2019 National Golf Day by the numbers

The community service project volunteers gather before they get to work on the National Mall. (Photo: Golfdom Staff)

The schedule for the 2019 National Golf Day attendees — many of whom took time away from their places of business to participate — was filled to the brim with advocacy, community service and networking.

Tuesday — day one — included the third annual community service project at the National Mall. The 200-plus volunteers arrived at the Mall around 8 a.m., before the large swaths of tourists began to arrive around midday. The sunny, 60- to 70-degree weather provided an ideal day for the concentration area, which spanned from the Lincoln Memorial to the Washington Monument.

Trading in t-shirts and muddy work pants for suits and ties, the spruced-up golf course industry professionals descended on Capitol Hill early Wednesday morning to participate in meetings with their respective senators and representatives throughout the day.

With so much taking place, we dug up a few quick-hitting numbers to help understand all that went on during the few days.

Volunteers mowing near the Lincoln Memorial. (Photo: Kevin Dietsch)

$30,000 saved on contracting costs

The volunteer work included laying sod, raking, edging, overseeding, aerating, brushing walkways, planting perennials and sprucing up gravel pathways. It saved the National Parks Service thousands of dollars in contracting costs, according to We Are Golf, a coalition of golf’s leading organizations. All within about four hours!

Volunteers planted 92 beds at the Floral Library. (Photo: Golfdom Staff)

7,000 perennials planted

The teams filled 92 flower beds at the Floral Library and the additional beds at the Washington Monument, saving the National Parks Service employees weeks — or maybe even months — of work. The enthusiastic volunteers made relatively quick work of the job, filling the previously barren beds with vibrant splashes of color in fewer than four hours.

Capitol Hill (Photo: Golfdom Staff)

200-plus participants

201 people signed up to participate at the community service projects and 219 signed up to participate in the legislative day on Capitol Hill, said We are Golf. During the community service project, participants installed 15,000 square feet of sod, mowed 20 acres and renovated seven acres of turf. The attendees on Wednesday appeared in about 250 meetings with their congressmen and congresswomen from 41 different states. To add some perspective, the number of meetings equals more than half the amount of representatives in the House.

14 allied golf associations

An “alphabet soup” of organizations were represented on the Hill and during the community service project at the National Mall. Those present included the Club Management Association of America, Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, National Golf Course Owners Association, United States Golf Association and the World Golf Foundation, to name a few.

Three major topics covered

As the golf course advocates briskly walked the halls of Congress — careful not to be late for their slew of meetings — they had a few discussion points top of mind: golf business labor and tax issues; environmental issues facing golf; and the Personal Health Investment Today Act.

One common goal

Despite the differences in region and background, the industry professionals came to Washington, D.C., to promote the game of golf and raise awareness of the game and the matters surrounding it.

Featured image by Sarah Webb