Save the Date

The 42nd Annual Shields Memorial Golf Tournament

Dear Shields Tournament Supporter and Sponsor,

The 42nd Annual Shields Memorial Golf Tournament will be held at University of Maryland Golf Course on Friday, May 12, 2023. We have been grateful for the support of the Shields families for many decades and their continued support. The Shields Tournament supports student scholarships and the Turfgrass program at the Institute of Applied Agriculture, University of Maryland. As of March 2023, approximately 140 scholarships have been awarded, totaling more than $160,000 using funds raised from the Shields Memorial Tournament. In addition, proceeds from the Shields Memorial have covered student travel to various professional meetings and competitions.

This year, we sent seven students to national competitions in the areas of golf course and sports turf management and our top UMD team placed 3rd in the SFMA Student Challenge “2-year division” in Salt Lake City, UT and 6th in the Collegiate Turf Bowl in Orlando, FL. These two accomplishments illustrate the quality and reputation of excellence in our Turfgrass Management program at the University of Maryland.

We would like you to be a sponsor for the 2023 tournament. The sponsorship fee is $350, and sponsors will be recognized at individual holes and at our sponsors board adjacent to the clubhouse. Your sponsorship donation is tax deductible and will be used to support the turfgrass program at the Institute of Applied Agriculture.

The University of Maryland “Turf Terps” placed 3rd in the “2-year” division at the SFMA Student Challenge and 6th in the GCSAA Turf Bowl in 2023.

We would also love to have you come out and play. The $130 player fee covers the greens fee, cart, range balls, oncourse beverages, prizes for the top team and a pot-tournament dinner at the American Legion in College Park. Continuing the Shields Tournament tradition, teams will be groups of six. If you do not have six, no worry, we will pair you up. Registration begins at 7:30 with Shotgun play starting at 9 AM.

The positive impact of your contribution not only includes the scholarship recipients to date, but also the hundreds of students who have benefitted from attending professional meetings and the hands-on use of state-of-the-art field and laboratory equipment used in our turfgrass management courses.

Thank you in advance for your continued support and sponsorship.

To register go to http://bit.ly/3ZTsJsy

John Shields presenting the first check of the Shields Memorial to Dr. Ronald Seibel, Director of the I.A.A and the then youthful Dr. Kevin Mathias.

Once again, thank you for support of this program!

Geoffrey Rinehart, Lecturer / Advisor

IAA Turfgrass Program

Phone: 301-405-4692