Good Afternoon Kevin,
After speaking with Scott Woodhead, the issue of ‘dual' member has been discussed on numerous occasions by various GCSAA committees since its inception back in 1997 and was also discussed briefly as recently as the 2012 Chapter Delegates Meeting in Kansas City back in October.
While the consensus of past committee discussions, as well as with delegates at the Chapter Delegates meeting, is that dual membership has more positive aspects than negative, the challenge it presents to some chapters was actually addressed several years ago.
Chapters have the ability to create a ‘facility' membership as a means of welcoming any member to your chapter who cannot justify the cost of belonging to both the national and the local.
This ‘facility' membership is not a superintendent classification, but rather a membership that is in the name of the golf facility, but it affords the superintendent the ability to take advantage of all the benefits of membership that the chapter wishes to offer. The individuals, whose facility is in this classification of membership, may not hold office in the chapter, but the chapter has the ability to assign whatever other benefits they wish to this classification. Chapters are also free to charge whatever dues they deem fitting for this classification.
The 2013 Member Relations Committee is slated to do a formal review of all membership classifications as part of their charge next year and I am sure that ‘dual' membership will once again be a point of discussion.
If you would like to discuss this subject with me personally, please feel free to contact me at
bmaynard@gcsaa.org or call me at 913-432-0333.