The Florida Golf Course Superintendents Association proudly announces an extension and expansion of its successful “BRANDT Cup Race to the National” program. For the past three years, the program sent two teams of five superintendent golfers from Florida to GCSAA’s National Golf Championship. Those golfers earned travel, accommodation and entry stipends as the best performers based on gross scoring over five qualifying tournaments in the preceding year.
Now, thanks to a renewed commitment from BRANDT Consolidated, the Florida GCSA will send a third group of five players based on net performance across the same five tournaments. The leading five net players, after those already qualified by gross performance, will play in the 36-hole Classic Division of the national tournament. The new agreement is for three years.
“Literally every Florida GCSA member with an official handicap now has the chance to play their way to the national golf championship and GCSAA Conference and Show,” Florida GCSA golf committee co-chair, Deron Zendt, says. “We are extremely grateful to everyone at BRANDT for their support of this concept. They were behind it from the word go and have been outstanding partners all along.”
The BRANDT Cup was initiated to help reinvigorate superintendent golf in Florida. Zendt, a two-time winner of the national superintendent championship and now principal of DZ Turf Services, says it has been “a home run.” Not only have entries increased in the five qualifying tournaments, those players qualifying have gone on to dominate at the national championship.
The Florida GCSA has won the national team championship each year of the BRANDT Cup program and Florida GCSA members won the individual title in two of the Cup’s three-year run. Dylan Foster, now at Heron Creek Golf and Country Club, won in 2023 and Seth Strickland, from Miami Beach Golf Club, won in 2024.
“It’s been a great partnership. So much so, that we wanted to extend the same opportunity to superintendents who love their golf but who don’t have a scratch game,” BRANDT territory manager, Chris Cartin, says. “Now, everyone has a chance to earn their way onto a team, and we think that will increase interest and participation even further.” Cartin has long been a proponent of superintendent golf, having worked as a superintendent and having played for five years on professional mini tours early in his working life.
The first qualifier of the 2025 season is the Everglades GCSA’s annual POA Classic at Tiburon Golf Club in Naples on May 17. Past winners of the BRANDT Cup were Seth Strickland, from Miami Beach Golf Club, in 2022 and 2024 and Nate Carter, from White Oak Conservation in 2023.
For more information: Jennifer Bryan, Florida GCSA Executive Director (772) 334-7515.
