WEBVTT - Superintendent Series: Jeff Austin on Reviving Yale Golf Course 0:00:02.160 --> 0:00:05.200 Today's episode of the Superintendent series is brought to you 0:00:05.280 --> 0:00:09.600 by Toro. Americans like our utility vehicles the way we 0:00:09.800 --> 0:00:10.160 like our. 0:00:10.160 --> 0:00:12.000 US open courses, rug it. 0:00:12.720 --> 0:00:15.800 A winner needs to do it all in tough conditions, 0:00:15.840 --> 0:00:19.160 and Toro's new Workmen UTX line is here to get 0:00:19.160 --> 0:00:23.680 the job done. Any job, snow and ice removal, tree maintenance, 0:00:23.840 --> 0:00:28.200 transporting equipment or materials. Whatever you need, this commercial grade, 0:00:28.320 --> 0:00:31.560 smooth riding four wheel drive monster as your back. The 0:00:31.640 --> 0:00:36.760 Workmen's UTX proprietary governing system unpairs ground speed and RPM 0:00:36.960 --> 0:00:40.000 so the operator can limit the machine speed without gutting 0:00:40.000 --> 0:00:44.880 the power. Higher RPMs mean more umph is required, less RPMs, 0:00:45.159 --> 0:00:48.559 and less fuel consumption when it isn't. That kind of 0:00:48.600 --> 0:00:51.600 all around performance is what champions are made of. Follow 0:00:51.640 --> 0:00:54.040 Add Toro Golf on Twitter and reach out to your 0:00:54.080 --> 0:00:56.480 local Toro distributor to schedule a demo. 0:00:57.520 --> 0:01:00.319 I miss a green, for example, I'm already upset. When 0:01:00.360 --> 0:01:02.400 I find my ball in the bunker, I'm really upset. 0:01:02.520 --> 0:01:04.479 And when I find my ball in a brid egg 0:01:04.720 --> 0:01:08.960 Friday egg, the dreaded Friday Frida egg Frida egg bride 0:01:08.959 --> 0:01:11.640 egg Lie, I'm about ready to run off of the course. 0:01:33.040 --> 0:01:36.720 Welcome back to another edition of the Frida Egg Podcast. 0:01:37.040 --> 0:01:41.840 Today's episode is with Jeff Austin. Jeff is the new 0:01:41.880 --> 0:01:46.080 superintendent at Ray Tompkins Memorial also known as the Yale 0:01:46.120 --> 0:01:46.759 Golf Course. 0:01:47.640 --> 0:01:50.680 Jeff comes on to just talk about his experience. 0:01:50.760 --> 0:01:54.440 He worked at Augusta National and UH and then coming 0:01:54.480 --> 0:01:58.200 on at Yale at a tumultuous time. The golf course 0:01:58.720 --> 0:02:02.000 during COVID kind of had seen better days. They had 0:02:02.040 --> 0:02:05.680 a lot of turnover in the staff and the university 0:02:05.720 --> 0:02:07.960 was obviously trying to figure out what to do with COVID, 0:02:08.080 --> 0:02:12.760 and it led to the golf course being a bit neglected. 0:02:12.919 --> 0:02:16.440 So Jeff came on and has really revitalized the golf 0:02:16.480 --> 0:02:19.639 course along with Peter Pelasio's the gm there who they 0:02:19.639 --> 0:02:22.920 have done a phenomenal job getting the golf course back 0:02:23.040 --> 0:02:28.000 up into great shape and they have a big restoration 0:02:28.160 --> 0:02:32.200 coming in twenty twenty four with Gil Hant's golf design. 0:02:32.600 --> 0:02:35.600 So it was fun to catch up with Jeff about 0:02:35.680 --> 0:02:39.200 all things Yale as well as some of his past experience. 0:02:40.240 --> 0:02:43.040 Thanks again for listening to the Frida Egg Podcast. Here 0:02:43.200 --> 0:02:52.359 is Jeff Austin. So, Jeff, you were an assistant superintendent 0:02:52.440 --> 0:02:56.240 at Augusta National. You know anybody that worked at Augusta National. 0:02:56.440 --> 0:02:59.320 One of my favorite questions to ask is always, you know, 0:02:59.320 --> 0:03:03.840 what's your favorite story or memorable moment from your time 0:03:04.120 --> 0:03:04.960 at Augusta. 0:03:06.480 --> 0:03:10.160 So I have two of them, and I couldn't I 0:03:10.160 --> 0:03:12.240 couldn't decide on which one to go with. 0:03:12.560 --> 0:03:14.880 Well, you could give us both, give us both of them. 0:03:15.200 --> 0:03:17.639 One's one's a little bit lengthy, and then one's real, 0:03:17.840 --> 0:03:20.760 real quick. So I'll do the I'll do the quick 0:03:20.800 --> 0:03:23.680 one first. And it was that I was setting up 0:03:23.800 --> 0:03:27.160 I was watering the member putting green behind the clubhouse 0:03:29.800 --> 0:03:33.960 and outside of the member putting green is right outside 0:03:34.040 --> 0:03:37.640 of the Eisenhower cabin and we were told to get 0:03:37.640 --> 0:03:40.280 out of that area pretty pretty quickly in the morning 0:03:40.280 --> 0:03:43.320 because there was a VIP there. So I'm setting it, 0:03:43.520 --> 0:03:46.080 setting up the green water and whatnot. And as I'm 0:03:46.080 --> 0:03:49.800 making a pass, I turn around and and George W. 0:03:49.920 --> 0:03:53.600 Bush is sitting out there a pair of blue Texas 0:03:53.720 --> 0:03:57.200 Longhorn shorts and a gray T shirt, and he yells 0:03:57.200 --> 0:03:59.600 at me, you're certainly putting a lot of water down 0:03:59.640 --> 0:04:01.600 on that, and I said, yes, there I am, and 0:04:01.640 --> 0:04:06.600 he goes continue on. So, so I was always a 0:04:06.600 --> 0:04:10.400 fan of George W. And just for that interaction, it 0:04:10.440 --> 0:04:11.640 was it was pretty cool. 0:04:12.480 --> 0:04:15.160 Big golf, big golf family. It loves golf. 0:04:15.280 --> 0:04:18.000 I you know, the the k Parundle up in Maine 0:04:18.120 --> 0:04:21.200 is a long known hangout of the Bush family. 0:04:21.800 --> 0:04:26.120 Yeah, there, the Walker Cup is the same George W. 0:04:26.720 --> 0:04:33.479 But the second the second story is so I volunteer 0:04:33.520 --> 0:04:36.320 every year to go down there for to help out 0:04:36.400 --> 0:04:38.440 during the Master's tournament. And one year I was on 0:04:38.480 --> 0:04:43.000 the pin setting committee. So in the afternoon, will we'll 0:04:43.040 --> 0:04:47.120 pick the pin for the next day. So there was 0:04:47.440 --> 0:04:50.440 a we were on number thirteen Green, and there's it's 0:04:50.520 --> 0:04:53.400 a it's a gaggle of guys, you know different, there's 0:04:53.440 --> 0:04:55.080 like way too many. 0:04:55.000 --> 0:04:57.880 Of us, but there's I saw it on like a 0:04:57.920 --> 0:05:01.359 Wednesday afternoon a couple of times down there where you 0:05:01.400 --> 0:05:03.760 know that it's it's you know, to give people color. 0:05:03.839 --> 0:05:06.920 There's like twenty people. You got the stimp meter out 0:05:07.080 --> 0:05:11.480 your rolling balls. Everybody's testing everything from every angle and 0:05:11.480 --> 0:05:14.599 and so this goes on every day, Yes. 0:05:15.000 --> 0:05:20.039 Yes, every day. And we were we were walking off 0:05:20.800 --> 0:05:25.479 of thirteen Green and h and as we were walking off, 0:05:25.600 --> 0:05:27.279 it was it was on a practice round, so it 0:05:27.320 --> 0:05:32.120 was kind of thin crowd and and there was a 0:05:32.120 --> 0:05:35.800 double amputee waiting there and he asked us the question, 0:05:36.200 --> 0:05:40.360 is this where the pin's going to go tomorrow? And 0:05:40.400 --> 0:05:43.160 we said yes and uh and a guy from the 0:05:43.320 --> 0:05:47.280 RNA and I can't remember his name, had asked him 0:05:47.279 --> 0:05:49.159 if he was a serviceman and he said yes. He 0:05:49.200 --> 0:05:54.279 said he had started golfing as a way for treatment 0:05:54.320 --> 0:05:57.839 for PTSD and that he wanted to get into this 0:05:58.640 --> 0:06:01.719 veteran's golf turn, but he had missed the cutoff date 0:06:01.800 --> 0:06:06.320 by like days, like he just missed the cutoff date. 0:06:07.279 --> 0:06:10.479 This guy, Uh, this one of the captains of the RNA. 0:06:10.680 --> 0:06:12.960 He broke out two business cards and he said, write 0:06:13.000 --> 0:06:17.039 your contact information. I wanted the cards and he gave 0:06:17.080 --> 0:06:18.680 him the other one. He said, call my office. I 0:06:18.680 --> 0:06:20.200 won't be in on Monday, but I'm going to make 0:06:20.200 --> 0:06:24.280 sure that you're into this this tournament and im and 0:06:24.320 --> 0:06:26.760 he said, you know, I'm I'm grateful for your service 0:06:26.800 --> 0:06:30.000 and whatnot. And uh, I get goosebumps when I when 0:06:30.000 --> 0:06:32.960 I tell that story. But it was we we have 0:06:33.080 --> 0:06:38.720 a lot of good times US volunteers and tournament hires 0:06:38.720 --> 0:06:41.159 down there. And we we like to joke around a 0:06:41.200 --> 0:06:46.160 lot at each other's expenses, but we were quiet as 0:06:46.240 --> 0:06:49.039 church mouse mice after that happened. We just sort of 0:06:49.040 --> 0:06:51.600 were like, jez opte, that's that's heavy. But it was. 0:06:52.040 --> 0:06:53.960 It was really really cool to see and it was 0:06:54.000 --> 0:06:55.680 awesome that I was there firsthand. 0:06:56.200 --> 0:06:58.839 Mm hmm. Tell as a is a great story. 0:06:58.960 --> 0:07:01.920 And and uh, you know, it's it's neat when somebody 0:07:01.920 --> 0:07:04.240 that can help someone goes out of their way to 0:07:04.279 --> 0:07:09.880 help someone. Uh with that volunteering, you know, being one 0:07:09.920 --> 0:07:11.880 of the you know the guys that goes down and 0:07:12.000 --> 0:07:16.560 basically helps with you know, maintenance and on an annual basis, 0:07:16.560 --> 0:07:19.040 what's that process like? And and tell us a little 0:07:19.080 --> 0:07:23.720 bit about the atmosphere atmosphere there. I'm not sure if 0:07:23.760 --> 0:07:27.040 you've you've volunteered at other major championships. How does it, 0:07:27.160 --> 0:07:28.760 how's it similar, how's it different? 0:07:30.120 --> 0:07:35.400 So I've done I volunteered at a US Women's Open 0:07:35.640 --> 0:07:41.360 at Sabonic for Garrett Boddington, and then I did one 0:07:41.560 --> 0:07:46.720 in my hometown US No PGA s Yeah, Senior PGA 0:07:46.840 --> 0:07:56.200 Championship at Canterbury Canterbury Golf Club, Augusta National. The volunteers 0:07:56.240 --> 0:08:01.080 and the tournament hires. It's it's very very fraternity like 0:08:02.200 --> 0:08:08.640 we've all either volunteered work there for for a good 0:08:08.720 --> 0:08:13.280 number of years, and we all keep in touch throughout 0:08:13.320 --> 0:08:15.840 the throughout the year even when we're not, you know, 0:08:16.160 --> 0:08:19.480 in Augusta, and we all have the same stories from 0:08:19.520 --> 0:08:22.040 our time there. I was there for about four and 0:08:22.080 --> 0:08:27.600 a half five years as a as an employee, and 0:08:27.640 --> 0:08:29.760 I volunteer with guys who are now who have now 0:08:29.840 --> 0:08:36.160 moved on are are superintendents elsewhere. So it's it's it's 0:08:36.320 --> 0:08:39.560 very it's very very fraternity like. It's like an it's 0:08:39.600 --> 0:08:43.400 like an alumni game. We all go back and you know, 0:08:43.760 --> 0:08:46.000 it's like what do they have in Major League Baseball? 0:08:46.040 --> 0:08:48.840 Like the old timers game, and it's sort of like 0:08:48.920 --> 0:08:51.040 that where we all go back and we all tell 0:08:51.080 --> 0:08:54.880 the exact same stories for the first five days about 0:08:54.920 --> 0:08:56.880 how we had at the hardest or had it the 0:08:57.000 --> 0:09:01.240 roughest and uh, and then we just get into our 0:09:01.280 --> 0:09:04.400 normal routine of of whatever our job is that week. 0:09:04.520 --> 0:09:09.040 So I I stimp stimp Greens with with three three 0:09:09.080 --> 0:09:14.000 other guys and we're we're we are ruthless to each other, 0:09:14.160 --> 0:09:16.200 but we're we love each other so much, but we're 0:09:16.200 --> 0:09:19.640 brutal and uh, you know, we share an office and 0:09:19.920 --> 0:09:23.280 we just we it's always something with us. But but 0:09:23.360 --> 0:09:24.960 when it's time to get to work, we know what 0:09:25.360 --> 0:09:29.960 you know, the regular full time staff is expecting of us, 0:09:30.000 --> 0:09:32.400 and we just try to support them this week that 0:09:32.480 --> 0:09:36.160 week because we know the amount of hours that they've 0:09:36.160 --> 0:09:38.880 put in leading up to it. So whatever we can 0:09:38.920 --> 0:09:41.000 do to take a little bit off their plate. Is 0:09:41.000 --> 0:09:42.720 is is our ultimate goal. 0:09:43.720 --> 0:09:47.199 Gotta asks, what's the highest stimp reading you've ever gotten out. 0:09:47.000 --> 0:09:48.800 There tournament speed? 0:09:50.640 --> 0:09:55.360 Look at that a company man spending a few years 0:09:55.640 --> 0:10:01.320 down there on the staff full time. What what are 0:10:01.440 --> 0:10:04.559 things that you draw from that experience in your day 0:10:04.600 --> 0:10:07.240 to day job and and your previous jobs that you've 0:10:07.280 --> 0:10:10.280 had along the way. What are are there are there 0:10:10.320 --> 0:10:13.240 certain things about the way they maintained turf, for the 0:10:13.280 --> 0:10:15.960 way they run their operation that stick with you. 0:10:18.280 --> 0:10:24.359 There are the attention to detail is is is unmatched, 0:10:25.679 --> 0:10:29.120 and that's that's something that's ingrained in you from the 0:10:29.120 --> 0:10:33.439 first first time you step on property. And that's something 0:10:33.480 --> 0:10:38.040 that that as a turf manager, that that people who 0:10:38.080 --> 0:10:42.800 have experienced a US national take throughout their career. You know, 0:10:42.840 --> 0:10:47.120 it gets down to the to the most minute detail 0:10:47.320 --> 0:10:51.240 that that we want to control and that we try 0:10:51.280 --> 0:10:54.360 to control, even though there's so much that that we 0:10:54.480 --> 0:10:57.360 can't when we're dealing with you, you know, with whether 0:10:57.520 --> 0:11:00.880 or mother nature or what have you. But it's the 0:11:00.880 --> 0:11:04.360 attention to detail that that that we like to take 0:11:04.400 --> 0:11:11.920 throughout our career. And it's just solid, solid agronomic principles. 0:11:12.080 --> 0:11:15.360 You know, they don't they don't have magic pixie dust 0:11:15.360 --> 0:11:17.440 down there that makes the grass grow certain way. It's 0:11:17.480 --> 0:11:20.960 just the fact that they've been doing it for so 0:11:21.160 --> 0:11:25.640 long and that they know what works. So for example, 0:11:25.679 --> 0:11:28.920 when I when I came to Yale, it was sort 0:11:28.960 --> 0:11:32.439 of a blank page because I didn't know what necessarily 0:11:32.480 --> 0:11:35.080 worked and what didn't work here. And and I'm and 0:11:35.120 --> 0:11:39.640 I was completely cool with that. But you know, I 0:11:39.679 --> 0:11:41.720 had all of last season and and this is my 0:11:41.840 --> 0:11:44.360 second full season that that's coming to an end here 0:11:45.080 --> 0:11:49.680 at the end of this year. And I will take 0:11:49.760 --> 0:11:52.440 these two years into the next year and and and 0:11:52.480 --> 0:11:58.080 make good agronomic decisions based off of of what I've 0:11:58.160 --> 0:11:59.720 what I've learned over the past two years. 0:12:01.080 --> 0:12:03.839 That makes sense, you know, It's just the consistency, right 0:12:04.520 --> 0:12:07.480 show up every day and then continue to build on 0:12:07.480 --> 0:12:09.080 on what you've been doing. 0:12:08.920 --> 0:12:09.840 That's been working. 0:12:11.000 --> 0:12:15.600 Speaking of one last question on Augusta, you know, just 0:12:15.640 --> 0:12:19.440 something I'd be interested in, is, you know, getting a 0:12:19.559 --> 0:12:23.640 job there? Is that What was that interview process? 0:12:23.880 --> 0:12:23.960 Like? 0:12:24.640 --> 0:12:27.720 Was it similar to other clubs, similar to Yale? Like 0:12:28.080 --> 0:12:31.079 how did that interview process work in the first place? 0:12:31.280 --> 0:12:33.920 I imagine I think a lot of people probably wonder, like, 0:12:34.160 --> 0:12:36.320 how do you even get a job at Augusta National. 0:12:37.760 --> 0:12:42.120 So it's it's it's funny that they actually I think 0:12:42.160 --> 0:12:43.640 that it was one of the first times that they 0:12:43.679 --> 0:12:50.520 had actually advertised for an intern. So a little bit 0:12:50.520 --> 0:12:52.520 of the history onics of it is that I was 0:12:52.559 --> 0:12:58.680 already an assistant superintendent in Cleveland, and it was right 0:12:58.920 --> 0:13:02.800 after the two thousand and eight economy was you know, 0:13:02.880 --> 0:13:04.680 we were just starting to get out of that funk 0:13:05.440 --> 0:13:09.680 and the course that I was at, you know, they 0:13:09.760 --> 0:13:13.920 didn't they still felt the effects of the economy. And 0:13:14.440 --> 0:13:16.360 I came up with an idea. I said, how about 0:13:16.440 --> 0:13:20.280 if you guys don't pay me for the winter, and 0:13:20.320 --> 0:13:23.640 I'll go down to Augusta for a winter. Just the 0:13:23.960 --> 0:13:27.600 winter months in Cleveland, you're not really growing grass and 0:13:27.679 --> 0:13:29.320 I thought that it would be a good way to 0:13:29.320 --> 0:13:34.160 save the club some money and also get Augusta National 0:13:34.200 --> 0:13:37.320 on my on my resume. So they had they had 0:13:37.440 --> 0:13:41.960 advertised for an internship, and I went through the INN. 0:13:42.400 --> 0:13:47.160 I submitted my information. The senior assistant at the time, 0:13:47.360 --> 0:13:52.640 Justin Simms. He reached out to me and just a 0:13:52.760 --> 0:13:56.520 phone a phone interview, and then I had a follow 0:13:56.600 --> 0:14:00.839 up phone interview with the superintendent, Brad Owen, and uh 0:14:01.320 --> 0:14:05.520 they offered me a three month internship and I'd saved 0:14:05.520 --> 0:14:08.760 my club back in Cleveland some money and at the 0:14:08.840 --> 0:14:11.760 end of the three months, I must not have screwed 0:14:11.760 --> 0:14:14.480 anything up too badly because they offered me a full time, 0:14:14.800 --> 0:14:18.440 full time position, and uh, I had a contractual obligation 0:14:18.520 --> 0:14:22.360 to go back up to Cleveland finish that that obligation 0:14:22.480 --> 0:14:25.480 up and then I moved down to UH to Georgia. 0:14:25.760 --> 0:14:29.040 So that's it. Did you live in A in Augusta? 0:14:29.640 --> 0:14:32.920 Yeah, Yeah, I lived. Uh. I lived in not downtown, 0:14:32.960 --> 0:14:36.160 It's sort of like the Summerville area. I had a 0:14:36.200 --> 0:14:41.120 condo which was kind of suspect, and then uh, then 0:14:41.160 --> 0:14:44.640 I rented a house. So yeah, so I lived and 0:14:44.680 --> 0:14:48.520 I lived basically a couple of streets away from some 0:14:48.600 --> 0:14:50.520 of my best friends. One of my best friends still 0:14:50.680 --> 0:14:51.560 still works down there. 0:14:51.640 --> 0:14:55.040 So that's a that's cool, that's uh yeah, it's a 0:14:55.480 --> 0:14:57.560 it's it's got to be an amazing thing to have, 0:14:57.680 --> 0:15:00.080 like as you as you reference, amazing thing to have 0:15:00.080 --> 0:15:02.560 have on your resume in terms of, like, you know, 0:15:02.640 --> 0:15:05.320 it's obviously isn't going to get you jobs, but I 0:15:05.320 --> 0:15:08.160 imagine that it really helps in the you know, getting 0:15:08.200 --> 0:15:09.160 interview process. 0:15:09.800 --> 0:15:14.320 It does because you know, Augusta, in our line of work, 0:15:14.360 --> 0:15:17.640 we don't we don't necessarily do a very great job 0:15:17.720 --> 0:15:24.320 of advertising ourselves as Augusta guys or you know, we're not. 0:15:24.760 --> 0:15:28.320 We don't do that and it's just not who we are. 0:15:29.160 --> 0:15:33.240 And so what it does is is that, you know, 0:15:33.280 --> 0:15:35.920 when when it comes down to an interview, people want 0:15:35.960 --> 0:15:37.880 to talk to guys from Augusta just to hear a 0:15:37.920 --> 0:15:40.360 story or two. So we sort of get in by 0:15:40.400 --> 0:15:42.800 the by the you know, hey, I got a story 0:15:42.840 --> 0:15:45.560 to tell you, and then we hope that we're our 0:15:45.640 --> 0:15:49.000 resume is good enough and that we're good enough agronomous 0:15:49.040 --> 0:15:50.760 that that that it leads to a second and a 0:15:50.800 --> 0:15:54.000 third interview and hopefully, hopefully a job. 0:15:57.040 --> 0:16:00.160 Now for a quick word from our sponsor, Toro. For 0:16:00.200 --> 0:16:02.640 more than a century with cutting edge turf equipment and 0:16:02.720 --> 0:16:06.160 irrigation solutions, Toro has had your front nine covered and 0:16:06.200 --> 0:16:09.240 your back nine two. In fact, Toro's always had your 0:16:09.280 --> 0:16:12.440 back period. Toro is as committed to your long term 0:16:12.480 --> 0:16:15.680 success as tour pros are committed to their shot. That's 0:16:15.720 --> 0:16:18.600 down to top notch customer support from Toro and its 0:16:18.720 --> 0:16:23.040 dedicated local distributors, both of whom are passionate about delivering 0:16:23.080 --> 0:16:27.160 turf equipment and irrigation solutions that solve real world problems. 0:16:27.520 --> 0:16:30.200 Follow at Toro Golf on Twitter and reach out to 0:16:30.240 --> 0:16:34.040 your local Toro distributor today. Now back to Jeff Austin. 0:16:35.720 --> 0:16:39.080 Tell us about your new job. As you reference, you've 0:16:39.120 --> 0:16:43.480 been there for two years. You know what attracted you 0:16:43.520 --> 0:16:46.760 to the job at Yale when you saw the posting. 0:16:47.960 --> 0:16:54.440 So it goes back to probably twenty sixteen, the previous superintendent, 0:16:55.440 --> 0:16:59.960 Scott Ramsey won I think turf met Superintendent of the Years, 0:17:00.040 --> 0:17:04.600 something along those lines, and I saw I saw the 0:17:04.960 --> 0:17:10.119 the announcement of his winning that award, and I fell 0:17:10.160 --> 0:17:13.359 into just a rabbit hole of looking up Yale. I 0:17:13.400 --> 0:17:15.760 didn't know that they had their own golf course, so 0:17:17.000 --> 0:17:19.280 that sort of got that sort of peaked my interest 0:17:19.280 --> 0:17:22.159 in golf course architecture about you know, the history of 0:17:22.880 --> 0:17:30.000 Yale specifically. And I saw the job posting and I said, well, 0:17:30.000 --> 0:17:33.199 this is this is interesting. And it came at a 0:17:33.200 --> 0:17:35.840 good time because I sort of I was at a 0:17:35.840 --> 0:17:40.680 point in in Cleveland where I was a director of 0:17:40.960 --> 0:17:46.280 two of a thirty six hole facility, and and I 0:17:46.280 --> 0:17:49.679 thought it was time to try something new, and so 0:17:49.720 --> 0:17:52.240 I saw the job posting, I threw my hat into 0:17:52.280 --> 0:17:56.760 the ring. And I was down in Florida visiting my 0:17:56.840 --> 0:18:01.520 folks in the winter and our general manager, Peter Palacios, 0:18:02.200 --> 0:18:04.679 he called me and he was like, hey, your email, 0:18:04.840 --> 0:18:07.080 I mean, your resume sort of jumped out at us, 0:18:07.119 --> 0:18:11.160 and we'd like to, uh, I'd like to schedule an interview. 0:18:11.200 --> 0:18:13.919 And I was like, oh, okay. So it sort of 0:18:13.920 --> 0:18:15.640 got a little bit of traction. So I started doing 0:18:15.640 --> 0:18:19.000 a little bit more and more and more research on it. 0:18:19.040 --> 0:18:22.720 And that's unfortunately, sort of like during the COVID time 0:18:22.920 --> 0:18:27.879 of of Yale, which isn't the brightest point in its history. 0:18:30.160 --> 0:18:35.199 And and I just went through the the routine of 0:18:35.240 --> 0:18:38.000 the different interviews, I'm The first one was just a 0:18:38.000 --> 0:18:42.960 phone call with with Peter. The second one was more 0:18:43.000 --> 0:18:47.360 in depth. There were different different individuals from the athletic department. 0:18:48.280 --> 0:18:51.120 It was like a basically it's like three or four 0:18:51.160 --> 0:18:54.439 hours of different zoom calls and it was I was 0:18:54.480 --> 0:19:01.199 spent afterwards. But yeah, you know what it is. You know, 0:19:02.440 --> 0:19:05.720 three four hours isn't isn't you know, it doesn't seem 0:19:05.800 --> 0:19:10.560 like a lot, but you know, interviewing a kid from Cleveland, 0:19:10.640 --> 0:19:13.360 interviewing with a bunch of people from Yale, that's intimidating. 0:19:13.840 --> 0:19:17.040 You know, like not a lot. Let's let's just get 0:19:17.040 --> 0:19:19.600 this out there. There's not a lot of Clevelanders on 0:19:19.680 --> 0:19:25.199 property in New Haven. But uh, but so it was, 0:19:25.359 --> 0:19:28.359 it was, it was. It was intimidating. So so, you know, 0:19:28.400 --> 0:19:32.359 you're meeting with people from the financial side of things. 0:19:33.400 --> 0:19:35.520 I've imagine there are different questions like that. 0:19:35.760 --> 0:19:39.920 It's not like you're like meeting with the Greeds Committee, right, Yeah, 0:19:40.000 --> 0:19:41.800 Like it's got to be like, you know, these are 0:19:41.840 --> 0:19:45.280 people in the athletic department that that probably have you know, 0:19:45.520 --> 0:19:47.919 I don't want to say they don't really, but they 0:19:48.119 --> 0:19:51.119 they probably are asking a completely different line of question 0:19:51.280 --> 0:19:52.960 than you've ever had an interview. 0:19:53.440 --> 0:19:56.639 This was the first time that the word fiduciary was 0:19:56.720 --> 0:20:00.440 ever in a in an interview for a superintendent job ever. 0:20:02.400 --> 0:20:08.440 But no, it was great, you know, and like I thought, 0:20:08.560 --> 0:20:10.920 I thought it went I thought it went good. I 0:20:10.960 --> 0:20:12.720 thought it went you know, like I didn't think that 0:20:12.760 --> 0:20:14.439 it was like a home run. I laid all the 0:20:14.440 --> 0:20:18.520 cards on the table. And I come from a really 0:20:18.560 --> 0:20:23.240 really tight knit family, and you know, my parents lived 0:20:24.200 --> 0:20:28.800 maybe two blocks away from me back in Cleveland. And 0:20:28.920 --> 0:20:33.040 so Peter called me on a Friday, and I was 0:20:33.040 --> 0:20:35.280 waiting for his call on Monday, and he called me 0:20:35.320 --> 0:20:37.040 and he was like, yeah, I figured you might want 0:20:37.040 --> 0:20:40.280 a weekend to sort of to celebrate, but yeah, we're 0:20:40.320 --> 0:20:42.359 going to offer you the job. And I was like, 0:20:42.400 --> 0:20:45.280 all right. So I celebrated with my brother and my 0:20:45.359 --> 0:20:48.200 sister in law for a night and they came into town. 0:20:48.320 --> 0:20:49.800 And then I had to tell my parents that I 0:20:49.880 --> 0:20:53.280 was moving to Connecticut. And I'm a forty three year 0:20:53.320 --> 0:20:57.560 old man, and I still am scared crapless of my parents. 0:20:57.880 --> 0:21:00.480 So I told them and they were like, Okay, I 0:21:00.520 --> 0:21:03.879 guess we can deal with it. But so they've been 0:21:03.920 --> 0:21:07.560 traveling out here and it's it's it's been absolutely awesome. 0:21:07.680 --> 0:21:12.399 It's been absolutely awesome. It's a it's you know, it 0:21:12.440 --> 0:21:17.879 has its challenges, but it's it's it's probably the you know, 0:21:18.040 --> 0:21:21.359 it's it's probably the best decision I've made in my career. 0:21:22.080 --> 0:21:25.399 Yeah, you know, and I think that there's probably a 0:21:25.400 --> 0:21:29.440 lot of interest in those challenges as as you alluded to. 0:21:30.920 --> 0:21:33.880 You know, COVID wasn't the best time for Yale. And 0:21:34.160 --> 0:21:35.520 I think, you know, a lot of. 0:21:35.600 --> 0:21:40.560 Universities struggled during COVID because there are a there's a 0:21:40.640 --> 0:21:43.480 laundry list of things that they had to deal with 0:21:43.480 --> 0:21:48.479 with students, classes, what they were doing there. And in 0:21:48.520 --> 0:21:50.960 the case of Yale, I think there was some some 0:21:51.040 --> 0:21:56.480 turnover from the employee side at the golf course, combined 0:21:56.480 --> 0:22:00.240 with you know, maybe a little bit of you know, 0:22:01.040 --> 0:22:04.040 you know, a fair amount of you know, just oversight 0:22:04.320 --> 0:22:07.119 lack of oversight into the golf course and the operations 0:22:07.119 --> 0:22:11.320 that were going. Can you describe to us what type 0:22:11.320 --> 0:22:14.560 of shape Yale was in when you were hired. 0:22:15.359 --> 0:22:20.679 So, you know, I first it's worth noting that, you know, 0:22:21.119 --> 0:22:24.520 like you said, there the university had had a bunch 0:22:24.600 --> 0:22:28.200 of hoops to jump through, just because when's the last 0:22:28.200 --> 0:22:31.320 time that that there was a playbook for a pandemic. 0:22:32.359 --> 0:22:35.960 So I don't know that, you know, it is just 0:22:36.400 --> 0:22:38.479 kind of is what it is, or was what it was. 0:22:38.560 --> 0:22:43.600 But the course was, it's it was on the road 0:22:43.680 --> 0:22:48.359 to healing. You know, the people who listen to your 0:22:48.359 --> 0:22:55.080 podcasts are pretty well versed in in the comings and 0:22:55.119 --> 0:22:58.959 goings of golf and golf courses. So it was it 0:22:59.000 --> 0:23:01.920 was in rough shape before I got here. The fall 0:23:02.359 --> 0:23:05.919 I got I I my first day was May tenth 0:23:06.119 --> 0:23:11.560 of last year, so the previous fall, so that's twenty twenty. 0:23:12.320 --> 0:23:15.800 The fall of twenty twenty, they had verified all shore 0:23:15.840 --> 0:23:22.720 grass surfaces and seeded, so the bare areas in play 0:23:22.800 --> 0:23:27.840 areas we were starting to recover. So last year we 0:23:27.920 --> 0:23:31.400 spent a good deal of time of continuing to recede 0:23:31.440 --> 0:23:36.040 those areas. And last year from a weather standpoint, it 0:23:36.080 --> 0:23:38.119 was it was awesome. We got rain every time we 0:23:38.200 --> 0:23:40.440 needed it. It was it was the exact opposite of 0:23:40.480 --> 0:23:44.520 this year. But it was still it was still rough. 0:23:44.600 --> 0:23:48.399 You know, the greens. There were areas that that the 0:23:48.440 --> 0:23:52.680 POA we don't have that that good old Oakmont poa 0:23:53.080 --> 0:23:57.200 that's that that just loves to stand up to any challenge. 0:23:57.280 --> 0:24:01.840 We we lost all of our anial poa, so the 0:24:01.840 --> 0:24:04.359 poe that we did have was was really weak. And 0:24:04.400 --> 0:24:07.960 any time there was something a day that got ninety, 0:24:08.119 --> 0:24:11.160 it would just want to check out. So we still 0:24:11.160 --> 0:24:16.719 fight with that. Now we're we're still throwing seed on greens. 0:24:16.760 --> 0:24:19.320 Even though you know, we've got a we've got a 0:24:19.359 --> 0:24:22.960 restoration project in the hopper. We're still trying to improve 0:24:23.560 --> 0:24:26.760 on a day to day basis, especially for our men 0:24:26.800 --> 0:24:30.480 and women's teams. But it was it was pretty rough 0:24:30.560 --> 0:24:31.880 when I when I got here. 0:24:32.600 --> 0:24:36.560 What were what what were the biggest challenges outside of 0:24:36.600 --> 0:24:40.359 the greens and that, what what were the biggest challenges 0:24:40.400 --> 0:24:43.320 to having a course that had been you know, a 0:24:43.359 --> 0:24:46.280 little bit neglected for for a while, Like what were 0:24:46.320 --> 0:24:48.600 what were things that maybe you overlooked? 0:24:49.400 --> 0:24:52.840 So I one thing and it has very little to 0:24:52.880 --> 0:24:56.320 do with the agronomy side of things. It's more of 0:24:56.359 --> 0:24:59.439