to help you. 

As you get ready to start your facility BMP, I have a couple of recommendations: First, please attend a workshop or a virtual workshop. Check to see if your local chapter is offering any BMP workshops. If you do not see any on the schedule, reach out to your chapter executive or field staff representatives. We are ready to help get one on your schedule.

In addition, you can get most, if not all, of your manual completed during the workshop time. When you finish your manual, you get .5 credits toward your GCSAA education.

Second, start collecting information for your manual now, especially pictures or golf specific environmental standards. If you have this information available before you start your edits, the whole process will be fast and easy.

Finally, think of the BMP manual for your facility as a living document. Golf courses are always changing and so should your manual. Consider updating your manual every year to make it most up to date. 



Spring also marks the GCSAA Foundation's Rounds 4 Research auction. When your course donates a round, you are ensuring the future of golf. Why do we do Rounds 4 Research? To help address the critical shortage of funding for turfgrass research, golf management advocacy, course management operations, university funding and more. The money raised by Rounds 4 Research go directly to the local chapters, turfgrass associations or universities. The auction will run April 25 through May 1. Please donate today! My home course, Northampton Country Club, just donated. It is an exciting way to show off your course.