TurfNet Podcasts

Anthony Pioppi chats with Tom Mcavoy, CGCS, about the upcoming 27-hole Brian Silva renovation of Old Westbury Golf & Country Club in Old Westbury, NY.

TurfGeeks and TechnoNerds gather round as Dave and Peter chat with Derek Houtz, co-founder and CEO of TerraRad Tech, mother ship of turfRad, the turf soil moisture sensing and mapping application and sponsor of this podcast. Derek walks us through his education at Colorado State/Boulder in aerospace engineering to how he wound up in Zurich, Switzerland working on remote sensing applications on glaciers for the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research.

Listen in as Derek ties his work in glaciology to his younger days caddying on golf courses in Colorado and the development of turfRad. Listen in to check out the rest of the story.

In this episode of Rockbottum Radio, we offer our top two secrets for protecting time off. Also, a brilliant Chuck Barber quote supporting our position is ripped from the TurfNet Forum and tossed about with little concern for any digital collateral damage.

Frank gets a chance to catch up with Dr. Michael Bekken, a research scientist at Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO) conducting research on sustainable resource management with particular emphasis on turfgrass management. Michael and Frank discuss third party environmental review programs such as Audubon, GEO, E-Par and gathering data from the golf industry on detailed energy, fertilizer, water, and pesticide use. Michael expounds on how we as an industry will begin to understand a strong framework for golf course sustainability.

Frank wraps up the 11th season of Frankly Speaking with Finger Lakes native Russ Myers, Director of Agronomics for Hanse Golf Course Design. Russ’s illustrious career has humble beginnings as a coach’s son attending SUNY Cobleskill before moving onto Augusta National, Card Sound, LA CC and two stints at Southern Hills. This is one of the most candid conversations ever on Frankly Speaking, describing a career of networking and high-profile golf course construction and maintenance intersecting with all the modern giants of the golf course industry. A one of kind conversation with a one of kind professional -- a great end to our season!

In this 11th round of Wilber and McCormick Unscripted, Dave and Peter reflect on their last podcast with the folks from Firefly Automatix. Dave recounts his overall positive experience at the recent GCSAA CTS in San Diego, commenting that it was a generally happy crowd of attendees. They also touch on the rapid advancements in the industry displayed at the show, including new autonomous mowers, remote sensing, data crunching and drone technology. The conversation shifts to personal anecdotes, including updates about mental health and reflections on communication changes over the years. The episode concludes with discussions on data privacy, upcoming surgeries, and the importance of friendship.

In this episode of Rockbottum Radio, Willy and the gang attend mandatory Anger Management training. Then, in a special Storytime segment, Willy tells the rarely told tale of the time a golf course crew was forcibly recruited into fighting a wildfire threatening the course.

In this special Tag Team event, Peter and Dave check in with the brain trust at FireFly Automatix, manufacturers of the AMP L-100 autonomous fairway mower first seen at the Black Desert Championship PGA event in October. Steve Aposhian, co-founder and CTO, and Mark LeBlanc, lead designer of the AMP mower, provide some fascinating insight into the company history and design and development of the AMP mower.

It's been a few weeks since the last episode, but life has a habit of intervening and sometimes throwing a monkey wrench into the works. Peter and Dave offer some health updates and an introduction to Kobe, Peter's new dog recently rehomed from Georgia. Topics include Paul MacCormack's current Mindful Superintendent Leadership series and a new turfRad Advisory Guild that Dave has formed to help guide future development of the turfRad soil moisture management system.

Dave talks about using ChatGPT with some of his music gear, and that leads to a broader conversation about AI and the future of resumes and job applications in the era of AI.