Reel Turf Techs Podcast

Send us Fan Mail Kevin Bauer, CTEM, equipment manager at Pinehills Golf Club in Plymouth, MA, started working on the golf course at the young age of 13. His first job was fetching balls out of the creek for free golf. Kevin was a longtime service tech for a Jacobsen distributor and worked at several golf courses in the Chicagoland area before heading east to Plymouth to be closer to family. In his...

Send us Fan Mail Nick Surrette, Equipment Manager at Union League Golf Club at Torresdale in Philadelphia, PA was introduced to the turf industry by his golf coach that just so happened to know Mike Elliott. Nick started a Pine Valley working for Mike as an assistant technician. Then he made his way to the Union League to run his own shop as the equipment manager. He is off to a great start and ha...

Send us Fan Mail Mike Elliott, Head Equipment Manager at The Philadelphia Union League in Philadelphia, PA started working on the golf course at the age of 14. He got some great advice from the superintendent at the time, you should be a golf course mechanic. That’s exactly what he did. He set his ambitions pretty high by aspiring to be the equipment manager at Augusta National. He may have not ma...

Send us Fan Mail Dan Williams, equipment manager at Vestavia Country Club in Vestavia Hills, AL, started out in the foundry industry working on machines for most of his career. For the last ten years he was a mobile service guy traveling all over the world. He was ready to get off the road and be close to home when he answered a listing on a job board for a golf course equipment technician. He had...

Send us Fan Mail Tweet us @ReelTurfTechs and @MTrentManning Email us at ReelTurfTechs@gmail.com Check out our YouTube Channel

Send us Fan Mail Tate Johnson, assistant technician at Chambers Bay in University Place, WA, was brought into the turf industry by his dad who is a superintendent. He has worked alongside his dad since a young age. His dad has also brought his brothers into the industry as assistant superintendents. Tate's decision to enter the industry took him straight to the shop where he works alongside a...

Send us Fan Mail David Blowers, Senior technician at Abell Turf and Tractor in Holly Springs, GA, was forced into Lake City Community College by his dad because he liked his mom’s cooking. He worked at a few golf courses before moving to the distributor side. Where he was the service manager at Georgia Turf and Tractor for many years. David is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to turf equipment...

Send us Fan Mail Daniel Barnes, Equipment Manager at The Ford Field and River Club in Richmond Hill, GA, was dragged to Lake City Community College by his grandma and entered the golf course maintenance program having never set foot on a golf course. After a stint as a small engine mechanic at an asphalt plant and some road time as a mobile service tech, Daniel found his professional calling at th...

Send us Fan Mail Tweet us @ReelTurfTechs and @MTrentManning Email us at ReelTurfTechs@gmail.com Check out our YouTube Channel

Send us Fan Mail Lured to loving the game of golf as a kid, Austin Wright, CTEM, studied golf course management at Kansas State University before falling for the equipment side. After getting the basics at Washburn Technical, Austin learned under some great Kansas City superintendents then landed his current gig at Sand Valley Golf Resort in Rome, WI. Hear about Austin’s very cool lawnmower racing...

Send us Fan Mail Kayla Kipp, Equipment Manager at Nemacolin Resort, returns to the podcast to share some insider insight on volunteering at the 2022 U.S. Women’s Open at Pine Needles. Kayla gives all credit to David Fruchte, CGCS, and his team of nine for ‘cutting a diamond’ at the course and welcoming the team of 31 volunteers to support his crew. Kayla enthusiastically shares the experience of b...

Send us Fan Mail After attending automotive trade school and realizing he didn’t want to lift car and truck tires for the foreseeable future, Nick took off to the Power Sport Institute and started his career in a parts store. Nick’s grandma played a key part in his path when she brought him a newspaper ad clipping looking for a golf course mechanic. Nick honed his skills at a public course before...

Send us Fan Mail Robert Martyszczyk is among the born tinkerers of equipment managers, growing up with a mechanic dad and spending a lot of time in the garage. After many years of working on outdoor power equipment and building up his knowledge, an opportunity at TPC River Highlands (Cromwell, CT) came knocking. Robert learned golf course wrenching from a 31-year industry veteran. An outdoor enthu...

Send us Fan Mail After attending tech school as a diesel mechanic, Ryan spent lots of time on the road and working second shift with a young family at home. Looking for a better fit for family life, he stumbled across a golf course job on Indeed and describes discovering the turf industry as the best thing that’s happened to his career. We’re talking fabricating trailers and reel racks, reel stora...

Send us Fan Mail Tweet us @ReelTurfTechs and @MTrentManning Email us at ReelTurfTechs@gmail.com Check out our YouTube Channel

Send us Fan Mail John Patterson, equipment manager at Atlanta Athletic Club in Johns Creek, GA, rebuilt his first engine with his dad at eight years old and never wanted to be anything other than a mechanic. Fed up with Chicago winters, John headed south with plans to become a marine mechanic in southwest Florida. When every boat mechanic he met told him to do something else, John answered an ad a...

Send us Fan Mail Growing up in rural Missouri with a golf course as the only employer closer than a 45-minute drive, Shelby Dubois started out on the crew raking bunkers and walk-mowing greens. After attending Ranken Technical College for high-performance racing technology, Shelby found her way to the equipment side of the golf course. Shelby is the assistant technician at the Talisker Club at Tuh...

Send us Fan Mail Gersain Villavicencio is the Equipment Manager at Glen Arven Country Club in Thomasville, GA. Gersain followed his dad into the golf course world after finishing auto tech school and working at a transit bus garage. This new dad of a little boy loves traveling with his wife and deep sea fishing in his free time. And his deep sea fishing story is one we won’t soon forget! Tweet us...

Send us Fan Mail Shane Pokorney is the Equipment Manager at Colbert Hills Golf Course in Manhattan, Kansas. Shane started at Colbert Hills as a Kansas State student, working on the crew for beer money, and moved into the shop for a pay bump. A self-taught (thanks, Google!) mechanic with a degree in wildlife management, Shane discovered he liked hunting for fun more than for work and headed back to...

Send us Fan Mail United States Army veteran Bryan Epland is the Equipment Manager at Arbor Links Golf Course in Nebraska City, NE. After an award-winning career as an army metal worker, Bryan transitioned to wheel mechanic and later pipeline specialist. Bryan’s varied experience in the Army prepared him well for the wide range of skills needed as a golf course mechanic. Bryan weighs in on the bene...

Send us Fan Mail We’re talking with Chad Braun, Equipment Manager at Town and Country Club in Saint Paul, MN. This Twitter-famous EM started at a young age, inspired by his mechanic dad to land a job at a municipality. Turf came calling instead. We discuss the importance of customizing your preventative maintenance routine for common issues, operator training, and a detailed walk-through of Chad’s...

Send us Fan Mail Matthew Caine, Equipment Manager at the Apes Hill Club in Barbados, started out working in the manufacturing industry. He saw an ad in a newspaper looking for a golf course fleet manager. He was interested at first but after talking to a coworker at his current job that had been there for 27 year and only had one Christmas off, the golf thing piqued his interest. Matthew manages f...

Send us Fan Mail Tweet us @ReelTurfTechs and @MTrentManning Email us at ReelTurfTechs@gmail.com Check out our YouTube Channel

Send us Fan Mail Ken Nail, Equipment Manager at Heritage Pines Golf and Country Club in Hudson, Florida is a United States Marine Corps veteran who found himself a turf mechanic after one conversation about a ‘68 Camaro. Ken learned to relief grind on a Foley grinder from 1969 that was still running in the 2000s. We discuss Ken’s mentor in the industry and the importance of quality of cut vs. bein...

Send us Fan Mail Tweet us @ReelTurfTechs and @MTrentManning Email us at ReelTurfTechs@gmail.com Check out our YouTube Channel