by
Shane Conroy
| Feb 03, 2023
It’s been nearly a quarter century since the GCSAA Collegiate Turf Bowl made its debut.
Taking place next week, and held each year during the GCSAA Conference and Tradeshow, the Turf Bowl has been assisting future golf course superintendents develop and test their knowledge critical to the profession. We all know the preparation that's needed to hit the ground running when you land that first position at the golf course out of turf school. Along with the skills and knowledge learned in the classroom, participating in the Turf Bowl is also a great way to prepare students for life on the golf course.
#28 GCSAA Collegiate Turf Bowl
To participate in the GCSAA Collegiate Turf Bowl Competition, students must be enrolled in a turf program or have graduated at the end of the most recent fall semester but not yet entered a graduate program, be an active Student Member with GCSAA, and be a registered attendee at the GCSAA Conference and Trade Show – at which student members receive complimentary registration.
Teams are composed of up to four students who meet the above eligibility requirements.
Each fall, GCSAA provides faculty advisors with a study guide highlighting areas that should be studied to be successful in this competition, study materials are also on the GCSAA Conference website.
The competition consists of several testing formats, including, but not limited to:
- Essay
- Multiple choice
- Identification
- Short Answer
- Fill in the blank
The essay format of the exam is graded by superintendents via a triple-blind grading process with a scoring rubric. The identification, short answer and fill in the blank formats are graded by subject matter experts/faculty advisors. A grader is assigned to an individual section of the exam. This grader scores each exam within their assigned section.
Scores from each of the three graders are added to create the total essay score. Scores from each section are then added to create a team’s final score. The team with the highest overall score wins the GCSAA Collegiate Turf Bowl competition.
Teams finishing in the top ten will receive recognition and designated prizes at the GCSAA Send-Off Celebration on Thursday, February 9 from 3 – 5 p.m. in the Valencia Ballroom.
Prizes will be given in the following amounts:
- First Place: $4,000
- Second Place: $2,000
- Third Place: $1,000
- Fourth Place: $800
- Fifth Place: $700
- Sixth – Tenth Place: $300
In addition to any other monetary and/or recognition prizes, the first-place team will also receive the traveling trophy for the year. GCSAA will send the traveling trophy to the turf club after engraving of the team name is completed.
As always, if you missed a previous post, please check them out below: