USGA, University of Minnesota partnering to move golf forward
The United States Golf Association and the University of Minnesota on Monday announced a five-year master research partnership to study and develop solutions to golf’s present and future challenges.
“Participation and growth are central issues for the health of our game, but there are many other critical and complex factors that will contribute to its long-term sustainability,” USGA executive director Mike Davis said. “This agreement will further the USGA’s mission to apply fact-based research and deliver tested solutions back to the industry, particularly in three areas: the game’s cost, the time it takes to play and golfer enjoyment.”
The partnership will utilize the university’s Les Bolstad Golf Course as a laboratory to support critical research projects and as a classroom for demonstrating best practices in course design, maintenance and operations. The historic layout, established in 1929, is open to the public.
With an emphasis on innovation, projects will focus on technology, resource management, best practices for facility operations and design/renovation, community and economic impact studies and participation behavior. In addition to conducting research on-site at the university, the partnership will utilize golf facilities nationwide for collecting data, which will be processed and analyzed by Minnesota students and faculty working closely with USGA experts.
This partnership will complement the series of studies conducted by universities nationwide that the USGA has funded since the 1920s, particularly in turfgrass and agronomic research.
