Description:
Welcome to the Reel Turf Techs Podcast, Episode 175.
Today we’re talking with Joe Fleszewski, Equipment Manager at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick in Scottsdale, Arizona, the spring training home of the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies. Joe is the lone technician in the shop, running a fleet that is primarily Toro and Kubota and keeping equipment ready for 13 baseball fields.
Joe shares his path from a blue-collar, hands-on upbringing in Illinois and landscaping work into equipment management. He learned reel grinding on the job and eventually took on the full shop workload when the outside contractor who had been handling the equipment left, giving him the opportunity to grow into the role.
The conversation gets into the unique demands of maintaining equipment for a spring training facility, including year-round use, heavy sand applications and bringing fraise mowing in-house. Joe also talks about some of the challenges that come with being a one-person shop, from operator errors to the increasing amount of electronics and proprietary software built into modern equipment.
Joe walks through some of his favorite tools, the mentors who have helped him along the way and the value of continuing his education through GCSAA. He also shares practical shop tips, including ways to extend bedknife life and protect Toro InfoCenters.
And as the workload continues to grow, Joe is realizing an important lesson that a lot of equipment managers can relate to: sometimes doing a great job also means recognizing when you can’t do it all alone.
It’s a great conversation about finding your way into equipment management, learning on the job and keeping a busy baseball operation moving when you’re the person in the shop everyone depends on.
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 175. Today we’re talking to Joe Fleszewski, Equipment manager at Salt River Fields at Talking Stick in Scottsdale, Arizona. Salt River Fields at Talking Stick is the spring training facility for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies. Joe is the lone tech in the shop. He has mainly Toro and Kubota equipment. Let’s talk to Joe.
Trent Manning 1:46
Welcome, Joe, to The Reel Turf Techs podcast. Thanks for coming on
Joe Fleszewski 1:51
Yeah, Trent. No worries. Thank you. I’m humbled to be here
Trent Manning 1:53
Yeah, no, this is it’s gonna be fun and yeah, a little bit different. But tell us how you got into the turf industry
Joe Fleszewski 2:04
Yeah, so I started at Salt River back in 2016. Really had no background in turf mechanics. I kinda… I originally I grew up in Illinois. My dad was tool and die, so I learned a lot from him. He had a shop, he had all the tools. Blue-collared family, so it was never calling anybody to work on your stuff. It was always doing it yourself. So I learned a lot about working on our own vehicles from him. I’d tinker with stuff, you know, small engine stuff. We’d pull, you know, little motorcycles, go-karts out of the trash, fix them up, get them running, and kinda got a little bit of a background from that. But yeah, for the most part, I tried going to school for Millwright, Industrial Mechanics. Was going to school full time and working full time, so I got a little bit burnt out from that. And then kinda pivoted to landscaping and worked as a lead for the field mowing department. And then during the wintertime would go in the shop, help out the mechanics set up trucks for snowplowing, and then I’d be an operator for the wintertime. And then that was probably around 2015, and k- kinda just needed to get out of Illinois, needed a change of scenery. So moved down to Austin for a few months picked up another gig landscaping down there. Tried to get in the shop a little bit. You know, I tried telling them I’m mechanically inclined, you know, “If there’s any help you need down there, let me know.” But they more used me for the landscaping, residential and all that. But got to see a lot of cool stuff out there. Austin, I worked in the Hill Country, it’s beautiful out there. But rekindled with an old friend that I grew up with in Illinois. She was here in Phoenix at the time. And started dating, weren’t really sure who was gonna move where. And she had some connections out here in Phoenix, so I was like, “You know what? I’ll try it out.” So moved out here and applied. I originally applied for the grinding position for Salt River, but my supervisor now was like, “Well, you don’t have really any experience as far as the grinding part of it.” You know, he’s like, “Your background working on equipment looks good,” but he’s like, “We can start you off at grounds, you know, get you situated there, and then, you know, we’ll take it from there.” So yeah, 2016, I started on ground and, We on– At that time, we only had a contractor working three days a week here. So it was kind of a struggle for him to keep up with a lot of things. So I squeezed my way in there, you know, started learning some things, and we actually got a, the Toro tech to come out and teach us some grinding. And it was like a group of group of four or five of us, but it really only stuck with like one or two. So at first it was– Since we’re split up two teams, it was the Rockies were kinda grinding their own reels, and then I would do the D-back side because that’s the side I started off on. And consistency just wasn’t good on the Rockies side. So, the lead over there came to me, he’s like, “Hey, would you– do you wanna take over grinding ours too?” And I was like, “You know, sure, why not?” So I was actually working grounds and coming in the shop grinding, and then we had the contractor coming in three days a week to do repairs, maintenance, and all that stuff. So, probably around 2017, 2018, I was promoted as his assistant. So I was in the shop full time, so I would do most of the reel grinding and stuff. But yeah, I mean, from there, the rest is history. I’ve been with the company for ten years and yeah, I mean, I feel like I’m learning every day, so.
Trent Manning 5:43
Still drinking from a fire hose?
Joe Fleszewski 5:46
It seems that way, yeah. So I don’t have the I don’t have the contractor here anymore. He had some family issues around ’21, ’22, and ended up having to stop working here. So I kinda took on the whole load, and yeah it’s busy all the time, man. Working six to seven days a week. Most likely be here tomorrow too
Trent Manning 6:06
Yeah. Yeah, so tell us a little bit, yeah, what is Salt River?
Joe Fleszewski 6:15
So Salt River Fields, it’s a, a spring training facility for the Arizona Diamondbacks and Colorado Rockies. It’s just a baseball facility. I mean, we do events, we do a lot of minor leagues private clubs and MSBL, so where some older guys will run out the fields, but it’s mostly during January to March, Major League, we have all the teams in here. Major League games in the stadium, and then we have minor leagues that that stay for extended spring training
Trent Manning 6:45
Okay, cool. Yeah, so what do you kinda do through the baseball season and after baseball season?
Joe Fleszewski 6:54
So
Trent Manning 6:54
all… the spring training’s over
Joe Fleszewski 6:57
Yeah, so we’re all year round, man. It’s, it- there’s, I feel like there’s never any downtime. I mean, if I play my cards right and do my job right, I… Spring training’s probably the easiest part of the year for me because most of the equipment is not being used. But I mean, besides mowers and carts, but after spring training we get extended, which the fields are still being used. And then after extended, of course, it’s, you know, maintenance on the fields, aerating. I think what this year we laid, what, 400 tons of sand, which I’m not sure as far as a golf course if that’s equivalent or not, but to me that was a lot of sand this year. There was a lot of grinding
Trent Manning 7:35
Yeah. No, that’s a lot of, yeah, that’s a lot of sand. Unless, you know, some golf courses will top dress fairways every year or every other year, and that’s a lot of sand. But yeah, normal greens aerification and stuff like that, you’re only using maybe 50 tons a year or something.
Joe Fleszewski 7:55
Yeah. Yeah, I went to my supervisor and I’m
Trent Manning 7:58
lot of sand
Joe Fleszewski 7:59
I was like, “Yeah, it’s a little bit more than usual. I’m going through a lot of bed knives this year, so…” But we also just started frase mowing in house. So we just got the the coral unit and then the SD 12s from you,
Trent Manning 8:11
Okay, nice.
Joe Fleszewski 8:12
Steck. Yeah, so Started doing that in the house, and that was, I mean, we’ve done it the last couple years, but we’ve always contracted it out as far as the frase mowing part. But now that we’re doing it in-house, it just it seems like a lot more work
Trent Manning 8:25
Oh yeah. Yeah, what are you phrase mowing? I mean the entire field or like lips
Joe Fleszewski 8:33
we did we got it for, yeah, all those reasons, but we did six full fields. Well, we did four outfields this year on the D-back side. Then we did one full field on the Rockies side, an outfield/infield, and then we did the stadium outfield and infield also
Trent Manning 8:53
Okay. Yeah, cool. Good stuff. What’s your least favorite part of the job?
Joe Fleszewski 9:02
I li- I like how you put that question there.
Trent Manning 9:04
Yeah.
Joe Fleszewski 9:05
Why is it sand or why is it not sand, right? Least favorite part is probably operator errors. I mean, I feel like it’s a common trend it seems like in golf courses, but yeah it seems to happen more frequently, I guess, with certain departments here than anything. But yeah I’d have to say operator errors. But I guess a, a rising concern that I’m starting to dislike is the technology that’s starting to put on some of the equipment, specifically Toro. They’re becoming more electronic. Seems more difficult to work on and diagnose yourself. I think we we had a parking brake issue with one of our newer 5510 units, the Smart Powers that we– I think we just got back in June, and we had the tech out here for the warranty call, and he’s like, “Yeah, we’re gonna have to replace the whole controller just for the parking brake switch.” It’s like, really? Like, like that’s… Yeah, that’s, that seems to be a growing concern. Yeah.
Trent Manning 10:03
Mm-hmm
Joe Fleszewski 10:04
But
Trent Manning 10:06
Yeah, and the whole, Yeah, not that we wanna get into that, but the whole right to repair and you having the software to work on the mowers and that’s, yeah, one thing that I always got annoyed with. You know, and it doesn’t really matter if it’s Toro or Deere, Kubota or whoever, you know, it’s kinda proprietary software and they don’t really want to let the end user have it. And, you know, I just wanna be able to– It, it doesn’t matter what color it is, it’s all gonna break. I just wanna be able to fix it. Yeah, give me the tools I need to make a repair
Joe Fleszewski 10:42
I’m familiar with John Deere, and if I’m not mistaken, they just went through a lawsuit for the right to work. I think that’s more for agriculture.
Trent Manning 10:51
Yeah, it’s a lot of ag stuff, but you can– an end user can get I’m trying to remember what they call it, John Deere’s service advisor. They have an end user version, and it’s a certain price up front, and then it’s a subscription fee. Each year you have to pay a certain amount of money. And like at the golf course I was at and the equipment I had, we couldn’t really justify the cost for the software. You know, down, you know, as we got more John Deere equipment, maybe it would’ve made it worth it, but our equipment wasn’t that old and we weren’t having, you know, too many problems. But yeah, that’s the way a lot of these companies are going. Well, tell me what your favorite tool is
Joe Fleszewski 11:43
So I know it’s mentioned a lot electric ratchet. I use a cheap one. I mean, that’s, I mean, that’s my go-to for anything really. I have, I just have a cheap one though. I’m probably butchering the name, but it’s I think it’s Kimo. It’s K-I-M-O. It’s just a cheap… I think you could pick up a set for like 60 bucks, and they usually get me through the year. But I mean, at the end of the year, I’ll just replace it
Trent Manning 12:10
Yeah, where do you get those from?
Joe Fleszewski 12:12
You can get those on Amazon
Trent Manning 12:14
Okay. All right, cool. Yeah, I mean, yeah, I’m not… It doesn’t matter. Long as you got an electric ratchet, you know, that’s the most important part, no matter what the brand is or whatever, as long as it’s working for you. But they’re definitely a game changer. Yeah, so
Joe Fleszewski 12:30
let me turn that light back on.
Trent Manning 12:32
All right
Joe Fleszewski 12:32
Give me one second Yeah, I’m actually, I’m in one of the leads offices right now. I figured the shop would be a little bit too loud
Trent Manning 12:39
Yeah. Yep. Yeah, so what’s going on today at your place?
Joe Fleszewski 12:44
So I’m actually, I’m, well, I’m gonna be going on vacation next week and we’re gonna be starting to scalp Monday, Tuesday. So coming in, just prepping some equipment. I gotta drop some heights. We’ll work pretty much all week getting the vacs ready. We got some Harper vacs. Those are going on eight years old, so they needed some, some refab work, some patching in the fan housings. Just a bunch of work. I spent four days working on those. Had some help last Saturday. I think I spent like 12, 12 hours working on them, replacing the fan blades. Yeah. I don’t know if you’ve ever replaced a fan blade on one of those after it’s been corroded and sit in that fan housing with water, but it brought me back to Illinois a little bit
Trent Manning 13:26
Oh, I bet. Yeah, all the rust and stuff.
Joe Fleszewski 13:29
Yeah
Trent Manning 13:30
Yeah, trying to get it apart.
Joe Fleszewski 13:33
But other than that, we got a f-few guys here. I don’t know if we have games going on or not. I’m more focused on getting the equipment ready than anything
Trent Manning 13:41
Gotcha. Okay. Yeah, I was just curious. What do you do to relax or find your balance?
Joe Fleszewski 13:48
So I– the gym is probably my biggest thing.
Trent Manning 13:54
Mm-hmm.
Joe Fleszewski 13:54
I mean, especially I’m not really a spring chicken anymore, so my body’s starting to wear a little bit. I, It’s mostly for maintaining, but I go to the gym at least three or four times a week. Helps me kinda relax. Feel like working here makes the gym easier, and going to the gym makes working here easier, so it’s a pretty fair trade
Trent Manning 14:13
Oh yeah. Definitely a win-win. Yeah, I’ve noticed being on the road and not being in the shop that, yeah, I’m definitely getting weaker, so I’m gonna have to start going to the gym or doing something. You know, you just… You know, driving around and putting a lot of miles on a vehicle does not work the same muscles as working in the shop for sure
Joe Fleszewski 14:38
Yeah, you always think that, you know, getting a desk job or even a, a driving job would be less stress on the body, but I mean, truckers, they have just as much pain as we do, especially in the hips and lower back
Trent Manning 14:51
Yeah. No, that, yep, that’s true too. For sure What’s been one of your biggest challenges
Joe Fleszewski 14:57
I guess really kinda adapting to the field. I… Like I said, I really didn’t have much prior experience before working here with reels and all that, so it’s a lot of self-teaching. I’m working on continuing education. I’m taking the C-
Trent Manning 15:15
Oh, nice.
Joe Fleszewski 15:16
with the GCSAA, so I’m still in the process of that. I got a few more tests left to level one but yeah, I’ve been working on that. But biggest struggle, I mean, is just the knowledge of everything. There’s just so much information that you wouldn’t expect coming into this field. It’s, yeah it’s a lot to keep up with
Trent Manning 15:34
Yeah, the, you know, I wish I, I knew the answer, but yeah there’s definitely more training, more education that needs to happen. And GCSA, they do a great job with, you know, the programs that they have. But there’s still, we need, you know, we need more. And how do you get that to people? I don’t know. You know, again, GCSA does a lot of stuff at the national show. There’s a lot of education there, and all that’s great, but that’s once a year and it’s, you know, it’s kinda limited. So yeah, what else could be done? I just saw there’s a guy, he’s in Indiana, he’s a golf course mechanic, and he’s gonna do a, a one-week school and a three-week school at his course. Yeah. Yeah. So I talked to him on the phone. I mean, I think that’s an excellent idea. You know, any- anything we can do to help out the industry and educate more people. And there is, you know, depending on the area of the country you’re in, there’s groups that, technician groups that are getting together more frequently. Nebraska, Ohio, Michigan a lot of those places are getting together once a month, once every other month with… And it’s not all, you know, heavy education, but at least networking opportunities, kinda get to know your neighbor and, you know, things like that. And just like before we started recording, you were saying you don’t get outta your hole over there too much from Salt River. And that, you know, having a group that gets together and meets regular, it makes it a lot easier, right? To get outta your shell and go meet somebody else. So it’s, you know, there’s a lot of positive things happening, but we still need more stuff going on in the industry to help technicians out
Joe Fleszewski 17:36
Yeah. No I completely agree, which is why I love what you’re doing as far as social media with the videos and… I mean, it’s helpful, man. I found the f- the Facebook group for equipment managers probably, I mean, besides just going on there complaining it’s a very useful tool to get out and just, you know, see what other issues people are dealing with or you know, if you can offer help, it’s, it, you know, it’s great to have that, that community. So yeah, I f- I found that very helpful and I do plan on trying to attend the convention this year in New Orleans. I just brought it up to my supervisor the other day, so hopefully, I mean, ’cause I’m pretty sure baseball is– they’re going on strike this year, so I’m not even sure if we’re gonna be having games in the stadium. So I was like, this is the perfect opportunity ’cause it always conflicts with my schedule as far as set up for spring. So
Trent Manning 18:27
Yeah
Joe Fleszewski 18:27
hoping
Trent Manning 18:29
Well, yeah, no, that’s awesome. I hope you definitely get to come, and if you do, definitely reach out beforehand and we’ll meet up. And then, yeah, for you and anybody that’s this might be their first time or don’t know about it, the GCSA puts together an equipment manager reception. It’s usually on Wednesday, like five PM. And any, you know, anybody’s invited, but definitely all the equipment managers or technicians should be there. So it’s a really good networking opportunity to meet some of your peers So I don’t know where it’s gonna be held, but it’ll be somewhere at the convention center the show, during the New Orleans show. And it’s usually on Wednesday at like 5:00 PM. So, and yeah, normally for the ones that don’t know, the education is usually Monday, Tuesday, and then trade show Wednesday, Thursday. So it’s usually Wednesday right after the trade show they’ll get the technicians together and have, have some drinks and hors d’oeuvres and just networking.
Joe Fleszewski 19:43
Okay. Yeah. Right
Trent Manning 19:46
What’s one of the strangest things you’ve seen around the sports complex?
Joe Fleszewski 19:51
You know, I feel like it’s, I mean, probably everywhere. I mean, we f- flip carts. There was a kid that took a a workman into a light pole, which was,
Trent Manning 20:02
Okay.
Joe Fleszewski 20:03
pretty interesting. Yeah, it totaled the whole frame. Was gonna try and fix it, but I– it just, it seemed like it was too much on my plate, so I just disposed of it. I mean, nothing really too crazy happens here. We do have a retention area, but it’s located on the outskirts of the facility, so nobody’s supposed to be over there. We’ve never had any carts go in. But I mean, other than that, it’s just, you know, basic operator error, hitting curbs, you know, bent axles you know, the norm
Trent Manning 20:33
Yep, all those fun things. Do you have a mentor in the industry?
Joe Fleszewski 20:39
So I’d probably say the, the contractor that Juan Medina, he’s he used to work at some golf courses, but he he works for a company now that just refabricates equipment. It’s a wholesale company, resells them. Turf Equipment Source, I don’t know if you’re familiar with them. But he was probably my mentor as far as the turf industry. Coming in, he taught me a lot, you know, the trade skills or the secrets on working on some of this Toro stuff. Some grinding questions I had, I asked him. I mean, he’s helped me out a little bit with that. But yeah, Juan would probably be my mentor as far as turf. But as far as getting me into mechanics or becoming me- mechanically inclined, I’d have to say my, my pops.
Trent Manning 21:26
That’s awesome.
Joe Fleszewski 21:28
I give… I try to give him credit, but he tells me, he’s like, “No, it wasn’t me.” But I’m like, “You know what? But you at least gave me the confidence to get out there and start working on this stuff.” So I’d definitely have to include him. And then pro- I’d probably say my supervisor, too. I mean, not as far as the, the mechanic side of it, but as far as budgeting price tracking agronomics. He’s a smart guy. He’s got a lot of energy. He’s really interesting. And he can talk your ear off. So I definitely, I probably have to include him on that, too
Trent Manning 21:59
Yeah. I mean, I think for anyone we all– maybe we have one main mentor, but we all have a lot of mentors, right? You know, because we learn a little bit from every person that is in our life, whether we’re working for them or we’re related to them. You know, maybe it’s your dad, maybe it’s your uncle you know, what have you. I know just personally, so many people in my life over the years, you know, has, yeah, sh- helped shape who I am. And I’m sure a lot of people can relate to that. But yeah, definitely awesome to have your dad as one of your mentors. I mean, just super cool.
Joe Fleszewski 22:44
Yeah. I’m fortunate, man, ’cause I mean, I work with some guys here that’s, they’ve never had their dad in their life or their dad’s never really taught them anything, so
Trent Manning 22:53
Yeah.
Joe Fleszewski 22:54
yeah
Trent Manning 22:55
Yep, that’s, And yeah, nothing against my dad, but yeah, he was not a mechanic and not mechanically inclined. He got frustrated too easy and all that, so I don’t know where I really got it from. But he was really knowledgeable too, though, on, you know, how cars worked and a lot of that stuff. So he definitely kinda pushed me in that direction, but not that he could do it himself, you know? And then, you know, even today it’s kinda funny about he’ll tell me how to fix something. I’m like, “Okay, Dad.” you know, like, “All right, I’ve been doing this for a while now.” But all good. Good times. What would…
Joe Fleszewski 23:39
do for a living,
Trent Manning 23:40
Well, he worked he worked at a factory. He he’s re- been retired for a long time. He’s 83, just turned 83. But he worked at a cable plant. They manufactured phone cable. So it was copper cable when he first started, and then they got into fiber optics, you know, whatever, in the late 90s or something like that. So he was just a factory worker. You know, and he put food on the table and all that thing, but definitely lo- I can relate, you know, blue collar growing up, not having, you know, getting everything we wanted. So yeah, you get an old go-kart or something, and you had to make it run and, you know, I mean, those kind of things. So I mean, I think that’s good for individuals too,
Joe Fleszewski 24:24
trend Yeah. Sorry, you cut out there. My wife was calling. It cut out my
Trent Manning 24:28
Oh no. Yeah, no worries. Yeah, I was just saying I, I think that’s you know, good to grow up that way and being able to, Fix the things that, you know, you’re, you play with, you know, whether it’s your bicycles or, you know, what- whatever kind of toys you got as a kid growing up. When they stop working, being able to make a repair or get the parts you need is helps mold who you are
Joe Fleszewski 24:55
Yeah, definitely. No I agree with that. I feel like it’s it’s slowly dying out too. Like, I, it feels like the the work ethic nowadays is just, it’s not the same. I mean, you, yeah, you know. You wanna fix something yourself, you wanna learn how to do it, you don’t wanna pay somebody to do it. So yeah, it’s… We need more of that
Trent Manning 25:14
Yeah, and I mean, a lot of it I think too is kind of the society we live in. It’s more of a throwaway society, you know. I mean, all the things that they build now, it’s not hardly worth fixing because it’s so cheap and, you know, all the things just kinda crazy. What would be your dream job or opportunity?
Joe Fleszewski 25:34
So I, honestly, I almost feel like I’m working it most days. I mean, I’ve been with this company for 10 years. I love doing what I’m doing. I could definitely use some help in the shop. I feel like that’s something that I’ve communicated and started looking into. We’ve got potential with one of the guys here. But yeah, I mean, I love working on stuff. You know, I love being outdoors. Love the nature. So I mean, the… if I could find this good of a gig at a golf course or something, you know, a few years from now, I might take it. But I think this industry is probably something I plan on staying in for a while
Trent Manning 26:13
That’s awesome. That’s so good. I mean, it it’s a great industry and the more you get out there and the more people you meet you know, people just wanna help other technicians and whatnot, you know, when you’re talking to them. And I’ve been fortunate enough to get to meet a lot of people and made a lot of really good friends throughout the industry too. Just a great industry to be in for sure Do you have a technician you’d like to work with for a day?
Joe Fleszewski 26:39
So I know everyone says you so I gotta throw that
Trent Manning 26:43
no. That, no there’s not there’s been a few that said that, but and I’m grateful that they say that, but I’m just another Joe
Joe Fleszewski 26:52
Yeah, I think well, you’re on the list. I got Dallas DuPont. I don’t know if you know him.
Trent Manning 26:57
I don’t
Joe Fleszewski 26:57
Payson
Trent Manning 26:59
So is that close to you?
Joe Fleszewski 27:02
It’s a few hours north.
Trent Manning 27:04
Okay
Joe Fleszewski 27:05
so he was out here a few years ago when I was selling off my old 63 grinders.
Trent Manning 27:10
Mm-hmm
Joe Fleszewski 27:11
he came down to put eyes on them and I connected with him. He’s like, “Yeah, come on up anytime.” And still been trying to make my way up there too, which I’m thinking about giving him a call since next week when I go on vacation, I’m going up to Flagstaff. So I’m thinking about trying to get out there just to check out his facility maybe one day. But yeah, I’d
Trent Manning 27:32
So
Joe Fleszewski 27:32
he’s on the list
Trent Manning 27:33
is he close to Flagstaff?
Joe Fleszewski 27:36
He’s
Trent Manning 27:37
Or it’s
Joe Fleszewski 27:37
in between. So he’s, yeah, a little south of Flagstaff, so it’d kind of be on the way, maybe a little detour
Trent Manning 27:43
Like Sedona area or
Joe Fleszewski 27:46
I think it’s a little past Sedona,
Trent Manning 27:48
Okay.
Joe Fleszewski 27:49
but
Trent Manning 27:50
I’m gonna figure it out because I’ve seen him on social media and some of the forums and that kind of stuff, and I would like to meet him one day too. That’s awesome
Joe Fleszewski 28:00
Yeah. Yeah, maybe next time you’re out here I’ll connect you with him, or if you wanna reach out to him he’s not too far away if you wanna go check out his facility too.
Trent Manning 28:09
Yeah, for sure. Yep. No, that’s awesome. Yeah, any other technicians?
Joe Fleszewski 28:14
so I don’t know him, I’ve only seen photos, especially of his shop on Facebook, but Haz from Florida.
Trent Manning 28:21
Yeah. Mm-hmm
Joe Fleszewski 28:22
I just… I’d love to go see his shop and how he keeps it so clean, ’cause he– every time I see pictures of it, it’s spotless.
Trent Manning 28:29
Ah
Joe Fleszewski 28:29
I mean, working with all this grass, I’m like, “I don’t know how he does it.” So that, that’s someone I’d like to work with and check out his facility too
Trent Manning 28:37
He’s I don’t know, he’s one of the nicest human beings you’ll ever meet. He’s just, I mean, a really nice, humble guy. And he’s so funny. He cracks me up. He’s just really– He’s hilarious. Just, you know, his demeanor and the way he carries himself just a really good guy. And I mean, every time I run into him he wants to get a selfie, and I mean, he’s this salt of the earth type of guy. Just, yeah. So yeah, if you ever get down to South Florida, there’s a bunch of good guys down there, but definitely have to go by and check out his place when I was down there a few years ago and got to visit him, he took me for a ride through the neighborhood and he’s like, “Yeah, that’s Michael Jordan’s house.” That, you know, he’s just naming, yeah, just naming off all the famous people that have houses in there. And he knows, so each one of these houses, they have, like, full-time landscapers. And he’s like, “Yeah, the landscape budget for that house is, like, 10,000 a month.” I’m like, “What? For landscape?” I mean, it’s just… Yeah, it was mind-blowing. So yeah, definitely, yeah, a cool guy and definitely worth a stop Supercharged course maintenance with Task Tracker, the leading golf course maintenance software in the industry. Built for precision and efficiency, Task Tracker simplifies daily operations, optimizes water usage, and keeps your team on track. With real time updates and streamlined workflows, It’s the essential tool for modern superintendents. Learn more at www. clubessentials. com backslash task tracker. Let’s get back to the episode. What do you know now you wish you’d known on day one?
Joe Fleszewski 30:28
Probably that I’m eventually not gonna be able to do it all on my own. Coming in, I mean, I’ve always been… I feel like a, a hard worker, but I’ve taken it on for a few years, and I think I’ve come to a point where it’s like, okay, I’m at the realization that I’m gonna need some help. I mean, there’s just too much to do on your own, and at some point you gotta realize you’re killing yourself. So yeah I kinda, kinda wish I knew that sooner. I probably would’ve had an assistant already
Trent Manning 31:00
Yeah. Yeah, no it’s hard. I mean, there’s a lot of work to be done. I mean, minus, you know, you got your just normal maintenance and then you got repairs and then, yeah. Reel grinding and, yeah, it adds up quick, all the work to be done What kind of tips and tricks you got you wanna share with us?
Joe Fleszewski 31:24
So as, as far as a, a technical aspect I don’t know if I could really think of anything off the top of my head. But I do have something for the Fairway Edge Max blades. I know you made a video recently on the top angle and how they changed it from five degrees to 10 degrees. So I’ve kinda used that to my advantage. So I get maybe three or four grinds out of the three-eighth, three-eighth inch and up bend knives. But I always drop the grinding angle by one, like every subs- subsequent grind, I’ll drop it by one, and I usually… I tend to get more life out of it from what I’ve seen. But as
Trent Manning 32:06
So are you saying start at 10 and go to nine and eight and that way?
Joe Fleszewski 32:13
Yeah.
Trent Manning 32:14
Yeah. Okay. Yeah.
Joe Fleszewski 32:16
I’ve seen… Yeah I get at least three. I push it to four if we’re doing sand, but I tend to get a little bit more life out of them
Trent Manning 32:25
Okay. Yeah, that’s a good tip
Joe Fleszewski 32:27
for the low high to cut, yeah I haven’t… I usually use them once and then they’re trash. So they usually only work for the EdgeMag. I’ve u- I’ve done it for the standard too, but it’s only the, the three-eighth inch and up
Trent Manning 32:40
Gotcha. Yeah. Yep. No, that’s a good one. Any, any other ones, Diane?
Joe Fleszewski 32:46
I’d actually, I was gonna bring it in here, I forgot it, but it’s a it’s a little coupling to put over the shaft of the reels to lift them with the winch and crane.
Trent Manning 32:56
Oh,
Joe Fleszewski 32:56
So it’s just like, I’m I know guys have made them before, but it’s just like a little adapter you put on the top, slide a bolt through it, you know, hook it up to the winch and then just pull it up. It makes it a lot easier than using chains or that that hoist that Toro gives you with the m- or Foley gives you.
Trent Manning 33:14
Yeah. Yep. Yeah, no, that’s– yeah, that’s awesome. I forget who it was Tony Nunez, he’s at Chicago Golf Club, and I just was in the area, whatever, and stopped by. And he had made a deal like that, and he had made it out of, I don’t know, it was probably inch and a half pipe, maybe inch and a quarter pipe. But it, you know, it was big enough it would fit over there, and he put an… It was just a nipple that was whatever, three inches long, and a cap. And then in the cap, he had drilled a hole and put an eye bolt in the cap, and then slide it over the pin that you’re talking about. You know what I mean? Same, exact same thing you’re talking about.
Joe Fleszewski 34:00
Yeah, seriously. Yeah
Trent Manning 34:02
yeah, but I took a picture of it and I shared it in a presentation, and I was giving the presentation, I don’t… It might have been Michigan or something. And one of the Toro reps was in there, and he was like, “Oh, Toro doesn’t recommend that.” And I’m like, “Okay. Thank, thanks for the warning.” But I mean, it’s the exact same way that Toro picks up the cutting unit on the fairway mower, so I don’t know what it’s gonna hurt to pick it up that way, you know? Yeah, I don’t…
Joe Fleszewski 34:33
doing it for 10 years. I haven’t
Trent Manning 34:34
But ex-exactly. So anyway, now when I give the presentation, I do give the warning that Toro does not recommend this, but it’s been working for others for a long time, so use it as, at your own risk.
Joe Fleszewski 34:49
It’s funny ’cause I’ve actually had Toro Tech out here and he’s like, “Oh man, I’m gonna take that and I’m gonna steal it from you.” And
Trent Manning 34:55
Yeah, that’s a great
Joe Fleszewski 34:56
means, go ahead.”
Trent Manning 34:58
Yep, it is a great idea
Joe Fleszewski 35:01
But I guess other than that the info centers on the you know, the green screen info centers.
Trent Manning 35:08
Угу
Joe Fleszewski 35:09
I mean, they work… It works with the newer ones too, but as far as I know, those, those green screens are gonna be discontinued, so you’re gonna have to be using the newer style info center. And from what I hear, they don’t work with all of the older equipment. So I made a little rubber flap that goes over the front of the screen. I mean, being out here in Arizona, it probably benefits us more than someone on, you know, Midwest. But since there’s a lot of sun, it damages those crystals inside. But I just put a little Velcro. I actually I cut a slit in it too, so it still allows you to pull off that side panel. But then Velcro the top and just have like… Just buy like a rubber sheet from Amazon.
Trent Manning 35:51
Okay. Yeah
Joe Fleszewski 35:52
four by three little cutout and, yeah, it helps protect them
Trent Manning 35:57
Okay. Yeah. I don’t have a lot of experience with those. So the sun is damaging the crystals?
Joe Fleszewski 36:05
Yeah, so the, the info center, if they sit in the sun for too long, they’ll kinda fade out. And
Trent Manning 36:09
okay
Joe Fleszewski 36:10
that’s, what you use for backlapping.
Trent Manning 36:13
Yeah,
Joe Fleszewski 36:13
you your regens and all that. So, We replaced them once already, and then I came up with the idea. I mean, I’ve heard of guys using kinda door hinges or s- self-tappers, but if you need to get access into that side panel, it’s a little difficult to be removing those every time. So figured Velcro is probably a better idea. You can flip it around if you need to see the temp gauge. You remove it if you need to work on it. It just, I don’t know, something to think of
Trent Manning 36:39
Yeah. No, that’s awesome. That’s, yeah, good idea. Yeah, good stuff. Any other tips or tricks?
Joe Fleszewski 36:46
That’s all I really wrote down
Trent Manning 36:49
that’s cool, man. No, that’s good. That’s good stuff Well, you wanna talk about your facility a little bit more and some of the things that… I know we covered some of that, but, or anything else you wanna talk about
Joe Fleszewski 37:03
As far as facility goes I’m not really sure. I think we covered a lot of it. I mean, we got what?
Trent Manning 37:11
What’s a normal, what’s a normal day in the life of Joe at Salt Rivers? I- is there a normal day?
Joe Fleszewski 37:22
Eh, there’s some days that are normal. I mean, there’s some days I can kick back, but for the most part, I mean, I kinda, I feel like I probably, I’m harder on myself than they are on me, so I always stay busy. There’s always something to do. I never come into work and say, “Oh, what am I gonna do today?” Or, is there to do?” It’s, “What can I get done before I leave?” So, Monday, Wednesday, Fridays are usually checking reels. So I get here 3:30 in the morning. I got six fairway units, four triplexes. I start bringing them in, checking contact points. I’d say I, honestly I don’t even know if that’s a lot compared to a golf course ’cause I’ve never really put eyes on any other facility. But
Trent Manning 38:08
so just for reference, a 18-hole golf course, two fairway mowers. You know, maybe some of the higher ends will have three, maybe super high ends will have four or five for 18 holes. You know, all depends kinda on your fairway size. So yeah, I mean, I would say that’s a lot of fairway mowers For,
Joe Fleszewski 38:32
seems like it at times.
Trent Manning 38:33
Yeah, for a normal operation. And I think we had, we walk mowed greens, and we had we had 14 walk mowers. We had four triplexes and four fairway mowers for an 18-hole course. And I mean, we, you know, that was a lot of equipment for an 18-hole course
Joe Fleszewski 38:56
Yeah we have some some 1600s, but we don’t really use them much. I mean, they’re from 2010. We might… I might, during spring training, get them prepped and ready. But for the most part, we just use the triplexes and then the, the 5Mears. But yeah, Monday I’ll bring those in. Oh, go ahead.
Trent Manning 39:16
Yeah. Is the triplexes, do you mow an outfield, infield,
Joe Fleszewski 39:20
So in fields with
Trent Manning 39:21
the above?
Joe Fleszewski 39:22
the in fields with the triflexes, and then we do outfields with fairways
Trent Manning 39:27
Okay. All right
Joe Fleszewski 39:29
And then, I mean, we have 13 fields, 13 full-size baseball fields. So it’s… I mean, it’s more just to keep up with the demand, especially during spring training when stuff gets busy. You know, we get– need to get the, the fields mowed before they come out.
Trent Manning 39:46
So 13 fields, and yeah, how often are you mowing?
Joe Fleszewski 39:52
So both sides mow a little differently. We got full-time guys on the D-back side that mow pretty much five days a week if they can. And then Rocky’s side, they usually come in Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and then depending on, you know, growth, they might come in an extra day or so. But the part-timers are usually older guys. They’re not really trying to work five, six days a week. So, so each side’s a little different. But I mean, we mostly mow… Right now we’re at three-quarters. I mean, we do take it down to five-eighths during spring training sometimes. Been down to a half inch. I mean, just depending on the year it’s kinda all over the place. We still, The facility was originally built with 419
Trent Manning 40:39
Okay.
Joe Fleszewski 40:40
grass, and then we’ve converted the stadium over to Tahoma. And then we have one infield on the D-backs Major League side that’s Paspalm.
Trent Manning 40:52
Okay
Joe Fleszewski 40:52
we got a few different types of grasses. We got the
Trent Manning 40:59
Do you find the Pas Palem more challenging than Bermuda?
Joe Fleszewski 41:05
You know, it’s not necessarily. I mean, it’s not much grass, so I mean, as far as putting more stress on the reels I really don’t notice it. It seems to stand out better than the Bermuda for sure. But I kinda just… I set it for all the same. I mean, the same mower that’s mowing the paspalums is mowing the 419, so, yeah, I don’t see too many issues
Trent Manning 41:31
I just, I hear from guys in Florida about how abrasive paspalum is to cutting units. But if you’re not mowing that much, maybe it’s not that big a deal
Joe Fleszewski 41:45
Yeah,
Trent Manning 41:45
If it’s only on one field
Joe Fleszewski 41:47
right. Yeah it’s probably less… I mean, just the backstop, the infield it’s not mowing much, so. But we probably have more issues with guys going off into the warning tracks with the reels than, than the grass actually being abrasive, so
Trent Manning 42:03
Yep. Do y’all do any crazy patterns in the outfields and infields for strapping up? And, you know, I’d see, you know, just on social media and some of those things how crazy some of the patterns can get
Joe Fleszewski 42:21
We, we used to do some interesting patterns when I first started in the stadium for spring training, but I mean, it’s a lot to keep up with. So we normally we’re limited on time before they come in and start doing BP and all that. So we’ve kinda straight away just the simple pattern, get in, get out. And I mean, as far as the rest of the fields, I mean, the guys are usually just trying to get m- get it mowed and get done and get off, do other things. So for the most part, we really don’t put too crazy of patterns, maybe some checkers, but I mean, it’s rainbows and squares for the most part. I mean, we’ve done diamonds before, I think one year, but try to keep it pretty simple
Trent Manning 43:00
Yeah. Yep. Yeah, some of those are really elaborate, and I… That’s what I saw, and I was like, “Man, that’s a lot of work,” when you look at those.
Joe Fleszewski 43:09
Yeah, I’ve seen some crazy ones too
Trent Manning 43:11
that? Yeah Yeah. Anything else you wanna talk about on the, the day-to-day?
Joe Fleszewski 43:18
I mean, so usually, yeah, Monday, Wednesday, Friday, I’m checking mowers. I’ll get everything set up, and by the time the guys come in, I’m pretty much done with checking quality of cut and heights. And then pretty much help them out with any equipment issues that they’re having, if anything’s dead, you know, low tires hooking up attachments, anything of that sort. And then once I get them all moving, I usually start bringing in anything I need to repair or get ready for the week. I try to check equipment on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I’m actually, I’m still doing the older style, tagging them with a label, and then going around manually checking everything. So it’s time-consuming, but we’re looking into equipment software. I know you’ve mentioned Task Tracker, which I actually, I just had a demo with them this week. I talked to them a little bit. I like a lot of their features, but it’s it’s more relying on the, the operator to scan that QR code, it seems like, to kinda track the hours on equipment, which I’m looking for a more physical device, kind of what Toro’s offering with My Turf.
Trent Manning 44:19
yeah.
Joe Fleszewski 44:20
n-now Intelli360.
Trent Manning 44:23
Угу
Joe Fleszewski 44:23
something to kinda streamline the process to make it easier on me. And then hopefully be able to set up work orders a lot easier when I do get an assistant.
Trent Manning 44:32
Yeah, yeah
Joe Fleszewski 44:34
yeah, other than that, checking hours, and then, I mean, I’d like to say when I don’t have anything to do, I go around checking fields and stuff, but that’s… I mean, maybe once a week I’ll get out there and start looking at some stuff, but it’s usually only if there’s an issue
Trent Manning 44:51
Yep. It’s usually wide open. I g- I know that feeling for sure. That’s good stuff, man. Well that’s awesome. You ready to do some rapid fire?
Joe Fleszewski 45:06
Yeah, I actually forgot about that.
Trent Manning 45:08
Yeah. Yeah, that’s the fun part. What’s your favorite movie?
Joe Fleszewski 45:13
Probably Edge of Tomorrow
Trent Manning 45:15
Okay. Yeah, I’m not familiar
Joe Fleszewski 45:17
It’s a sci-fi movie.
Trent Manning 45:19
Okay. As of tomorrow. I’ll have to check it out.
Joe Fleszewski 45:23
It’s got Tom Cruise in it
Trent Manning 45:25
Okay. Yeah. What would be your last meal?
Joe Fleszewski 45:29
I’d probably have to go with a, a T-bone steak
Trent Manning 45:31
Medium rare or what?
Joe Fleszewski 45:33
Oh, it’s gotta be medium rare, yeah.
Trent Manning 45:35
Okay. All
Joe Fleszewski 45:36
Cowboy T-bone?
Trent Manning 45:37
yeah, I was wondering, is there any other way to have a T-bone? No, that’s awesome. Heck yeah. What are you most proud of besides your family?
Joe Fleszewski 45:47
I guess just the accomplish what I’ve accomplished since I’ve been out here, man. It’s hasn’t been an easy road. I mean, it’s 10 years in the making, but I’m really proud that I took the step on getting out to a new scenery starting a family and progressing and making this, this job that I started a career. It’s
Trent Manning 46:06
Yeah. No, that’s awesome, man. That’s so good. So good. Love it. I’m happy for you. That’s good stuff. Yeah. How do you like the heat compared to Illinois?
Joe Fleszewski 46:19
I like… Well, y- you never like the heat. When it’s 118, there’s… it’s not enjoyable. But I like the heat more than I like the cold, so that was one of the, one of the reasons I had to get out of there. But I mean, during plowing season back in Illinois, I mean, your body’s… the pains you feel, the aches the numbness in the fingertips, it’s… Yeah, that that’s something else. But out here, I mean, I can hydrate. I just got a a swamp cooler a few years ago, so that’s been a big help. But I’ll take the heat over the cold any day
Trent Manning 46:51
Yeah. No, that’s good stuff. Well, Joe, I really appreciate you coming on the podcast. It’s been been great and I appreciate your time
Joe Fleszewski 47:02
Yeah. Thanks, Trent. Thank you for having me, man, and I love what you’re doing. Keep up the good work and hopefully I’ll see y’all here soon
Trent Manning 47:09
Yeah, I’ll definitely stop by when I get out that way
Joe Fleszewski 47:13
Awesome, man
Trent Manning 47:19
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.