The 2027 GCSAA Conference and Trade Show will run Jan. 18-21 in New Orleans, a couple of weeks earlier than most years to avoid Mardi Gras mayhem.
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Randy Smith grew up just outside of New Orleans.
Smith, the GCSAA Class A superintendent at Audubon Park Golf Course just minutes from downtown NOLA, has worked in the golf course management industry in and around the Big Easy for decades.
Darned right Smith, a 31-year GCSAA member, is thrilled the GCSAA Conference and Trade Show is returning to New Orleans for the first time since 2009.
“I can talk highly of New Orleans,” says Smith, Audubon Park’s superintendent the past seven years. “I’ve been here all my life. I’ve experienced every part of it. It’s constantly getting better. They’re making great improvements, and it shows.
“Yeah, I’m proud they’re coming here. I’m proud of New Orleans. I’m proud that people from all around the world are coming down here.”
The 2027 GCSAA Conference and Trade Show will run Jan. 18-21 — a couple of weeks earlier than most years to avoid the spectacle that is Mardi Gras. The timing of Conference and Show in ’27, Smith says, is perfect. The Carnival season begins Jan. 6, but Mardi Gras Day (Fat Tuesday) is Feb. 9, 2027. Thus, CTS attendees will get a taste of Mardi Gras season in NOLA without all the attendant shenanigans (not to mention elevated costs) associated with that particular holiday.
“As far as the trade show coming here, timing is everything,” Smith says. “Mardi Gras is a great time because of all the parades, but … it’s a lot. It’s a big asset to have it at the right time of the season. Having it during Mardi Gras itself, that would be a big, stupid no-no. Hotel rooms would be tied up and prices jacked way up. Having it where they have it (planned) is the smart thing to do.”
A look at Audubon Park Golf Course, where Randy Smith —a lifelong Louisianan — is the GCSAA Class A superintendent. Audubon Park will serve as a host venue for an Interactive Facility Tour during the GCSAA Conference and Trade Show. Photo by Randy Smith
‘I have to be a part’
Smith is a regular Conference and Trade Show attendee.
He estimates he has attended between 12 and 20 through the years, including the 2009 visit to New Orleans.
“It’s where I get all my education points,” says Smith, whose last CTS visit was to Phoenix in 2024.
No way will he miss this Conference and Trade Show.
“I have to be part of the trade show this year,” Smith says. “We’re going to have a big renovation in 2028, so I have to talk to contractors, look at equipment. My lease ends in 2027, so I’ll be really busy.”
Smith and Audubon Park will be an integral part of the 2027 Conference and Trade Show. Smith’s facility is one of five scheduled Interactive Facility Tours held in conjunction with the first two days of CTS. Audubon Park GC is scheduled to host an IFT on Resourceful Operations. Other scheduled IFTs and their host sites: Tournament Prep at TPC Louisiana; Irrigation/Drainage/Water Management at New Orleans Country Club; Technology/Innovation at English Turn Golf & Country Club; and Renovation at Metairie Country Club.
But Smith hopes the tour isn’t the only time visiting superintendents pay his course a visit.
At just over 5 miles from the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, Audubon Park GC is the closest track to Conference and Trade Show’s epicenter. If any attendees wanted to sneak away for a quick 18, Smith would be thrilled to host them.
“I hope some do want to come and play,” Smith says. “I might even talk to my GM and see if we could put out a GCSAA special. We’re usually pretty busy. We usually see 40,000 rounds a year. At that time of year, the greens should be super fast. If somebody wants to come out, they can play the course in about three hours on a normal day. That time of year, you’re probably talking two, three hours, tops.”
The golf course is located within Audubon Park, which also hosts the Audubon Zoo among other tourist attractions.
“I work for Audubon. It’s a big company,” Smith says. “We’re the zoo, a big park … we’re a big, integral part of what New Orleans is, and I’m proud to work for them.”
What weather should a visitor expect in early to mid-January?
“That’s a crapshoot,” Smith says with a laugh. “I’ve had years in mid-January where it’s 70s and 80s. And I’ve had years where, in mid-January, I had snow. I’m no meteorologist, but I know we’ll be dealing with El Niño, which usually means a warmer, wetter winter. But even if we get snow … a few years ago, we had a 100-year record snow. Three weeks later, we thawed out and the grass was green again.”
New Orleans’ Ernest N. Morial Convention Center has been updated more than once since the GCSAA Conference and Trade Show visited. Since 2018, it has been in a staged renovation that will cost more than $500 million. Photo courtesy of the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center
A walkable venue
Aside from a taste of Mardi Gras, visitors to the 2027 GCSAA Conference and Trade Show should be able to experience NOLA culture easily, Smith says.
The convention center — with over 3 million square feet of total space covering almost 11 city blocks, it’s the seventh largest in the U.S. and has, since 2018, been undergoing a $557 million multiphase renovation — is roughly a mile from the French Quarter, Bourbon Street and the Superdome. The acclaimed National World War II Museum is even closer at just under half a mile.
“One of the best things about New Orleans,” Smith says, “is everything is in walking distance. I loved the trade show in Las Vegas — as long as you don’t gamble — because you can walk to everything. It’s like here. You’re within a couple of miles of everything. Every corner you hit, you get a chance to stop in, get a refreshment.
“One thing I like about New Orleans is, they’ve worked so hard to keep the convention center one of the top venues in the country. The Superdome is basically 75 years old, but it’s still one of the top venues in the league. They’re constantly staying on top of being up to date. But they still try to maintain our culture, like downtown and the French Quarter, while constantly improving everything. It shows. They’re trying to take us into the future. Without tourists and conventions, New Orleans wouldn’t be New Orleans.”
Nor would NOLA be NOLA without the culture, the jazz, the beignets — and, Smith adds, the people.
“It’s the way we treat people,” he says. “Generally, you won’t find people who’ll treat you as well as when you come to New Orleans. That’s what butters our bread.”
Registration for and more information about the GCSAA Conference and Trade Show is available at gcsaaconference.com.
Andrew Hartsock (ahartsock@gcsaa.org) is a GCM staffer.