Description:
Welcome to the Reel Turf Techs Podcast, Episode 171.
Today we’re talking with Ian Naus, Equipment Manager at Medina Country Club in Medina, Minnesota. Ian is the lone technician at this private club, where he keeps the operation running while balancing the demands of a busy golf season.
Ian shares how he found his way into the turf industry almost by accident. After starting on the agronomy side, an unexpected opportunity in the shop led him down a new career path. He talks openly about overcoming imposter syndrome during that transition and the confidence he’s gained through experience, mentorship, and continuing education.
They discuss favorite tools, why investing in quality tools pays off, and the importance of slowing down to find the root cause of a problem instead of chasing symptoms. Ian also shares his philosophy of doing the job right the first time, along with the value of thorough inspections that help prevent bigger issues down the road.
The conversation also covers preparing for the Equipment Management Certificate Program, winning the Melrose Equipment Manager Experience that’s sending him to the GCSAA Conference in New Orleans, and the mentors who helped shape his career, including previous guest Tyler Lewellen. Ian reflects on the strength of Minnesota’s equipment manager community and why networking with fellow technicians has been such a valuable part of his growth.
It’s a great conversation about finding your place in the industry, trusting the process, and continuing to learn every day.
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 171. Today we’re talking to Ian Noss, equipment manager at Medina Country Club in Medina, Minnesota. Medina Country Club is a private 18-hole course. Ian is the lone tech in the shop. He has mainly a Toro barn. Let’s talk to Ian
Trent Manning 1:36
Welcome, Ian, to the Reel Turf Techs podcast. Thanks for coming on Appreciate you being here
Ian Naus 1:42
Oh, thanks for having me. This is a new experience for me. Excited to stumble through
Trent Manning 1:49
Yes. Yeah, we’ll we’ll just stumble right on through and it’ll be great. Tell us how you got into the turf industry
Ian Naus 1:57
So I got into the turf industry by kind of just mistake. I was living in Overland Park, Kansas, going to Johnson County Community College for horticulture. Ended up coming back to Minnesota after two years and needed a job. Found my hometown country club, Wayzata Country Club, was hiring for a grounds maintenance position. I’ve kind of avoided those ’cause I’ve seen them in the past before I actually got started because of the early start time, and I was a huge baby. So, needing a job, I decided to hop right in and after two weeks I just fell in love with it. I,
Trent Manning 2:41
Yeah, that’s awesome. That’s so cool
Ian Naus 2:43
jobs, but working with specialty equipment and getting to go to a piece of property you don’t get to go to unless either invited or working there that was exciting. So yeah, that’s how I fell into it, and then it just kind of snowballed from there.
Trent Manning 3:02
Yeah. No, that’s super cool.
Ian Naus 3:04
best mistake I ever made.
Trent Manning 3:05
All right, nice. I love it. How how long did it take you to get accustomed to early mornings?
Ian Naus 3:14
Well, bills don’t pay themselves, so,
Trent Manning 3:16
right.
Ian Naus 3:16
Reel quick.
Trent Manning 3:17
Yeah. Yeah
Ian Naus 3:18
And then, getting off early was something I had never experienced really before either. I really enjoyed having the afternoons and, a lot of my friends had boats or whatever, so you could still get out on the lake and go have fun even after working a full day. So it… I was scared of nothing really.
Trent Manning 3:39
Right. That’s one thing that I’ve really appreciated, especially when I first got into the industry, is you get off at 2:00 and you still, you got eight hours to go do whatever, and it’s still daylight in the summer
Ian Naus 3:52
Yeah, I can still do all my chores.
Trent Manning 3:54
yeah. Well, yeah. Now we have chores, but, in the younger days, yeah, we’d go to the lake or
Ian Naus 3:59
Go to the lake.
Trent Manning 4:00
yep, go fishing, go hunting, whatever it was,
Ian Naus 4:04
Yeah, and being young, it’s like even if you’re up late, you can scrape yourself out of bed to get there.
Trent Manning 4:10
Oh yeah. For sure. Yeah, for sure. What’s your least favorite part of the job?
Ian Naus 4:17
Least favorite part of the job honestly has become no air conditioning in the shop during the hot months.
Trent Manning 4:22
Ja. Ja
Ian Naus 4:23
My office is air conditioned, so I keep the door shut there so I can escape a little bit. But besides that, it just comes with the position. Getting dirty doesn’t bother me. But yeah, working in this humidity up here in Minnesota, as you’re aware down south, it gets pretty old
Trent Manning 4:41
Is there many shops up there that does have air conditioning?
Ian Naus 4:46
I don’t… I’m not sure of any shops that have air conditioning. The break rooms are always, or the sweeper or the assistant, their offices are always ice boxes. But no, I don’t know of any shops up here that have air conditioning
Trent Manning 5:01
I know in Florida they’re getting more and more shops having AC in them and I mean, there’s some in Georgia.
Ian Naus 5:09
I mean, you need it down there.
Trent Manning 5:11
yeah. Well, it was funny a few years ago I had the two clubs, and one club we had put AC in, and it was the first year we had the AC in the shop. And Joel was the mechanic down there, and I was out on the course running around doing verification, and I come in and it’s like freezing. I’m like, “How?” I was like, “What do you have this set on?” And he’s like, “Seventy-eight.” So it wasn’t like, it wasn’t like it was… But you know, it’s
Ian Naus 5:39
Yeah. Yeah, well, it’s better than what’s outside
Trent Manning 5:42
Right. Yeah. But you walk in and you’re like, “Wow, it’s cold in here.”
Ian Naus 5:45
Yeah, no, it makes working more enjoyable for sure
Trent Manning 5:48
yeah, it does. And, I don’t know what the cost is to install and then, the power cost, but it’s worth it. It is worth it for, yeah, to make nice conditions for your employees
Ian Naus 6:02
Yeah. Yeah. It’s… Thankfully I have the, dual sides have garage doors, so I get the cross breeze. But, a lot of people don’t have that luxury, so you know
Trent Manning 6:13
Yeah, I was in a shop when I worked for Jerry Pate. It was in South Georgia, summertime, and back corner of this– It was– They didn’t really have much of a shop. It was more like cr- equipment storage. And I had a temp gun, and the machine I was working on, the hood was 104 degrees and it hadn’t even been running.
Ian Naus 6:38
Yeah.
Trent Manning 6:38
It was like, “This is crazy.”
Ian Naus 6:40
Yeah
Trent Manning 6:41
I mean, yeah, I was back there just pouring sweat pounding waters. Yeah, just
Ian Naus 6:47
drink it fast enough. Yeah
Trent Manning 6:48
miserable working conditions to put somebody in. What’s your favorite tool?
Ian Naus 6:57
My favorite tool actually is I like the blind hole pullers just because it’s so satisfying to win,
Trent Manning 7:05
Yes. Yes.
Ian Naus 7:07
And every once in a while you get that nice pop and you’re like, “Yeah.” It’s not that I use it every day, but when you need it, boy, is that… It’s nice to have
Trent Manning 7:18
Yeah, and if you don’t have a set of those it’s worth putting in the arsenal because in our world we’ve run into that quite often
Ian Naus 7:28
Yeah. I mean, being newer to, the wrenching space, it’s… Having the right tools makes the job so much more enjoyable. It allows you to learn and having the right tool also, like, in my experience, it decreases your frustration and doesn’t compound the problem.
Trent Manning 7:47
Oh, yeah, for
Ian Naus 7:48
you get impatient, you just wrench something, and then you break something else you need to fix. So, yeah, definitely spending the money on the right pieces of equipment or tools is something I’ve learned quickly
Trent Manning 8:00
Oh yeah, 100%. And I remember, a long time ago running this guy, and I was working with him, and said, “You got a pair of snap ring pliers?” He’s like: “Oh, no, I just use a screwdriver.”
Ian Naus 8:12
Yeah.
Trent Manning 8:13
“Those things don’t work.” And I’m like, “Man, you gotta get a good pair.”
Ian Naus 8:16
A good pair does work.
Trent Manning 8:18
Yeah, a good pair does work. And I’m not sponsored by anybody, but I really like, the Snap-on.
Ian Naus 8:25
Yeah.
Trent Manning 8:26
Snap-on guy, but they make good snap ring pliers. And I’m sure there’s other brands out there, but if you go to Harbor Freight and you buy snap ring pliers, don’t expect them to do the same job that a quality tool would do. And that’s not a bash on Harbor Freight, but some of– And maybe some of their Icon series, maybe it’s just as good as Snap-on now. But you kinda get what you pay for sometimes
Ian Naus 8:54
Yeah, I’ve gone the budget way with those and I head right back to the store and pick up a good one.
Trent Manning 9:00
Mm-hmm.
Ian Naus 9:01
And so yeah, no, having the right tool definitely matters and there are tools in our space where quality does matter.
Trent Manning 9:09
yeah, for sure. Yeah, and I mean, there’s other times, yeah, you don’t need to spend the big bucks on some of the stuff. And especially like, big size wrenches. So, one in- above one inch for a combination wrench, yeah,
Ian Naus 9:24
I use it so rarely, it’s I just need it for that one-off
Trent Manning 9:27
Yeah. Yeah, go to Harbor Freight, go to Northern, whatever, and, and it’s so big, it’s pretty strong and durable, right? Just ’cause of the size. So you don’t really have to worry about breaking something like
Ian Naus 9:40
I agree
Trent Manning 9:42
What do you do to relax or find your balance?
Ian Naus 9:46
Well, I really do enjoy golfing now. But I, my, my favorite thing to do is nothing, honestly.
Trent Manning 9:56
Yeah, sometimes it’s nice just to relax
Ian Naus 10:00
Yeah, I, I, in my younger years I was go go. But I’ve really found peace in just not doing much and watching some TV and hanging out with my girlfriend and, just taking walks and going a little slower in life. But yeah, I really enjoy going golfing, coming home. Taking a afternoon nap is delightful.
Trent Manning 10:23
Yes. Yeah Yeah, there’s a lot to be said for an afternoon nap. It really is. I mean,
Ian Naus 10:30
It’s just so good. Out in the sun, maybe had a couple beers, come home and watched, watch golf, wake up and miss nothing,
Trent Manning 10:39
right, right.
Ian Naus 10:40
Yeah.
Trent Manning 10:40
Yep, that’s good. Exactly What’s been one of your biggest challenges at the golf course?
Ian Naus 10:49
my biggest challenge is actually the feeling of kind of like imposter syndrome in the shop. I did eight, nine years on the agronomy side of, the maintenance crew, and was lucky enough for the assistant position to pop up with your last guest, Tyler. And that was my first year in the shop. Obviously, Tyler’s super smart. But then going and getting my own shop at Medina, just, yeah, little bit of imposter s- syndrome, not having a formal education with it. That’s been my biggest hurdle, and owning your space being confident in asking for something. Cause I’m not sure that’s exactly what I need when I’m asking for something. But again, I’ve got a great resource in Tyler, and I am getting over that, that feeling.
Trent Manning 11:41
yeah. Yeah, I mean, it’s gotta be, yeah, kind, kinda hard being, new to that space and, yeah, just asking for what you need, having the confidence of, yeah, this is what I need
Ian Naus 11:54
Yeah. Yeah, and I,
Trent Manning 11:55
make my life easier.
Ian Naus 11:56
Exactly. And yeah, honestly just drinking from a fire hose with talking to people around the community and, studying for the EMCP course. Y- you figure out- I’ve learned that I know a lot more than I thought, and that’s helping me get through that hurdle
Trent Manning 12:15
Yeah, I’ve talked to a lot of people that say the EMCP program you go through that and it just kinda validates what the knowledge you do have.
Ian Naus 12:28
Mm-hmm.
Trent Manning 12:29
realize I really knew all this, but wow. Yeah, this is cool. I do know quite a bit of stuff
Ian Naus 12:34
yeah, and even if it wasn’t something I learned in the shop, it’s, it wasn’t, it’s not foreign to me. I’ve seen everything out on the course at this point, doing this for over 10 years now. But
Trent Manning 12:44
yeah
Ian Naus 12:45
yeah I won the Melrose Equipment Manager Experience, so, that’ll be cool to go to the show in January and have a year
Trent Manning 12:52
Oh, yeah
Ian Naus 12:53
my belt as a head equipment manager.
Trent Manning 12:55
That’s awesome
Ian Naus 12:56
yeah, I’m excited about that
Trent Manning 12:59
Yeah. So you’ll be in New Orleans this year? Awesome. Well, I look forward to meeting you
Ian Naus 13:04
Yeah, you too, man
Trent Manning 13:05
yeah. It’ll be super cool. That is, I mean, that’s one of the really great things that GCSA does for members I mean, it’s, yeah, it’s really wonderful and I don’t know how many people that’s went through that program that it… I don’t wanna say that it changed their life necessarily, but it definitely could have changed their trajectory on where they were going because, I mean, it’s just really good to get with all the like-minded individuals. And so on Wednesday they’ll have an EM reception, so it’ll be all equipment managers there and I mean, it’s really good networking opportunity.
Ian Naus 13:44
It’s about, yeah, networking, com- being a part of the national community at that point, and it’s They provide the opportunity. It’s on, us recipients to really make it whatever we want it.
Trent Manning 13:58
Oh
Ian Naus 13:59
get involved. Ask questions, be vulnerable. And that’s what I plan to do. I just wanna learn as much as possible and meet as many people from different clubs around the country
Trent Manning 14:08
Yeah, no, that is awesome. And I mean, good on you for saying to be vulnerable because it’s something, definitely as a male, that’s harder to do sometimes and harder to get out of your comfort zone ’cause you gotta be, tough guy, macho is kinda, what
Ian Naus 14:24
Yeah, this doesn’t mean I’m all, bad ass.
Trent Manning 14:26
right. But you know, it’s, When you get out of your comfort zone, it’s it’s really rewarding. Yeah, you learn a lot. You really do.
Ian Naus 14:34
Yeah, turns out we don’t have it all figured out.
Trent Manning 14:36
no. Yeah. No, yeah that’s so funny because, I mean, I remember, I mean, and maybe you too, and I’m sure a lot of the listeners when we were 18, 20, man, we thought we had it all figured out. And then the older you get,
Ian Naus 14:51
Yeah.
Trent Manning 14:52
the more you realize you don’t know. It’s
Ian Naus 14:55
Nope, you don’t
Trent Manning 14:56
Yeah. What’s been one of the strangest things that you’ve seen at work? Any, any good stories or
Ian Naus 15:04
honestly It’s always, y- it’s nothing crazy. Just some funny choices from seasonal guys that are only doing a year in between, like, junior and senior year of college or, going into college. Just these young guys, very green guys out on the course putting equipment in bunkers or the pond or, yeah, there’s some bold choices out there, but it’s just because they didn’t know. It’s not because they’re, stupid or whatever. Yeah, it’s funny to watch some of those little things that don’t hurt anything, but you just go, “That How did you come up with that?”
Trent Manning 15:36
Yes. I don’t– Do you have the Ventrac?
Ian Naus 15:39
not at Madonna, but I have been at courses with Ventrac, so
Trent Manning 15:42
Yeah, have you ever seen anybody wrap one around a tree?
Ian Naus 15:45
No, that’s a new one
Trent Manning 15:47
yeah, it’s, when it’s easier to do than you think, but when you’re mowing around a tree, if the back tire kinda catches and then you start working it back and forth ’cause it articulates in the middle, it ends up working its way onto the tree. I mean, crazy.
Ian Naus 16:03
That’s something else.
Trent Manning 16:04
there’s no way to get it out other than to pull it
Ian Naus 16:07
Bullet. Yeah
Trent Manning 16:08
I’ve seen several people do that over the years and,
Ian Naus 16:12
try that.
Trent Manning 16:13
yeah, there you go. You have to go find a Ventrac and try that out. Yeah, it’s funny how that works. Do you have a mentor in the industry?
Ian Naus 16:23
Tyler Lewellen is my mentor. Spring Hill is just a few miles from where I’m at in Medina.
Trent Manning 16:29
Okay
Ian Naus 16:30
and having him right down the street is Absolutely pivotal in, in how I’ve been able to excel in such a short period of time. Just even being able to pull an engine out of a cart and bring it over there and, get his eyes on it, it’s huge for me. I’m a very hands-on learner. I need to do by, learn by doing. Being able to do that with somebody who’s really confident in that, fix or just being able to verbalize what we’re doing is big on me ’cause I’m not I don’t Things don’t stick when I just read it. So, being able to work with somebody who knows what they’re doing, like Tyler, yeah, has just skyrocketed my, the pace in which I’m moving forward. So
Trent Manning 17:14
awesome. That’s
Ian Naus 17:14
he’s just a great fella.
Trent Manning 17:16
Yeah. Super good guy, for sure. Yeah. No, that’s super cool. Anybody else that comes to mind?
Ian Naus 17:24
Yeah, I mean, definitely, Jesse Trichka from Wayzata really was patient with me in getting my start, being a young, dumb kid and showing up late here and there, and just allowing me to grow and learn. And he was one of those where he wanted you to try everything, and make mistakes and learn, and then he’d explain. So, yeah, most of the superintendents I’ve worked for have been great, but I would say Jesse and Tyler have been… Jesse got me started and Tyler’s keeping me going
Trent Manning 17:57
yeah. Yeah, no, that’s so cool. And I do– I wanna say, coming from the other side as a mentor to other people, sometimes it was really hard for me to just let them fail,
Ian Naus 18:12
Mm-hmm.
Trent Manning 18:13
You know what I mean? It’s just like if you got kids or whatever, it’s hard to see them fail. You just wanna help them out. And, as long as I’ve been doing it, I think I know the easiest way to do quite a few jobs, and it’s hard to watch somebody, go around the world to get something done.
Ian Naus 18:32
Yeah. No, I can imagine.
Trent Manning 18:34
yeah. So it’s, it’s been a, a, a learning curve for me being on the other side too of… So that’s why I say that for if you are in the position to mentor others try to step back, keep your cool, and let them fail, which is really hard to do.
Ian Naus 18:52
Yeah, and you learn by making mistakes
Trent Manning 18:54
Mm-hmm. Yeah, exactly
Ian Naus 18:56
Cause you know where you’re trying to get to, so if you do all the things that aren’t gonna get you there, you won’t do them again, hopefully. Yeah
Trent Manning 19:04
Yes. Yeah. Yep. Well, and yeah, I mean, honestly, that’s what I think about and I’m depriving them of the experience, right? If I don’t let them fail, ’cause they’re not really gonna learn that there
Ian Naus 19:10
No, yeah. Just let ’em do it, as long as they’re not gonna hurt themselves.
Trent Manning 19:13
Oh yeah. Yeah, for sure. Yep, safety first.
Ian Naus 19:16
Yep.
Trent Manning 19:16
But I remember David Blauer said, “If you give 100 mechanics the same job, they’re gonna do it 100 different ways.”
Ian Naus 19:23
That
Trent Manning 19:24
then I don’t remember, I was just talking to somebody, like, in the last week, and they said, “If you give 100 mechanics the same job, they’re gonna do it 120 different ways.” It’s like, like, that’s a pretty good one. I’ll have to remember that one.
Ian Naus 19:38
good. Yeah. That’s a good one. I’m gonna, I’m gonna use that one
Trent Manning 19:42
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Ian Naus 20:19
My dream job is I will own a golf club at some point in my life.
Trent Manning 20:24
Oh, wow. Okay. So cool
Ian Naus 20:27
I really want that. I have my girlfriend, eventually wife, super supportive. We have a great vision together, and that’s Whether it’s my own or I’m invested in it, that’s something that’s always been a dream of mine. Because coming from the agronomy side and also having worked service industry and my mom’s career was based on assisted living residents, their experience and their, last place they’ll probably live is… I’m all about experience, and I just wanna give people, that and, total experience when they come to a club. ‘Cause I know what I’m looking for when I go somewhere. So being able to provide that would be awesome. And get involved with the community and I grew up in a humble environment, in a household, so being able to give back to kids that are less privileged would be really nice. Huge goal of mine.
Trent Manning 21:27
That’s so cool. That’s awesome. Yeah, I don’t know that I ever met anybody that was their inspiration
Ian Naus 21:34
Yeah, I wanna…
Trent Manning 21:35
that’s super cool
Ian Naus 21:36
Yeah, it’s definitely a dream of mine. I will accomplish it. It’s not gonna be cheap
Trent Manning 21:42
well, yeah. For sure. For sure
Ian Naus 21:44
No, I have a great partner in that, and yeah, that’s my biggest dream in my career, for sure
Trent Manning 21:50
Oh yeah. No, that’s awesome. I wish you the best in that endeavor for sure. Yeah. And if Reel Turf Techs can ever help, you just let us know.
Ian Naus 21:58
Absolutely.
Trent Manning 21:59
yeah, always happy to help promote anything, like that. Just really good stuff. Well, I know you worked with Tyler. Is there any other technicians you would like to work with for a day?
Ian Naus 22:12
it would be cool to– I don’t know the guy, but I worked with a gentleman when I got hired at Spring Hill, Matt Becker had been in a class with Charles Cecil over at Augusta
Trent Manning 22:27
Okay
Ian Naus 22:28
and I forget the gentleman’s name who’s the EM there, but
Trent Manning 22:32
Fred Hartenstein?
Ian Naus 22:33
yeah. I think it would be awesome to go see that operation, to be able to watch the Masters with the knowledge from behind the scenes. What they do there is obviously incredible. And we’re being able to watch it on TV, but I would just like to see the operation.
Trent Manning 22:54
Oh yeah
Ian Naus 22:54
’cause like how many equip- what equipment do they have all the time? ‘Cause what you see on television when they’re all mowing fairways, getting ready for the tournament, I’ve heard that’s additional equipment that’s brought in and so yeah. I just think it’d be cool to see the whole Augusta operation
Trent Manning 23:12
Yeah, no, hands down. Super cool operation. I’ve been fortunate enough to see it several times, but not during the Masters Tournament. Well, I’ve seen it from spectator side but I didn’t get to go in the shop while the tournament was going on. But when I worked with Jerry Pate, that was, one of our customers, and I’m trying to remember, we supplied maybe five fairway mowers during the tournament, and we would sell those at a discount, like a demo price or whatever to people, and a lot of people really, “Oh, I got a mower from the Masters,” I mean, that was cool.
Ian Naus 23:48
Signed. yeah,
Trent Manning 23:49
Yeah. One of the interesting things is they paint– They pay extra, they pay Toro extra to paint the Toro mowers gray.
Ian Naus 24:00
Really?
Trent Manning 24:01
Yeah. So they’re blend in better, right? Instead of the bright red. I don’t know if they do that on any of the other manufacturers, ’cause I know they have John Deere and Jacobsen there.
Ian Naus 24:12
Mm-hmm.
Trent Manning 24:12
but I don’t ever remember seeing any of those paint- painted a special color. But yeah,
Ian Naus 24:17
heard a ton of things about, what they do and wh- whether it’s true or not I’m sure there’s some unique processes that other places might not do
Trent Manning 24:29
yeah, for sure. Yeah, and I think it’s really long waiting list to volunteer there.
Ian Naus 24:34
Yeah
Trent Manning 24:35
to vol- volunteer for the tournament, it’s, there’s a wait list to get on
Ian Naus 24:40
and you might, I mean, you probably know this, but I’ve heard a lot of the volunteers are, those are class A superintendents out there,
Trent Manning 24:49
Oh
Ian Naus 24:49
not just your neighbor down the street that randomly got selected
Trent Manning 24:55
Yeah. I mean, I’ve volunt- I’ve been fortunate to volunteer at a lot of tournaments, and a lot of those tournaments, it’s a lot of assistant superintendents. And nothing against those guys, and it’s great that they’re out there and learning and all that. But yeah, at Augusta, I think it’s Class A level. I mean, not that there’s no assistants there,
Ian Naus 25:14
No, but it’s Professionals, not just, Gary across the street.
Trent Manning 25:20
Right, right, right, right. Tina Workman, she was our executive director for the Georgia chapter for over 20 years, and she’s volunteered at the Maskers every year for over 20 years. So, I mean, you got a 20-year veteran volunteer, I mean, so she’s pretty dialed in to her job duties there, and there’s a ton of volunteers that have tenures like that, which
Ian Naus 25:46
This isn’t she wasn’t a volunteer, but I went to… There’s a restaurant right by my club and I was just grabbing lunch, and the bartender had a Masters quarter zip on. Started chatting and asked her where she got it, and she goes, “Oh, I got it at the Masters. I’ve been the last three years.” I was like, “Oh, that’s incredible. How’d you do that?” She goes, “Oh, my son-in-law is Tom Hoge.” I
Trent Manning 26:12
Oh, wow.
Ian Naus 26:13
was like, “Oh.” So she showed me all the pictures and the videos of Magnolia Lane, and I just thought that was really fun.
Trent Manning 26:19
That’s so cool
Ian Naus 26:21
yeah, just randomly,
Trent Manning 26:22
yeah.
Ian Naus 26:22
no big deal.
Trent Manning 26:24
Mm-hmm. Yep. Yeah, that is so cool What do you know now you wish you’d known on day one?
Ian Naus 26:30
Oh Well, I guess I… Being patient, honestly, is just being more patient with the crew, with myself, with fixing stuff. Realizing that not everything can be fixed that day because, like, a part just doesn’t exist out of thin air. And yeah, just realizing that it’s not the end of the world if something can’t be fixed immediately. That’s… I wanna… I always like being good at things and getting things done quick but patience is definitely probably the the number one thing I wish I would’ve learned faster
Trent Manning 27:13
And I think that’s a tough one, and it comes by situation
Ian Naus 27:17
Mm-hmm.
Trent Manning 27:18
some things, like if I’m working on a machine or whatever and it’s kind of frustrating, I could have a lot of patience. And then there’s other little things that just kind of make me snap.
Ian Naus 27:31
Yeah.
Trent Manning 27:32
like, Why do
Ian Naus 27:32
why won’t this little thing just happen every, like it does every other
Trent Manning 27:36
Yeah, Right, right. Yep. So yeah, no, that, I think that’s a really good one. And maybe it comes with time and getting older. Maybe
Ian Naus 27:45
Yeah.
Trent Manning 27:46
patient. But I don’t know.
Ian Naus 27:47
for sure.
Trent Manning 27:48
I think it can go the opposite way too. As you get older, maybe you got less patience for
Ian Naus 27:53
Yeah. It c- it could be too hot that day. I don’t, it’s just all these
Trent Manning 27:57
Who knows? Yeah,
Ian Naus 27:58
yeah, I agree. Yeah. No it’s always something
Trent Manning 28:01
Yep. Yeah, it is. How do you deal with that person on your crew?
Ian Naus 28:05
patience.
Trent Manning 28:06
Ah, patience. There you go. Yeah. Yeah, exactly
Ian Naus 28:09
kind of going back to what you were saying earlier about letting them make the mistake is it’s… They didn’t do it intentionally, it… Every situation’s different. Obviously, there are some things it comes down to, this has happened multiple times. There’s a negligence happening. But yeah, patience. It’s normally not… It’s not vicious. It’s just lack of knowledge, and then at some point you can figure out if it’s just carelessness, and then you can address it from there. And fortunately for me, it’s… I say what I need to say, and I tell my boss, “This is the third, fourth time this has happened. I think we should have a talk or figure out a different avenue so we can stop doing this.” Bed knives add up.
Trent Manning 28:52
Oh yeah.
Ian Naus 28:53
like
Trent Manning 28:53
it gets expensive. Mm-hmm.
Ian Naus 28:55
Yeah. So yeah, stuff like that
Trent Manning 28:59
Yeah, and that was, I guess, one of the really frustrating things for me is if we broke a bed knife or reel on a sprinkler head, like, why can’t we go fix that sprinkler head right now?
Ian Naus 29:12
That’s where I’m at with this one sprinkler head. So I’ve changed the bed knife four times now. Why are we not doing something about the swing joint then?
Trent Manning 29:22
yeah. Right. Yeah. This is, I mean, honestly, that’s not acceptable, I don’t think, to have that happen four times, happens once, okay, and let’s go out there and level the head
Ian Naus 29:34
Yeah. I’ll help
Trent Manning 29:35
or not mow. Exactly. I’m happy to go out there and level the head. If nobody else has time to do it, I’ll go do it, ’cause that– how much time would that save you not have to regrind the reel and replace three bed knives,
Ian Naus 29:48
Yeah. And depending on how bad it is, it’s, I’ve got one this year where the bed bar just was torched,
Trent Manning 29:55
Oh
Ian Naus 29:55
Got, got really messed up. And that’s, that just eats up budget pretty quick.
Trent Manning 30:01
Yes, it does. Yes, it does
Ian Naus 30:03
None of this stuff is cheap.
Trent Manning 30:05
no, not any of it. Well, what kind of tips and tricks you got you wanna share with us?
Ian Naus 30:13
Honestly, I think my biggest… being new, I got about one, and I learned it from Tyler. It’s just do it right the first time.
Trent Manning 30:22
Ah, okay. Yeah.
Ian Naus 30:23
do it right the first time. It’ll save you a headache later most likely, and if anything, you’re creating a better baseline for yourself and what you expect of yourself. If you just Band-Aid everything, you’re just creating habits that are gonna come back to bite you at some point.
Trent Manning 30:44
Oh yeah, for
Ian Naus 30:45
so yeah I’m big on just do it right the first time. Use the right bolt. If it calls for a nylon lock nut, just use it. Don’t hodgepodge it together. Again, if you’re doing your job right, even if you can’t fix it that day if you’re doing your job right, you don’t… You’ll get by
Trent Manning 31:02
Yeah. No, I– Right. Yeah. No, I, that’s
Ian Naus 31:03
the right part or the right piece or whatever
Trent Manning 31:06
hurry or our boss is in a hurry or
Ian Naus 31:13
Absolutely
Trent Manning 31:15
whatever, and, sometimes we feel the need to cut corners and sometimes, we have to cut corners. But the less corners we cut, the better off we’re gonna be in the long run.
Ian Naus 31:25
Yeah. And if it just needs to get out there for the rest of the day and you come back to it, that’s one thing. It’s being okay with mediocre,
Trent Manning 31:34
yeah. Yep. No, I’m with you there. Yeah. I don’t– And I guess I learned this from my dad, but any job worth doing is worth overdoing. That’s the way I learned it,
Ian Naus 31:44
I like that
Trent Manning 31:45
yeah. Which ends up being more time and more money a lot of times. But, it, it does pay its dividends in the long run
Ian Naus 31:55
And it feels
Trent Manning 31:55
it right.
Ian Naus 31:56
It feels good to do It right.
Trent Manning 31:58
Mm-hmm.
Ian Naus 31:59
yeah, I’ve… you start to build that pride in your work knowing that piece of equipment that I fixed is, that’s gonna last,
Trent Manning 32:06
yeah. Well, and it really reminds me of something that I learned when I was working with Jerry Pate, the Toro distributor, is Say a belt fails. Don’t just replace the belt. What caused the belt to fail? it’s, find- finding the root cause of the problem, not just, ‘Cause, I mean, yeah, belts can wear out, but normally belts don’t just fail.
Ian Naus 32:33
Yeah, is it
Trent Manning 32:34
belt breaks, right, right. Yeah, what is causing it? Is the idler not spinning like it’s supposed to? You know what I mean? Whatever the case
Ian Naus 32:41
Yeah.
Trent Manning 32:41
so really dig in there and find
Ian Naus 32:43
on,
Trent Manning 32:44
root problem
Ian Naus 32:45
on the winter rebuild sheets that Tyler had while I was working under him, it’s really in depth. Look at everything. Look at the belts. Is there leaking, is just… Is there chafing on a wire? Don’t just do the oil change. If you’re under there, take a peek. Look at it all. And yeah, I think that’s probably another tip or trick I, I would give is spend the time and just look around, look around the engine bay, look at the tires. Like, just open your eyes and be a little, just be a little more patient,
Trent Manning 33:19
right, right, right, right. Yeah, for sure. I tried to teach my guys that even when we were doing our daily checks on quality of cut, and how to cut is, give it a good once-over, looking at hoses and looking for leaks or, anything like that while you got it up on the lift already,
Ian Naus 33:38
I found plenty of times this year on the, the Toro, the Triflex 3420s we have, is that knuckle bracket tends to work loose, so just checking that every day or whatever saves me that 40 minutes of, some guy having to go out to the course, get the reel off, bring it back, put it on the lift. If I just check it every day and make sure they’re tight, I avoid problems later down the road. So
Trent Manning 34:07
Yep. No, that’s good stuff. Let’s take a minute and talk about what y’all have going on in Minnesota with the technicians. Y’all got a pretty good group of technicians there
Ian Naus 34:22
Yeah. Yeah, we do. It’s, we got Austin down at Hazeltine, Tyler at Spring Hill, Tanner, he’s at North Oaks and, town and Country
Trent Manning 34:35
Chad Brown.
Ian Naus 34:36
Yeah. Those guys are just fantastic. Super willing to host us and, really be a part of it. Take time out of their personal lives to, create stuff for the rest of the community and Tanner got a new shop recently. Incredible allowing us to come interrupt his day and take a peek at that and Chad is just– he’s just the cleanest guy
Trent Manning 35:03
Oh yeah. Yeah, he is. He really
Ian Naus 35:06
and, one of the things– I forgot. I don’t– I think I was talking to Tyler. I don’t know. But when a piece of equipment like that goes out on the course at, Chad’s piece of equipment, it’s 20 years old looking brand new. I never really thought about it, but when the members see that, that– that’s their equipment too,
Trent Manning 35:29
Oh yeah,
Ian Naus 35:29
So knowing that it’s not brand new, but it looks like that, as a member, I would feel very comfortable and confident about where I’m at and, the dues I’m paying and you know just who’s taking care of, what– the luxury we have, so yeah. I never really looked at it that way. But yeah, the way Chad keeps his equipment is definitely good for the members to see also.
Trent Manning 35:56
Yeah, and I think it even maybe boosts the morale of the crew.
Ian Naus 36:00
Yeah.
Trent Manning 36:01
When you’re going out on a mower that looks brand new, more than likely you’re gonna take a little bit better care of it than you would, something that looked like a piece of junk
Ian Naus 36:12
Yeah and
Trent Manning 36:13
belonged in a
Ian Naus 36:14
a clean shop like that, it just feels good. Walking into a clean house is great. Same thing at work.
Trent Manning 36:20
No yeah. Yeah, exactly.
Ian Naus 36:22
just feels better
Trent Manning 36:23
Right. Yeah.
Ian Naus 36:26
But yeah, no they’re great and we’re super, super lucky to have, have Chris, the MGCSA, and tho- those four guys really putting their best foot forward
Trent Manning 36:36
how often do y’all get together as a group?
Ian Naus 36:40
In the winter it’s quite a bit. I mean, somebody’s always hosting something, shop tours or just, and Chris putting together something at a brewery or, But it’s probably once a month during the winter season.
Trent Manning 36:53
Nice.
Ian Naus 36:54
then Tyler and I have lunch every Monday,
Trent Manning 36:56
Oh, really?
Ian Naus 36:57
I’m, that’s… W- anybody can come. Yeah.
Trent Manning 37:00
Yeah
Ian Naus 37:01
we don’t shut our phones off on Mondays, but yeah, no, we could definitely… We get together a lot and everybody’s really seems to enjoy each other also, so
Trent Manning 37:10
That’s awesome. That is– I mean, it’s awesome to have a tight-knit group like that
Ian Naus 37:16
Yeah, and it’s like they’re bringing us– I feel like the maintenance side of golf was just stuck in this archaic mode for a long time, and I feel like now we’re youthful and energized,
Trent Manning 37:28
yeah. Yeah.
Ian Naus 37:30
It’s cool. I’m super lucky. Yeah
Trent Manning 37:33
cool. Yeah, I’m gonna have to try to make it up there to one of these one day.
Ian Naus 37:38
Yeah, Spring Hill is renovating, doing a bunch of renovations. There’s a lot going on up here renovation-wise. It’s cool. Really cool
Trent Manning 37:48
Good stuff. Well, do you wanna do some rapid fire questions?
Ian Naus 37:52
Yes, sir
Trent Manning 37:53
Or you got anything else you wanna talk about?
Ian Naus 37:56
No, no.
Trent Manning 37:58
yeah, we can,
Ian Naus 37:58
to be here. This is
Trent Manning 37:59
Yeah. No, it’s fun, man. This is definitely my favorite part of the podcast is the interview process and getting to know each other a little bit
Ian Naus 38:07
Yeah you’ve definitely been evolving over the last f- some years with what you’ve been doing, huh?
Trent Manning 38:12
Yeah, definitely trying to. And I mean, the YouTube thing is great and super rewarding. I pulled into a shop the other day and I was actually standing in the shop and nobody there, like looking around, never been to this course before, and this guy pulls in a truck and rolls the window down and says, “I just watched you on YouTube.” I was like, “No way.”
Ian Naus 38:35
That’s so cool
Trent Manning 38:36
Yeah, it was pretty cool. And then well, just last week I stopped at this course, just cold call and I’m like looking around. They were building a new maintenance facility, like they didn’t have a maintenance facility, so a new construction deal. And I’m looking around, I’m not seeing anybody, and I see this head pop up with a how to cut bar, and I’m like, “All right, there’s my guy.” so I get out and I’m walking over there and he’s like, “Hey, I follow you on Facebook. Nice
Ian Naus 39:04
That’s awesome.
Trent Manning 39:05
So yeah, it’s definitely makes the cold calls a lot easier when the person
Ian Naus 39:11
I bet that’s,
Trent Manning 39:11
you.
Ian Naus 39:12
Yeah, it’s already heated up at that point.
Trent Manning 39:14
yeah. Very cool
Ian Naus 39:16
Oh, that’s
Trent Manning 39:16
So it– yeah, it’s been so rewarding. And I’d start… Somebody asked me like, what’s my end goal last week, and I don’t have an end goal. This is– I just like giving back to the industry and I enjoy meeting these people, and it’s– I’m having the time of my life.
Ian Naus 39:32
Oh, I love that, man. Really good for you. And thank you for doing it, ’cause
Trent Manning 39:36
oh, yeah, for sure
Ian Naus 39:38
this is definitely… It’s fun for something new like this to come out that we can participate in,
Trent Manning 39:43
yeah, for sure.
Ian Naus 39:44
so
Trent Manning 39:49
Let’s do some rapid fire.
Ian Naus 39:51
All right.
Trent Manning 39:52
What’s your favorite movie?
Ian Naus 39:53
The Big Lebowski.
Trent Manning 39:54
Oh, yeah, a
Ian Naus 39:55
No question.
Trent Manning 39:57
Dude.” Yeah.
Ian Naus 39:58
Dude. Yeah
Trent Manning 39:59
that’s awesome. What would be your last meal?
Ian Naus 40:03
macaroni and cheese and pancakes, specifically from Ideal Diner in Minneapolis.
Trent Manning 40:11
Okay. Man knows what he wants. I like it.
Ian Naus 40:14
Yeah.
Trent Manning 40:16
What are you most proud of besides your family?
Ian Naus 40:20
I honestly would say That I’ve never quit. I- Dolly Parton has a quote, it’s “I never quit trying and I never tried quitting.” And I just feel like that’s just kind of the way I’ve lived my life and especially in this, this portion of being vulnerable and, being bad at something or being new. It’s failing isn’t gonna get me to quit. So I just keep plugging away and the last couple years have completely changed my life and my attitude and just… I’m just a better person. So yeah
Trent Manning 40:58
That’s awesome, man. So good for you. I’m happy for you. That’s, And I
Ian Naus 41:02
been a journey. Yeah, she’s a cool one
Trent Manning 41:07
yeah, she is cool. Life is a journey.
Ian Naus 41:09
உம்.
Trent Manning 41:10
Yeah. It’s no other way to explain it. It is a journey
Ian Naus 41:14
Bumps and bruises and good and bad, but yeah I getting back into the golf industry after, six, six, seven years doing tech sales that I wasn’t very good at yeah. I, again, going back to Jesse allowing me to learn and figuring out that I love doing this, coming back has been the single biggest decision I ever made and the best decision. Turf, turf has saved my life, Trent.
Trent Manning 41:40
All right. That’s awesome, man. That is so good. So good. Yeah very cool. Well, thank you so much for being a guest
Ian Naus 41:49
Oh, dude, absolutely. What a good time, and again, thanks for, thank you for doing this. I’m
Trent Manning 41:54
Oh, yeah, absolutely
Ian Naus 41:56
enjoy doing
Trent Manning 42:02
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.