GCSAA Podcast

This episode turns the tables on the longtime host of this podcast, Scott Hollister, as he prepares to depart GCSAA after 26 years on the job. Scott offers us a candid look into his long tenure with GCSAA and GCM , from the adrenaline of the 2000 U.S. Open to the solidarity felt during the industry's trials post-9/11. Alongside Howard Richman, Scott reminisces about the serendipitous turns and the cherished camaraderie that have punctuated his journey. The GCSAA Podcast is presented in partnership with Envu.

When life throws a curveball, how do you swing back? In this episode of the GCSAA Podcast, Jason Sfire, an incredible advocate for adaptive athletics, opens up about his journey as an adaptive athlete in golf — a narrative that's as much about his own conquests as it is a beacon for inclusivity and accessibility in sports. In a heartfelt discussion, we navigate Jason's experiences, the insightful methods he's championing for golf course operators to foster welcoming environments for all athletes, and the industry's heartening response, as seen at the GCSAA Conference and Trade Show. For more information about the National Alliance for Accessible Golf, visit the organization's website. You can learn more about the Great Lakes Adaptive Sports Alliance by going here. The GCSAA Podcast is presented in partnership with Envu.

Amy Bockerstette caught the attention of the golf world in 2019 after getting the opportunity to play the famed 16th hole at TPC Scottsdale with professional golfer Gary Woodland during a practice round for the Waste Management Open. On this episode of the GCSAA Podcast — recorded live during the 2024 GCSAA Conference and Trade Show in Phoenix — we set down with Amy and her father Joe to discuss her journey in golf, the I Got This Foundation, ways golf courses can become more accessible to all golfers and Amy's dream foursome. The GCSAA Podcast is presented in partnership with Envu.

On this episode of the GCSAA Podcast, we take a look back at the year that was in 2023 and a look ahead to what's ahead in 2024 with association CEO Rhett Evans. We review high points from the year that was, including the GCSAA Conference and Trade Show in Orlando (7:30), Rounds 4 Research (11:30), First Green (20:55) and the Women's Leadership Academy, (30:00) before turning our attention to 2024 and the upcoming Conference and Trade Show in Phoenix (35:25) and Evans' attempt to summit Mt. Everest come May (52:45). The GCSAA Podcast is presented in partnership with Envu.

This episode of the GCSAA Podcast features another in our occasional "Legends of Turf" series as we sit down with Don Hearn, CGCS Retired. Hearn is the current executive director of the GCSA of New England, but his influence extends well past that role. He spent nearly 40 years as a working superintendent in New England, including a 29-year stay at Weston (Mass.) Golf Club, and served as GCSAA's president in 1987. Our guest host for this episode is Howard Richman, GCM's associate editor. The GCSAA Podcast is presented in partnership with Envu.

This episode of the GCSAA Podcast dives into the wild kingdom that has been Seven Canyons Golf Club in Sedona, Ariz., this fall with two folks responsible for the care of that property — Director of Agronomy Andy Huber and Assistant Superintendent Emily Casey (@emcaseyturf). The team at Seven Canyons has been dealing with widespread turf damage caused by javelinas, and a video of the damage that Casey shared on social media went viral — the video has been viewed more than 33 million times on X/Twitter — taking the story to an international audience. We talk about life as a social media sensation, the practical challenges created by these wild animals and a massive in-house renovation of the course that has taken place while all this was going on. This episode of the GCSAA Podcast is presented in partnership with Envu.

In this episode of the GCSAA Podcast — recorded live from the soon-to-be-opened clubhouse at The Dunes Golf and Tennis Club on Sanibel Island, Fla. — we sit down with Roy Jones and Kyle Sweet, CGCS, to discuss their experiences as golf course superintendents who experienced Hurricane Ian one year ago. Jones oversees The Dunes, while Sweet is in charge of maintenance at The Sanctuary Golf Club. Both facilities sustained significant damage from Ian, so we talk about the storm, its impact on them both personally and professionally, where they and their golf courses are on the road to recovery, and lessons learned from their experiences. The GCSAA Podcast is presented in partnership with Envu.

On this episode of the GCSAA Podcast, guest host Kayla Kipp, CTEM, the equipment manager at Nemacolin Resort in Farmington, Pa., sits down for a wide-ranging discussion with Bri Kenny, who is the manager for environmental science with Troon. The pair talk about Kenny's career, golf's growing sustainability movement and their experiences in the women-in-turf initiative, including at this past July's U.S. Women's Open at Pebble Beach, where both served as volunteers. Kipp can be found on X (formerly Twitter) at @kipp_kayla, while Kenny is on both X and Instagram at @biolobri. You can also reach Kenny by email at brianne.kenny@troon.com. If you'd like to donate or learn more about the effort that Kenny and Troon started to support the members of the agronomy teams at Kapalua and Ka'anapali on Maui that were affected by the recent fires, you can visit this GoFundMe page. The GCSAA Podcast is presented in partnership with Envu.

In this episode of the GCSAA Podcast, we sit down with Zac Reicher, Ph.D., a Green Solutions Team Specialist for Envu, which has sponsored this podcast almost since its inception. We talk with Reicher about his path into a career in turf, his long stint as a member of the academic community, his role with Envu and how he works with golf course superintendents and what he's seeing in the field as the biggest agronomic challenges facing turfgrass managers in 2023. As mentioned, the GCSAA Podcast is presented in partnership with Envu.

This episode features a conversation with Bubba Wright, the GCSAA Class A superintendent at Pebble Beach Golf Links, as he and his team prepare for the 2023 U.S. Women's Open, July 3-9. We talk about what's gone into readying the course for the first women's professional event to be contested at Pebble Beach since the 1940s, Wright's long affiliation with the Pebble Beach Companies, and what it's like to maintain turf at one of America's great golf destinations. The GCSAA Podcast is presented in partnership with Envu.

As a part of a partnership between GCM and John Deere, this episode of the GCSAA Podcast celebrates Women's Golf Day 2023 — which runs an entire week this year, May 31-June 6 — with a panel discussion among five women working in or pursuing careers in turfgrass management about the state of the women-in-turf movement. Kayla Kipp, CTEM, the equipment manager at the Nemacolin Resort in Farmington, Pa., serves as the guest host for this episode and is joined by Devon Carrol, solution development manager with Envu; Rachel DeRuyte, assistant superintendent at Credit Valley Golf and Country Club in Mississauga, Ontario; and two recent college graduates in Emma Seward from Purdue and Molly Biggs from Kansas State. The GCSAA Podcast is presented in partnership with Envu.

In this episode of the GCSAA Podcast, we sit down with Chris Tritabaugh from Hazeltine National Golf Club in Chaska, Minn., to discuss a wide variety of topics, most notably his foray into blogs, social media, podcasts and his new Substack newsletter as a way to communicate with golfers and his colleagues around the industry. You can find him at @CT_Turf on Twitter and Instagram, and his podcasts and newsletter are available at https://ctunderscoreturf.substack.com. We also dive into his career in golf course management, his love of Manchester United and Formula 1 racing and what he does during the long winters in Minnesota. The GCSAA Podcast is presented in partnership with Envu.

On the 50th episode of the GCSAA Podcast, we dive into the ways technology is affecting the business of golf course management by talking with Matt Muhlenbruch, CGCS, from Hillcrest Country Club in Los Angeles. Following a recent major renovation, Hillcrest has adopted a number of high-tech tools in the management of the property — from soil sensors to drones to autonomous mowers — that have had a dramatic effect on the club's ability to better manage water use and provide significant labor savings. To view a video version of this podcast, visit GCSAA.tv or GCSAA's YouTube channel. The GCSAA Podcast is presented in partnership with Envu.

Recorded live at the 2023 GCSAA Conference and Trade Show in Orlando, this episode features Josh Sens from Golf Magazine, who was among the media members who covered CTS. We talk about the popular Super Secrets column he produces for Golf.com, some of the favorite stories he's written during his career (hint: it includes an unauthorized trip to North Korea) and the book he wrote with the Red Rocker himself, Sammy Hagar. The GCSAA Podcast is presented in partnership with Envu.

Recorded live at the 2023 GCSAA Conference and Trade Show in Orlando, this episode features Matt Pringle, Ph.D., the managing director of the USGA Green Section. We discuss his unique path to his current role with the Green Section, the launch of the new GS3 greens management tool and the role Green Section agronomists play in the preparation for the USGA's championships. The GCSAA Podcast is presented in partnership with Envu.

This episode of the GCSAA Podcast features a conversation with Gilles Gaillou, the CEO of Envu, the newest company to enter the golf course management business. Born from Bayer Environmental Science and featuring all the same products from that company that superintendents will be familiar with, Envu is nonetheless an all-new entity that launched in October of last year. We talk with Gaillou about the process of bringing a new company into the industry, what superintendents can expect from the company and their appearance at the 2023 GCSAA Conference and Trade Show in Orlando. The GCSAA Podcast is presented in partnership with Envu.

This episode of the GCSAA Podcast takes a deep dive into the upcoming GCSAA Conference and Trade Show, Feb. 6-9 in Orlando, with some of the GCSAA staff members leading efforts to put together an interactive experience you won't fine anywhere else. We talk with Ed Several, chief marketing officer, about noteworthy hands-on opportunities and the main events in Orlando; Jim Cummins, business development manager, about the GCSAA Golf Championships; Kelli Norwood, senior manager, curriculum, about all the educational opportunities on tap in Orlando; and Matt Brown, director, corporate sales, about the reimagined trade show. For more information and to register, go to www.gcsaaconference.com. The GCSAA Podcast is presented in partnership with Envu.

This episode of the GCSAA Podcast goes into the state of equipment management in golf with guest host Hector Velazquez (@HectorsShop on Twitter) chatting with Howard Whitcomb. Both have long histories working as equipment managers on golf courses, and both have found alternate paths following their days working in the industry. This episode features their conversation, along with a brief interview with Velazquez, who is serving as the first guest host of the GCSAA Podcast. The GCSAA Podcast is presented in partnership with Envu.

This episode of the GCSAA Podcast goes deep into every superintendent's favorite topic — the weather — with Herb Stevens and Garrett Bastardi. Stevens is the founder of Grass Roots Weather, a service that offers personalized weather forecasting for golf course superintendents. He teamed with Bastardi to create the Turf Threat Tracker — or T3 — which is a subscription service that offers specific, localized hour-by-hour weather forecasts designed specifically for turfgrass managers. We talk about both services, touch on frequently asked questions that Stevens and Bastardi hear from superintendents and preview the seminar the pair will teach at the 2023 GCSAA Conference and Trade Show in Orlando. The GCSAA Podcast is presented in partnership with Bayer.

Recorded live from TPC Deere Run during the week of the PGA Tour's John Deere Classic, this episode features Alex Stuedemann, CGCS, the longtime director of golf course operations at the Quad City standout, who is transitioning into a new position as the director of agronomy for the PGA Tour's TPC network of courses. We talk about his time in the Quad Cities, what his new role will entail and introduce you to his replacement at TPC Deere Run, Jonathan Graham. Read more about Stuedemann, Graham and the transition taking place at TPC Deere Run in this story on GCMOnline.com. The GCSAA Podcast is presented in partnership with Bayer.