Description:
Welcome to the Reel Turf Techs Podcast, Episode 174.
Today we’re talking with Bryan Epland, CTEM, Equipment Manager at Luling Sport in Luling, Texas. Bryan originally joined us back while he was at Arbor Links in Nebraska. Now he’s taken on a much bigger operation at Luling Sport, a new private 36-hole club set on an 1,100-acre ranch. Bryan leads a shop team of three assistants and a fleet manager while keeping a large and growing fleet moving.
Bryan shares his path from the Army and automotive work into the turf industry after an unexpected conversation at a local barbecue restaurant. He also talks about making the decision to leave Arbor Links after nearly 10 years and take on the challenge of helping build something new from the ground up.
They catch up on what it’s like working in a fast-moving new-build environment, managing a larger team with different personalities, and finding technicians in a small oilfield town. Bryan talks about the long mowing routes and travel demands that come with an 1,100-acre property, the challenges of different soil types, and the differences he’s found between equipment brands.
The conversation also gets into Luling Sport’s plans for a new climate-controlled maintenance facility, along with reel and bedknife setup, maintaining consistent cut quality, and working with Zoysia greens in a year-round growing environment.
And because this is a catch-up with a returning guest, Bryan reflects on what’s changed since in the past four years, what he’s learned along the way, and the importance of communicating with your team, especially when the day isn’t going according to plan.
It’s a great look at what happens when an equipment manager leaves an established operation and takes on the challenge of building something from the ground up.
Transcript:
Trent Manning 0:56
Welcome to the reel turf techs podcast for the technician that wants to get reel follow along. As we talk to industry professionals and address hot topics that we all face along the way we’ll learn tips and tricks. I’m your host, Trent. Manning let’s have some
1:16
Welcome to The Real Turf Techs podcast, episode 174. Today we’re talking to Brian Eppler, C-10, equipment manager at Luling Sport. Brian originally appeared on the pod on episode 58 when he was at Arbor Links in Nebraska Now he’s at Luling Sport, which is a new private 36-hole club in Luling, Texas, that sits on 1,100 acre ranch Brian has three assistants and a fleet manager in the shop. Let’s catch up with Brian
Trent Manning 1:46
this episode are real turf techs on golf course industries Superintendent radio network is presented by Foley county a strong supporter of equipment technicians and golf course maintenance departments everywhere Foley county offers a proven solution for above and below the turf for turf professionals To learn more about Foley company’s line of real grinders bed knife grinders and the air to G2 family of products or to find a distributor visit www dot Foley C o.com Foley Ready for play
Trent Manning, CTEM 2:28
Welcome, Brian, to the Reel Turf Techs podcast. Thanks for being a guest again. So
Bryan Epland, CTEM 2:35
Jim
Trent Manning, CTEM 2:36
we had you on several years ago. Let’s let’s look back in the notes. It was April 27th of ’22. S-
Bryan Epland, CTEM 2:47
That sounds right
Trent Manning, CTEM 2:48
yeah. Well, that’s what I got in my notes, and they could be not right. So if anyone that’s listening wants to hear the first episode, it’s actually episode 59, but it was before I started numbering the episodes. And I’ve been trying to go back and update with episode numbers, but just not enough time in the day to get everything done. You know how that is. But thank you so much for being on again, and I look forward to hearing more about what’s happened in the last four years.
Bryan Epland, CTEM 3:26
Yeah, absolutely. I’m excited to become that one
Trent Manning, CTEM 3:29
yeah, so wherever you wanna start, I guess give us a brief history of kinda how you got into the turf industry, and then,
Bryan Epland, CTEM 3:37
So I mean, the
Trent Manning, CTEM 3:38
roll into what you’ve been doing
Bryan Epland, CTEM 3:40
What? Oh, sorry
Trent Manning, CTEM 3:43
Br- that’s all good. Give a brief history, and then we’ll roll into what you’re doing now
Bryan Epland, CTEM 3:48
Got it. Quick synopsis. I was auto– I was in the Army for eight years, then I transitioned to automotive field, and then e– I was eating barbecue one day, and the guy told me about a job, and I took it and here we are, oh, 10 years later now
Trent Manning, CTEM 4:02
Wow. All, all over eating barbecue. Yeah, tell– Well, yeah, I’ve, I remember the story a little bit, but yeah, let’s share with the listeners the whole story of eating barbecue
Bryan Epland, CTEM 4:14
Yeah, I mean, I
Trent Manning, CTEM 4:15
a job
Bryan Epland, CTEM 4:16
Yeah, I saw– I used to go to this local barbecue place called Ladybug Barbecue, and the guy, the owner, Tom Ross, great guy, had amazing food. And just sitting there one day and he said, “Hey, why don’t you go check this job out at the golf course?” And I, other than hitting the white ball and saying the F word, Trent, I didn’t know anything about golf, didn’t know that the maintenance side of things was as extensive as it is especially at the higher level, right? So I went and checked it out and thought about it for a couple weeks and transitioned and, I think the first time I was on, I kinda explained how I really struggled with the reels and bed knives. Obviously, I’d never seen them and, everything else was pretty easy. It was nuts, bolts, and engines, right? So
Trent Manning, CTEM 4:55
Gotcha. What, And that was at Arbor Links?
Bryan Epland, CTEM 4:58
Yes, sir
Trent Manning, CTEM 4:59
Yep. So you worked there for how long?
Bryan Epland, CTEM 5:03
I started let’s see, July of 2016, and then I left about a year ago, so just shy of 10 years
Trent Manning, CTEM 5:12
Okay. That’s awesome. And
Bryan Epland, CTEM 5:14
and only golf course job and stayed there for 10 years ’cause I loved the industry and,
Trent Manning, CTEM 5:19
That’s a long
Bryan Epland, CTEM 5:20
unfortunately and fortunately for my career, but kinda outgrew the operation and started getting bored and needed to move up and move on
Trent Manning, CTEM 5:27
Mm-hmm. So where are you at now?
Bryan Epland, CTEM 5:30
Currently Luling Sport. Luling, Texas. It’s a 36-hole facility. Just to give you a quick synopsis on the property, it’s we have about seven and a half acres of greens per per course. I think course two has something like 120 acres of fairways, and it’s kinda link style. It’s wild. It’s wide open. Amazing property, it’s a great opportunity. I’ve got got a lot of really good guys in the shop that have my back and make it a lot easier for me to do my job. But yeah it’s great
Trent Manning, CTEM 5:58
How big of a total property are we talking?
Bryan Epland, CTEM 6:01
I think it’s 1,400 acres,
Trent Manning, CTEM 6:02
Okay. Yeah,
Bryan Epland, CTEM 6:03
so not crazy big. It’s, but
Trent Manning, CTEM 6:06
The– yeah, it’s no Desert Mountain that’s like 6,000 or
Bryan Epland, CTEM 6:09
No, that’s crazy.
Trent Manning, CTEM 6:11
yeah. Yeah. I don’t remember if that’s what it is or not. It might not be that big, but it’s a pretty big property,
Bryan Epland, CTEM 6:17
I do know it’s, ’cause for the longest time up until about two months ago, we weren’t allowed to drive on the turf at all, unless you were, mowing or blowing or, doing something to the turf. So, when that happened or when they started letting us drive on the turf, it made it easier. But before that, it would take me about 15 minutes to get to the furthest away green on course two. And that’s at 25 miles an hour, if that kind of puts a frame of reference to it. But it, But that, first year here I’m counting this as the second year now, but we course two was still in development. Three fairways were sodded and three– none of the greens were sprayed yet. So, so it was all dirt when I got here, and it rained a lot. They say it doesn’t rain in South Texas, but the first month I was here, we got like 10 inches or something. So yeah. So, so it used to be really easy to get everywhere, and then they grassed everything and had to start finding really unique ways to get around the, the property
Trent Manning, CTEM 7:11
That’s crazy. So what’s the soil like? Is it pretty sandy?
Bryan Epland, CTEM 7:16
Oddly enough, we’ve got like eight different soil types on property. Sandy, rocky, like silty loam, real fine silty stuff and hard packs. We got like kind of, we call it Georgia clay, but it’s like a red color, and it just, it ranges, it’s like veins.
Trent Manning, CTEM 7:32
Huh.
Bryan Epland, CTEM 7:33
It’s, it’s all over the place
Trent Manning, CTEM 7:34
have all that in, yeah, one, one property
Bryan Epland, CTEM 7:37
That’s very weird.
Trent Manning, CTEM 7:38
like that. So yeah, what’s been one of the biggest challenges for going from– ’cause you were at an 18-hole facility, Right And going to something this big
Bryan Epland, CTEM 7:50
Well, I will say it yeah, right. Never done a ground– I mean, we’ve done some renovations at Arbor Links, but I hit the ground sprinting and couldn’t keep up, my first week– my first day there, I remember Cole Delman he’s no longer with the company, but he took me out to green number three, and I looked at it and I said: What is this? Take me back to the shop. It– the greens, the cut was just off. The– I found like 30,000 scones and reels and just all over the place. And I said: I don’t even wanna see any golf course right now. Take me back to the shop. And so we got all that squared away. But I’d say the biggest challenge though, outside of, taking on an operation I wasn’t really ready for that I thought it was, would be trying to manage my guys as individuals. They all have such unique personality types and how I have to talk to them. I had to really work on that ’cause I can’t talk to Jake how I talk to Morgan. It’s, they’re both super different personalities, super hard workers. But that was ch- very challenging. It took me a long time to figure it out
Trent Manning, CTEM 8:48
Yeah, I mean, that’s a, I think a challenge that a lot of us face if we progress in the industry because it’s, if you’re a pretty good mechanic technician, you keep working your way up, working your way up, and then the next thing you’re managing somebody and you have no experience managing anyone. I mean, for a lot of us, it’s hard enough to manage ourselves. So, and then like you’re talking about managing multiple people with different personalities yeah, that’s definitely a real challenge.
Bryan Epland, CTEM 9:27
It was very easy now, now that I’ve done it. And, I would say it probably made my my presence for them a lot better too. Knowing how to read them if they’re in a bad mood, not in a bad mood makes it a lot easier to approach them, instead of just walking up to somebody that’s in a bad mood and thinking they’re in a good mood, it’s kind of tiptoe around them a little bit. But no it’s… I think it’s made me a little more outgoing too, which is positive.
Trent Manning, CTEM 9:51
Oh yeah, for sure. That’s a good thing. How hard has it been to find people to work in the shop?
Bryan Epland, CTEM 9:59
We were lucky. I mean, my– I’ve got a guy, his name’s Fred, he’s a fleet manager. He just manages the Gators, Pro Gators Can-Ams, all the, all the, the moving vehicles. And to put that in re- frame of reference for you, there– we’ve got I think sixty TX Gators, like ten Pro Gators, eight GPS sprayers, and probably thirty other vehicles. So he’s busy all the time, right? But he does such a good job. We were lucky to find him. He’s a local guy. Actually, all four of my guys are local which I think it’s pretty rare to find four talented guys in a small town like Lilling.
Trent Manning, CTEM 10:31
Oh, yeah, I’m sure.
Bryan Epland, CTEM 10:33
I mean, there was… I had to teach… when I got here, Jake, he had been here about five, six months, and he didn’t even know how to grind or do anything, and now I can just, let him go do his thing. Morgan, he he came into the shop off a crew one of the best fabricators I’ve ever met, and I went to school for that trade, so
Trent Manning, CTEM 10:50
That’s saying a, lot
Bryan Epland, CTEM 10:51
at it. So, I’ve never seen– I’ve taught a lot of people how to grind, and I’m sure you have too, but I’ve never seen somebody pick up grinding like he did. I showed him one time, and he just got it.
Trent Manning, CTEM 11:01
That’s awesome. Yeah, that’s something, yeah, it usually takes several times of doing trial and error and before you figure it out
Bryan Epland, CTEM 11:11
Yeah. His his dad’s a, was a machinist for like 30 years or something. He just I think some of that stuck with him maybe,
Trent Manning, CTEM 11:16
Mm-hmm
Bryan Epland, CTEM 11:17
I don’t know how else… He just got a mind for it, I guess maybe, but
Trent Manning, CTEM 11:21
Yeah. No, that’s awesome. Yeah,
Bryan Epland, CTEM 11:22
Yeah. So even though it’s a small town, I think the talent pool is pretty, pretty in-depth. It’s a– And it’s an oil field area too, so I think that probably helps
Trent Manning, CTEM 11:32
Yeah, that makes sense too. Yeah. Having some trade type people in the area with oil fields and all that kind of stuff. Yeah. Wa-walk us through kinda… So it’s obviously a really big facility and a ton of equipment, and you have six guys in the shop?
Bryan Epland, CTEM 11:53
Four, not counting myself right now. I’m looking at it again more.
Trent Manning, CTEM 11:56
So how do you have that set up? You talked about your fleet manager and he manages all the carts. Kinda how does the other system work?
Bryan Epland, CTEM 12:08
So yeah, I’ve got another guy, Julio he generally just does tires and just keeps the shop clean cleans the SD, runs out on the course, dead battery on a gator, that never happens, right? And it happens for us all the time. They leave the lights on. But he’s just kind of a, a in between all my other guys. Then Morgan and Jake they’re both kinda at the same level. They both are very proficient in grinding, changing oil, doing all those things. Any kind of repair Walk-Mor needs they’re very well suited for that kind of stuff. Anything a little more major, they’ll call me myself or Fred or somebody that’s been around a little longer. But and then yeah, they’re all pretty, pretty good at self-managing. They know what needs to be done and what the expectation is. So I don’t really have to worry about them too much. But, when the cat’s away, the mice play, so once in a while you catch them slacking off a little, but that’s okay.
Trent Manning, CTEM 12:56
Well, yeah, that’s kinda part of it, right?
Bryan Epland, CTEM 12:58
It’s– Well, it’s also, it gets pretty hot in the shop. I think this year the highest temperature we saw was like 110 in the shop with the fans blowing on you. So
Trent Manning, CTEM 13:09
crazy
Bryan Epland, CTEM 13:09
try not to get on them about, taking a break ’cause it’s too hot to just work work, so
Trent Manning, CTEM 13:14
Yeah. Yeah. What kind of shifts do y’all work?
Bryan Epland, CTEM 13:18
We’re all on the same shift. I get there, No.
Trent Manning, CTEM 13:21
No
Bryan Epland, CTEM 13:22
We work it’s for the crew, it’s 6:00 AM, and then we– I try to get them out of there by 4:00 PM because it’s such a big property. If we go out and mow fairways on course two, for example, it takes a day and a half with six mowers.
Trent Manning, CTEM 13:34
That’s
Bryan Epland, CTEM 13:34
So they mow a lot longer in the day, and there’s not much they can do about that. The grass has gotta get mowed, so,
Trent Manning, CTEM 13:41
Acres of fairway, that is,
Bryan Epland, CTEM 13:43
Yeah, and it’s not supposed to be that much. There’s supposed to be some rough lines and stuff that we’re working on and reducing that number ’cause, I mean, imagine spraying that too.
Trent Manning, CTEM 13:52
Yeah. Yeah. crazy. even
Bryan Epland, CTEM 13:55
wide open
Trent Manning, CTEM 13:56
I talked to Will at Ocean, and I think they have 30 acres of fairways, or I mean 60, which “Wow, that’s a lot of fairways,” because the course I was at, we had 25,
Bryan Epland, CTEM 14:06
Yeah. I miss it now ’cause, now you’re sending six mowers out on that much turf and maybe that’s part of the reason why they don’t hold their cut ’cause in the grand scheme of things, they’re mowing a lot more grass
Trent Manning, CTEM 14:18
Yeah, I mean, that would be interesting to, yeah, do the– crunch the numbers on that and see, yeah,
Bryan Epland, CTEM 14:26
yeah, we run Toros on we run Toro on course one and they hold their cut amazing. And we used to run the Baroness on course one toward they, and they didn’t hold their cut. So, I don’t know. Figured it out yet. We’ve we’ve messed with them a lot to try and manipulate angles and everything else and just haven’t come up with a solution. But that’s all right.
Trent Manning, CTEM 14:44
Yeah, and that’s, May- hopefully you find a solution for that, and there’s a solution to be had
Bryan Epland, CTEM 14:51
Yeah. And I’m– I’ve looked into some aftermarket stuff for bed nights for the Bearness and haven’t had a lot of luck. If anybody knows of anything I know– I don’t think JR makes a whole lot if they make anything. And then RNR might, I haven’t dug too deep into them yet, but
Trent Manning, CTEM 15:07
Yeah, I don’t– I have no experience with Baroness. I worked on a
Bryan Epland, CTEM 15:12
email me or call me, let me know. That’d be
Trent Manning, CTEM 15:14
yeah. Yep.
Bryan Epland, CTEM 15:16
I would love it
Trent Manning, CTEM 15:17
I worked on one homeowner’s he was a member at the club. He had a Baroness that he mowed his front yard with that I ground and ground the bed knife and put it on, and that’s my extent of experience with Baroness. But I’ve, like you, we were talking earlier, I’ve heard good things about them, and I definitely think the industry needs another more competition ’cause right now it’s pretty much Deere or Toro, and there’s not really a third company since Jake kinda fell off. So it would be nice to get another company in.
Bryan Epland, CTEM 15:57
No, competitive pricing would be nice. I mean, I’m not gonna throw numbers out, but we priced out a complete package of John Deere and with Toro, and I mean, John Deere was several million cheaper
Trent Manning, CTEM 16:07
Wow. Yeah
Bryan Epland, CTEM 16:08
If we bought everything, carts, mowers, everything through John Deere and Toro, it was quite a big difference and I was– There was some sticker shock there for sure.
Trent Manning, CTEM 16:17
Yeah it’s crazy what turf equipment is and, the prices that we’re paying now. And I don’t know how it’s sustainable, especially for, mom-and-pop courses and some of these C and D level clubs. I don’t know how you’ll ever buy a new piece
Bryan Epland, CTEM 16:35
you either keep what you have nice and, throw an engine in if it needs one or you buy used equipment, I guess, because that’s, that stuff
Trent Manning, CTEM 16:44
So, but you know, that drives everything else up too. So the used equipment market, is gonna have more value which is good for the, the people doing that
Bryan Epland, CTEM 16:54
Yeah. Yeah, so we’re we’re going to be building a new maintenance facility. Right now we’re just walking– we’re working out of what we call the red barn. It it’s not great. It suits us. It’s pretty bare bones. We’ve got two sets of grinders, two lifts, and, three toolboxes in there. It’s pretty bleak. But I think it sounds like we’re building a pretty large maintenance facility, something like 20,000 square feet and 10,000 would be for the mechanics, and then the other half is for offices, break rooms, all that other stuff. And, climate controlled, all the bells and whistles. So we’re working on that right now, and crossing my fingers ’cause that would be amazing
Trent Manning, CTEM 17:29
Yeah, it can’t get here soon enough, I’m sure. Yeah. So yeah, first, how’s the big red barn? Is it just a wood frame structure and concrete floor or
Bryan Epland, CTEM 17:41
it’s concrete floor, metal frame. So the, the property was originally a ranch, and they worked out of that hay barn, whatever they used it for. And then I wasn’t here when we took it over, but since I’ve been here, we added on another, think 60 feet to the back of the building and I think 20 feet to one of the sides. not enough, but, we make it work. And when they did the grading for the road out front of it, they graded everything toward the building, so when we do get rain it’s it’s a river all the way through the shop.
Trent Manning, CTEM 18:12
Yeah, nice
Bryan Epland, CTEM 18:13
it’s not ideal, but the great thing is in South Texas, we don’t get a lot of rain, so
Trent Manning, CTEM 18:19
Yeah. Ex-except when you first move there and you’re doing construction, then you get a lot of rain.
Bryan Epland, CTEM 18:25
Yeah. Yeah, I don’t think it’s rained for like two months here
Trent Manning, CTEM 18:28
that’s crazy how that works. Have you been able to be pretty involved in the new maintenance facility that’s being built?
Bryan Epland, CTEM 18:35
Yeah 100%. We had a new general manager/COO take over, and he is to, to– ’cause I can’t think of a better word to to use for him right now. But he’s really on board with everything we have to say and planning everything out ri- out the right way. And we’ve planned some visits to some facilities around the country to kinda really narrow down what we want and what we don’t want. ‘Cause I think it’s challenging when you’re doing a new facility to have the foresight to plan for everything, plan for growth anything you can think of, and then you’re gonna forget things. So, yeah it’s been a process. We’ve been meeting every, pretty much every Thursday for the last couple months trying to narrow everything down and figure out a site. And they don’t want it to be seen from the golf course, so we gotta find out where, it would need to be close to the golf course. ‘Cause right now, to get to like one tee on course one it’s probably a mile drive. And you think wear and tear and hours and fuel costs, that adds up pretty quick, so.
Trent Manning, CTEM 19:34
Oh yeah, for sure
Bryan Epland, CTEM 19:35
we’re trying to move it right between course one and two and get it really close. That way we don’t have to travel as far
Trent Manning, CTEM 19:42
What are some of the maintenance facilities you plan on looking at their shops?
Bryan Epland, CTEM 19:46
I think Oakland Hills. And then there was one in Florida, I can’t remember the name of it off the top of my head. And then potentially Oak Hill. I don’t know if that’s on the docket or not.
Trent Manning, CTEM 19:56
Okay
Bryan Epland, CTEM 19:56
But we’ll see. That’s probably… It’ll probably be, months down the road when we’re not as busy, but
Trent Manning, CTEM 20:03
was just, yeah, curious ’cause in my travels, I’ll make sure I try to get by those places just, yeah. for
Bryan Epland, CTEM 20:10
you’ve probably been to a couple of them, but
Trent Manning, CTEM 20:12
Well, I’ve been to Oakland Hills, but I– they were still in the old shop. I hadn’t seen the new shop
Bryan Epland, CTEM 20:20
Seth sent me a video. I think he had just stopped by one day or something and pretty, pretty cool operation.
Trent Manning, CTEM 20:27
Yeah, he was, I think, pretty involved in a lot of the design and all that stuff of that place, so I’m excited to check it out
Bryan Epland, CTEM 20:36
You gonna head up there soon?
Trent Manning, CTEM 20:38
Yeah. So I got a trip planned to, it’s another course in Michigan 1st of September. So I’ll probably try to get by Oakland Hills. And I just had Jeff on the podcast, the guy that replaced
Bryan Epland, CTEM 20:57
Yeah. Yep. I think I’m pretty sure I did a C chem testing
Trent Manning, CTEM 21:01
Oh yeah. Yep, he is
Bryan Epland, CTEM 21:02
he was still in Colorado, yeah
Trent Manning, CTEM 21:04
Yep. I interviewed him last Satur… Yeah, last Saturday. So that episode will be coming out soon
Bryan Epland, CTEM 21:13
That’s great. I think I’m a couple behind right now,
Trent Manning, CTEM 21:15
Oh it’s all good. It against you
Bryan Epland, CTEM 21:17
I listen to them when I have time and, Well, since I’ve been down here, I’ve been pretty, pretty tied up and busy, so. But it’s a good thing, so
Trent Manning, CTEM 21:24
Yeah, it’s– and it’s hard to keep up with it. And I was talking to somebody the other day, they’re like, “Yeah, I just got, in a different rhythm,” and hadn’t been listening. I get it. It’s, no worries. And then, I mean, I do the same thing. I listen to this for a while, and I’ll listen to that for a while, and whatever it is whatever kind of mood you’re in
Bryan Epland, CTEM 21:44
Right
Trent Manning, CTEM 21:46
So we kinda talked about, yeah, the new operation and the training some new people. So how rewarding has that been working with new people in the shop and kinda getting them up to speed and seeing them learn and grow and some of those things?
Bryan Epland, CTEM 22:04
I think the most rewarding thing that came out of it was the trust that was built. Really hammering home to those guys, reel diameter, ’cause we run two greens mowers per green. So then you talk reel diameter, it’s really important. No coning, everything’s parallel all the time. For those that don’t, run two greens mowers per green what, what happens, when your reel’s more than 25,000th off, you start seeing after cut appearance issues or differences, not issues necessarily. So that was a learning curve for those guys right away, ’cause I think I checked on them… I don’t grind with them all, all the time, but when I do I go through and I grind a reel and I’ll check like a pair, and I found one was like 30 thousandths bigger than the other and pulled them aside and used it as a teaching moment. No, there was no anger involved. No no spankings or anything like that. But… and they’re very receptive, so now I know, hey, maybe I’m doing this right. And that’s another rewarding thing. Like, if they’re receptive and they’re not thinking, “Hey, I’m in trouble all the time,” it’s kinda nice to be able to walk up and say, “Hey, this happened. This– how are we gonna correct it?” K- because I think on my first episode I said mentioned I used to be a wrench, wrench checker and a yeller, and have s- I’ve transitioned from that successfully.
Trent Manning, CTEM 23:15
there before, or maybe not all of us have been there, but some of us have been there before
Bryan Epland, CTEM 23:20
Yeah. I mean, and with, 90% of our staff is Hispanic and a language barrier, so I think that helped out with the frustrations, right away getting here, not being able to communicate effectively. So now there’s a lot of hand signals and language, I guess. But yeah, I think that’s just the most rewarding part about teaching your guys is first of all seeing them kind of bloom, I guess, into a, a pretty flower. everything you’ve taught them they’re retaining it and using it every day, and it’s just nice. ‘Cause I told these guys, “This is a career. It’s not a job for you. I don’t want you guys to… i’m gonna kick you out the door in five years,” which obviously I won’t if they don’t wanna leave
Trent Manning, CTEM 23:57
All right. Yeah.
Bryan Epland, CTEM 23:58
but that’s the goal though, so
Trent Manning, CTEM 23:59
Mm-hmm. Yeah, and I mean, it’s not… I don’t know what the words I wa- I wanna use here, but, it’s not too hard if you put your head down and are willing to learn. In three years’ time, you can be an equipment manager at your own place making a pretty decent living. And in 10 years’ time, you can be at a top-level club
Bryan Epland, CTEM 24:31
That is what it takes though is the hard work and dedication. And
Trent Manning, CTEM 24:35
Mm-hmm.
Bryan Epland, CTEM 24:36
I guess I’m sure there’s some people that maybe their dad was an EM and they– it just was easy for them. And other people were maybe at these areas where you’re close to high-end clubs, so your name is known. But I think the dedication and hard work is the most important thing
Trent Manning, CTEM 24:50
Oh yeah. Yeah, hands down. That’s in this industry anyway, that’s what gets you places. And you look at, like, any of the top name superintendents, they didn’t make a name for theirself by, working Monday through Friday, 9:00 to 5:00. Those guys were, and still are, they’re just animals that, won’t stop. Always wanting to improve and make the course better and themselves better
Bryan Epland, CTEM 25:17
I was I was talking to someone the other day, I think it was my old director of agronomy my first director of agronomy, Michael Sheeley, and we were texting and I said “I don’t think I could go back to just a normal 18-hole facility. I think I would get way too bored way too fast. There’s not enough going on. I’m so used to just moving all day long at this point that I don’t know if I could calm down at this point. Maybe 10 years or my body’s telling me to slow down a little bit, but
Trent Manning, CTEM 25:41
Yeah. I talked to Brad Bailey the other day. He’s working at TPC Sawgrass for Steven Tucker, which they worked together at Four Seasons, and Steven talked him into coming up there. But he said he volunteered for the tournament this past year, and after that, he’s like, “I’m hooked. Tur- tournament golf is what I wanna, I wanna be in tournament golf.” And I mean, that’s awesome for him.
Bryan Epland, CTEM 26:07
Not too far of a move for him either, so
Trent Manning, CTEM 26:09
Yeah, not too far, and I think he was from the east coast of Florida, so he said he was kinda looking forward to getting back to the east coast and out of Orlando. A little more air movement there. Not that it’s necessarily cooler there, but maybe you catch a breeze every once in a while where that
Bryan Epland, CTEM 26:26
further north, so maybe
Trent Manning, CTEM 26:27
Yeah, maybe. But again, back to working at a golf course, you can end up anywhere you wanna end up, If you’re willing to put the work in get it done. It’s awesome. I thought of another question. On your walking greens mowers, are they fixed head?
Bryan Epland, CTEM 26:45
No. Right now we’re rocking 180 Es ’cause the greens that we have, especially on course one, they have so much undulation. We started, We’ll get into that, what I just thought of in a second, but we have a lot of undulation and the grass we have, it requires some low heights to achieve speeds and playability. So we started running into scalping issues with 22-inch cutting units on some of your- the peaks and some of the dips.
Trent Manning, CTEM 27:09
Okay
Bryan Epland, CTEM 27:09
To, Yeah, I guess I can talk about the grass a little bit at,
Trent Manning, CTEM 27:12
Let me finish that thought. and yeah, I’m happy to hear about the grass. I was going with that is I was curious if it was a fixed head mower, and you were talking about the reel diameter being off by 30 thousandths, and you being able to see a visible difference between mowers mowing the same green. And with the fixed head, they get more aggressive as the reel wears. So I was wondering, is that why you’re seeing it? But if it’s on a floating head, yeah I don’t know what the difference is. Cause
Bryan Epland, CTEM 27:43
You,
Trent Manning, CTEM 27:43
on John Deere, they get a little less aggressive as the reel wears
Bryan Epland, CTEM 27:48
Yep. We ran into it the first time I saw it out here. It was course two probably about this time last year, so all the greens were pretty much sprigged and we were, mowing at eight different heights every day. But I was at like, I don’t know, 200. It’s a little bit higher height trying to work them down. Half the green was a little darker and half the green was a little lighter. Cut quality was still great. But it showed up and I don’t know if it’s ’cause it was a softer turf, hadn’t been top dressed, that kinda stuff yet. But it– and then I don’t see it… Well, we’ve picked up on it to where we don’t let it leave mowers out the door. We’re not paired up anymore, but so I haven’t really s- noticed it on course one at all Well, we do use fixed heads. We walk mow tees approaches as well, so.
Trent Manning, CTEM 28:30
Okay
Bryan Epland, CTEM 28:30
Our walk mowers on coarse water are not fixed head because of the undulation again. And then tees fixed head, they’re fine there
Trent Manning, CTEM 28:39
Yeah, I was just curious ’cause I’ve, heard other people throw numbers out like that, like the 30,000s and seeing a visible difference, and I just hadn’t experienced that yet. So just kinda curious, yeah, on what you do see.
Bryan Epland, CTEM 28:54
No, it’s man, if I find a picture, I’ll text you after this. But you’ll– it’s night and day. You can see a difference. I mean, your dark and light stripes still look great, but one half of the green’s gonna be a little more vibrant green and one’s gonna be a little more dull green.
Trent Manning, CTEM 29:06
Yeah, that’s– Yeah, that is weird. Yeah, that’s crazy. But you found if you keep it within 30 thousandths, then it’s okay
Bryan Epland, CTEM 29:15
I I tell my guys, 10 is what we strive for just to be, I don’t believe in perfection ’cause there’s always room for improvement. But within 10 then I keep the, I try to get them to keep the, the cones down to five, and it’s been working. It’s been working great
Trent Manning, CTEM 29:30
Right. Do you track front face thickness or any of that stuff?
Bryan Epland, CTEM 29:35
Well, not right now. So we’ve looked into it a little bit. We with all the everything that we have going on, we can get into that a little bit later. Of course, two greens mowers since April have come back cutting twice.
Trent Manning, CTEM 29:48
Oh, wow. Okay
Bryan Epland, CTEM 29:49
It’s not something that’s on our mind right now. We’re just trying to cut grass and… But yes, I think in the, I think in the future we will be paying attention to that at the low heights that we do have to get down to. It’s pretty… I think it’s required with the
Trent Manning, CTEM 30:03
Yeah, I was just, yeah, curious if if that can play a part into visible difference between one mower and another
Bryan Epland, CTEM 30:11
I think so, ’cause I also saw a, a, a time when it was bed knife thickness and reel diameter related. They grabbed like we’d label them A, B, and C, the six mowers. And there was like an A and a C together, so those are the furthest apart in reel diameter. But one also had a thicker bed knife, so it, it showed up a little more pronounced, I guess you’d say
Trent Manning, CTEM 30:32
that kind of makes sense too. I do– I mean, I do think we’re gonna get to the point, I mean, at high-level golf, obviously some of the munis and stuff, they’re not gonna get in the rabbit hole like we will have to. But I do think we’ll get to a point where, yeah, we are tracking all that stuff and making decisions based on what our numbers are showing us.
Bryan Epland, CTEM 30:56
Mhm.
Trent Manning, CTEM 30:57
So, and it’s kinda strange how much it’s changed, in my history anyway, since the mid-’90s, the expectations of, not going down and I don’t see them ever going down. I mean-
Bryan Epland, CTEM 31:13
I mean, at a certain point though, there– it’s gonna be limited. I mean, they’ve made some pretty thin bed knives. We’ve used, The GRM has the, what they call the Pebble Beach, and they also have a 119, which is even thinner. I believe so anyway. I could– It could be the other way around. But anyway, those are so prone to bending, and not at the fault of GRM by any means. But
Trent Manning, CTEM 31:37
Rather just let the end
Bryan Epland, CTEM 31:38
So is your budget gonna have to go up ’cause they’re breaking bed knives every time they go out and mow or, I think there’s a lot of– There’s just gonna be a limit unless you just start putting artificial turf out there. I mean
Trent Manning, CTEM 31:50
Oh, right, right, right. Pour concrete, paint it
Bryan Epland, CTEM 31:52
Yeah. Firm.
Trent Manning, CTEM 31:53
Yeah. Firm and fast. Firm and fast, for sure. Why don’t I kinda sidetrack you a little bit? You were gonna talk about some grass and differences in grass
Bryan Epland, CTEM 32:04
Yeah. So, the type of grass we have stadium fairways, tees, whatever, pretty standard stuff there stadium zoysia. And then we have what’s called Lazer zoysia on the greens. It’s kind of an experiment out here trying to get speeds out of it, ’cause what it likes to do is grow vertical, which is great, but it continues to do that. You do get some horizontal growth, a little bit of this, but every morning when you walk on them, you feel– it feels kinda crunchy. And because of that, we’ve been struggling to get, green speeds anywhere where, ownership wants them, whether they should be rolling thirteen or not. And if you… I think if you come down in December and tour the property, you’ll kinda understand why we wouldn’t want our greens rolling that fast. But I think there’s like six, six courses across the world that have this stuff, and it’s nobody– there’s nobody to call for information like, “Hey, how do we do this? What do we do here?” So it’s been kind of a big experiment for the last year and I don’t know. It’s different stuff
Trent Manning, CTEM 33:03
Okay. Yeah. W- do you know why they chose Zoysia for
Bryan Epland, CTEM 33:07
I don’t know. I really don’t. ‘Cause at that point in time when they started this project, I don’t think there was really any courses that had it. So maybe it was just ’cause it was the newest thing. I don’t know
Trent Manning, CTEM 33:20
What does Ryan have? He’s down the road at, yeah, at
Bryan Epland, CTEM 33:26
at L-Loraloma, same stuff.
Trent Manning, CTEM 33:28
So, okay. He do– I was thinking he had the same
Bryan Epland, CTEM 33:31
So there’s… I think there’s three courses here in Texas, one in Florida, and then there’s a couple like in the Philippines or somewhere
Trent Manning, CTEM 33:36
Okay. I remember talking to him, he just kind of started out with that, but they were grinding bed knives every mow.
Bryan Epland, CTEM 33:45
Yeah
Trent Manning, CTEM 33:45
Like take the b– not necessarily grinding reels. Grinding reels like every third mow. Take the bed knife off and grind the bed knife every mow. crazy
Bryan Epland, CTEM 33:52
not throwing a lot of sand down, you can– with the correct bed knife angles, you can get, I mean, there’s been times, before we top dressed a lot it would be three weeks. And there’s other times where it’s like they didn’t need sand, but we’re not cutting, coming back for mowing 18 holes. So I think it depends on the time of year, if they’re shut down or not, what’s going on inside the plant. Think that makes a difference, but
Trent Manning, CTEM 34:17
So I guess in y’all’s climate, it’s probably growing year-round?
Bryan Epland, CTEM 34:22
Yeah, for the most part, things slow down, but I don’t think they completely shut down. We do have PAs precision airs on course one. I don’t know if there’s… how much they help or don’t help. They have to help, right? Especially when it gets cold out. But yeah, no, we-we’re, we still mow, I wanna say greens two to three times a week December, January, February.
Trent Manning, CTEM 34:43
Yeah. Okay. Yep.
Bryan Epland, CTEM 34:44
Just maintaining,
Trent Manning, CTEM 34:45
right. Yeah. That’s just crazy. I definitely don’t wish that on anybody’s or your greens and fairways And
Bryan Epland, CTEM 34:54
right
Trent Manning, CTEM 34:54
everything else.
Bryan Epland, CTEM 34:56
It’s been a learning experience, but I mean, I’d say it’s the complete opposite of what I used to have where, December through March, we worked Monday through Thursday. And, and you had a lot of time to really catch up on stuff. So there– that was very eye-opening moving down here as well. I’ve adjusted to it now, and I don’t think I can go back, like I said, so
Trent Manning, CTEM 35:16
Yeah. Do y’all buy your equipment, lease?
Bryan Epland, CTEM 35:20
Everything we have right now is purchased. There might be a couple things leased. I think we’re working on a new equipment package. Not everything new, but just kinda phasing it out to save a little money. And I think it’s probably 25% lease if I– and I– don’t quote me on that. But
Trent Manning, CTEM 35:36
Yeah.
Bryan Epland, CTEM 35:36
a lot of the things that we’re wanting to get, it just makes sense to purchase like 1298s, material haulers, things like that. Like, I think mowers is the main focus for leases and
Trent Manning, CTEM 35:45
Yeah. That definitely makes sense. I mean, and not talking bad about any clubs, but if you’re leasing a tractor, it’s like, really?
Bryan Epland, CTEM 35:57
Well, if I had if I had Josh, the course two superintendent next to me, he could explain why it makes sense to lease first buy. Now we’re gonna buy, but the– he had it all broken down to dollar amounts and how much money we would save by purchasing versus leasing, and he… That guy’s a whiz with that stuff. I don’t know how he does it, but
Trent Manning, CTEM 36:15
Well, I mean, the way– the thing we always looked at is, if you need to trade it out every four or five years, maybe you can lease it. But if it’s something like a tractor that you’re gonna keep 25 years, it really doesn’t make sense to lease it. And then the same thing with, like, the John Deere ProGators. I mean, we were keeping those for 12 to 15 years,
Bryan Epland, CTEM 36:37
Yeah, and they last,
Trent Manning, CTEM 36:38
Right.
Bryan Epland, CTEM 36:40
properties out there like the one that I’m at where things get beat up. I mean, some people that come here, it’s their first time driving, so
Trent Manning, CTEM 36:48
Oh, well, yeah. I think that happens, yeah. A lot of courses, no matter where you’re at, yeah.
Bryan Epland, CTEM 36:53
Yeah, and the,
Trent Manning, CTEM 36:53
to drive a straight shift on a Pro Gator
Bryan Epland, CTEM 36:59
It, yeah, it, it– I think that was very eye-opening as well coming down here. I didn’t think I knew everything by any means, but they find new ways to break things every day, and I’m– I just kinda laugh at this point, and it’s funny, it’s not funny, but it’s comical to me ’cause
Trent Manning, CTEM 37:14
Well, I mean, that’s, at the end of the day, that’s the only one thing you can really do is just laugh at it. It’s like, yeah.
Bryan Epland, CTEM 37:20
I started telling them thank you for letting me know, ’cause they
Trent Manning, CTEM 37:23
Oh, yeah
Bryan Epland, CTEM 37:24
“Hey, thanks for bringing that to my attention.” ‘Cause they they would just– they’d put straight gas in a weed eater and then stick it at the back of the shop, and we’d find it two days later and
Trent Manning, CTEM 37:33
Yeah, that’s…
Bryan Epland, CTEM 37:34
no idea,
Trent Manning, CTEM 37:34
right, right. Yeah, do you have anybody on your crew that’s bilingual that can help translate
Bryan Epland, CTEM 37:42
We’ve got… yeah, we’ve a couple assistants are pretty fluent in Spanish then. I mean, everybody’s got a little bit down here, but of course, two superintendent he’s from Texas, so he’s pretty fluent.
Trent Manning, CTEM 37:53
उम। Yeah
Bryan Epland, CTEM 37:55
I need a translator, if I can’t get at what they’re saying, I just call somebody
Trent Manning, CTEM 37:58
Yeah. Do y’all have H-2B help or… no Okay. I didn’t know. A lot of clubs are using that, and then some of them are having trouble getting H-2B help, so they’re going back, finding different means. Yeah, I know. I had worked with a superintendent and he took a job in South Georgia and was telling me how mu- how different it was, ’cause where I was at in North Georgia, there was it was pretty suburban area. And this place he went, and it’s in a city, but it’s in a very rural area, and he just has these farm kids stopping by like, “Are you hiring? I’m trying to get off the farm.” They’re… Yeah, they’re– Well, I know. Yeah, that’s what he said, how great it is. Because, when he worked for us in Metro Atlanta, it was like pulling teeth trying to find a decent person that wanted to work on the crew that knew, had any kind of outside experience. I mean, we would hire people that, they didn’t know how to put gas in a gas can and put, take gas from a gas can and put it in, a lawnmower.
Bryan Epland, CTEM 39:11
Yeah.
Trent Manning, CTEM 39:11
And that’s,
Bryan Epland, CTEM 39:13
there was a time I didn’t know how, right?
Trent Manning, CTEM 39:15
Well, w-
Bryan Epland, CTEM 39:16
probably a little younger, but
Trent Manning, CTEM 39:17
Right, right. Yeah, I mean, we, obviously we all had to learn sometime, but I mean, I think for me anyway, I learned that by seeing my dad fill up a lawnmower and mowing the grass, my whole life. And then when I’m seven or eight or however old I was, that it was my job to do that, you kinda learn, but, a lot of the kids these days never learn that stuff.
Bryan Epland, CTEM 39:42
I guess not, no. I never really thought of it that way, but yeah, you’re right
Trent Manning, CTEM 39:48
Yeah. Well, we had one kid, he pulls in the back of the shop with a ProGator and he parks it and he gets on a ProGator right next to it. And I’m like, “Is there something wrong with that?” He says, “It’s out of gas.” I was like, All right then.”
Bryan Epland, CTEM 40:04
Techs
Trent Manning, CTEM 40:05
“Well, yeah, when that happens, here’s the gas pump. You can fill it up.” It’s not locked. We didn’t do any of
Bryan Epland, CTEM 40:11
thought the, the fuel genies went, came and filled them up for him or what?
Trent Manning, CTEM 40:15
I guess. I don’t know. Yeah, it’s kind of scary. And these guys are our next generation that’s gonna lead the country. So we’ll see. We’ll have to see how that goes, I guess. Yeah, what else you got you wanna share with us?
Bryan Epland, CTEM 40:31
Man, I don’t know.
Trent Manning, CTEM 40:32
this has been great for sure catching up and it’s always good to see you at the show and in the Carolinas if you get to make it. Hopefully you get to make
Bryan Epland, CTEM 40:42
Yeah. No, I didn’t get to go to Carolinas or the show this year. Just didn’t work out. But I’m gonna try to make it to both this year ’cause I miss everybody. Every time I talk to Jordan, he’s like, “Man, at the show everybody’s like, ‘Where’s Brian? Where’s Brian?'” And he said he got through
Trent Manning, CTEM 40:55
Yep Yep
Bryan Epland, CTEM 40:57
We’re a package deal, so
Trent Manning, CTEM 40:58
No, that’s– I love Jordan. an awesome guy. Yeah. Yep,
Bryan Epland, CTEM 41:02
I’m so glad I found him. A
Trent Manning, CTEM 41:05
Well, I don’t… Did you find him or he find you?
Bryan Epland, CTEM 41:08
Well, a little both ’cause he worked for Jacobson and I called, or yeah, I think I called ’cause we needed some warranty stuff done or something and so I think it was– we met in the middle, let’s put it that way
Trent Manning, CTEM 41:18
Okay. Yeah, fair enough. Yeah, I was lucky enough, we went to his course a couple week- weeks ago to do a top changer demo, and bless his heart, the hose come loose from the top changer irrigation, one-inch irrigation hose. And as soon as it come loose, it hit him dead in the crotch.
Bryan Epland, CTEM 41:41
Oh my God, he
Trent Manning, CTEM 41:42
And just, yeah, it just soaked him. And
Bryan Epland, CTEM 41:46
wait to talk to him about that
Trent Manning, CTEM 41:47
I felt terrible like, man I mean, he’s such a nice guy. He didn’t do anything to deserve
Bryan Epland, CTEM 41:52
deal, just water
Trent Manning, CTEM 41:54
Well, that… I mean, he was just laughing about it. He’s like, “Eh, it’s fine. No big
Bryan Epland, CTEM 41:58
I hope it was warm out
Trent Manning, CTEM 42:00
Yeah. Yeah. No it was not cold. Yeah, a couple of weeks ago. It was, Yeah, it was actually pretty hot in Nebraska a few
Bryan Epland, CTEM 42:06
It gets that way. It gets that way
Trent Manning, CTEM 42:08
when we were up there. But yeah, no, not, of the better human beings I know Jordan is. I’ve always just yeah, really connected with him and he’s always down for a good laugh. Just good dude
Bryan Epland, CTEM 42:20
He’s one of the funniest people I ever met. I miss it up there, man. Miss being close to all those guys, my, my local guys that I built the relationship with over, what was it? 10 years or whatever. But not finding the time down here yet to, to go out. I’ve been to a couple courses and branched out, but hopefully soon, get a couple more people hired where I can, get out of there early a couple days a week or something. But
Trent Manning, CTEM 42:46
Now y’all had a really good thing and they still do in Nebraska. Yeah, a good group of technicians there that stay together and talk a lot. And I would think in Texas it’s maybe a little bit harder ’cause of distance,
Bryan Epland, CTEM 42:58
Yeah. For us especially, I mean, we’re two and a half hours from Houston, two and a half hours from San Antonio. It’s like out in the middle of…
Trent Manning, CTEM 43:06
Wow
Bryan Epland, CTEM 43:06
It’s not the middle of nowhere. It’s right off I-10, but it’s, there’s just no other major courses around unless you go to the big city, right? So, or Big Easy. That’s a couple hours east of where I work, so
Trent Manning, CTEM 43:19
Okay.
Bryan Epland, CTEM 43:19
not too far
Trent Manning, CTEM 43:21
I gotcha You learn any new tips and tricks?
Bryan Epland, CTEM 43:27
Oof. I, to be honest, I don’t know. I shoulda
Trent Manning, CTEM 43:30
some of your favorites maybe you Back up
Bryan Epland, CTEM 43:35
man, I don’t think I have any new ones
Trent Manning, CTEM 43:39
Well, and you could tell me the exact same ones you told me last time, ’cause I’m not gonna remember from, yeah, from three or whatever it was
Bryan Epland, CTEM 43:47
I don’t remember it off the top of my head.
Trent Manning, CTEM 43:49
Oh, It’s,
Bryan Epland, CTEM 43:49
It’s, that’s too many sleeps ago, Trent
Trent Manning, CTEM 43:51
Yeah. Yep, we’ve all definitely slept and probably… You don’t have any gray hair, do you? No, I don’t see any. yeah. you Getting a few?
Bryan Epland, CTEM 43:59
the lighting’s good. The lighting’s good. It’s there.
Trent Manning, CTEM 44:02
I get more and more every day, I think
Bryan Epland, CTEM 44:04
Yeah. Yeah, I told the guys for every flat tire we get, ’cause we get a lot of them, I get a new gray hair, so.
Trent Manning, CTEM 44:11
Now, that’s, It’s gonna add up quick.
Bryan Epland, CTEM 44:15
Couple a day, yeah
Trent Manning, CTEM 44:16
It’s gonna add up quick. Yeah. Do y’all have any kind of association down there that, a tries to get together?
Bryan Epland, CTEM 44:24
Yeah. Richard at Big Easy, who I know you know or have spoken with at least, he he does a really good job of getting guys together whether it’s assistants, supers or equipment managers. But outside of that, I mean, I don’t know. I’m affiliated with the South Texas chapter, but there’s one just to the west of me, covers West Texas, San Antonio, that area. So it’s, I kind of, kind of on the line. But I think they do a pretty good job and it’s growing and just like anywhere else. I think, Houston and Dallas have a pretty good following from what I understand because there’s just a lot more golf courses that make sense. But
Trent Manning, CTEM 44:58
yeah
Bryan Epland, CTEM 44:59
I think, down here where I’m at, you just have to plan on traveling if you wanna go do anything at a course, two to three hours,
Trent Manning, CTEM 45:05
Right. So
Bryan Epland, CTEM 45:06
is fine
Trent Manning, CTEM 45:07
how far are you from Big Easy?
Bryan Epland, CTEM 45:10
From the golf course I think it’s two to two and a half, right in that
Trent Manning, CTEM 45:13
Okay. All right
Bryan Epland, CTEM 45:14
Not too bad. Right down I-10
Trent Manning, CTEM 45:16
Yeah. We’ll I’ll definitely look forward to getting out there, and I’ll have to maybe get in early and come hang out with you for a couple
Bryan Epland, CTEM 45:24
Yeah, do it.
Trent Manning, CTEM 45:24
And then,
Bryan Epland, CTEM 45:25
I would love it if you came out
Trent Manning, CTEM 45:26
Yeah, and then we can go up to Big Easy. That would be be a lot
Bryan Epland, CTEM 45:31
That place is great too. Richard’s awesome, so.
Trent Manning, CTEM 45:35
That’s awesome
Bryan Epland, CTEM 45:36
just– I think they just added on to their shop. They built new not too long ago as well, so.
Trent Manning, CTEM 45:41
Oh, a fairly new shop?
Bryan Epland, CTEM 45:43
Yeah it’s nice. I like it
Trent Manning, CTEM 45:44
Yeah. Yeah. When’s your shop supposed to get finished?
Bryan Epland, CTEM 45:48
See
Trent Manning, CTEM 45:49
Or what are they… They, okay no
Bryan Epland, CTEM 45:51
still in the planning phases, and then, we’re gonna present kind of what our needs are and plan on the owner saying, “Hey, let’s reduce this a little bit,” which makes sense. It’s not a small building. And then kinda get with the architect. We have an architect on site pretty much all week long every week, and gonna kinda get everything planned out and go from there. But I would say sometime in the next year. I think they’re making a big push for it right now, more than they were six months ago. Because what I s- what I explained earlier with the traffic and the fuel consumption and all that stuff, I mean, I think we’re consuming something like thirty thousand dollars in fuel a month right now. And, there’s still… It is. There’s still a little construction going on, but so, if we could cut, chop that number, a third,
Trent Manning, CTEM 46:35
Mm-hmm.
Bryan Epland, CTEM 46:35
of money, so
Trent Manning, CTEM 46:36
Oh yeah. That adds up real quick.
Bryan Epland, CTEM 46:39
Yeah.
Trent Manning, CTEM 46:40
Yeah, that’s crazy.
Bryan Epland, CTEM 46:41
That’s nuts.
Trent Manning, CTEM 46:43
Yeah, it really is
Bryan Epland, CTEM 46:44
it’s, it’s pretty wild. We we aerified, top dressed cored both golf courses three times in the last three months and it’s…
Trent Manning, CTEM 46:54
Yeah,
Bryan Epland, CTEM 46:54
I tell you what, Trent I ne- I don’t wanna see sod ever again.
Trent Manning, CTEM 46:57
Yeah. You’re Done with Saad, huh?
Bryan Epland, CTEM 47:00
Done. I’m not doing ano- I might do another growing, you never know. But s- it’s gonna be a bent grass growing or something. I don’t know.
Trent Manning, CTEM 47:06
Well, I don’t– This last renovation that I just went through, that, yeah, kinda put the nail in my coffin. It
Bryan Epland, CTEM 47:13
You’re right.
Trent Manning, CTEM 47:14
yeah. Keep hitting heads and drain grates. It was like, ugh.
Bryan Epland, CTEM 47:20
Mm-hmm. Same stuff. Groundhog Day
Trent Manning, CTEM 47:23
Right, right. Yeah. It was definitely like Groundhog Day, like every day. It’s like, “Is that a new sprinkler?” “No, that’s the same one we hit two days ago.” Like, what are we doing?
Bryan Epland, CTEM 47:35
Not paying attention or paying too much attention and not paying attention to the sprinklers.
Trent Manning, CTEM 47:39
Yeah. Something. Yeah. I don’t… Yeah. Yeah. Terrible. Yeah. I don’t wish that on anybody. Growing is, it’s no joke. It’s it’s rough. Or renovation or, yeah whatever your course is going through, very hard
Bryan Epland, CTEM 47:54
I know you Jordan and three other guys back in Nebraska that all went through renovations last year, and they were all pretty tired. Rightfully so
Trent Manning, CTEM 48:03
Yep. It’s it’s tough. Yeah, so I can’t imagine like the whole new build and 36 holes and, that’s, yeah, double what I went through
Bryan Epland, CTEM 48:11
It was the Wild West too.
Trent Manning, CTEM 48:13
Yeah, I could only imagine.
Bryan Epland, CTEM 48:17
Yeah, it’s… I mean, learned a lot. I’m appreciative of that part for sure, but my body’s tired right now. It’s time to slow down a little. So hopefully I get a couple guys hired and ease off, all my guys. They- they’ve been grinding every day pretty much all day for the last three months. And, the other day a couple mowers came back cutting and I said, “All right, relax. Just go take a 30-minute break.” He’s like, “What we got?” I was like, “They’ll be there tomorrow. It’ll be okay.”
Trent Manning, CTEM 48:44
Right, right. Yep, yep.
Bryan Epland, CTEM 48:45
They’re just so used to having to get it done that they don’t know how to slow down anymore, so
Trent Manning, CTEM 48:51
Yeah. When does it start cooling off there? Is it November or
Bryan Epland, CTEM 48:56
yeah, it’ll… I mean, we’ll get some lower temps. I mean, it’s been over 100 for the last three weeks, but September, yeah, late September.
Trent Manning, CTEM 49:05
Okay. So
Bryan Epland, CTEM 49:06
you’ll st- you’ll still get some 90-degree days, throughout that, but your lows will start getting lower
Trent Manning, CTEM 49:10
yeah, at least cooler nights and stuff, hopefully,
Bryan Epland, CTEM 49:13
Yeah, for sure. I mean, right now it’s consistently 77 degrees every morning. I don’t know how, but it is.
Trent Manning, CTEM 49:19
Dang. Yeah, that’s crazy. Yeah
Bryan Epland, CTEM 49:22
It’s nice. Seventy-seven’s perfect, but
Trent Manning, CTEM 49:24
Well, I know here in Georgia, my favorite day when I was working at the golf course was the first August morning that it was 65 degrees.
Bryan Epland, CTEM 49:40
Угу
Trent Manning, CTEM 49:41
usually one morning in August it would be, low of 65 or something like that. And you’re like “All
Bryan Epland, CTEM 49:47
and everybody’s worried
Trent Manning, CTEM 49:49
almost there. I’m almost there.” Fall’s right around the corner and
Bryan Epland, CTEM 49:53
Well, yeah, for sure. For us at Arbor, like late September meant aerification. So as soon as it started cooling down, we knew we were gonna get busy
Trent Manning, CTEM 50:02
Oh yeah, that’s true.
Bryan Epland, CTEM 50:04
cool season grass can’t beat it up in the summer, so
Trent Manning, CTEM 50:07
Yep. Yeah, that’s something that’s been a, a learning curve for me ’cause I’ve been warm season my whole career talking to a lot of these cool season guys and how they’re, yeah, getting ready for closure so they can start punching holes and aerifying everything. Like what? ‘Cause we do all that. Yeah. Yep, all of it in the middle of the summertime.
Bryan Epland, CTEM 50:30
I gotta get out. My dog’s being a butt.
Trent Manning, CTEM 50:32
All right. It’s all good, man. This is… No, this is perfect. Yeah, it’s right at an hour. So this
Bryan Epland, CTEM 50:38
that was this program. I didn’t even
Trent Manning, CTEM 50:39
Yeah. Yeah. Right, right at an hour. So
Bryan Epland, CTEM 50:42
it was great catching up, Trent. I guess if I tried to leave somepe- somebody with a little piece of advice, it’d be just, everybody has bad days including myself. Don’t be afraid to talk to somebody about it, whether it’s a supervisor or even one of your employees. Say, “Hey. I’m having a bad day.” Noth-nothing wrong with talking about it
Trent Manning, CTEM 50:59
No, nothing. No. Thank you for saying that. That’s really good. And if you don’t have anybody that you work with that you’re comfortable saying it, call somebody,
Bryan Epland, CTEM 51:09
mm-hmm.
Trent Manning, CTEM 51:10
Pho-phone a friend. It really helps. I was talking to my sister yesterday and she was like, “It really helps to vent.” I’m like, “Yeah, It does. It does. little sister. Yeah If you need to vent you feel free to call me.” And that goes to anybody listening if you got my number. If not somebody else. They got my number and I’m happy to listen. Thank you, Brian. I really enjoyed it.
Bryan Epland, CTEM 51:35
No I enjoyed catching up. I’m glad you had me back on. Had a lot to say new opportunity and yeah, it was fun, Trent
Trent Manning, CTEM 51:43
Well, and congratulations on, yeah the move and where you’re at now. It’s
Bryan Epland, CTEM 51:47
Yeah, I appreciate it. It was a big move. It was a scary move for me, but made it through
Trent Manning 51:57
thank you so much for listening to the Reel turf techs podcast. I hope you learned something today. Don’t forget to subscribe. If you have any topics you’d like to discuss, or you’d like to be a guest, find us on Twitter at Reel Turf Techs.