Behind The Turf

Welcome to the first podcast of Behind The Turf for 2021. This episode is slightly different as it is a webinar that was recorded in September 2021 on crowsfoot grass control (known also as goose grass). The webinar was run in partnership with Greenway Turf Solutions our national distributors. It was part of their online learning series they launched last year which can be viewed here . Greenway T...

Did you want a quick lesson on phosphites on what they are and how they work and how they are different? This episode is for you. I speak to Dr John Dempsey of Ireland who is a former superintendent Royal Curragh Golf Club and is now an independent turf researcher. John has recently published his work "Suppression of microdochium nivale by phosphite in cool-season amenity turfgrasses." I hope you...

We take a break from the agronomy side of turf to bring you Ben Gibson. After the feedback we received from Ben's previous episode last year we thought it would be good to get him back and dive deeper this time. We speak this time on a couple of topics starting with conflict within the workplace and how to best manage it. The other topic is encouraging and attracting staff to your teams and the to...

After GIS in Orlando this year I headed up towards Gainesville Florida to the turf research station in Citra Florida (there are 3 in the state). Besides the tour of the facility I sit down with Dr Harmon and talk diseases warm season grasses and turf in Florida. For those not aware Florida is one of the biggest turf markets in the world with over 1200. Many are high end private clubs as well so re...

Ben McGraw Penn State leading Turf entomologist. He knows insects. I sat down with ben again this year at GIS and spoke to him about insects issues we have here as well as new frontiers in managing pests with "microbiome". This is a term that you will see more and more of but what is it and how does it relate to turf?

Cale is an all-round smart man with everything and anything to do with turf. I speak to Cale on the university and what Purdue is all about. We get into some of the work he does and the challenges he faces. Cale was kind enough to give me some time with such a busy schedule at GIS and I was able to sit down with him just before the closing ceremony where they announce the Turf Bowl winners. Purdue...

A double act here to get two of the top weed scientists on a podcast together. Dr Yelverton is no stranger to Australia as he has visited our shores a few times as a keynote speaker for the Australasian Turfgrass Conference.

Stan is familiar with Australian audiences and has been in the surfactant game for over 25 years. Stan has invented and help develop some of the worlds most used surfactants over that time. I talk to Stan on his most recent work on surfactants (also known as wetting agents) at Penn State with Dr Mike Fidanza. We work through different definitions being spoken around and put things straight. This e...

Today's episode was again at GIS 2020 where I had a chat with Dr Scott McElroy. Many Australians would know Scott from when he was out in Australia for the walk and talks we did as well as the Turf Conference in New Zealand. We speak on herbicides and herbicide resistance and what hold in the future for controlling weeds. Scott does research on the work he is doing with genetics of poa and the Res...

In this episode I have mashed together the 4 days at GIS. These recordings were posted on our  YouTube channel and now can be listened to in on episode. Please enjoy. 

In the first episode for 2020 I discuss the extreme weather in Australia with the bushfires. At the time of recording good rain was forecast and its implications for turf managers.  I also talk about the GIS the golf industry show and my plans for the week with podcast guests.

This episode is quite a bit different to previous charts I've had as its not agronomic based. Ben Gibson is the head of The Toolbox Team providing not just products and services but partnerships to turf teams across the country with safety, WHS Leadership auditing and compliance just to name a few. In this chat we have open discussions around volunteering, leadership, culture moving up the turf la...

Again very excited to have Pat Jones on our podcast for the second year in a row. Pat at the time of the interview was still running GCI Magazine however he has since moved on to Harrell's to look after marketing digital side. He is till involved heavily in turf and is a great asset to the industry. Also joining us is Dr Paul Koch from University Wisconsin. Paul is an expert in all thing's disease...

Fairy ring is one of the most difficult diseases to control. There hasn't been as much research on this disease as others. I sit down today at GIS to talk to Dr Mike Fidanza from Penn State and discuss this troublesome disease and he gives some insights in the best way to control this disease. Mike is the fairy ring gurus he has spent a lot of his career working on the disease and developing best...

I was lucky enough to sit down with Jim again this year and get an update on turf research into weeds. We especially spoke about Poa and the research group setup to deal with this troublesome weed. He gives good insights into resistance management and where we are as this is still the biggest issue facing turf as and agriculture markets. There has been more awareness of weed resistance and can onl...

In today's episode I talk with Dr Ben McGraw from Penn State University. Ben is an entomologist and has unbelievable knowledge of insects. He has done a plenty of research into the bluegrass weevil which is similar to our Argentine Stem Weevil so there is a lot to learn here. Ben is really entertaining as well and I think could have been a stand up comic in another life.

I was lucky enough to catch Peter at the recent Australasian turfgrass Conference in Brisbane after his session on the work he has done in resistance testing in turf. Peter works at the University of Adelaide as well as managing Plant Science Consulting where turf managers can send samples of their turf for herbicide resistance testing. Peter was very open about the challenges the industry faces w...

Disease testing- everyone knows it but not everyone utilises it as much as they should. I give some thoughts on why its important and what benefits there are in confuting disease testing.

This is just my thoughts on social media and the use in the turf industry. Many of you now I am very active on social media and have presented a number of talks at various conferences in Australia. These are just some of the reasons why I love it so much.

In this podcast these are my thoughts on best use of fungicides in turf. There is some confusion in what to use and when abnd how each product works. I hope this short episode helps with understanding fungicides.

From time to time I will be putting my thoughts out there on certain topics and hoping to give some help in dealing with agronomic aspects of turf management. In this episode I am talking about ERI management and some things to think about in helping to control this disease.

Bruce Williams is known in a lot of turf circles worldwide and has been a regular visit to Australia with his work with Grigg Brothers through Globe Australia. Bruce has been on the GCSAA board and president of 4 GCSAA chapters. However one of his specialities that I wanted to talk to him about was his consultancy he does. He is involved in not just the agronomic side but the human side as well te...

This is a discussion I was apart of with some superintendents in Sydney from a while back. We were lucky enough to have Micah on the line. He talks about summer stress and experience in the Asian region as well as how to best manage turf in the summer. We also talk about new verities coming onto the market. I apologise if the audio is a bit week as we were in a board room. 

Conferences- there are plenty to choose from and a lot of turf managers attend them however there are many that don't I am a big believer in them small or large. These are my thoughts and I hope it gives you some guidance in looking to attend a few in the coming months.