Frank catches up with Jim Croxton, CEO of the British and international Golf Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA) to discuss their recent visit to join in the celebration of the 30th anniversary of the Icelandic Greenkeepers Association.

Jim is a keen observer and insightful leader of one of the great employee organizations in golf. Lots of fun in this listen and lots to learn about advocating for greenkeeping around the globe!

Kate Torgersen is the owner and founder of Environmental Golf Solutions Australia and now the Torgersen Gilbey partnership, a new company Kate is founding (with Monina Gilbey of Green Gecko Studios) to address emerging needs in golf course environmental stewardship.

Frank and Kate speak about the challenges and opportunities for expanding naturalized/native vegetation on your golf course working across staff, members, community groups, government, and anti-golf groups. Kate is a refreshing voice for the golf industry with other leaders such as Brianne Kenny nurturing a culture of environmental stewardship.

Frank has a lively conversation with Brian Stiehler, CGCS MG, the golf course superintendent at Highlands (NC) Country Club and Past President of the Carolinas GCSA.

Brian discusses his beginnings in Pennsylvania, his years with the late Dr. George Hamilton at Penn State, and a stint at the Old Course in St. Andrews.

The conversation makes its way to his passion for model trains and public service in his local community.

In this episode Frank speaks with Trent Manning, Certified Turfgrass Equipment Manager and host of the Reel Turf Techs Podcast.  Trent is the equipment manager at Ansley Golf Club at Settindown Creek in Roswell, Ga, and recipient of the 2022 Edwin Budding Award from the GCSAA, recognizing an equipment manager who has made a significant impact on the golf course and turf industry.

This is a far-reaching conversation that reviews the perceptions and stereotypes of the EM position and how real expertise contributes to the success of an operation. Trent clarifies some of the technical aspects of turf equipment and the vital importance of communication for a successful EM.

In this episode, Frank speaks with Dr. Manuel Chavarria, Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist of Turfgrass Stress Physiology at Texas A&M. Manuel and Frank discuss his progression from Forest Systems in Mexico through his years of study at Texas and brief stint at the former Prairie Turfgrass Research Center in Canada, to his current position at Texas A&M.

Manuel and Frank also discuss research on salinity stress, pigments and paints and his pioneering effort to provide turfgrass education in Spanish!

Our 11th season of Frankly Speaking begins with a conversation with Professor Ross Braun, one of the great young minds in turfgrass science from Kansas State University. Director of the Rocky Ford Turfgrass Research Center, Ross received his MS and Ph.D. in Turfgrass Science with previous guest Professor Dale Bremer.

After Kansas State Ross spent four years as a Research Scholar at Purdue University where he studied the family of fine fescues. Ross does a lot of teaching and is also the author of Decode 6, a blog of the Crop Science Society of America on the role of carbon in agriculture.

Frank sits down with Pamela Sherratt, Turfgrass Specialist in the Department of Horticulture and Crop Science at THE Ohio State University. She has a BSc (Honors) in Horticulture from The University of Central Lancashire in England and her MS in Turfgrass Science from The Ohio State University.  In April Pam received the 2022-2023 CFAES Distinguished Teaching by a Lecturer Award that recognizes her expertise as an educator. Frank and Pam cover a wide range of topics related to training the next generations of turfgrass managers.

Frank sits down with frequent guest and Professor of Weed Science at the University of Tennessee, Jim Brosnan. Jim and Frank cover a wide range of topics that turfgrass managers must be aware of as we confront the lack of new herbicides, the pressure of increasing resistance in weeds, and finish up discussing the recent herbicide restrictions associated with EPA re-registration of Oxadiazon (Ronstar and Andersons Goose and Crabgrass control).

Frank has a great conversation with old friend and repeat guest John Sorochan, Distinguished Professor of Turfgrass Science at the University of Tennessee. John has been involved with sports turf since his early days at Michigan State University. He was a key participant with the 1994 World Cup games held in the Pontiac Silverdome where the concept of maintaining grass inside a dome began.

Fast forward 30 years later and he is LEADING the effort for the multiple locations and fields in North America to host the World Cup in 2026. For those who like behind the scenes of big events, this is a must listen.

Frank Speaks with Dr. Evan Mascitti of Infinite Athlete about his career, MS and Ph.D. at Penn State University, that has led him to be one of the leading thinkers in the study of baseball “dirt”. His pathway had mentors from WI, his role as Manager of Grounds for the Pittsburgh Pirates, and all fostered a keen interest — bordering on an obsession — “with the dirt”.

You are not going to believe how complex the “dirt” is. Evan’s current position with Infinite Athlete is responsible for testing NFL playing surfaces and provides some insight into the issues and balancing field safety and performance.

A New York Wiseguy and a Philly Punk walk into a Caddyshack with “ginned-up mobsters”… Frank sits down with the inimitable John Reilly, Director of Agronomy at The Resort at Longboat Key and discusses John’s thinking on managing resort golf in an environmentally sensitive area and why he will sometimes discuss the Kreb’s Cycle.

John’s pioneering work on the use of data and his interest in sharing and learning and failing and growing are a model for modern professionals in the golf turf industry. As always, this is a fun listen!

Frank catches up with Charles Goode (@GoodeTurf), the Southeastern Sales Lead for GreenSight, a provider of digital cloud-based services for turfgrass professionals to manage all aspects of their operation, from mowing and remote sensing to soil monitoring and staff planning. Charles spent his early career in the turfgrass industry from landscape and sod to golf and sports fields.

A graduate of NC State and Penn State, Charles has been actively promoting the use of autonomous mowers in the turfgrass industry. This is a fun conversation getting to know a young professional!

In this episode of Frankly Speaking, Frank speaks with Dr. Sara Stricker, the Communications and Outreach Coordinator for the Guelph Turfgrass Institute in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. Sara and Frank chat about the people that support the education and research at one of the historically significant turfgrass science programs in the world.

Sara expounds upon her wealth of experience in plant pathology, teaching and research that has shaped her perspective on her current role communicating science to the public and to the industry the GTI has so effectively served for over 30 years.

In this episode Franks speaks with Amy Fouty, CSFM with The Motz Group as a Natural Grass Field Consultant. She was formerly at the University of Michigan and Michigan State University, but before that in the golf industry.

Amy speaks with great candor and professionalism about her career path, working in very high profile situations, and dealing with coaches and administrators. She shares her experience working with her mentors and building a network that helped her face some big challenges.  She has learned the power of cooperating internally with your team and externally with administrators.

In this episode Jim Wagner, Vice President of Hanse Golf Course Design,  chats with Frank about the creative process in designing golf courses.

Jim and Frank discuss how the renewed excitement for golf, climate change and a good owner are all impacting golf course architecture.

Lara Arias, golf course superintendent at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome, speaks with Frank about her career and what led to her current position. She explains in one of the five languages she speaks how she grew as a professional both in the US and then returning to Europe.

Lara has worked on crews at RTJ in VA, TPC Scottsdale, Congressional, and Quail Hollow and developed her expertise in tournament golf that she applied at Le Golf National in 2018 for the last Ryder Cup on Euro soil. She is ready for the challenge of hosting the 2023 Ryder Cup and as a member of the team that will host the event in 2025 at Bethpage in NY we are all rooting for her!

In this episode of Frankly Speaking, Frank is joined by his old friend, mentor, colleague and gourmet eating buddy Professor Bruce Branham from the University of Illinois- Champaign-Urbana. Bruce is a chemist by his original academic training and has conducted, been involved, and reviewed many important studies focused on understanding Nitrogen and its use in turfgrass systems. Frank does all he can do to keep up with Bruce’s depth of knowledge in this area. This is the closest we’ll get to a Master Class on Nitrogen.

The founder of the First Green program, Jeff Gullickson, CGCS, golf course superintendent at Kalispel Golf and Country Club (Spokane, WA) joins Frankly Speaking to discuss how a simple idea and a love of the game of golf led to the ground breaking program, now being practiced around the world! Jeff provides some excellent insight from the formation of the idea to the current excitement around using golf courses as STEM education tools, working with FFA and promoting local golf programs to make courses more accessible.

Jeff is someone who has always walked the walk when it comes to educating people on golf course management and environmental stewardship.