Dr. Brian Schwartz joins Frankly Speaking to discuss the challenges and opportunities of Bermudagrass and Zoysiagrass breeding at the Tifton, GA  Experiment Station. Frank and Brian discuss the history of the station and the giants  (Drs. Burton and Hanna) he has replaced. This is an excellent primer to understanding the modern Bermudagrasses and Zoysiagrasses that are available as well the strengths that they bring to the market.

A must listen for warm season grass growers, but also great information for anyone in the golf turf industry.

Josh Lewis joins this episode of Frankly Speaking to discuss his career and the challenges and opportunities he has had from his early days at Bandon Dunes to Chambers Bay and now in Project Management as a partner in Gradoville and Hertzing Management Group.

Josh reflects on his journey to becoming a golf course superintendent and the many relationships he has had and has nurtured along the way. Of course, homage is paid to Professor Tom Cook at Oregon State University who views his student as his measure of success, certainly Josh would be counted among them.

Dr. Stan Kostka joins Frank on this episode of Frankly Speaking to explore the important and timely topic of water repellent soils, the use of surfactants and the potential role of surfactants on critical soil water and rooting relationships.

Stan and Frank discuss different surfactant chemistries and their potential use to mitigate localized dry spots, enhance seed establishment and manage certain soil borne diseases and insects.

This is a classic “deep dive” (no pun intended) into soil water management with one of the worlds leading experts.

A long-awaited conversation with Frank and his old friend and mentor Brad Klein. Brad and Frank talk about their relationship dating back to GolfWeek's Superintendent News, caddying for Bernhard Langer, translating complicated science to golfers and a variety of opinions on golf course architecture and what it has been like to speak truth to power.

Brad takes on living and dead golf architects, challenges our conventional wisdom about the golf industry , best ways to help superintendents work with PGA pros and shares his thoughts on golf’s biggest challenges. No opinions here!

In this episode of Frankly Speaking, Frank chats with Josh Smith, the golf course superintendent of Orinda CC in Northern CA. As usual, Frank and Josh cover a lot of ground from his early days in golf course construction and having his paintings commissioned by the likes of Weiskopf and Doak, to his current role as GC Superintendent and the founding and operation of Flag Bag Inc., specializing in custom golf bags made from used golf flags.

Josh might be one of the most interesting people in golf course management. This is a good listen!

Frank has a conversation with Tyler Bloom about the current and future labor issues facing the golf industry. Tyler outlines the value of investing in recruiting and retaining talent at every level of your organization. As usual Frank and Tyler cover a lot of ground in a short period of time, but still have time to talk about the impact of automation and technology on the workforce of tomorrow. Always an interesting conversation.

In this episode of Frankly Speaking, Frank had a chance to catch up with an old friend and renowned turfgrass scientist Dr. Roch Gaussoin on the eve of his recent USGA Green Section Award. Roch and Frank chat about his storied career that led to him receiving the USGA award.

The conversation eventually leads to some fascinating information about organic matter testing and development, precision agriculture and the field of turfgrass science at the national and international level.

Frank reconnects with Paul MacCormack, The Mindful Superintendent, to reflect on 10 years of mindfulness practice and living life in a more intentional way. Frank and Paul discuss unlearning, and letting things go as means for offering yourself permission to be present and be human.

This wonderful conversation ranges from vulnerability and failure to how to navigate the path out of the Pandemic using mindfulness skills with practice. Paul ends the program guiding us through some box breathing. Take a minute and give this one a listen!

In this episode, Frank has an in-depth conversation with Dr. Adam Thoms at Iowa State University about his research on soil management for putting surfaces, use of waste products like amino acids, and other potential biostimulants effects on golf turfgrass performance.

Expect some deep dives on how amino acids and glycerin from bio-diesel can improve turfgrass performance. Dr. Thoms is exploring some fascinating nutrient and biostimulant compounds. This is a great listen for a general overview!

Dr. John Dempsey speaks with Frank in this episode of Frankly Speaking focusing on how plant defenses can be activated using certain products and what that defense activation means. Enjoy some lively Irish banter from Dr. Dempsey about his career and our usual deep-dive segment where we endeavor to understand how plants defend themselves against stress and pest.

As a special treat we highlight the BTME Trade Show and Continue to Learn Conference in Harrogate, UK (the northwest of England) with special guest Sami Strutt and Deb Burnett.  All of us would love to see you there!

Frank chats with regular guest Brian Whitlark, Senior Consulting Agronomist for the USGA’s West Region about getting ready for Desert Golf Season. How did the overseeding go and with more folks staying around in the summer months, how is transition been the last few years? Of course, no conversation would be complete with discussion of water use in the West. Specifically, how a recent collection of seminars is bringing golf industry and water purveyors together to develop a sustainable plan moving forward.

Frank catches up with longtime colleague Professor Jim Baird of UC-Riverside. Frank and Jim discuss a career path that led from a youthful interest in golf and course care to his current role as the lone turfgrass scientist in the UC system. Jim speaks frankly about water, overseeding, product evaluations and the Bermudagrass breeding program that is beginning to show promise in reducing water use and maintaining winter color.

You don’t want to miss some of the details Jim shares on what it takes to “Defend Turfgrass in the Desert Southwest”!

Frank sat down recently with the Montgomery County Revenue Authorities Director of Agronomy, Jon Lobenstine to discuss his career development, experiences overseeing 9 golf courses, creating an inclusive culture, as well as robots, GPS sprayers, organic matter and even vineyard management!

In typical, “Frankly Speaking-style”, these two cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time!

Signals of a changing climate are everywhere, from more intense storms to more frequent droughts. The basis of this change lies in carbon emissions and the solution potentially lies in sequestering the carbon into our soils. Grasses are perfect vehicles for this process.

In this episode of Frankly Speaking, Frank Rossi speaks with Drs. Claire Phillips of the USDA-ARS and Alec Kowaleski of Oregon State University about their review paper on Carbon Sequestration in Turf and the role turfgrass management plays in emitting carbon.

Frank has another in-depth conversation with a turfgrass breeder, this time Dr. Melodee Fraser, Director of Research, Eastern Division for Pure Seed Testing.

During the conversation In the TZ, grasses are challenged by heat, drought, excess rainfall and by default lots of foliar and root pathogens. Dr. Fraser outlines the process and lets all us inside the strategy that leading scientists are using to develop the next generation of grasses. A “dramatic” episode.

Frank is joined again in this episode by golf business expert Jim Koppenhaver from Pellucid Inc., leaders in golf business data science and analytics. They discuss the “covid-dend", i.e., the persistent gains golf has made since the pandemic.

Frank and Jim also discuss how golf can manage the coming recession and what data from previous recessions tell us about how we might handle this one.

One could argue golf fairway grassing has the largest impact on resource consumption due to the amount of intensely managed land. Large applications of fertilizer, pesticides and water are consumed in our finest operations across the country on fairways.

In this episode of Frankly Speaking, Frank speaks with Professor Eric Watkins of the University of Minnesota on how grass type impacts management and ultimately performance.

Frank speaks with Professor Chase Straw at Texas A&M about precision irrigation management by understanding soils, distribution issues, and digital irrigation management using remote sensing and soil moisture sensing. Dr. Shaw discusses a range of topics that confront the golf turf industry and how the right data used with a well-designed irrigation system by an experienced and progressive superintendent is path forward.

Stick around to the very end when Frank provides a personal perspective on water use in the golf industry.