Toro contributes $50,000 to EIFG Rounds 4 Research program

The Environmental Institute for Golf (EIFG), the philanthropic arm of the GCSAA, has received a $50,000 grant from The Toro Company for continued support of the Rounds 4 Research program in 2015 to help further turfgrass research at local universities. With this contribution, Toro has donated $150,000 to the program over the past three years.

Rounds 4 Research is designed to address a critical shortage in turfgrass research funding by auctioning donated rounds of golf online. The program allows GCSAA chapters and turfgrass foundations to participate as fundraising partners and direct the proceeds from auctioned rounds to specific projects that will have the most significant impact in their local areas. Since its launch in July 2012, Rounds 4 Research has raised nearly $320,000. The 2015 auction will be held from June 8-21. The program is administered by the EIFG and presented in partnership with Toro.

“Toro continues to see the value in supporting turfgrass research for the long-term benefit of the golf industry. The commitment to Rounds 4 Research is critical to the success of raising funds for research and the advancement of our industry,” said Rhett Evans, GCSAA’s chief executive officer.

“From our earliest days in the golf industry, Toro has recognized the importance fine turf plays in customers’ enjoyment of the game. Our founders invested in and collaborated with local course superintendents, universities and national golf organizations on numerous turfgrass research projects,” says Mike Hoffman, Toro’s chairman and chief executive officer, who presented its most recent grant donation to EIFG at the Golf Industry Show in San Antonio. “We are pleased to continue Toro’s legacy of support with this grant for Rounds 4 Research on behalf of our employees around the world as well as all those who love what our company’s first president often called the world’s finest sport, the game of golf.”

Toro is a longtime partner of the EIFG, donating more than $1.8 million to help support scientific research, education and scholarships for future turfgrass professionals. As the exclusive presenting partner of Rounds 4 Research, Toro is a Victory Club member of the EIFG cumulative giving program and a GCSAA Platinum Partner.