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 From the News Desk...Club managers end relationship with GISby John ReitmanThe amount of time it took for the brief and once happy marriage of associations representing golf course superintendents, owners and managers to go from content to contentious might make Britney Spears and Kevin Federline blush with envy. Citing what it deemed irreconcilable differences, the Club Managers Association of America on Wednesday informed its members, vendors, partners as well as the other presenting partners of the Golf Industry Show that the 2010 event in San Diego, and the association’s fourth overall, will be its last. At the heart of the break up was a pending same-day announcement from the Golf Industry Show - whose major partners include the GCSAA and National Golf Course Owners Association as well as the CMAA –that the 2012 GIS had been moved from New Orleans to Las Vegas. But abandoning New Orleans in favor of another location for its World Conference could cost the CMAA, which has contractual obligations with Marriott hotels through 2017, as much as $300,000 in penalties, according to a letter from CMAA president Mike Leemhuis to the association’s members informing them of the decision to terminate the group’s relationship with GIS. Losing such a vast amount was not a viable option for the CMAA and its members, wrote Leemhuis, chief operating officer of Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md. A letter sent Oct. 21 from GCSAA president Mark Kuhns, CGCS, to the association's members by e-mail states that the move was a joint decision. The letter also states that representatives from each of the three presenting associations were involved as early as March in discussions about finding a possible replacement for New Orleans in 2012. The show has been on a three-city rotation of Orlando, New Orleans and San Diego since the inaugural GIS in 2005, and The Big Easy never has been a popular choice with many GCSAA members and vendors, a fact reflected in attendance figures. The decision to move the 2012 show to Las Vegas was made in June, according to CMAA. It should be noted, however, that while San Diego is on the rotation, next year’s show will be the first there under the combined format. The 2012 show will be the first GCSAA conference and trade show in Las Vegas since 1997. "I realized what seemed simple to me was far more complicated. Then it dawned on me, ‘I wonder if (my general manager) thinks the same thing about my industry.’ It didn’t matter what we thought; we spent a lot of time together walking the aisles and educating each other, and we are both far better for it."The GCSAA letter goes on to say that each association sent representatives to Las Vegas to meet with hotel and convention officials and that CMAA eventually expressed reservations about the change. On June 5, the GCSAA board of directors extended an invitation to the CMAA board for an in-person meeting to discuss the matter, according to the GCSAA. The Club Managers Association, according to GCSAA, never responded to the plea, so such a meeting never took place. The CMAA version of what happened is quite different. The GCSAA, according to the CMAA letter, acted in a unilateral and arbitrary manner in moving the site of the 2012 show. The letter also states that when the GIS concept was born several years ago the presenting associations agreed the location of the trade show and each group’s unique educational conferences could not be changed without consent of all three partners. Such verbiage does not exist in any contract between the associations, according to GCSAA. The schedule change and the way in which the CMAA says it occurred led the group to conclude that it cannot build a partnership based on “a lack of collaboration and cooperation,” according to Leemhuis’ letter. "The real challenge that was exposed by these GCSAA actions regarding the GIS 2012 site location change from New Orleans to Las Vegas at significant cost to a participating partner showed an unacceptable method of doing business with a partner," CMAA chief executive officer Jim Singerling wrote in an e-mail to TurfNet. "CMAA enthusiastically rejected the change for 2012, solely due to the contract cancellation penalties both organizations would be required to pay. The CMAA Board rejected the option to spend association resources in that manner." Singerling also wrote that a CMAA official did attend a meeting in Las Vegas that explored whether that city was a viable option as an alternate GIS site. "CMAA was assured that this was an information-gathering visit only. CMAA's director of conference, meetings and exhibits did participate in that meeting with the GIS partners," Singerling wrote. "We asked the GCSAA board and specifically Mark Woodward and Mark Kuhns to please wait to vote on this decision until the U.S. Open when the officers of both associations were going to be in New York at Beth Page and could easily meet face to face and discuss the pros and cons. It would have only delayed the GCSAA vote (which was done June 8 via conference call) by 10 days. Woodward's reply was that Kuhns has the board with him and they were going to vote on June 8 via telephone. If CMAA wanted a meeting with GCSAA to explain what they were doing or why they were doing it, GCSAA would do that, but only after the vote was taken and the contract with Las Vegas was signed. The message that was delivered from the GCSAA president was that CMAA could take it or leave it." The CMAA letter also hints that the combined show failed, at times, to fulfill the needs of its respective members. Some GIS exhibitors don’t argue those claims. “I always thought the CMAA was better suited to partner with the PGA (Merchandise Show) versus the GCSAA,” said Paul Hollis, executive vice president of Redexim Charterhouse. “In my opinion, the all-in-one Golf Industry Show concept would seem to be a better draw if it included the PGA. I would have rather seen the GCSAA partner with the Sports Turf Managers Association, the Canadian Golf Course Superintendents or BIGGA (British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association) to make a super superintendents show.” Seeking a more agreeable solution, one that might have included both sides parting ways for one year and reuniting again in 2013, never was an option, because “the CMAA made the decision to withdraw altogether,” according to the GCSAA. While the GIS heads to Las Vegas and the CMAA’s World Conference will remain in New Orleans, both shows will be conducted in Orlando in 2011, albeit independent of each other. Although some might question whether the combined format adds value for superintendents, owners or managers, some have come to appreciate the show’s initial intent. Matt Shaffer, director of golf course operations at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa., was skeptical of the combined format when it was presented to superintendents, but has had a change of heart since. “I liked that (Merion general manager) Christine Pooler and I could spend time on the floor together,” Shaffer said. “I’ll miss those opportunities.” The show also provided insight into new arenas for Shaffer. He recalled a recent GIS when he was called upon to look into purchases such as a new meat smoker and glassware because a schedule conflict prevented Pooler from attending the show. The experience proved to be a valuable one for Shaffer. “My first thought was ‘what a pain in the posterior this will be.’ But you know what? The glassware part was far more complicated than I ever imagined, and I learned so much about something that I had no idea about. Plus, I realized what seemed simple to me was far more complicated. Then it dawned on me, ‘I wonder if she thinks the same thing about my industry.’ It didn’t matter what we thought; we spent a lot of time together walking the aisles and educating each other, and we are both far better for it. Times are difficult at clubs, and the more we know about each others’ operations the easier it is to understand the reasoning behind hard decisions.” CMAA president and Congressional Country Club COO Leemhuis also was a proponent of walking the floor with Mike Giuffree, director of greens and grounds at the Washington, D.C.-area club. Although his letter signaled the break up of the CMAA-GCSAA trade show union, Leemhuis plans to continue attending the GIS with Giuffre as needed. "We don't lose that," Leemhuis said via e-mail. "I'll just put the GCSAA event on my schedule and plan on meeting Mike as usual if there is something special the two of us need to see." Shawn Emerson, director of agronomy at Desert Mountain in Scottsdale, Ariz., was not a proponent of the combined show format either when it first was presented to him several years ago. However, he has come to appreciate the increased and improved camaraderie he shares with his manager, Bob Jones. That opportunity – at least as it relates to the Golf Industry Show – is gone now. “I wasn’t in favor of it, but it ended up being positive for me,” Emerson said. “Regardless of who’s right and who’s wrong here, a lot of guys in GCSAA work for these general managers. Whether the GCSAA thinks these guys are our bosses or not, they are. I don’t know how making them angry does anybody any good.” Presenting a united front, particularly to those outside of golf, could be important as the industry no doubt will face a multitude of hot-button issues in the coming years – including water use and availability, reduced chemical use and other environmental concerns. “Certainly from our perspective, this is not the way we would like to see the industry move,” said Bob VandenBoom senior marketing manager for Toro’s golf division. “We liked the way the industry was getting together. Our intent going forward is to continue to be supportive of each of the key associations in our business, but this move feels like a step in the wrong direction. “In the broader sense, as the industry faces bigger issues, it needs to look unified. I think this move tends to make the industry look somewhat fractured. We don’t like that particular part of it, and made it clear that long-term, we would have preferred a different outcome.” Keeping the show in New Orleans clearly would have been a costly decision for the GCSAA. Several members and vendors have expressed displeasure with the city as a GIS site. Attendance in New Orleans this year was 17,151, far less than last year’s record mark of 25,737 in Orlando. “In defense of the GCSAA, they have received a lot of negative feedback about New Orleans, and they are caught between a rock and a hard place. They have to take care of their constituents like us and Toro and do what is in our best interest.”Certainly, a weakened economy played a role in sagging attendance this year, but that can be little consolation to exhibitors paying for exposure to potential customers. Gregg Breningmeyer, group director of sales and marketing for John Deere Golf also expressed disappointment on multiple levels over what took place. “This diminishes the autonomy of the superintendent to make his own buying decisions,” Breningmeyer said. “And it’s to our benefit to reach these guys in the most efficient ways possible. “I think there is more to this that we don’t know about, but I am disappointed to see it come to this point. This is most definitely a step backward.” Breningmeyer also acknowledged that pressure exerted on the GCSAA by exhibitors to deliver attendees and qualified buyers to the show floor no doubt played a role in the move to Las Vegas. “In defense of the GCSAA, they have received a lot of negative feedback about New Orleans, and they are caught between a rock and a hard place,” Breningmeyer said. “They have to take care of their constituents like us and Toro and do what is in our best interest.” Hollis of Redexim Charterhouse was surprised by the news that Las Vegas would be the site of the 2012 GIS, considering past grumblings when the GCSAA conference and show was held there in 1997. “I heard many times that Vegas did not want us back because the attendees did not gamble enough,” he said. “Then I heard from the other side that some of the larger vendors didn’t want to go back because superintendents were out gambling instead of on the trade show floor. Who knows the real story? I’m just surprised to see us going back.” The Golf Industry Show was formed in 2005 as a combined-format trade show presented by the GCSAA and NGCOA, and was attended by 22,723. The CMAA joined the fold in 2007 in Anaheim, Calif. After posting record attendance figures in 2005, attendance lagged the following year – totaling 18,900 – when the effects of Hurricane Katrina prevented New Orleans from holding the show. The show was moved to first to Houston and again to Atlanta because of conflicts with the NBA All-Star Game in Houston. The show is hamstrung in possible venues because of its size, which topped out at 300,900 square feet in 2007. Las Vegas has the country's largest convention center, with 3.2 million square feet of exhibit space, followed by McCormick Place (Chicago) and the San Diego Convention Center at 2.6 million square feet each and the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando (2.1 million square feet). New Orleans' Ernest N. Morial Convention Center has 1.1 million square feet of exhibit space. Vendors exhibiting to the CMAA's approximately 7,000 members have accounted for 60,000 square feet to 70,000 square feet of floor space at the GIS, the association says. The 2007 show, the first to include all three presenting associations, posted a new record of 23,099 attendees, which was broken again last year. |
 In other news... Greens of envy Olympic Club members and 2012 U.S. Open reap benefits of converting from Poa annua to bentgrass. Posted: 11/19/2009 Read more » News and people briefs Register now for New England turf show, Toro introduces walk-behind trencher, Sipcam adds to sales staff Posted: 11/19/2009 Read more » A better divot digger Motorized device developed at the University of Arkansas produces uniform damage quickly and could help advance turf recovery research. Posted: 11/19/2009 Read more » Currier moving on from Bethpage Site of this year's U.S. Open to get new superintendent and 15th green. Posted: 11/18/2009 Read more » Economic struggles mean finding more fat to trim Superintendents look for ways to cut due to shrinking budgets. Posted: 11/16/2009 Read more » Complete news index »
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