Cactus & Pine GCSA holds second annual Water Summit

Summit focuses on water management in the state of Arizona

Pictured from left: Cactus & Pine GCSA Board Member Mike Murphy, Cactus & Pine GCSA President Rory Van Poucke and GCSAA CEO Rhett Evans

The Cactus & Pine GCSA held their second annual Water Summit at Gainey Ranch Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona on August 28.

The summit was organized to provide Arizona politicians, government agencies, leading water experts, municipalities and allied golf organizations with an overview of the golf industries Best Management Practices (BMPs) in regards to water management.

Sponsored by Rain Bird, the summit was kicked off by GCSAA CEO Rhett Evans who spoke on the importance of golf course sustainability and the GCSAA BMP template that is being implemented by states around the country including Arizona.

Other featured speakers included golf course architect Gary Brawley of Gary Brawley Golf Design, Wesley Cook of Arizona Public Service, Chuck Cullom of Central Arizona Project, Jimmy Fox of Evergreen Turf, Bruce Hallin of Salt River Project, Kirk Hardin of Rain Bird, Dave Kopec, Ph.D., of the University of Arizona, Jeff Tannler of the Arizona Department of Water Resources and myself.

“Water availability and cost are critical to the golf industry in the Southwest,” said Rory Van Poucke, Cactus & Pine GCSA president and general manager/Class A superintendent of Apache Sun Golf Club. “We need to communicate to our policymakers that golf uses only 1.9 percent of the total freshwater in the state, but contributes $3.9 billion to the state economy. This is a tremendous economic return on a minimal natural resource investment.”

The event was attended by 88 Cactus & Pine members and guests including representatives of the Arizona Women’s Golf Association, Club Managers Association of America, Southwest Section PGA and numerous policymakers from local municipalities, state agencies and water districts including the Arizona Department of Water Resources, Arizona Public Services, Central Arizona Project and the Salt River Project.

“Golf is big business in Arizona,” said Cactus & Pine GCSA Executive Director Carmella Ruggiero. “Approximately 11.6 million rounds are played annually, the industry directly employs nearly 19,000 individuals and we contribute $72 million in state and local taxes. We have a terrific message to share and events like the Water Summit give us that opportunity.”

For more information, visit Cactus & Pine GCSA or view the Arizona Golf Industry Economic Impact Study.