NC State is one of two recipients of the 2022 Rounds for Research Grant from the Carolinas Golf Course Superintendents Association (Carolinas GCSA). The $94,000 grant will fund a three-year project to better understand the factors that influence the effectiveness of inputs on golf courses.
“We are proud to be able to support this research that benefits the entire golf industry, as well as both our states,” said Carolinas GCSA president Billy Bagwell. “Golf drives more than $7 billion in economic benefit in the Carolinas and that only happens with healthy, well-conditioned golf course turf. So, the answers research like this provides doesn’t just help golfers, it helps communities that rely on jobs the game supports in tourism, hospitality, manufacturing and more.”
CALS professors Dr. Travis Gannon and Dr. Jim Kernsare will use the grant to learn how soil properties in golf courses affect organisms and how previous applications influence pesticide efficacy. Previous research in cropping systems has shown that repeated use of certain products can lead to pesticide resistance. This project will be one of the first to explore that phenomenon in a golf setting. CALS alum and Lonnie Poole Golf Course Superintendent Brian Green is chairman of the CGSA Research Committee and was instrumental in helping to secure the funds.
“Obviously, this work is highly technical and, to be honest, may be kind of boring to most golfers,” Bagwell said. “But the fact is, research projects like these go a long way to determining how many putts those golfers make or miss and how much they pay to play. We are investing in finding ways to produce the best possible conditions in the most sustainable manner, and that means both economically and environmentally.”
This year’s Rounds 4 Research auction runs April 25 to May 1. Thousands of rounds will be up for bid at facilities ranging from municipal courses to some of the most celebrated and exclusive private clubs in the country. Learn more >>