GCSAA Turf Bowl more than just a trophy

The University of Massachusetts Amherst was the big winner at the 19th Annual GCSAA Collegiate Turf Bowl, walking away with a trophy, a $4,000 cash prize and the opportunity to volunteer at TPC Sawgrass to see first-hand what it’s like to prepare for a professional tournament.

Sixty-eight teams from 35 colleges and universities across the country competed in the Turf Bowl, an intense written and hands-on competition covering everything from plant and disease identification to soils, irrigation equipment and personnel management.

Schools typically raise money for their teams to participate in the competition, helped by donations from turf clubs and alumni, said Leah Brilman of Seed Research of Oregon, the Turf Bowl’s test preparer and coordinator. “It’s almost a team and school building exercise on its own to raise the money to come here,” Brilman said. “Many of (the students) have their own test to see who’s going to come within their group, and they study hard. Some of them actually have classes that they studied for this exam, so it’s a big deal.”

Brilman said the Turf Bowl was started by Dr. Jeff Krans of Mississippi State University and that she took it over about 17 years ago.

The event’s “been very useful,” she said. “It builds teamwork, the schools have pride.”

The event also helps determine what material faculty teach at the universities. “If we put it on the test, they try to learn it, and it’s taught,” Brilman said. “I talk to superintendents and ask, ‘What do you want your assistant to be able to do?’ Then we try to make sure that’s on the test. Because we try to use this as an educational opportunity to try to drive what students are doing and where they’re going.”

John Deere Golf partnered with the GCSAA on the Collegiate Turf Bowl, and it’s a role the company was proud to have.

By partnering in the Turf Bowl, John Deere is taking one more step in its effort to “develop and enhance” the careers of turf students from start to finish, said Deere’s Maureen McCormack. The experience students have at the Turf Bowl works seamlessly with Deere’s other professional development initiatives, McCormack said, and serves as a sort of precursor to its Green Start Academy for assistant superintendents and its John Deere Feedback events for superintendents.

“We’re really trying to work throughout the whole career path of these guys and give different touch points for them to have strong career development opportunities,” she added.