Biological Soil Management is a “soil first” agronomic philosophy that relies on carbon based fertilizers to feed needed microbial populations. The sports turf industry can be tough on the soil when there are forty thousand set of feet running over the golf greens or dozens of sports teams playing up and down the field. Biological Soil Management starts by first balancing the soil chemically so that it can physically open up, this allows air and water to move through the soil profile. When we have air in the soil, and we feed the soil microbes available forms of carbon, the soil starts to blossom.

In this podcast we revisit four separate podcasts featuring three clients and our chemist, Lawrence Mayhew, to discuss why we use carbon in our soil programs.

Jedd Newsome has been following a Biological Soil Management program, on his golf course, for almost 15 years. He has cut his fertility inputs back by over half! In this conversation with Joel Simmons, Jedd shares how he heard about the concepts in a Soil First Academy, and how he didn’t believe that you could cut back as much as was suggested. But he has actually cut back more than the Academy promised.

This was a great conversation that includes winter protection using tarps, labor issues on the golf course, and fertility management. Jedd also talks about how important it is to communicate issues on the golf course with his members and how he goes about that important task. Springfield Country Club is a private, very busy golf course, that is located in a valley that presents a very difficult climate when it comes to managing cool season grass. If anyone thinks that moving north to grow grass is easy you may want to take a listen!

Ryan Higgins has had a strong career working at some of the best golf courses in the Mid Atlantic. He recently became the “Head Guy” at TPC Potomac, outside of Washington DC, perhaps the toughest place in the country to grow cool season grasses.

Ryan worked with Pete Wendt for several years, most recently as a golf course superintendent at Congressional Country Club where he was able to see their recent reconstruction project. Now he is on his own as the lead manager and we talked about what that is like and how he managed the change.

One of the most powerful comments he made in this conversation was, “We are in the solutions business! If something is wrong fix the problem, don't just cover it up". We talked about his interview process and the steps he took once he started the job.

For the last three years a construction project has been going on at North Jersey Country Club. In this conversation with Jack Higgins, James Surico and Dan Kilpatrick (senior assistant and superintendent, respectively) tell the full story including some low moments over the last few years. Hear about how golf course architect Brian Schneider re-captured the original Walter Travis design. The unique architecture is inspired by the rugged mountain top landscape and the soil itself.

Kevin Hicks and Joel Simmons speak with Bill McKibben, agronomist extraordinaire, author and friend. This episode is the start of a series on how to read soil, paste and water tests. Bill is the the agronomist at Logan Labs and he has played a major role on the EarthWorks team for years.

Learn how a soil test report can be interpreted and how the Albrecht model of base saturation should be used.

On this week’s podcast, Kevin Hicks interviews Lew Sharp of Tee-2-Green, one of the premier producers of bentgrass seed in the golf course industry. Lew shares with us how he got into the turf industry at an early age, and how he has done everything related to golf course maintenance.

His role as consulting agronomist has taken him around the world helping superintendents with grass selection and general grow-in challenges. We discussed trends in breeding, tips for successful grow ins, and practical things turf managers can do at their own facility to improve conditions and prepare for emergencies.

We hope you enjoy this conversation with one of the leaders in the turf management industry.

Jerry Brunetti and Joel Simmons founded EarthWorks in 1988 and together they built a leading soil and plant fertility company. Jerry, who we lost to cancer in 2014, was one of the leading voices in sustainable agriculture and was a prolific speaker and writer.

In this podcast we share a talk Jerry gave at an Acres USA seminar in the late 90’s. It is introduced by Fred Walters, EarthWorks Podcast veteran and former owner of ACRES USA. Jerry talks about the importance of fractal geometry, the physical and biological process in the soil that allows for the soil to open enough to allow air and water to work through the profile. He also shares his thoughts on mycorrhiza and the glomalin, the material excreted by the mycorrhiza fungi, that helps keep moisture held around the root system.

Jerry was ahead of his time and a very dynamic and passionate speaker. This is evident as you hear him speak about: the importance of re-mineralizing soils, biological soil management, the soil's ability to sequester carbon, and the incredible life under our feet.

Jason VanBuskirk started his career as a teenager at Stow Acres Country Club in Massachusetts, left for a while, got a turf degree, and then came back. When his boss and mentor told Jason he was leaving, Jason applied for the job and at the age of 24 became the superintendent. After several years as a superintendent, he asked his owner for an electronic “Jobs Board” and was turned down, so he built his own that he called TurfCloud.

Years later he started partnering with GreenSight, a company specializing in drone technology, who believed there was a place in the golf course industry for the kind of information that drones could provide the superintendent. A few years later he sold his company to GreenSight and started integrating the data collection platform that he built with the drone technology and today they provide a complete platform of drones, soil sensors and autonomous mowers.

Jason spoke with Joel Simmons about robotic mowers and how they are taking off in the industry. Jason shared data that they gathered showing that the return on investment for robotic mowers is less than two years. They are being used very effectively in mowing rough, fairways, and around club houses and other hard to maintain areas. The future looks bright for these robots and Jason thinks that in a few years, mostly because of labor savings, they will be mainstream in the industry.

Kevin Pryseski has been in the golf business since he was in high school and is now preparing for retirement. When you start your career in the transition zone of the mid-Atlantic states you can grow grass anywhere. After several years in the Baltimore Maryland market, Kevin picked up and moved 3000 miles away to northern California and has spent the past 20+ years at two courses north of San Francisco.

We talk as two old friends sharing stories of the days in Maryland, our interest in wine and food and what the future looks like after a long and successful career as a golf course superintendent. In 2006 his golf course, Marin Country Club, joined forces with Troon Golf and he talks about what the transition felt like moving from a private club to an upscale management company. We talked about the changing environment and the impact on the day to day operation.

When asked if he uses any fungicides in California like he did in Maryland, he said I hadn’t until recently but in the past few years nighttime temperatures are rising and disease issues are becoming problematic and he has had to have fungicides on his shelf again.

As he ends his career he is preparing for the next chapter in his life and hasn’t ruled out the idea of working part time on a golf course close to his new home! Retired superintendents may become a great new stream of qualified labor in an industry looking for good people!

Brian O’Malley from River Vale Country Club is an excellent superintendent and really fun EarthWorks podcast guest! The EarthWorks podcast is very diverse - we host guests from all different backgrounds and get into some far out discussions. But it’s also nice to have an episode that really connects the dots of how to use EarthWorks products to make a big difference in everyday greenkeeping. Brian and Jack Higgins get into the weeds of exactly that in this episode.

The Jargon of Cincinnati! Dan Francis of Wildwood Golf Club in Middletown, Ohio and TJ Collins of Legendary Run Golf Club in Cincinnati join Chad Kuzawa to chat about social media and its impact within the turf industry.

Welcome back for another of the Lawrence Mayhew tapes! On this episode we talk about the symbiotic relationships between the plant and the soil. Typically, we focus on the rhizosphere, the area around the roots, but here we expand the conversation to how a plant can take up nutrients through its leaves and crown.

Lawrence has been instrumental in helping us make our Foliars+ liquid fertilizers EcoAdaptive. This is achieved by understanding the molecular ratios that plants uptake in a natural system. For many years Lawrence has studied theses chemistry ratios. He then built an extensive database of the naturally occurring nutrient ratios and has been able to incorporate these ratios into EarthWorks product development. When the ratios of elements are what Lawrence calls “balanced” the plant can absorb all its needed nutrients without any luxury consumption.

We also talk about the commonly used raw materials found in the EarthWorks Foliars+ products and other carbon based liquid and granular products in today’s turf and ornamental market. This conversation is technical, but we worked hard at taking a very tough subject and making it both informative and entertaining!

Joel Simmons and Jack Higgins welcome back Lawrence Mayhew, EarthWorks Chemist, to talk about an amazing experience. We enjoyed a pasture walk, facilitated by our sister company for their agriculture clients, as we learned more about how a plant really works. The pasture walk was hosted by a gentleman who learned how to establish good soils and pasture grasses from our founding partner, Jerry Brunetti.

Thirty years ago, these fields were a Christmas tree farm, a plant that demands a lot of potassium and nitrogen to grow. When they were transformed into grass pastures to graze cows, the mineral content was not suited to this new purpose. Over the years of working cattle he was able to restore the soils to a well-balanced chemical environment and one that promotes a very diverse biological environment. The process took several years; but, as soil biology changed and improved, the weed populations also changed, and the desired grasses started to populate the fields.

The process took several years; but, as soil biology changed and improved, the weed populations also changed, and the desired grasses started to populate the fields...

One of the focuses of this pasture program was to remineralize the soil, using mineral rich fertilizers and supplements. This is the backbone of sustainable agriculture, and the biological soil management process is the same approach that EarthWorks has been focused on for revitalizing the soils in the turf industry. The story told here is a fascinating one. In this discussion, we talk about what the pasture manager experienced and compare it to the process that we use to help turf managers build sustainable soils in their environment.

Steve Fackler is what we call a “soils guy”. He has been a golf course superintendent in the Sacramento Valley in northern California for many years, most recently at Serrano Country Club.

Steve tells this story of the soils he found at Serrano when he first arrived. “When I first arrived at Serrano, soils were very tight and compacted and the calcium to magnesium ratio was completely backwards with magnesium being much higher than calcium.”

Steve spent the next three to four years applying calcium limestone to balance the soils and today he is very happy with the changes. “It took a long time to get the soils balanced, and after a number of years we are working with soils that are well drained and carbon rich, you can see and feel the difference,” says Steve.

When asked what is next for Steve’s career, he let us know that he is leaving Serrano and figuring out his next move. He has been in the golf industry for most of his career, but has also spent close to ten years teaching horticulture in a local school and loves the interaction in the classroom. It is always interesting to hear the stories of tough soils and how they are successfully balanced, Steve’s story is a really good one, and this podcast was a real pleasure.

Chanticleer is a stunning 35 acre garden. Upon entering the gates you will find yourself removed from the outside world and inside a timeless landscape functioning as a living art museum. Scott Steinfeldt is a very well informed grounds manager with a wide breadth of knowledge from his experience in golf, but particularly from his 14 years at Chanticleer. He could teach a masterclass in managing foot traffic in a landscape scenario, but my favorite part of the conversation is when he describes the bulb field.

Enjoy this in depth discussion about sustainable systems for landcare.

Pat Finlen has had an iconic career in the golf course industry as a superintendent, a director of grounds, and as a general manager. At The Olympic Club, he hosted the 2012 US Open. Pat recently switched gears and became the Executive Vice President at Denehy Club Thinking Partners, a staffing and recruiting company that specializes in placing general managers and golf course superintendents.

In this conversation with Joel Simmons, Pat gives us some insight into the hiring practices of clubs, what they are looking for, and some tips on how to get the job. When asked how he felt about the change of careers he reminded us that one of the most important jobs a Superintendent or a General Manager has is recruiting the right people and he had been doing it his whole career. We talked about some of the changes that are occurring in the industry, how golf courses are becoming much more family focused, and how these changes impact both the Superintendent and the General Manager. 

Pat feels the future for both positions is very bright and salaries continue to rise. However the labor market continues to be tight but hopefully there is a light at the end of the tunnel on this front. It is always great catching up with Pat and this conversation is an important one for anyone in the business.

It is always a thrill when a 65 year old golf course gets a complete transformation.  That is exactly what Andrew Morgan, Golf Course Superintendent, oversaw at Palo Alto Hills G & CC in Northern California. In fact that transition earned them the Runner Up title at Golf Digest for Best Transformation of the Year.

In this conversation with Joel Simmons, Andrew talks about how it took him and his team years to get the reconstruction project approved and the endless hours that it took talking to committees and members to get everyone to see the vision.

They started by creating a very elaborate master plan with architect Brian Costello. When passed through committee it was rejected, but Andrew and his team were persistent. Eventually the club saw the vision and today that vision is shining through; Palo Alto Hills is nothing short of spectacular.

Andrew is a soils guy and knew he needed to make changes to the foundation of the property to make a sustainable environment for the new project. A fascinating and very informative conversation with a superintendent worth getting to know.

Chuck Szczurek is a guy who gets it. As the golf course superintendent at Middletown (PA) Country Club, he starts by developing mutual respect with every member of the grounds crew and every employee in the clubhouse.

In 2022 Chuck was tasked with recovery and regrowth of much of the golf course, while also maintaining excellent playing conditions. Add in a 30% increase in rounds over what was already a pandemic bump in 2021! The Middletown Country Club team had to become efficient and effective with their agronomic practices.

Check out this great talk with a great guy!