TurfNet RADIO

Jared Viarengo of Applebrook Golf Club in Malvern, Pennsylvania, bucked a trend early in his career by also becoming general manager at the club in eastern Pennsylvania. Since then, Viarengo's role has expanded as the club's director of grounds and director of club operations. 

In this broadcast, Viarengo discusses how his career started in the field of psychology and how he eventually returned his roots on the golf course, where he had worked during summers since high school.

He also talks about those who helped him forge his career and his role mentoring others. Finally, Viarengo talks about how the industry has changed in recent years and how newfound issues are affecting the turf business.

Frank catches up with longtime colleague Professor Jim Baird of UC-Riverside. Frank and Jim discuss a career path that led from a youthful interest in golf and course care to his current role as the lone turfgrass scientist in the UC system. Jim speaks frankly about water, overseeding, product evaluations and the Bermudagrass breeding program that is beginning to show promise in reducing water use and maintaining winter color. You don’t want to miss some of the details Jim shares on what it takes to “Defend Turfgrass in the Desert Southwest”!

Frank sat down recently with the Montgomery County Revenue Authorities Director of Agronomy, Jon Lobenstine to discuss his career development, experiences overseeing 9 golf courses, creating an inclusive culture, as well as robots, GPS sprayers, organic matter and even vineyard management! In typical, “Frankly Speaking-style”, these two cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time!

In this episode of Renovation Report, Bradley S. Klein, Ph.D., talks with superintendent-turned-consultant Josh Lewis of Gradoville-Hertzing Management Group about the state of the industry in California. Lewis, who worked as a superintendent in Washington and California, also discusses the scope and escalating cost of restoration projects in California and other hot-button issues there, including the cost of and access to adequate water resources in California.

In this episode of the TurfNet Renovation Report, former USGA Green Section agronomist and now independent consultant Dave Oatis chats with Anthony Pioppi about things clubs should consider prior to embarking on a restoration or major renovation project.

Our latest Rising Star of Turf is J. Richard Brown, newly minted golf course superintendent at Florence (SC) Country Club. Richard got the nod for the Florence job after ten years "apprenticeship" in the South Carolina golf market, starting with five years at various courses in Myrtle Beach before becoming the senior assistant at Orangeburg Country Club, where he remained for the ensuing five years.

Richard participated in one of our Assistant Situation roundtable conversations earlier this year, indicating that he was ready for a head superintendent job but just waiting for the right opportunity to open up. In the meantime, he felt he was being compensated fairly, had a good work/life balance for himself, wife and young son, and didn't want to hopscotch around taking other assistant positions for the sake of a small increment in pay.

In this conversation with Peter McCormick, Richard recounts the recent process of procuring the unadvertised opening at Florence Country Club and what the experience has been like for him so far.  Watch or listen!

Some career superintendents make their marks by hosting major tournaments or pushing the agronomic envelope, while others quietly go about their business of growing great grass while also navigating the potholes and pitfalls that invariably spring up over time. John Carlone, CGCS, has done that over 37 years as a golf course superintendent at two clubs in one of the toughest markets in the industry: Long Island, NY.

Fresh out of the University of Rhode Island (where he had a notable roommate, Frank Rossi), Carlone went to work for Scott Niven at the Stanwich Club in 1983 before taking over the reins at Middle Bay Country Club in 1985. He stayed there until 1996 when he left for Meadow Brook Club on the north shore of Long Island, where he has been ever since.

In this conversation with Peter McCormick, Carlone offers hard-earned lessons about family, dedication, staff, club politics, humility, swallowing one's pride when needed and "not mailing it in". A fascinating chat with a good friend of TurfNet for many years and our latest All Star of Turf.

Signals of a changing climate are everywhere, from more intense storms to more frequent droughts. The basis of this change lies in carbon emissions and the solution potentially lies in sequestering the carbon into our soils. Grasses are perfect vehicles for this process.

In this episode of Frankly Speaking, Frank Rossi speaks with Drs. Claire Phillips of the USDA-ARS and Alec Kowaleski of Oregon State University about their review paper on Carbon Sequestration in Turf and the role turfgrass management plays in emitting carbon.

Rockbottum Radio presents our annual Halloween broadcast, with not one, but three spooky golf stories.  These stories are full of scary messages and at least one real good golf course management tip, so send out the crew, close the office door and settle in for some golf trauma as only Rockbottum CC can share.

Frank has another in-depth conversation with a turfgrass breeder, this time Dr. Melodee Fraser, Director of Research Eastern Division for Pure Seed Testing. During the conversation In the TZ, grasses are challenged by heat, drought, excess rainfall and by default lots of foliar and root pathogens. Dr. Fraser outlines the process and lets all us inside the strategy that leading scientists are using to develop the next generation of grasses. A “dramatic” episode.