February 22, 2018, Olds, AB – Four Olds College students ventured to San Antonio, Texas to participate in the Turf Bowl, a skills and knowledge based competition for undergraduates in Turfgrass related programs. The Olds College team, including fourth year Bachelor of Applied Science – Golf Course Management students Robert Balcom, Fergus Butt, Michael Davis and Andre Lens, finished an impressive 8th place. In addition to the team from Olds College, the top ten included teams from Penn State, Michigan State, Purdue University, Rutgers University, and Auburn University, who took home first place in the competition.
“Attending the conference in San Antonio was a great networking and educational experience,” states Turf Bowl team member Rob Balcom. “Everyone put in a tremendous amount of time and effort in to preparing for the exam, and it shows in our result. Finishing in the top 10 in the Turf Bowl was a great way to end an already amazing experience.”
The Turf Bowl is knowledge and skills based competition that evaluates the student’s expertise in areas that are essential to Golf Course Superintendents and Managers. The exam features a written case study, as well as a wide variety of multiple choice, short answer and identification questions covering agronomy, business and financial management. In preparation for the Turf Bowl, the team had put a special focus on researching products, species and challenges of warm season growing environments. These are not always relevant to our northern climate so this information is not covered deeply in classes. Faculty Advisor Jason Pick commended the team on their work ethic in preparing for the event.
“The Olds College team put in countless hours of preparation work outside of the classroom,” Faculty Advisor Jason Pick remarked. “They worked together for months to prepare, and I think their dedication is reflected in their results.”
The Turf Bowl was held at the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America (GCSAA) Golf Industry Showcase conference, and featured 53 teams from 28 post-secondary institutions, most of which came from the United States.
