The Golf Course Superintendents Association of America is meeting in Santa Fe today, and it comes at a perfect time for its Rio Grande chapter.

The GCSAA, an approximately 20,000-member multi-national organization, represents golf course superintendents and managers in everything from hiring strategies to climate issues and grass diseases.

The association provides information and education in all facets of course management. It's all done to ensure that every time a golf course is played, it inspires golfers to want to return.

"Playability is always the No. 1 concern for golfers," said Ray Buckingham, the senior manager of communications for GCSAA.

If it doesn't play, the customer won't pay.

A board of directors is gathering today to address a variety of issues in its quarterly meeting. And what concerns New Mexico right now is finding an executive director for the Rio Grande chapter to replace the retiring Tom Glacken.

"It's the process to hire that we're looking at," said chapter president Glen Denney, who represents about 120 members from southern Colorado to El Paso, Texas. Denney is also the super at Alto Lakes Country Club in Alto, N.M.

Denney also is concerned about promoting the chapter to increase membership. There are approximately 120 golf courses in the state and Denney would like to see a 3-1 ratio of members to courses. Denney points out that the GCSAA is crucial to a profession in which most members have four-year degrees in horticulture or agronomy, or have related two-year degrees and are constantly being educated on the sport and the environment.

It's much more than setting sprinklers to water the grass.

"You have an organization like this to unite the profession," Denney said. "To get the word out about what we do."

The supers study everything from the health of grass, to the to the types of pesticides used, to annual weather patterns. And in the Southwest, water, as expected, is always a big issue. Denney said his peers are more than conscious of water usage. His chapter is in association with New Mexico State University in the area of turf research and water maximization.

Denney sees water usage on golf courses as an investment in the state's economy as it relates to tourism, major source of income for the state.

Denney said he works
with an annual budget of about $1 million at Alto Lakes and the GCSAA is a precious resource in helping him manage the private club.

"There are labor issues, that's always about 30-35 percent of your budget, there are course issues and keeping the members happy," Denney said. "You want to do your best to have a TV-quality, if you will, course.

"Organization is huge."