TurfNet RADIO

In this episode of Rockbottum Radio, Rockbottum CC's latest hire prefers to work from home, inflation takes a toll on course operations, and RW shifts his customer emphasis from thrifty golfers to the elite class.  A run-in with royalty leads RW to wonder how we got here.

Frank speaks with Professor Chase Straw at Texas A & M about precision irrigation management by understanding soils, distribution issues, and digital irrigation management using remote sensing and soil moisture sensing. Dr. Shaw discusses a range of topics that confront the golf turf industry and how the right data used with a well-designed irrigation system by an experienced and progressive superintendent is path forward.

Stick around to the very end when Frank provides a personal perspective on water use in the golf industry.

In this episode Frank Speaks with Paul Roche, irrigation industry veteran and now president of Golf Water of Wake Forest, NC. Frank has known Paul since the mid-1990’s during Paul’s time with a Rochester-based irrigation distributor and eventually as co-author of the definitive irrigation textbook Golf Course Irrigation: Environmental Design and Management Practices.

Frank and Paul discuss a variety of topics related to the most effective irrigation design, operation, and maintenance. A lively discussion ensues around run times, distribution and the best use of the latest technology that leads to water use efficiency. “Are we using the technology in our irrigation systems like driving a Ferrari in first gear?”

In this episode of Renovation Report, Brad Klein talks with golf course superintendent Nick Peinovich of Eau Claire Golf and Country Club in Wisconsin, about a recent renovation of the course near Minnesota's Twin Cities that was designed by Tom Vardon, the lesser-known brother of British golf great Harry Vardon.

Peinovich discusses how a member audit of the golf course just a few months after he was promoted from assistant to head superintendent progressed from a discussion to a bunker renovation to a full-blown restoration by architect Kevin Norby without closing Eau Claire for play.

Anthony Pioppi chats dream career moves and all things Seth Raynor with Alex Beson-Crone, the superintendent at Blue Mound G&CC in Wauwatosa, WI. 

Alex grew up in the Milwaukee area and worked up to the assistant postition at Erin Hills, but his life-long dream job was Blue Mound. When the superintendent position opened up there, he made the jump to the Seth Raynor-designed course. His team has been making improvements over the last few years including rebuilding bunkers and massive tree removal while focusing on firm and fast agronomics.

The USGA Mid-Am is at Erin Hills next year and Blue Mound is the site for stroke play, so the layout will be on display on TV.

In this episode of Frankly Speaking, our “water guy” Mike Huck, President of Irrigation and Turf Services, chats with Frank about the past, present and future of water. The conversation ranges from “all water is local” and the classic movie “Chinatown” to the obstacles and opportunities for conservation. Will there be a “free market” for water and where will golf fall out in the allocations?

To be sure this is not simply a conversation for golf west of the Mississippi River, but as drought impacts various areas all over the country, these conversations will be relevant.

In this episode of Rockbottum Radio, RW pulls a highly classified but long-buried StoryTime out of the vault. It's the kind of story where everyone involved is no longer around to object.

In this special episode of Frankly Speaking, Frank is joined by four top turfgrass diagnosticians from across the USA. Our Northeast correspondent Rich Buckley from Rutgers University, From the ACC we have Lee Butler at NC State, from the Midwest I chat with Kurt Hockenmeyer from UW Madison, and Emily Braithwaite from Oregon State University in the PNW.

These experts provide insights into Spring diseases, insects and nematode issues. Discussion from Pythium root rot and summer patch to Spring dead spot and Ascochyta leaf spot. It’s a plethora of pests and stresses!

The big question on the turf industry's mind after the epic 2016 Ryder Cup Matches at Hazeltine National Golf Club (Chaska, MN) was, "Where's (senior assistant superintendent) Ryan Moy gonna go?" Turns out the answer was one just about nobody expected: Head Groundskeeper for the Minnesota United Football Club at the still under-construction Allianz Field in St. Paul and their training grounds in Blaine, MN.

Once Ryan settled in there he was followed by former Hazeltine interns Mitch Ronning and Peter Braun to form the core of the MNUFC groundskeeping team. We at TurfNet got to know Peter when he was the 2014 TurfNet Intern in Ireland, working at the Mount Juliet Resort.

TurfNet salutes Ryan, Mitch and Peter as Rising Stars of Turf for both their excellent past work in golf course maintenance but also their future in sports turf. This chat with Peter McCormick gives a fascinating glimpse into the career transition from a major golf event for Ryan, the culture shift from golf to sports turf, and the experiences they've had during their years with MNUFC at Allianz Field.

Presented by Earthworks and DryJect.

For parts of four decades, Ralph Kepple has been the caretaker for the historic home course of the late Bobby Jones. A graduate of Ohio State, Kepple was named superintendent at East Lake Golf Club in 1992 and since 2018 has been the club’s director of agronomy. During that time, East Lake has been synonymous with the PGA Tour’s season-ending Tour Championship for 21 years.

In this episode of All Stars of Turf, Kepple talks about the keys to career longevity and some of the changes that have occurred at East Lake during its time as the the final stop on the Tour schedule. Chief among those changes have been a conversion from bentgrass putting surfaces to ultradwarf Bermudagrass following a brutally hot summer leading up to the 2007 tournament and the infamous reversing of the nines on the Donald Ross design in advance of the 2016 event, as well as an upcoming restoration project by architect Andrew Green.

Although East Lake occupies an important place in the game's history, it also plays an important role off the golf course through the work of the East Lake Foundation, the goal of which is to help revitalize one of Atlanta’s historic neighborhoods.