The Northern Ohio Golf Course Superintendents Association (NOGCSA) are the men and women who keep our golf courses in shape and a joy to play every day. NOGCSA will celebrate its 100th anniversary starting this month.
The NOGCSA will begin commemorating its milestone year with a kick-off event on May 12 at Youngstown Country Club, the home Colonel John Morley, who founded the NOGCSA . Leadership in Northeast Ohio eventually led to the 1926 formation of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America three years later, which now totals 19,000 members in 80 countries.
“The efforts of Colonel John Morley and our founders laid the groundwork for the success of our industry not only in Northeast Ohio, but the world,” said Mark F. Jordan, CGSC, natural resource leader at Westfield Group Country Club in Westfield Center, Ohio, and GCSAA and NOGCSA past president. “The NOGCSA board has been planning a meaningful celebration of this milestone over the past year and we look forward to celebrating not only with our members but the community.”
The NOGCSA currently includes 300 members at approximately 154 facilities in Northern Ohio, Michigan and Pennsylvania.
In 1923, during a meeting at Westwood Country Club (WCC), the organization that began as the Cleveland District Greenskeepers Association became the Northern Ohio Golf Course Superintendents Association. Fred Burkhart, the greenskeeper at WCC, joined Morley as a founding father and was an early influencer in the new organization.
That led to the founding of the national GCSAA in 1926 – first known as the National Association of Greenkeepers of America
Superintendents are essential to the game, an absolute necessity in a billion-dollar business. They oversee the playability, the aesthetics and environmental leadership of their respective facility.
The NOGCSA chapter includes superintendents and their assistants, golf course equipment managers, turfgrass educators, students pursuing a career in golf course management and representatives of companies that provide golf course products and services.
The year-long celebration includes special events for members and invited guests at key locations in Northern Ohio:
- May 12, Celebrating Col. Morley – Youngstown Country Club
• June 5, Club Officials – Elyria Country Club
• September 11, Annual Clam Bake and Scholarship & Research Tournament – Portage Country Club
• November 11, Gala Celebration Westwood Country Club
To learn more about NOGCSA and their 100th Anniversary celebration visit https://www.nogcsa.com/
