GCSAA Conference and Trade Show successfully returns to Phoenix with sold-out show

The GCSAA Conference and Trade Show returned to Phoenix for the first time since 1987 with nearly 11,000 attendees and more than 6,600 seminar seats filled, representing the highest total since 2008.

In addition to education for superintendents, the event also included specialized education for assistant superintendents, equipment managers, students and more. Educational offerings included traditional classroom settings as well as seven interactive facility tours at golf courses in the Phoenix area.

The week began with the GCSAA Golf Championships featuring 638 golfers. Seth Strickland, director of agronomy at Miami Beach (Fla.) Golf Club, won the National Championship, his sixth win of the tournament overall. Joshua Troutman, golf course superintendent at Crestview Country Club in Wichita, Kan., won the Golf Classic.

The trade show opened on Jan. 31, with the Sunrise Celebration, presented in partnership with Syngenta. At the grand opening, GCSAA awarded its Old Tom Morris Award to Dottie Pepper and the Outstanding Contribution Award to Tenia Workman, executive director of the Georgia Golf Course Superintendents Association. The first day of the show also featured the 2024 GCSAA Turf Bowl, presented in partnership with John Deere. Purdue University Team 51 won the 2024 Turf Bowl, beating 62 teams from 27 universities.

On Feb. 1, GCSAA presented the Col. John Morley Award to retired superintendent William “Bill” Murray and the GCSAA President’s Award for Environmental Stewardship to Wayne Mills.

The 2025 GCSAA Conference and Trade Show will head to San Diego Feb. 3-6, 2025, at the San Diego Convention Center.