TurfNet RADIO

Live from the Irish Open at Portstewart Golf Club in Northern Ireland where TurfNet has a volunteer contigent, Jon Kiger chats with Eugene Hennessy, greenkeeping consultant with the European Tour, about the preparations at Portstewart in advance of the Irish Open.

A spring that started out mild in Ireland soon turned unseasonably cold and Eugene discusses the concerns and ultimate outcome on the turf at Portstewart Golf Club. HIs course visits in advance of tournament week served as helpful checkpoints and progress reports to Bernard Findlay and the staff and members of Portstewart Golf Club.

Presented by IVI Sandtrapper, Tru-Turf rollers and OGT/AlgaeGreen.

During a stop at Lahinch prior to the Irish Open, Jon Kiger chats with Pat Geaney of Geaney & O'Neill, Ltd, distributors of Tru-Turf and other turf maintenance machinery. Geaney relates his background transitioning from a heavy diesel mechanic in the late 1960s to servicing and ultimately selling professional turf equipment and retail consumer mowers. He emphasizes that service is still a hallmark of his business, from both customer relations and profitability standpoints. The diversification of his business has enabled him to weather the vagaries of the Irish economy amidst various downturns.

Pat also discusses the success Irish superintendents have enjoyed from incorporating turf rollers into their management schemes, and wraps it up with a synopsis of the state of the golf economy in Ireland.

Presented by IVI Sandtrapper, AlgaeGreen and Tru-Turf.

You don't know Justin Woodland. Ok, maybe you do. But you probably don't. And guess what? You need to know him. Here is your chance.

Justin is one of those people that I think should be required meeting if you are going to understand the reality of the business of golf and of Greenkeeping itself. He's got the "It" factor that I look for and yet, will probably never see what so many think is "the spotlight". Justin is doing it his way. And he's now got a fire to help others learn. A grass roots mentality. Please pardon the pun.

I've been saving this interview for just the right time. This is it.

The Turfgrass Zealot Project is only on TurfNet Radio.

In this episode of the TurfNet Renovation Report -- presented by Jacobsen and Golf Preservations --  Jon Kiger chats with Chris Monti, senior design associate with  Bobby Weed Golf Design about the recent practice facility renovation at Interlachen Country Club in Winter Park, FL.

The new facility features a 10,000 square-foot putting green with subtle contours, a chipping green with generous surrounds to allow for a variety of shots and a bunker green with four bunkers of varying sizes. The project also includes an enlarged main tee area on the range, with a two-bay academy building planned for the future.

New, updated turfgrass varieties were used, as was a synthetic revetted bunker product.

In this episode of The Ladder, presented by STEC Equipment, John Reitman chats with Sam MacKenzie, CGCS, director of grounds at Olympia Fields Country Club, about his career path over the 38 years he has been in turf management.

MacKenzie, the TurfNet Superintendent of the Year in 2008, reflects on people who have influenced him and the value in being exposed to different points of view in both turf maintenance and people management... as well as the current state of the industry as a career choice.

In this episode of Frankly Speaking on TurfNet RADIO, Dr. Frank Rossi chats with Brian Whitlark, western regional agronomist for the USGA Green Section, about factors influencing playability of putting surfaces.  On the table for discussion are green firmness, angle of approach from the fairway vs the rough, slope of the green, ball roll distance/green speed, and mower setup.

Whitlark is a certified professional soil scientist and has worked extensively with golf courses facing challenging soil and water conditions. Since joining the Green Section, Whitlark has conducted applied research in a variety of areas, including mitigating saline and sodic soils, evaluating practices to produce quality putting surfaces, exploring the pros and cons of using turf colorants and optimizing mower setup. He has written extensively for practitioners in the areas of soil, water and soil test interpretation.

Whitlark is a graduate of the University of Arizona at Tucson, where he received his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees from the Department of Soil, Water and Environmental Science, with an emphasis in turfgrass science. 

As always, smart talk from leading thinkers, presented by DryJect.

In this episode of Rockbottum Radio, broadcast live from the Rockbottum proshop, Randy explains Momma's newest attempt at Growing the Game: 'Bottum Golf... and Archery Golf, alongside Soccer Golf and Disc Golf. The biggest benefit of 'Bottum Golf? Listen and find out.

In other matters, Randy ponders whether Snow Molds really exist, or whether it's just more fear-mongering by the scientists from Up North.

Randy also suggests an improved calibration for the Deathmeter: the WSRF Index. "'Cause ball roll don't have nothin' to do with speed, measuring the Won't Stop Rolling Factor makes a lot more sense."

Lastly, in the popular Storytime segment, Randy explains what was really in Mountain Harvey's lunch bag.

Presented by VinylGuard Golf.

Following up on two previous deep-dive conversations into the role and management of organic matter in fine turf, Dr. Frank Rossi again hosts Dr. Roch Gaussoin of the University of Nebraska and Dan Dinelli, golf course superintendent at North Shore Country Club in the Chicagoland area.

Listen in as these three go at it for an hour, winding up with a fascinating discussion about Dan's research into biochar as a component or amendment of golf turf.

As always, smart talk from leading thinkers... presented by DryJect and DryJect Maximus.

In this episode of the BASF Pin Sheet, host Jon Kiger chats with Jeff Vannoy, Sr. Product Manager for BASF Turf. Topics include planning for (starting at EOP the previous fall), causal agents, and avoiding and/or minimizing summer stress on fine turf.

Jeff also explains the popular BASF Holiday Spray program which provides a template for superintendents to control summertime diseases with spray applications around the three major US summer holidays: Memorial Day, July 4th and Labor Day.

In this episode of Frankly Speaking, Dr. Frank Rossi chats with Dr. Bruce Clarke of Rutgers University about the history, creation and evolution of BMPs for managing patch diseases and anthracnose in turf. Programmatic approaches to control, intertwining of micronutrients and cultural practices, solid vs hollow tine aerification, self-inflicted issues, topdressing, nitrogen... and the real possibility -- with strict adherence to established BMPs -- of moving toward a scouting-based curative program for anthracnose management.

Frank and Bruce also talk about the upcoming 13th International Turfgrass Research Conference to be held July 16-21 in New Brunswick, NJ.

Presented by DryJect.