Rounds 4 Research Auction 2018--Support the Game You Love

The annual Rounds 4 Research auction kicks off on Monday, April 30 and runs through May 6.  The R4R auction is a great way for golfers to help support turfgrass research by purchasing donated rounds to some of the nations best and some of your favorite courses, and some courses that you might not be able to play on a daily basis. The Rounds 4 Research program is the brainchild of the Carolinas Golf Course Superintendents Association where they helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to support research and education.  The program was moved a couple of years ago to the GCSAA Environmental Institute for Golf which administers the program and allows other states throughout the nation to benefit from this amazing program as well.

The program works by courses donating rounds of golf which are then listed at www.biddingforgood.com and are available for preview now, with the actual auction beginning Monday, April 30. Interested golfers can then go to the auction website and bid on rounds from courses all over the nation.

The Tennessee GCSA has worked hard to gather a great collection of over 100 rounds from courses throughout Tennessee and some surrounding states for this year's auction.  The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay is proud to be participating in the Rounds 4 Research auction this year, along with the other 8 courses that make up the Tennessee Golf Trail.  Tennessee golf courses participating in the program this year can be found at Tennessee Rounds 4 Research Available Golf Courses.

Research results being presented at UT Turf Field Day

Who benefits from funds raised from Rounds 4 Research? Well, ultimately you, the golfer, benefits.  All the proceeds raised from the R4R auction, at least in Tennessee, go to support turfgrass research, like that performed at The University of Tennessee-Institute of Agriculture, help to provide scholarships to the upcoming next generation of turfgrass manager, and provide education for current golf course superintendents and turf managers at local association meetings and special events like the UT Turfgrass and Ornamental Field Day.

A lot of golfers get excited about the Masters Tournament and with good reason, but ALL golfers should get excited about the Rounds 4 Research program.  I encourage every golfer that reads this blog to visit www.Rounds4Research.com  and preview the over 1,100 rounds across the nation available this year and be ready to start bidding tomorrow morning.  This is a special opportunity for golfers all across America to help support turfgrass research and education, and play some of the best courses available at some very special pricing.

So visit

 Rounds 4 Research 

this week and bid on amazing rounds at amazing courses and help do your part to provide the much needed funding for turfgrass research, scholarships, and education.  

We all win through this great program.  

We have done our part in gathering these rounds for the auction

---now do your part and get to bidding!!!

2017 Rounds 4 Research Auction---Bigger and Better Than Ever

The annual Rounds 4 Research auction kicks off on Monday, May 1 and runs through May 7.  The R4R auction is a great way for golfers to help support turfgrass research by purchasing donated rounds to some of the nations best and some of your favorite courses, and some courses that you might not be able to play on a daily basis. The Rounds 4 Research program is the brainchild of the Carolinas Golf Course Superintendents Association where they helped raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to support research and education.  The program was moved a couple of years ago to the GCSAA Environmental Institute for Golf which administers the program and allows other states throughout the nation to benefit from this amazing program as well.

The program works by courses donating rounds of golf which are then listed at www.biddingforgood.com and are available for preview now, with the actual auction beginning Monday, May 1. Interested golfers can then go to the auction website and bid on rounds from courses all over the nation.

The Tennessee GCSA has worked hard to gather a great collection of over 100 rounds from courses throughout Tennessee and some surrounding states for this year's auction.  The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay is proud to be participating in the Rounds 4 Research auction this year, along with the other 8 courses that make up the Tennessee Golf Trail.  In fact this year there are two separate rounds available from each of our courses.  Tennessee golf courses participating in the program this year can be found at Tennessee Rounds 4 Research Available Golf Courses.

Research results being presented at UT Turf Field Day

Who benefits from funds raised from Rounds 4 Research? Well, ultimately you, the golfer, benefits.  All the proceeds raised from the R4R auction, at least in Tennessee, go to support turfgrass research, like that performed at The University of Tennessee-Institute of Agriculture, help to provide scholarships to the upcoming next generation of turfgrass manager, and provide education for current golf course superintendents and turf managers at local association meetings and special events like the UT Turfgrass and Ornamental Field Day.

A lot of golfers get excited about the Masters Tournament and with good reason, but ALL golfers should get excited about the Rounds 4 Research program.  I encourage every golfer that reads this blog to visit www.Rounds4Research.com  and preview the over 1,100 rounds across the nation available this year and be ready to start bidding tomorrow morning.  This is a special opportunity for golfers all across America to help support turfgrass research and education, and play some of the best courses available at some very special pricing.

So visit

 Rounds 4 Research 

this week and bid on amazing rounds at amazing courses and help do your part to provide the much needed funding for turfgrass research, scholarships, and education.  

We all win through this great program.  

We have done our part in gathering these rounds for the auction

---now do your part and get to bidding!!!

Rounds 4 Research was a Resounding Success...But There's More Opportunities

The Rounds 4 Research auction ended last night with a resounding success.  With over 100 rounds available to bid on in Tennessee alone, we are happy to announce that over $11,500.00 was raised for turfgrass research, scholarships, and advocacy to be used in Tennessee.  Across the entire program over 900 rounds were bid on raising over $155,000.00   Congratulations and THANK YOU to all the winning bidders and thank you to all the participating golf courses.

The Tennessee Golf Course Superintendents Association is extremely grateful and thankful to all those who participated in the program.

Exciting News:  For those who were not able to participate, or were unlucky and got out bid, you now have a second chance at VICTORY!!!

The Environmental Institute for Golf is re-opening the auction to clear house on all the remaining rounds up for bid.  The auction will run from April 12-17.  We have 40 rounds remaining for Tennessee which will go back on the block.  

Here is your opportunity to play some great courses such as TPC Southwind, Spring Creek Ranch, The Links at Kahite, Hillwood Country Club, Humboldt Country Club, and even a one year membership at Knoxville Municipal Golf Course along with many more.   

To view all the available rounds please go to Tennessee R4R Auction and help raise money for turfgrass research while getting to play some great courses in Tennessee.  

Time to Tee Off with Rounds For Research Again

It is almost that time of year again where you have the opportunity to bid for the chance to play some of the best courses in the state of Tennessee while at the same time supporting and funding turfgrass research.  I am proud to announce that we (The Bear Trace at Harrison Bay) and all the other courses along the Tennessee Golf Trail will join close to 100 other golf courses in Tennessee as part of the Rounds 4 Research program.  Between April 1-10, 2016 you will have the opportunity to bid on rounds of golf on the Bidding For Good website with proceeds from your winning bid going to local and national golf associations to be used to fund education, research, advocacy, and scholarships.

The Rounds 4 Research program is a great and simple way for you to "support turfgrass research while playing on exclusive courses.  It's a WIN-WIN."  The funds raised by your winning bid will be split with at least 80% going to your local golf course superintendent association and the remaining amount going to the GCSAA Environmental Institute for Golf .  As stated before, it's a Win-Win.  You get to play on some of the best courses that you might have thought you would never get the opportunity to play and your local golf association, Tennessee Golf Course Superintendents Association gets much needed, and valuable, funds to help support turfgrass research that will aid all golf courses.

We have a generous collection of golf courses throughout the state of Tennessee who have stepped up and donated rounds of golf, usually a foursome with golf carts and some with range balls and/or other extras, which will make your golf experience even that much better.

So how can you help??  

1.  Go to Bidding For Good website and register for an account.

2.  Look over the golf courses for Tennessee and select the courses you are interested in bidding on.

3.  Get ready to bid on your choices from April 1-10.

That seems so simple so what else can you do to help out??

1.  Check the list of golf courses and make sure your home course is listed.

2.  If they are, Thank them for supporting the cause.  If they are not, Ask them why they are not on the list.  There is still time for your course to get involved.  Donations will be accepted throughout the auction period.

and

3.  Help promote the program but telling your membership, golf buddies, and anyone that will listen about this great opportunity.  Every little bit of promotion helps.

The Rounds 4 Research program only works if people bid on the rounds, so we can get millions of rounds donated, but if you don't do your part and bid on these amazing golf properties, then neither of us wins.  Please help us raise much needed funds for turfgrass research.

If you are a golf course in Tennessee that has donated a round THANK YOU.  The project would not be a success without you.

If you are a golf course interested in joining this great group of donors there is still time.  Please contact TGCSA Executive Secretary Ms. Shelia Finney or myself to donate a round.

2014 Rounds 4 Research Auction Starting Soon

It is almost time for the 2014 Rounds 4 Research Auction to begin.  Running from June 9-22, 2014 you will once again have the opportunity to bid on rounds of golf at some of the best golf courses in America, including some exclusive clubs that the general public is not able to play.  The best part of the Rounds 4 Research program is that while you are getting to enjoy these great golf courses you are also supporting and funding environmental research, scholarships and education, and outreach and awareness efforts.

A total of 20 golf courses in Tennessee have donated rounds this year and we hope momentum will continue to grow for this program and other courses will become involved in future years. The rounds are usually foursomes but some courses have designated special packages to sweeten the pot. Some of the courses available for bidding this year are TPC Southwind in Memphis, Council Fire Golf Club in Chattanooga, Vanderbilt Legends Club in Franklin, the Tellico Village Golf Courses of Toqua, Tanasi, and Kahite, along with the entire Tennessee Golf Trail Collection, to name a few.

So here is how the Rounds4Research program works.  

1) Go to www.rounds4research.com to register to bid

2) During the time of June 9-22 visit https://www.biddingforgood.com to bid on the rounds you are interested in.

3) Following your successful winning of the bid EIFG (Environmental Institute for Golf) will send you a voucher or certificate for your round or package which you can then take to the golf course to redeem.

4) Here is the great part.  At least 80% of the bid amount is returned to the local GCSAA chapter that the round was donated to.  In the case of the Tennessee courses, the funds come back to Tennessee GCSA.

5) You get to feel good about helping the environment while enjoying a round of golf.

The auction is only successful if the rounds are bid on.  So tell your friends and neighbors, and even your enemies, to go to www.rounds4research.com to register to bid and to be prepared from June 9-22, 2014 to help yourself to some great golf while also benefiting the environment and environmental programs.

Rounds 4 Research in Tennessee

Several years ago the Carolinas Golf Course Superintendents Association created a program to help raise much needed funds to help support local research, education and provide scholarships.  In three years time the Carolinas GCSA raised over $350,000.00 through an online auction of donated rounds.  The popularity of the program was so successful that last year the Environmental Institute for Golf (GCSAA's philanthropic organization) launched the program nationwide so more state chapters and turfgrass foundations could benefit from this great program.

Today the Tennessee GCSA launched it's participation in the Rounds 4 Research program in Tennessee for the first year.  Donated golf rounds be auctioned on the Rounds 4 Research site from August 1-11, 2013 and winning bidders will have one year to play their round (usually defined as a round of 4 golfers).  The great thing about this program is that it gives golfers the possibility to play courses that they may not have ready access to, but most of all a minimum of 80% of the funds raised by the auction will be returned directly to the TGCSA for use to fund research at local universities, provide environmental education, and educational scholarships.

I am very excited about this opportunity and I hope that anyone reading our blog will keep this program in mind as we get closer to the auction date and bid on the donated rounds.