Turfnet Radio

Frank catches up with Charles Goode (@GoodeTurf), the Southeastern Sales Lead for GreenSight, a provider of digital cloud-based services for turfgrass professionals to manage all aspects of their operation, from mowing and remote sensing to soil monitoring and staff planning. Charles spent his career in the turfgrass industry from landscape and sod to golf and sports fields. A graduate of NC State and Penn State, Charles has been actively promoting the use of autonomous mowers in the turfgrass industry. This is a fun conversation getting to know a young professional!  

In this episode, RW reveals one of the key methods behind the success of Rockbottum CC: the proper use of the New Year's Resolution.  Also, Buddy gets "tooken" and Ludell, Willy and Momma form a posse to rescue Buddy.

Anthony Pioppi chats with Dane Wilson, golf course superintendent at the Wakonda Club in Des Moines, IA, about the ongoing restoration of the 1922 Langford & Moreau design. Tyler Rae is the architect of the restoration.

In this month's Storytime, learn about the Christmas Miracle that led RW and familty to leave the nomadic military life and transition to the nomadic golf life.  Also, we cover a few current news items in golf and maybe some non-golf stuff.

In this episode of Frankly Speaking, Frank speaks with Dr. Sara Stricker, the Communications and Outreach Coordinator for the Guelph Turfgrass Institute in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. Sara and Frank chat about the people that support the education and research at one of the historically significant turfgrass science programs in the world. Sara expounds upon her wealth of experience in plant pathology, teaching and research that has shaped her perspective on her current role communicating science to the public and to the industry the GTI has so effectively served for over 30 years.

Bradley S. Klein talks with Nick Mazzella about consulting on golf course projects, including renovation projects as well as new construction jobs spurred by the resurgent golf economy. The discussion includes the increased need for a project manager as projects increase in complexity due to the many facets of each job.

In this episode Franks speaks with Amy Fouty, CSFM with The Motz Group as a Natural Grass Field Consultant. She was formerly at the University of Michigan and Michigan State University, but before that in the golf industry.  Amy speaks with great candor and professionalism about her career path, working in very high profile situations, and dealing with coaches and administrators. She shares her experience working with her mentors and building a network that helped her face some big challenges.  She has learned the power of cooperating internally with your team and externally with administrators.

Fred Taylor, CGCS, retired in early October, 2023, after a 43-year stint working exclusively at Mankato Golf Club in his hometown of Mankato, Minnesota. Fred followed in the "bootsteps" of Boots Fuller in 1992, becoming who would wind up as only the third superintendent at MGC in almost 100 years. Fred takes credit for all that goes wrong and give his staff credit for all that is right on the golf course. He has over the years served as a buffer between the staff and club membership,"running interference" for his staff and allowing them to do their jobs unhindered by the inevitable politics of private club operations. Listen in as Fred, a long-time TurfNet member, recounts some of the highlights of his career and the enjoyment he has gotten from it. Fred will also be honored this December by the Minnesota Golf Course Superintendents Association with their Distinguished Service Award.

In this episode Vice President of Hanse Design Jim Wagner has a chat with Frank about the creative process in designing golf courses. Jim and Frank discuss how the renewed excitement for golf, climate change and a good owner are all impacting golf course architecture.

Sam Moynihan took over the reins at Detroit Golf Club this spring just 90 days prior to hosting the Rocket Mortgage Classic. Soon thereafter vandals painted two greens with Roundup as a "welcome" present. The challenge for Sam was on. A graduate of West Virginia Univiersity with a degree in agriculture, Sam kicked off his turf career with a stint at Muirfield Village Golf Club, first under Paul B Latshaw and then Chad Mark. He then moved over to Caves Valley Golf Club for the next five years as first assistant, including hosting the BMW Championship in 2021. Listen in as Sam relates his stressful first months at DGC, repairing the two vandalized greens and hosting a successful RMC event. Find out what Sam can't do without on the golf course, while we take a peek at his rrelationship with his wife Emily since getting married at Muirfield Village.

In this episode, RW hands out the coveted Rockbottum Major Award for the best TurfNet Forum Topic ever.  Momma has a lively discussion with a government official who mistakenly believes Social Security is an "Entitlement" while helping him realize the folks north of Richmond need to improve their listening skills.  Also, RW explains how to achieve positivity on the golf course by being positive, not just sounding positive.

James Morgan was fresh out of Lake City Community College (now Florida Gateway College) and a summer/part-time stint at the Country Club of Orlando when he followed CCO superintendent Kasey Kauff to build Trinity Forest in Dallas. Morgan started as an assistant and was promoted to superintendent during his 5+ year stay at the Coore/Crenshaw layout. That Coore/Crenshaw connection led him to being selected to grow in Wicker Point Golf Club on Lake Martin, the first new golf construction in Alabama since 2004. Wicker Point opened for play last week, culminating Morgan's efforts since he arrived there in March, 2021. In this conversation with Peter McCormick, James relates how his experiences and connections (including Green Start Academy) led him to this point in his career and as a TurfNet Rising Star of Turf.

Rob Munro is finishing up his third season at Cabot Cliffs in Inverness, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia, the #1 rated golf course in Canada. Rob landed there with a turf degree from Olds College in Alberta and Poa-and-bentgrass experience at Capilano Golf & Country Club on Vancouver Island, BC. This winter he will travel to New Zealand to satisfy both his yearning for travel and to also put another bullet in his agronomic holster. Have a listen and see why Lee Strutt, Director of Agronomy at Cabot Cape Breton, described Rob as "a leading superintendent of the future for all the right reasons."

Bradley S. Klein, Ph.D., talks with golf course architect Dan Hixson on his career in the Pacific Northwest. Hixson's career started as a golf pro, from competing on mini tours to attempting to qualify for the PGA Tour. With a nose for good golf course design, he studied golf course design and eventually shifted his career to that of a golf course architect. After 23 years in the business, he has built a reputation for restoring and designing courses throughout the Oregon and Washington on time and on budget. 

Our latest All Star of Turf is Jason Haines, whom many in the industry will remember for his high profile social media presence (as @PenderSuper) that suddenly went dark several years ago. As the golf course superintendent at Pender Harbour Golf Club and later Sunshine Coast Golf Club in British Columbia, Jason developed (by necessity) a low-input, minimalist turf maintenance strategy that he shared and brainstormed with his Twitter following of 8,000+ before deciding to step away from social media entirely. In the interim he was invited to speak at turf conferences in the US, Canada and internationally. In April of 2023 Jason made the leap from British Columbia 3000 miles east to take over the reins at Cabot Links on Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia. Along with Cabot Cliffs and a newer 10-hole short course, Cabot Links is part of Cabot Cape Breton and is ranked #35 on the World Top 100 golf courses. Cabot Cliffs is ranked #1 in Canada. In this fascinating conversation with Peter McCormick, Jason recounts

Lara Arias, golf course superintendent at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome, speaks with Frank about her career and what led to her current position. She explains in one of the five languages she speaks how she grew as a professional both in the US and then returning to Europe. Lara has worked on crews at RTJ in VA, TPC Scottsdale, Congressional, and Quail Hollow and developed her expertise in tournament golf that she applied at Le Golf National in 2018 for the last Ryder Cup on Euro soil. She is ready for the challenge of hosting the 2023 Ryder Cup and as a member of the team that will host the event in 2025 at Bethpage in NY we are all rooting for her!

Frank is joined by his old friend, mentor, colleague and gourmet eating buddy Professor Bruce Branham from the University of Illinois- Champaign-Urbana. Bruce is a chemist by his original academic training and has conducted, been involved, and reviewed many important studies focused on understanding Nitrogen and its use in turfgrass systems. Frank does all he can do to keep up with Bruce’s depth of knowledge in this area. This is the closest we’ll get to a Master Class on Nitrogen.

In this episode of Rockbottum Radio, a serious discussion breaks out amidst the usual goofiness, pointing out how golf is about to enter The Fourth Turning.  The Rockbottum gang attempts to prepare for the onset of anti-logic perpetrated upon golf by the Rad-Greens and other irrational, oxygen-starved attention seekers. Join us for the brilliance of Ludell, Momma, Willy and Boof as they duel with a carpetbagger from out west somewhere.

The founder of the First Green Program, Jeff Gullickson, CGCS, golf course superintendent at Kalispel Golf and Country Club (Spokane, WA) joins Frankly Speaking to discuss how a simple idea and a love of the game of golf led to the ground breaking program, now being practiced around the world! Jeff provides some excellent insight from the formation of the idea to the current excitement around using golf courses as STEM education tools, working with FFA and promoting local golf programs to make courses more accessible. Jeff is someone who has always walked the walk when it comes to educating people on golf course management and environmental stewardship.

Dr. Brian Schwartz joins Frankly Speaking to discuss the challenges and opportunities of Bermudagrass and Zoysiagrass breeding at the Tifton, GA  Experiment Station. Frank and Brian discuss the history of the station and the giants  (Drs. Burton and Hanna) he has replaced. This is an excellent primer to understanding the modern Bermudagrasses and Zoysiagrasses that are available as well the strengths that they bring to the market. A must listen for warm season grass growers, but also great information for anyone in the golf turf industry.