Bigger, better 2024 Golfdom Summit wraps up

By |  December 23, 2024 0 Comments
Connor Ouwinga, national sales manager, Porous Pave, and A. John Harvey, ASGCA, ASLA, chat with Greg Brandriet, CGCS at Heritage Links Construction and Rob Collins, director of greens and grounds at Paradise Valley (Ariz.) CC, at the 2024 Golfdom Summit. (Photo: Golfdom staff)
Connor Ouwinga, national sales manager, Porous Pave, and A. John Harvey, ASGCA, ASLA, chat with Greg Brandriet, CGCS at Heritage Links Construction and Rob Collins, director of greens and grounds at Paradise Valley (Ariz.) CC, at the 2024 Golfdom Summit. (Photo: Golfdom staff)

The 2024 Golfdom Summit will be remembered for a lot of things: a great group of superintendents from around the country; the most partners ever; a father/son superintendent duo; and even a hole-in-one.

Superintendents came from as far as Hawaii (Mike Bugenhangen, The Club at Hokulia, Kealakekua) and as close as a short drive up I-95 (Stuart Bothe, director of golf course maintenance at Emerald Dunes Club in West Palm Beach, wins the shortest commute award.) In all, 43 superintendents visited with 18 of Golfdom’s advertising partners (see full list below.)

“This has been an exceptional experience. It’s exceeded everything I imagined,” said Rob Dorsch, CGCS at Richter Park GC in Danbury, Conn. “Having one-on-one meetings with vendors and getting to learn about and discuss products … the amount of learning, the amount of networking and friendships … it’s a first-class event.”

Father-son duo Scott Robbins, director of agronomy at Ptarmigan CC in Fort Collins, and Jack Robbins, director of grounds at Pinehurst CC in Denver, traveled from Colorado for the event. They were perhaps the first father-son duo to ever attend the Golfdom Summit. What was for sure a first was a hole-in-one at the Golfdom Summit: DJ Johnson, executive vice president of Kress, aced hole 16 of the Palmer Course, a 178-yard par three that was also the closest-to-the-pin hole that day. It was his second career ace, his first occurring 20 years ago.

Golfdom Editor-in-Chief Seth Jones (left) and Western Regional Sales Manager Jake Goodman (right) recognize DJ Johnson, executive vice president, Kress, for his hole in one at the Golfdom Summit golf scramble tournament. (Photo: Golfdom staff)
Golfdom Editor-in-Chief Seth Jones (left) and Western Regional Sales Manager Jake Goodman (right) recognize DJ Johnson, executive vice president, Kress, for his hole in one at the Golfdom Summit golf scramble tournament. (Photo: Golfdom staff)

“This Golfdom Summit was just so good in so many ways — the group of people there, the weather, the golf outing… all were exceptional,” said Craig MacGregor, publisher, Golfdom. “There’s a lot of work that goes on behind the scenes to make something like this happen. The different groups all came together for us on this one: our team at Golfdom, the superintendent attendees, the numerous partners who put their trust in us and the outstanding team at Reunion Resort.”

The 2025 Golfdom Summit will return to Reunion Resort in December of next year. Superintendents interested in attending should contact MacGregor to put their names in for consideration. Likewise, magazine partners who would like to learn more about participating at the Summit should reach out to MacGregor.

2025 partners:

About the Author: Seth Jones

Seth Jones, a 25-year veteran of the golf industry media, is Editor-in-Chief of Golfdom magazine and Athletic Turf. A graduate of the University of Kansas School of Journalism and Mass Communications, Jones began working for Golf Course Management in 1999 as an intern. In his professional career he has won numerous awards, including a Turf and Ornamental Communicators Association (TOCA) first place general feature writing award for his profile of World Golf Hall of Famer Greg Norman and a TOCA first place photography award for his work covering the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. In his career, Jones has accumulated an impressive list of interviews, including such names as George H.W. Bush, Samuel L. Jackson, Lance Armstrong and Charles Barkley. Jones has also done in-depth interviews with such golfing luminaries as Norman, Gary Player, Nick Price and Lorena Ochoa, to name only a few. Jones is a member of both the Golf Writers Association of America and the Turf and Ornamental Communicators Association. Jones can be reached at sjones@northcoastmedia.net.


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