Welcome to the Reel Turf Techs Podcast! In this episode, we are thrilled to have Jon Watson, a Certified Turf Equipment Manager (CTEM) and the Equipment Manager at the prestigious Wycliffe Country Club in Palm Beach, Florida, as our guest.
Jon’s journey into the world of turf management is a true testament to hard work and dedication. Just eight years ago, he embarked on this fascinating career path by joining the grounds crew at a golf course. Since then, he has tirelessly worked his way up the ranks, eventually becoming the Equipment Manager at one of Florida’s most renowned golf clubs.
Jon’s commitment to his craft is exemplified by his achievement of completing levels one and two of the Equipment Manager Certification Program (EMCP), culminating in his becoming a Certified Turf Equipment Manager. His story is an inspiring example of how passion, education, and hands-on experience can lead to success in the turf industry.
Join us as we dive deep into Jon’s journey, discussing his experiences, challenges, and triumphs in the turf industry. We’ll explore the intricacies of equipment management, the importance of certifications like CTEM, and gain valuable insights from a true expert in the field.
Whether you’re a turf enthusiast, a fellow equipment manager, or simply curious about the behind-the-scenes world of maintaining lush golf course greens, this episode promises to be both informative and inspiring. Tune in to the Reel Turf Techs Podcast and get ready to learn from one of the industry’s rising stars, Jon Watson, CTEM.
Transcript
Trent Manning: 0:05
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 Welcome to the real turf text podcast. Episode 102. Today, we’re talking to John Watson CTM. Equipment manager at Wyclef country club and Palm beach, Florida. Why cliff conjure club is a private 36 hole facility on 600 acres. John has two techs helping him in the shop. Let’s talk to John. Welcome John to the RealTurf Text Podcast. How are you doing today?
Jon Watson: 0:51
I’m doing great. How are you?
Trent Manning: 0:53
I’m good, man. Thanks so much for being here and we’ll get right at it. Tell us how you got into the turf industry.
Jon Watson: 1:01
I got into the turf industry, about eight years ago. I kinda had probably a little bit different go than a lot of guys. I. Didn’t have a a big mechanical background or golf course background prior to coming into the industry. I worked just about every job you can think of. I did heating and air for a little while. I did have a short stint at an auto shop. It lasted less than a year mostly changing oil, things like that. And decided actually that was not going to be the route I was going to go. And got into waiting tables and bartending. Yeah, so,
Trent Manning: 1:41
Okay. A little bit of everything. You wasn’t kidding.
Jon Watson: 1:43
I, yeah, yeah, yeah. And I did that for for a while. I would say probably about five or six years. And I actually did enjoy it. I do enjoy people. And anyways I actually had a roommate at the time who was a spray tech at a golf course. And I knew that waiting tables and bartending wasn’t gonna, wasn’t going to be like a forever gig. So I did want to try to find a career path. And he was like, you know, come over to the golf course. I get you a job. It’s just going to be entry level, but you don’t really know anything. So, just try it out and see if you like it. So I went over there started out in the bunkers, wrecking bunkers every day. Slowly graduated to a greens mower.
Trent Manning: 2:28
I don’t let let let’s let’s back up just a second. So you started raking bunkers. Did you ever use a fly nut?
Jon Watson: 2:35
Oh, I used a fly mower a lot in the summertime in south Florida. Fly mowing bunkers. So graduated to the greens mower. Really enjoyed the process. I actually enjoy mowing.
Trent Manning: 2:49
Mm hmm. One at one of the few.
Jon Watson: 2:52
yeah I, I was kind of artistic in high school and I don’t know if this makes a lot of sense, but the, the greens, the fairways, teas, everything, when you get those nice stripes on it, it’s like a form of art. And there. There was just like a sense of satisfaction whenever I get, you know, cut those lasers and just straight lines and and I did realize pretty quickly that, that I wanted to make a career out of it. I actually at that time was thinking about going to school and trying to become a superintendent, go that route.
Trent Manning: 3:28
Mm
Jon Watson: 3:30
just because I tried the mechanic thing before and, you know. I didn’t feel like it was for me at the time but about a year and a half into being an equipment operator I did work my way up to a fairway mower too, so, so I, so I went, I, I got on everything except for I never, I was never on a sprayer, I never got into the spraying, so, just about every other piece of equipment though I got pretty good at operating.
Trent Manning: 3:57
Mm hmm.
Jon Watson: 3:58
And the assistant mechanic at that course at the time was leaving getting out of the industry. And the equipment manager there I was pretty friendly with. I would always ask him a lot of questions. That’s just kind of how I’ve always been. Just anything that I do, I’m just very, I’m just always asking questions. I just want to know how things work.
Trent Manning: 4:19
That, that’s how we rope you in the, the people that start asking questions, the operators on the crew, and they start asking questions, why are you doing this? How does this work? All those things. Next thing, you know, you’re an equipment manager.
Jon Watson: 4:35
Yeah. Right.
Trent Manning: 4:36
And I mean, I speak from experience because I started much like you, I just started on the crew. Breaking bunkers, fly mowing, mowing greens, work my way up to fairways. You know, I did irrigation for six months because we needed irrigation tech and then our assistant mechanic left. And I’ve been asked so many questions over the last three years. The head mechanic says, you, you want to work in the shop with me? I said, of course. So anyway, that’s, that’s the way we get you in. I asked a lot of questions. We love people that are curious.
Jon Watson: 5:12
Yeah. So I I did agree to you know, step in there and try it out and give it a go. I was still part time on the crew at first. So it was like half on the crew. half in the shop. It was just a 18 old facility. So, it was something you know, about 1. 5 people could handle.
Trent Manning: 5:34
Mm hmm.
Jon Watson: 5:34
So, but eventually that grew into me being in there full time, probably after about six months. I decided that’s what I wanted to do. I was an assistant there for like six years. Which I think really listening to a lot of other people’s stories, it seems like they have kind of a shorter run as an assistant maybe. But for me, like I said, I didn’t have that that background skill set to work off of. So it was it was a learning curve and and That equipment manager that I work for started from scratch with me, but
Trent Manning: 6:07
Mm hmm.
Jon Watson: 6:08
they got a pretty good work ethic. So I think he saw that, you know, he saw something in me to allow me to come in there full time. And it was a great opportunity and it really did change my life because I had no direction. There was no… No career in mind. I mean, things weren’t necessarily great bouncing from job to job trying to figure out what I wanted to do and seeing all the people around me, you know, finding career paths and, and going about their life. So, yeah, I’m super grateful for this industry. It. It gave me a career and a future and
Trent Manning: 6:47
awesome. That’s so good. So all in how many years have you been in the turf industry?
Jon Watson: 6:53
Eight and a half, eight and a
Trent Manning: 6:55
Okay. No, that’s
Jon Watson: 6:56
about right.
Trent Manning: 6:58
Yeah. And I would not feel bad that you spent six years as a system mechanic or any, you know, I mean, that doesn’t mean anything. Everybody has a different path and We, we all go at different speeds and do different things, you know, you know, whatever, whatever it is. And back like to my story. So I was a system mechanic, I think for about three years and the head mechanic left and they moved me up and I was way too young. I, you know, I was, I was, how old was I? I was probably 19 or 20 and really thought I had it all figured out. And looking back, I’m still trying to figure it out, you know,
Jon Watson: 7:45
Aren’t we all?
Trent Manning: 7:46
Yeah, still, still today and been in the industry since 95 and still ain’t got it figured out. But at that time I thought, Oh yeah, I got it figured out. And the way my brain works, I kind of got bored because I thought I had it figured out. I didn’t. And so I moved on and done some different things. So I think like your background and working a lot of different jobs. I mean, those give you all kinds of different experiences too, and good information on how to move forward. I think,
Jon Watson: 8:20
yeah, absolutely. I think looking at it now, like I think it was a good, a good path because I did pick up a lot of other skills that if I had solely been in golf course my entire life, I may not have picked up. Especially the dealing with people and the things it kind of translates because as equipment managers, we deal with people all day. As far as like the crew goes, your bosses And I don’t have a whole lot of interaction with the members, but I know some guys do but so, yeah, I think that was actually a really good skill that I was able to carry over.
Trent Manning: 8:56
yeah, no, for sure. And I think in the episode that dropped or last week or a couple of weeks ago with Danny, we were talking about that too, because there’s so many of us that are in the industry and we’re really good at what we do. And we ended up getting, you know, promotions, whether you’re an EM or a superintendent you know, you’re, you got a good work ethic and you’re knowledgeable about the subject that you’re doing. And then the next thing, you know, you’re a manager. And we don’t know anything about dealing with people or managing people and honestly, that’s the hard part because the piece of equipment doesn’t show up late. You know, I mean, it doesn’t backtalk you, it doesn’t sass you, you know,
Jon Watson: 9:42
the truth.
Trent Manning: 9:42
these things it either works or it doesn’t. And if it doesn’t work, we’re going to figure it out.
Jon Watson: 9:48
Yeah.
Trent Manning: 9:48
So a lot, a lot easier dealing with equipment than people.
Jon Watson: 9:52
That’s the
Trent Manning: 9:53
And yeah, if you, if you’ve worked on a one fly mower, you worked on every fly mower, you know, I mean, they’re not that much different, their colors are different, you know, and even if you look at the big three on a fairway mower, there’s subtle differences there, but I mean, at the day, they’re still doing most of the same stuff.
Jon Watson: 10:16
yeah.
Trent Manning: 10:17
Well, what is your least favorite part of the job? And why is that sand?
Jon Watson: 10:22
So sand is actually my least favorite part of the job, but not in the way that you think. I I truly enjoy grinding. I really do like it. I do probably. 65, 70% of the grinding in my shop. I do have two assistants also two techs. Sorry. I try not to use the word assistant. I don’t really like that word,
Trent Manning: 10:43
Well, no, no, it’s yeah, it’s all good.
Jon Watson: 10:46
but I don’t like sand because it never fails. We go through, we clean the shop. We’re, we’re pretty meticulous about keeping a fairly clean shop floor when we have the time, which is.
Trent Manning: 10:59
Mm hmm.
Jon Watson: 11:00
Most of the time. But everyone just thinks that they can just pull their cart right through the shop and, and there’s a lot of sand down here in Florida. I’m sure there’s sand everywhere too. So you guys can probably relate. And if not, I’m sure it’s dirt too. So it’s the same kind of concept. Is it just immediately after cleaning, they run right through and it just, it really bothers me to have a dirty shop floor. I just can’t stand it.
Trent Manning: 11:27
Yeah, no, it’s tough and it is a challenge. And like where my courses that were solid red clay
Jon Watson: 11:35
Ah.
Trent Manning: 11:36
But, but. Our parking lot is full of sand
Jon Watson: 11:40
Yes. Ah. Perfect.
Trent Manning: 11:41
and they drive through that on their way to the shop and it had, so to back up a little bit, our wash area was right next to the sand piles and that was a nightmare.
Jon Watson: 11:55
Yes.
Trent Manning: 11:56
So since then we’ve moved the wash area close to the shop so they do drive through the sand, then they wash the equipment up and it is much better. But Not just the sand, the amount of dirt that comes into a maintenance facility. It’s, I mean,
Jon Watson: 12:13
Off cart tires,
Trent Manning: 12:15
is meter meter year? I can’t even say it. Meters. What is it? Meteor, you know me. Meteors coming through
Jon Watson: 12:25
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah,
Trent Manning: 12:26
and that’s, that’s where dust comes from. No, it co it comes.
Jon Watson: 12:29
laugh.
Trent Manning: 12:31
No, I know. I’m, yeah. Sorry. I’m a snowball deer going downhill quick. Yeah, that’s where they say dust comes from, but no, it comes, it comes from all the sand in my parking lot.
Jon Watson: 12:42
Absolutely. Tires and shoes. Just, that’s the carrier. It just brings it right in.
Trent Manning: 12:48
Brings it, brings it right in
Jon Watson: 12:49
Yeah so.
Trent Manning: 12:51
What’s your favorite tool?
Jon Watson: 12:52
I got like a two parter for this. My favorite tool that I just acquired and I’m slowly getting time to use it more and more. And I love it. The more I use it as a plasma cutter. I got a hypertherm XP 30, I think is the
Trent Manning: 13:07
Okay. Yep. Yep. Yep.
Jon Watson: 13:09
it’s a really good to handheld. I would like to eventually graduate to machine table with the plasma cutter. But for now, we’re just learning on the hand one and it’s You know, compared to like a hand grinder, any place that you can use it over a hand grinder, I just, it’s so much more efficient it’s not as loud uh, you don’t get metal shavings in your shirt, you know,
Trent Manning: 13:30
Oh
Jon Watson: 13:31
that good stuff. So, I’m really loving that. But my day to day probably favorite tool is just my pocket light. It’s I know you’ve talked about the streamlights a lot, I need to look into those. Mine is a Lawson product, it’s just a rechargeable pocket light. It’s magnetic and then it has the UV light on one side and has the LED on the other.
Trent Manning: 13:53
Okay. Yeah, yeah. No, it’s cool.
Jon Watson: 13:55
Yeah, it’s great. I haven’t found a lot of uses for the UV light yet, but
Trent Manning: 13:58
Well, let let me know if you do.
Jon Watson: 14:01
Absolutely, I’m figuring that one out. Mm hmm.
Trent Manning: 14:04
Why don’t so that’s something while we’re talking about lights. They make all the, you know, I mean, there’s a ton And like a lot of
Jon Watson: 14:11
Mm hmm.
Trent Manning: 14:15
the headlights that so I used to fish and I, you know, a lot and it is nice to have a headlight and everyone has all this gimmicky stuff on it. You know, a red flashing light, a green light, a green light that flashes, and I just want a freaking light,
Jon Watson: 14:34
That’s it. Just a
Trent Manning: 14:35
you know?
Jon Watson: 14:35
light. I’m
Trent Manning: 14:36
Yeah, I just want a light.
Jon Watson: 14:38
So I completely understand just one Good light that doesn’t run out of battery in two days and is waterproof. That’s all that’s all we want.
Trent Manning: 14:48
Yeah, it’s yeah, it doesn’t have to be complicated and you don’t have to put a bunch of frills on it. I just want the light so I can see what I’m doing. And then as you get older, you need glasses to see how to tie a knot on your fishing hook,
Jon Watson: 15:03
I’m not quite there yet, but I’m sure I’ll get there.
Trent Manning: 15:06
you’ll get there. I don’t, I mean, honestly, I’m still, I can see up close. Okay. But I got a stigmatism and that really drives me crazy. All distance and stuff and really shooting. So the shooting sport, you know, that, that, that’s tough with astigmatism and red dot scopes, you see a red dot oval.
Jon Watson: 15:31
Oh, really?
Trent Manning: 15:32
an oval. Yeah. And yeah, it’s, yeah, it’s I remember like before I figured out I had astigmatism you know, I’d go in wherever and I’d look at the red dots and I was like, these things are such crap. I would see like three dots. These things are terrible. Why would somebody want to use one of these?
Jon Watson: 15:49
That is funny.
Trent Manning: 15:50
then, but yeah, even corrected, it still looks more like an oval than a round dot. But anyway enough about my bad vision. The light that I carry now is a Streamlight Wedge and I’ve been pretty happy with it. It’s rechargeable too. They’re not cheap, but I mean, it’s, it’s a good light.
Jon Watson: 16:16
And you get what you pay for. You know, that’s Tool. It’s like, I’ve had all the cheap ones, they all suck. This one is a more expensive model as well, but it’s, I mean, I’ve had this one for going on two years now, and I mean, I drop it, beat it up. Dropped it in oil pans and then everything and it sailed up so
Trent Manning: 16:38
Yeah, actually, I took a video and I ever like tweeted it or anything like that. I don’t think, but anyway, I carried a Streamlight Stylus Pro and it takes two AAA batteries. And I would say hands down, they make them now that’s rechargeable, but hands down, that’s probably the best light I’ve ever had. And I just love it. It’s awesome. But anyway, back to the story, I drop it into used engine oil. And so I did a video of, you know, and it was on when I drop it in. And I did a video of dumping the oil out and then the light still being on. I don’t know, I need to send it to
Jon Watson: 17:20
Yeah, they might want to use that for advertising
Trent Manning: 17:24
yeah, could use it for something. But those are, those are really good lights. And those are not too expensive. The battery lights are like 20, 20 bucks or
Jon Watson: 17:34
Oh, that’s not bad at
Trent Manning: 17:35
And I’ve been using those probably for 15 years.
Jon Watson: 17:41
Mm hmm.
Trent Manning: 17:42
And I think I went through maybe three. Thank you. And 15 years, something like that. So, I mean, there’s a good service life for 20 bucks. And the one I got now, I think it’s going on two years. And I haven’t had any issues out of it. But we’ve probably bored everybody enough with my Streamlight flashlight talk. So, we’ll move on to the next question. What do you do to relax or find your balance?
Jon Watson: 18:10
So I am a pretty big fisherman. Yeah, I do a lot of snook and tarpon fishing down here. I’m in South Florida. So, those fish are, are everywhere. They’re big fish. They’re fun to fight. And I’ve been doing that since I’ve lived in Florida. And I was hooked after the first harpoon. I hooked.
Trent Manning: 18:30
Oh, I bet. I
Jon Watson: 18:31
got me, got me in there, man. Just fighting those fish. We typically try to target the larger ones out around jetties here. That’s kind of the easy way to go about it. If you don’t have a, a big fancy boat, I do it from kayak. So, kayak and shore mostly. And yeah, man, I love it. I’ve caught some pretty big ones down here. So,
Trent Manning: 18:52
is saltwater kayak fishing pretty popular?
Jon Watson: 18:56
Yeah, extremely popular here. I don’t know if it is everywhere. I would assume it probably is though.
Trent Manning: 19:02
Well, I’m just speaking from freshwater side of things. Kayak fishing has exploded, I would say, in the last five, six years. I mean, there’s just so many people that are freshwater kayak fishing. So I kind of assumed that maybe they were doing that in the ocean too.
Jon Watson: 19:21
Yeah. It’s such a cost effective way to get on the water to, you know, if you don’t have the budget or the room to store a boat or things like that, just it allows you to still get out there. Mine’s capable of going offshore. I don’t do that a lot. Just cause I’m kind of a chicken,
Trent Manning: 19:36
Well,
Jon Watson: 19:37
uh, But it is, it is a possibility with that one. So it’s pedal drive too. So I don’t even, I don’t even paddle. I just kick my feet.
Trent Manning: 19:45
yeah, that’s awesome. Yeah.
Jon Watson: 19:47
it’s,
Trent Manning: 19:48
That says Hobie.
Jon Watson: 19:49
Yeah, it’s a Hobie Outback.
Trent Manning: 19:51
Dang, how did I guess that?
Jon Watson: 19:54
it’s, that’s the one. It’s the Rolls Royce, man, of the
Trent Manning: 19:58
Okay. All right. That’s awesome. Yeah. So the local bait and tackle store here that I’ve been going to for most of my life, it’s called The Dugout and they’re a Hobie dealer. and really pushing that and they sponsor a bunch of tournaments the kayak tournaments and all that stuff do y’all have that for saltwater
Jon Watson: 20:21
Yeah, we do. I don’t participate in them much. I’m more of a kind of like fish on my own thing. I just, I don’t even keep fish really. I’m more of just kind of like a let them go guy. I try not to take, I take them out of the water for as minimal time as possible and get a picture and get them on their way. You know, I want to conserve that resource for, The next generation coming up.
Trent Manning: 20:47
one all the tournament bass fishing tournament i’ve done i mean it’s catch and release
Jon Watson: 20:52
Yeah. Nothing wrong with keeping fish.
Trent Manning: 20:54
Yeah, nothing wrong with it,
Jon Watson: 20:56
No. No, no, no. Absolutely not.
Trent Manning: 20:58
I don’t, I don’t eat freshwater fish for
Jon Watson: 21:01
I hear you. I, yeah, probably wouldn’t either.
Trent Manning: 21:04
the most part. Yeah. Yeah. The daily or the weekly career limit is like one fish out of my local lakes around here per
Jon Watson: 21:12
Oh, okay.
Trent Manning: 21:13
So, because of mercury content or
Jon Watson: 21:15
Oh, wow. Yeah.
Trent Manning: 21:18
Yeah. So,
Jon Watson: 21:18
away from that.
Trent Manning: 21:19
yeah. The saltwater fish tastes so much better.
Jon Watson: 21:24
They do. Yeah. I agree with
Trent Manning: 21:26
really do. What’s been your biggest challenge to date?
Jon Watson: 21:30
so I think you touched on it a little bit kind of the management side of things management of people and management of the shop. It wasn’t something I was super familiar with or ready for, I think when I When I took the job, I actually had a conversation with my former superintendent when I was in the interview process for this job, you know, and, and that’s what I was telling him is I was like, my main concern is I don’t know that I’m ready to manage people, manage the shop, and he gave me some really good advice, which I now agree with them is like, is that to make that next jump. A lot of people aren’t ready, and you just kind of have to have a strong work ethic and be able to figure it out. It’s something that you you figure out over time. It’s not like a book you can read on it. I mean, there are, but, but the application of it is is another story. So I think that My biggest challenge to date.
Trent Manning: 22:26
Yeah, for sure. What’s the strangest thing you’ve seen at work?
Jon Watson: 22:29
So, I would say we had last year no, it would have been two years ago now, two years ago now, like, right when I first started As the equipment manager where I’m at now we had a guy put a workman, a Toro workman into a canal. And the canal systems here in Florida are are pretty crazy. It’s it’s almost like a straight drop. Down to a ravine that goes down to like a V that’s like 12, 14 feet deep. Luckily, the workman got caught on like a rock on the side. It was mostly submerged. It went in running, of course, so filled the entire engine with water. And we had to pull that out with a Kubota loader. We were able to and yeah, that was, that was a pretty um, that was like. You know, first couple months on the job, I was like, man, what’d I sign up for?
Trent Manning: 23:21
Right. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It’s all downhill from here.
Jon Watson: 23:25
yeah.
Trent Manning: 23:26
No, that’s I mean it happens. Yeah. I would be willing to say any course in the history of golf courses has had some kind of vehicle in some type of water.
Jon Watson: 23:41
Yeah.
Trent Manning: 23:42
And yeah, it’s just one of those things. Knock on wood. We’ve been pretty lucky here in the last few years, but
Jon Watson: 23:50
Oh,
Trent Manning: 23:50
coming around. I’m sure.
Jon Watson: 23:53
no
Trent Manning: 23:53
not now. Yeah. I will have one this week probably.
Jon Watson: 23:57
Yeah.
Trent Manning: 23:58
So you talked about being an assistant mechanic or tech assistant tech, or you didn’t like the word assistant.
Jon Watson: 24:07
Yeah, I don’t know. I just like I feel I feel kind of weird when I say that. And maybe it’s just because I’ve only been, you know, I’m, I’m a new equipment manager, I guess, you know, I’ve been doing it a little over two years now. And I just I don’t know why it just bothers me. I don’t like to
Trent Manning: 24:21
Yeah, yeah, no, no, I, I get it and yeah, I understand that. So, who’s your mentor in the industry? Who taught you the ropes?
Jon Watson: 24:31
So, the, my initial equipment manager that that hired me and taught me everything I know I would say has been my main mentor. Also I would say to my current director where I am is, is definitely also on that list. They both pushed me towards all the education that GCSAA offers. My original equipment manager pushed me towards doing the level one certification process. Which I had mostly finished before I left to go be an equipment manager. And then I was kind of dragging my feet a little bit when I got to this new place.
Trent Manning: 25:12
hmm. Mm hmm.
Jon Watson: 25:13
And my current director was the one that gave me the push that was like you know, this is, this is what you need to do to take the next steps in your career to, to continue to learn, to continue to grow. And And those two guys, man, have definitely helped guide me in this industry and get me where I am today. So, I wouldn’t, I wouldn’t be here without them,
Trent Manning: 25:35
Yeah, let’s, what’s their names?
Jon Watson: 25:37
Ken Walker from Banyan golf club he’s actually about to retire. So, Yeah, he was there for a long time, though I think close to 20 years. And Andrew Fike at Wycliffe, where I’m at currently.
Trent Manning: 25:50
Nice. Very cool. Yeah. I mean, what would we do without mentors and, you know, everybody I’ve asked that question to, you know, normally has some, you know, they can name a couple people and then there’s other ones that name everybody.
Jon Watson: 26:10
Yeah. No,
Trent Manning: 26:11
really been, you know, right. Yeah. Yeah. Well, no, and I’m, I wasn’t calling you out on that. I just think it’s, it’s interesting. To, to look back at your career, my career, whatever one’s career and see who all had really mentored you over the years. And so if you’ve been doing some for a long time, but, and I talk about him enough on this podcast, but a good friend of mine, his name is Tom Davenhall and he’s a blacksmith. And I was fortunate enough to work in his shop for six months and I didn’t really, you know, at the time I enjoyed it and it was cool and all those things I was learning stuff, but I wouldn’t realize how much I learned in those six months about metalworking and fabrication and all that stuff. Running a lathe, running the milling machine forging stuff, you know, I mean, just all these different things that I’d never done at a golf course before. Or working in the turf industry, but they apply to what I do today. So, and like the people that I got working in the shop with me I show them how to use a drill press, just like Tom showed me how to use a drill press. And yeah, I’d used a drill press a hundred times. I, you know, worked with him, but he’s like, well, this is the way I do it. You know, you, you start small, go up 16th at a time. That’s a little overkill for a lot of people, but it, it saves your drill bits and it takes a little bit more time, but your drill bits don’t get as dull because you’re not cutting as much. So, I mean, it’s just, you know, you know, little stuff like that, that you can pick up from different people.
Jon Watson: 27:59
And I think there’s a you kind of touched on I think there’s a big difference in doing stuff and doing stuff the right way There’s there’s like a clear line, you know, like how how he was showing you the you know The kind of the correct way to do things and not that there’s not a couple of different correct ways, but I know I’ve learned some things early on in my career that now I look back and I go, you know, wow, that was not the right way to do this or that. And and yeah, it’s there’s definitely more efficient ways to do things than
Trent Manning: 28:27
Oh yeah,
Jon Watson: 28:28
I guess, where I was going with that.
Trent Manning: 28:30
Well, yeah. And like, another example of this come to mind is a cutting torch or oxygen, a settling torch, and you can weld with it. You can cut with it. You can heat stuff up. You can braise stuff together. You know, I mean, there’s all these uses for it. And it’s probably one of the most underutilized tools there is. Because there’s all these other tools that’s kind of replaced it. So, you got a TIG welder, yeah, it’s a whole lot easier to TIG weld something than it is to gas weld it. But, if you’re in a pinch, you know, you can do it. And, I mean, I learned those skills from him, too. And I remember using, like, a cutting torch back in the day. And, I mean, I would have all this slag, but I didn’t have my torch set up the right way.
Jon Watson: 29:21
Mm hmm.
Trent Manning: 29:22
You know, and if you get it set up right, it’s almost like using the plasma cutter
Jon Watson: 29:26
Right. Yeah. Yeah.
Trent Manning: 29:27
of slag and stuff you
Jon Watson: 29:28
Right. That’s true. Yeah. Proper setup. I mean,
Trent Manning: 29:31
but just, yeah, just like you’re saying, if you don’t, you can use the tool the wrong way for
Jon Watson: 29:37
yeah.
Trent Manning: 29:38
And I’ve done it many times.
Jon Watson: 29:39
Yeah, funny enough when I brought on one of my techs, the most recent hire he was a welder previously before coming to me. And he actually showed us a lot of things with the setting on the welder that I just didn’t know. You know, I mean, like my welds were fine, they were holding, but they weren’t the prettiest thing in the world, but… He was showing me all these adjustments and things that I just never had anybody teach me before and it made, you know, welding. easier for us, you know, more efficient and look better. I mean, it was just all the way around like a great great asset to the shop,
Trent Manning: 30:16
Oh
Jon Watson: 30:17
Bringing somebody like that in and just getting that information. So,
Trent Manning: 30:21
One, yeah, and I mean, I’ve hired enough people over the years and it’s funny what you learn from all of them when, you know, you’re, I guess, supposed to be the mentor and teaching them all this stuff. But, you know, if you have an open mind, you can learn a lot from. Anybody really and yeah, I think it’s awesome to. Hire in somebody like that and let him train you on how to will, you know, he’s, he’s the, he’s the SME, the subject matter expert
Jon Watson: 30:51
Yeah.
Trent Manning: 30:51
And that’s his domain. So yeah, show me what’s up. Yeah, exactly. Right. Well, what would be your dream job or opportunity?
Jon Watson: 31:02
I would probably say fishing guide would probably be my dream job or opportunity. I don’t know that there’s a lot of money in it, but maybe if you’re really good. But yeah, I would say just my if I’m not in the shop or hanging out with my girlfriend and dog, I’m usually on the water. So,
Trent Manning: 31:20
Yeah, that’s good. Nothing wrong
Jon Watson: 31:22
out of that, yeah, that’d be
Trent Manning: 31:23
Yeah. Yeah. Just remember when it turns into work, That takes some of the fun away.
Jon Watson: 31:30
I’ve heard that. I’ve heard that that could ruin, ruin my hobby from quite a few people. So,
Trent Manning: 31:37
and so speaking from experience, I fished tournaments for six years
Jon Watson: 31:46
Mm
Trent Manning: 31:47
and We fished at least once a week year round
Jon Watson: 31:51
hmm. Mm hmm.
Trent Manning: 31:52
no matter what and in the summertime, we would fish Monday night, Wednesday night and every other Saturday night And I’ll be honest, I got burnt out
Jon Watson: 32:05
There were, there were times you didn’t want to go?
Trent Manning: 32:07
and well, yeah, there was plenty of times I didn’t want to go. And then the other thing, you know, fishing here to be competitive, you had to put out brush piles. So we’ve cut down 20 foot sweet gum tree, sweet ball, sweet gum trees, you know, 20 foot tall, cut them, sink them in certain areas of the lake. And the, the most we ever put out in one summer was 60 trees. That’s a lot of work.
Jon Watson: 32:37
Yeah, that’s, that’s,
Trent Manning: 32:38
And on a, on a week summer, we would put out 25 or 30 and that’s a lot of work. And yeah,
Jon Watson: 32:48
You just mark them and go back tournament time, hope some bats get, you know, congregate on them? Yeah. Nice.
Trent Manning: 32:53
Yeah. And that’s the other thing, you know, I mean, not to get too far in this rabbit hole, but the, you know, they’re good. They’re good for four to six weeks.
Jon Watson: 33:04
Okay,
Trent Manning: 33:05
After you put them in and then they kind of start going downhill and then you can use them some in the winter time. We would pull them out, you know, so nobody would hit them. Because this leg they pull it down 16 feet every winter.
Jon Watson: 33:19
Oh, okay.
Trent Manning: 33:20
So, yeah, and most
Jon Watson: 33:21
Big drop, man.
Trent Manning: 33:23
yeah, we’d put in was 18 to 20 feet. So anyway, I’m giving away all my secrets here.
Jon Watson: 33:27
Yeah. No, sorry. Sorry.
Trent Manning: 33:29
no, it’s all good. It’s all good. Cause I retired. I retired last September from professional fishing, I guess you would say, or turnabout fishing. I want to tell you about a great product that I’ve been using task tracker. I know what you’re thinking. Task trackers for labor. But I’m here to tell you is also an easy to use equipment maintenance platform. Employees can scan QR code and send notes about the condition of equipment. And the equipment can be assigned to employees. Making the more accountable. I encourage you to reach out to Jamie and Gerald. The founders of ASB task tracker. At ASB task, tracker.com to schedule a demo and see how easy the platform is to use. Again, That’s ASB task tracker.com. Let’s get back to the episode What technician would you like to work with for a day?
Jon Watson: 34:27
So I got two. So kind of going back to, you were talking about working with that blacksmith. I have almost listened to every episode of the Real Turf Text podcast.
Trent Manning: 34:40
Okay. Awesome. Awesome.
Jon Watson: 34:41
Yeah. So,
Trent Manning: 34:43
for being a listener and a guest.
Jon Watson: 34:44
yeah, absolutely. I mean, I get a lot of my information from you guys. So, it’s a great resource. J. R. Wilson he was talking about like the forge. I’ve got that right. Right. He was the one that was talking about having a forge and doing his own metal work. I just would love to see that process. I’ve never seen in person anything like, I’ve seen like Forged in Fire on TV, but, you know, I mean, I think to see it in person would be, like, amazing, and he touched on a lot of other stuff that really just after listening to that, I was like, wow, man, that. That is definitely somebody that I would like to work with.
Trent Manning: 35:20
Before you go to the next one JR he’s a special individual. I mean, he’s a dear friend, but he is so smart so smart
Jon Watson: 35:31
I love that.
Trent Manning: 35:32
Yeah, and I was you know, I was giving him a hard time when I went up to visit but everything in his shop He’s modified
Jon Watson: 35:42
Really? That’s
Trent Manning: 35:43
to make it better and you know, and I was giving it Yeah, I was busting his chops a little bit like nothing’s good enough for you JR. You have to make it better But he does I mean he makes everything better and I think back to his forge thing He was forging tines or heating tines up in a forge and heat treating them
Jon Watson: 36:04
That’s so
Trent Manning: 36:04
It’s yeah making his own
Jon Watson: 36:07
That’s next level stuff,
Trent Manning: 36:08
Yeah, yeah, it is. It’s crazy. But I would encourage you to look on the interwebs and there is probably a local blacksmith guild somewhere in your area. I know here it’s the Alex Beeler blacksmith guild and they meet the third Saturday of the month. And, you know, I mean, it’s free game, anybody can show up, hang out, you know, they do lunch. Ours is, it’s coming up this Saturday and I want to try to go because it’s not too far from my house. And I’m sure they got stuff like that in Florida. And I know one of the it’s one of the parks in the city of Roswell. They have an outdoor space. And they do some blacksmith classes because a guy I know teaches some of them over there and you talked about forged and fired. So I got to give a shout out to another blacksmith friend of mine, Michael Dillon. He won forged and fire
Jon Watson: 37:13
Oh nice
Trent Manning: 37:14
he created, and I can’t remember the episode numbers like 42 or 43, but it was the elephant sword. Forged and fire episode.
Jon Watson: 37:24
Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’ll have to, I’ll have to maybe look through the archive and find that one.
Trent Manning: 37:29
yeah, find that one because Michael, he’s an awesome dude. He only lives like 15 minutes from my house. I drive by his house every day to work. And I actually just bought a lathe from him that I hadn’t picked up yet. I bought it in March and I hadn’t picked it up, but I mean, it’s so, you know, it’s really cool to meet these guys and just like the lathe thing, it’s an old South Bend lathe and he bought a new lathe and he was getting rid of it and it was a really good deal. You know, I mean, I’m too good. I couldn’t pass up, you know, and I wouldn’t go out and spend 10 grand on one. But if I can get one for a thousand bucks from my buddy, I’ll,
Jon Watson: 38:16
hmm. Yeah. Absolutely. Yep. Yep.
Trent Manning: 38:18
So, so here we are.
Jon Watson: 38:20
Yeah.
Trent Manning: 38:21
Yeah, and I mean it’s networking and we talk about on the podcast all the time about networking, networking, networking, But for the listeners, you don’t just network with other equipment managers, you know, find a blacksmith guild, Find, you know, what if you’re into diving or you’re into fishing, you know, network in some different places. And who knows what one might come out of that.
Jon Watson: 38:45
That’s a great point. That really is. Yeah.
Trent Manning: 38:48
Well, yeah, sorry.
Jon Watson: 38:50
Oh no.
Trent Manning: 38:50
I, I hijacked you there. What, who was the second person?
Jon Watson: 38:54
I was just gonna say Skip Hines. That episode also I really enjoyed. It just sounds like he has a, a really deep technical understanding for a lot of this stuff. And I would just, I would love to see the process. It sounded like he had a couple other things going on outside of the shop. That’s pretty incredible that he runs both the the shop and the sounded like the clubhouse maintenance as well. That had to be quite an undertaking. So I just think it would be cool, cool to kind of see his operation. It sounds like.
Trent Manning: 39:27
Why don’t, how far is he from you?
Jon Watson: 39:30
he’s not that far.
Trent Manning: 39:31
That’s what I was thinking.
Jon Watson: 39:33
we actually I was talking to one of my reps and they know him somewhat well. So I was thinking about maybe using him as kind of a segue to maybe make a connection there and,
Trent Manning: 39:43
Why don’t you can make it, you can.
Jon Watson: 39:45
day.
Trent Manning: 39:46
You can make a connection right here on the RealTurf Text Podcast and I will give you Skip Heinz number and you can call him anytime. He’s an awesome guy.
Jon Watson: 39:55
Yeah, I’d really appreciate that.
Trent Manning: 39:57
yeah. Always, you know, always more than happy to help where he can. I will warn you. He likes to talk.
Jon Watson: 40:05
That’s
Trent Manning: 40:05
So yeah, he likes to talk. But I mean, yeah, he’s awesome, dude. We love Skip. Yeah, it was good. I done his CTEM I tested.
Jon Watson: 40:16
Did you?
Trent Manning: 40:17
yeah, yeah. So, yeah, I mean, yeah, no, he’s, he’s, he’s a good guy, man. Really good. And yeah, I will definitely pass that info along.
Jon Watson: 40:25
I’d really appreciate that.
Trent Manning: 40:27
What do you know now? You wish you’d known on day one.
Jon Watson: 40:30
The value of networking what we were just talking
Trent Manning: 40:33
Oh, awesome.
Jon Watson: 40:34
so I’m going to say probably for the first as an assistant, I did zero networking, which was definitely a mistake in hindsight. And I kind of carried that over once I became an equipment manager and I recently have started networking and I credit a lot of it too, to things like this podcast. To the C10 process to the GCSA trade show went for the first time in Orlando and. It’s just showed me the value that networking brings and that, that we can’t do this alone, you know, I mean, there, there are resources out there. Why make your job harder by isolating in a bubble and, you know, refusing to branch out and talk to other people. It’s just, it’s been so valuable for me. I can’t stress enough. How important that aspect of the job is. For me.
Trent Manning: 41:34
No, I, for everybody. If, if you’re not, you know, if you’re the grumpy old guy. The just wants to get his check and go home, more power to you, but if you enjoy what you do, and you want some help, you want to make some friends, you want somebody you can lean on, somebody you can talk to, you know, just network. And I’ve been so impressed. I mean, ever since the WhatsApp group started, I’ve been impressed. But especially recently, just looking at what all goes on in there. Somebody asked a question five minutes later, they got an answer. You know, I mean, it’s, you don’t get that anywhere else. I mean, every, every one of those guys in there and gals, shout out to Kayla and Shelby, they just want to help. Everybody wants to help.
Jon Watson: 42:27
I really appreciate you guys creating that pathway as well. I mean, it wouldn’t have been possible without you guys, so, I just want to say thank you and like you were just saying, I mean, this is more than a job for me, and it’s, you know, it’s my career. And… I really like that there are places and groups where people have that same mindset and just, you know, the value that that brings me is it’s awesome. So thank you.
Trent Manning: 42:56
Oh yeah, yeah, for sure. And I, I need to get in there, I guess. So, Tell about we have another group. It’s called the BS group. You know, and it’s a lot of the same people. There’s not near as many people in it. But it’s more of if you just want to vent about something or, you know, like, look at this. Can you believe this happened? And. Cause it’s the real turf tax group. I wanted to keep it definitely professional and, you know, a little banner going on back and forth that, you know, I mean, that’s part of it, but When I first started it, I said I would, it would never be like Facebook where you had to preface a question with you’d only been in the industry a short time. Please don’t beat me up when I ask this question. I mean, you shouldn’t have to do any of that. Just ask your question, give somebody an honest answer and move on with your day.
Jon Watson: 43:53
I’m gonna be honest, I am definitely that guy that is hesitant to post questions sometimes because, you know, I don’t want I, I don’t want it to be an easy answer that I’m just not seeing and look kinda like a dummy. But I need to get over that. That’s just kind of, I don’t know. Maybe one of my, one of my flaws is I don’t like to appear to know that I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m definitely not a know it all. So, I just got to get over it.
Trent Manning: 44:21
you don’t know, you don’t know. And I promise you everyone in that group at some point didn’t know,
Jon Watson: 44:29
Yeah.
Trent Manning: 44:30
you know, we didn’t come out of the womb knowing that all the things that we know now you learn over time and we’re all learning and I think everybody in the group is really understanding of that and I’ve never seen them at, you know, look down on somebody that, you know, Yeah, it was newer to the industry because we’ve all been there at some point And i’ll be straight up and this is for anybody in the group If you are that person and you want to talk down to somebody you’re not in the group anymore life’s too short For that and you know, it’s not going to be tolerated
Jon Watson: 45:09
Yeah,
Trent Manning: 45:10
But I appreciate everybody in there I mean, there’s just so many knowledgeable people in there and They’ve been doing it so long is a lot of the stuff is second nature to them. So something that you’re struggling with, just ask the question, you know, I know, I know it’s easier said than done, but just do it.
Jon Watson: 45:31
for sure.
Trent Manning: 45:32
Well, and I mean, it’s, it doesn’t only help you. I mean, it helps all of us too. Because somebody else might be struggling with that or say, for this instance, you ask the question. Somebody gives you the answer to this question and then 2 weeks later, I have the same problem. And I saw it in the group and I said, Oh, this is what’s happening on that unit. Because, and I’ve talked about this like when me and Corey Phillips was working for Jerry Pate, the Toro distributor. We were talking every single day because we had so much window time driving around and he’s like, have you seen this on the 5010 series fairway mowers? And I’m like, no, I hadn’t. And then I would start looking for it. I’m like, okay. Yep. Everyone I look at has got this problem on it. So, you know, a lot of us are running, I mean, there’s not that many equipment manufacturers out there. So a lot of us are still, you know, we’re running a lot of the same stuff. Whether it be Toro or Digger or Jake or whatever. All right. How do you deal with that person?
Jon Watson: 46:43
So I, I try to be patient. I really don’t. lose my temper too often just because I’ve found over the years that people don’t respond well to yelling and just insults things of that nature. People typically respond better when you don’t lose your cool, when you explain to them. The right way to go about something. And now if they continue to do that, that’s a different story, different conversation. You know, I’m, I’m, I’m pretty much like a three strike rule guy. Like I’m going to give you one or two. And, and if you continue to do the same thing, then we’re going to go another route. I do still try to keep my cool though. I try not to blow up. I’ve worked with a lot of guys in the past that, that blew up on people often. And it did seem like there was a a larger percentage of broken equipment you know, in the days that follow when you blow up on somebody versus if you go about it in a little more mild manner way. So yeah, that’s, that’s probably my best tip for that is try to be patient and
Trent Manning: 47:54
Yeah. Yeah.
Jon Watson: 47:54
lose your cool. Some things warrant it. I get that, but for the most part most just be patient. Don’t lose your cool.
Trent Manning: 48:02
Nice. That’s great advice. For sure. Get ready for tips and tricks. What kind of tips and tricks you want to share with us?
Jon Watson: 48:13
I don’t have a whole lot of tricks of my own. I have started recently. I got into checking the electrical, like checking with electrical issues with the Infrared gun and I’m trying to get the infrared scan gun kind of goes back to the I think it was one of Skip Heinz tips and tricks he was talking about the infrared camera. and being able to see know, various electrical issues and things that way. That’s something I never thought about. I’m really good with my multi meter. And I’ve had pretty good success doing it that way. But this is so interesting to me that different take on it. And I’ve never heard anybody talk about using that kind of technology for that. So it’s something that I’m playing around with now. And I would I’ll tell anybody I found some pretty cool stuff so far. So, or had good success with it so far. So, yeah, I would tell anybody to kind of look a little bit more into that. It could be a big time saver. I’ve found versus going through with the multimeter and, and, you know, and that route. So, and then tip, I’ll probably go back to it a hundred times the networking thing, man, just get to know the guys around you and where, whatever you’re weak in, find somebody who’s strong in it. So, you have somebody to lean on cause I got a lot of strengths, but I got a lot of weaknesses too. Yeah. So, I’m starting to kind of develop that network to, to hopefully get a nice balance of all strong. So, so,
Trent Manning: 49:44
Well, I know I’ve told this before, but I’ll tell it again. We had a little local group of us technicians in North Atlanta, and that would get together, you know, 10 of us or something, and it’s just like you’re saying, that’s why I’m telling the story. Each one of us had our strength. You know, I mean, we all have different strengths, if you will. So, and like one guy in the group, he was so good at two stroke stuff. And I hate to stroke,
Jon Watson: 50:16
I do too.
Trent Manning: 50:17
you know, I mean, I understand it and I’m
Jon Watson: 50:19
Yeah, yeah, yeah,
Trent Manning: 50:20
but you know, I, so anytime I’d have a two stroke problem, I’d call him
Jon Watson: 50:25
It’s frustrating
Trent Manning: 50:26
oh yeah, look at this,
Jon Watson: 50:27
Yeah. Yeah.
Trent Manning: 50:28
Cause he had been doing it for so long because previously he was like a small engine shop. Like he owned a few small engine shops and he’d been doing that pretty much his whole life before he got into the golf course stuff and You know and another guy was really good on sprayers so, you know, it’s just you finding those people in your network that you can rely on and I think I told the story just the other day on the podcast about I needed a, we demoed a unit and I had to grind it. I didn’t have a bed knife for it. So I called the guy down the road while you, cause I knew he ran those, that same mower. So you got an extra bed knife. I’ll get you back, you know, and this is so awesome.
Jon Watson: 51:17
Yeah, that’s huge too. I mean, to have a network like that. It’s just um, it’s great. Yes.
Trent Manning: 51:27
Yeah. Well, yeah. Well, what, what was your experience with CTM and
Jon Watson: 51:34
So my experience with C10 was really positive. I think for me, like I said, I was kind of shut off to the rest of the world when I took the position as the equipment manager. And I would say, you know, my shop was was most of the way there with a lot of that stuff. I would say maybe 75%. And, and it was like my first real kind of insight into exactly what we needed to be what we needed to have in place. As far as really, the safety measures were the big thing for me. Because how I was kind of doing it before is we had an insurance guy that comes once a year to walk through and kind of my, my understanding was, you know, if the insurance guy walks through with me, I asked him, you know, I said, what, what all are you guys looking for? I kind of looked at him as like the, the safety master and and he would always be super impressed with the shop. He’d be like, oh, this is amazing. You know, you’ve got everything as far as I’m concerned in place. And. It was probably a lack of due diligence on my end, but like I said, there was probably, you know, 20, 25% of things on that seat time that I needed to adjust. And and now that gives me peace of mind. No. And I have all that in place. I have, everything for my guys to be safe for the crew to be safe. And that’s huge. Because I, I do want to want to give them the optimum environment to learn and grow and and be safe, obviously.
Trent Manning: 53:11
Yeah, yeah, yeah,
Jon Watson: 53:13
so. That was kind of what it what it was for me was it gave me a lot of that information that I just I didn’t know. I didn’t know if that
Trent Manning: 53:24
yeah, right.
Jon Watson: 53:24
it also, I mean, the level, the level one stuff, the level two stuff, that was all great information for me as well, and kind of sparked I would, so I would go through the book, and then that would typically spark me going down like a rabbit hole let’s just say it was like the hydraulic stuff, then I’d go down like a new rabbit hole, and I would learn, on top of what I learned in the book, I would learn ten other things that I didn’t know, and, and really, with all of those, I was able to gain a lot more knowledge as far as all those individual certifications go. I was able to just, it, it gave me the push to do a deeper dive. And because I was, you know, the way, the way I was taught was kind of under one guy, it was one way I thought it was a pretty good way and it was but. There is so much more out there that I was unaware of before I went through this process. And I just really appreciate the opportunity to go through it and the knowledge that I gained from it and anybody who hasn’t done it. I highly recommend it. Not only do you get certifications and various things to, you know, show your superiors that You know what you’re talking about. But it also gives you that, that personal development, the personal growth.
Trent Manning: 54:49
Mm hmm. Mm hmm.
Jon Watson: 54:51
So I would say, you know, it was super beneficial to my career and has given me a lot more confidence as well. Knowing that I’m doing things the right way.
Trent Manning: 55:03
No, that’s yeah, that’s really awesome to hear that you also gained confidence. So not only knowledge and I have heard some other people say something similar and I don’t remember exactly how they said it, but talking about passing level one and level two, you know, that when you’re on in your own little bubble doing your own little thing. You don’t, you know, you don’t, well, right, but you don’t really know what, you don’t know what, you know, you don’t know what you don’t know, but when you pass that exam, you’re like, okay, I guess I kind of do know this stuff,
Jon Watson: 55:43
right. Right. Right.
Trent Manning: 55:45
if you’re unsure about yourself or your, your knowledge level or, or whatever. And same, same thing with the whole CTM process. I would encourage anybody to, to do it because yeah, you’re going to learn more. You’re going to get your shop to be safer for not just you, but everyone else that, that works there. And then the other cool thing, I don’t know if you’re thinking about doing it or not, but now you can be in a tester for other CTAMs.
Jon Watson: 56:18
so I, I just went through the training and
Trent Manning: 56:21
Okay.
Jon Watson: 56:23
to hear from Diane on the next the next attestment and I’m going to sit in on it. So, I’m super interested in it. I,
Trent Manning: 56:32
it’s, it’s a lot of fun. You know, I don’t know how many I’ve done so far, but quite a few. And it’s, it’s kind of like doing this interview. You get to meet somebody you’ve maybe never seen before. And you get to see their shop and you get new ideas from seeing their
Jon Watson: 56:53
that’s it. Yeah.
Trent Manning: 56:54
you know, it’s like a virtual shop tour, if you will. And speaking, I mean, there’s another million dollar idea when you start doing virtual shop tours
Jon Watson: 57:05
That is a million dollar
Trent Manning: 57:06
Yeah, I don’t, I mean, they just come to me and like Greg Womble said, if you listen to that episode, it was not too long ago. We’re, we’re really good at coming up with ideas. We just suck at the follow through.
Jon Watson: 57:19
that’s, that is the truth. That is like, I’ve never heard a better way to put it. That’s
Trent Manning: 57:24
Yeah. Yeah. That’s oh, Greg’s another really good one. I would encourage you while I’m just, I’m spitballing here while I’m thinking about it. I would encourage you to come to the Carolina show if you have the opportunity.
Jon Watson: 57:39
I’m from South Carolina, born and raised.
Trent Manning: 57:42
Oh, okay. Alright, we’ll come up there and see the folks and come see us in Myrtle. Yeah, it’s, it’s usually right before Thanksgiving.
Jon Watson: 57:51
Okay. Yeah. Yeah. I’ll
Trent Manning: 57:52
like second week of November or something and it’s 45 bucks if you can afford that.
Jon Watson: 58:01
I think I
Trent Manning: 58:01
Yeah, I mean, well, the, I don’t remember the exact cost, but you can be a member of TTAC for 45 and you get in to
Jon Watson: 58:11
so you don’t have to live in the state to be part of TTAC. Okay. Yeah, I’ve seen TTAC post a lot of stuff. I just thought it was maybe a local thing. But yeah, I’ll definitely
Trent Manning: 58:23
well, I mean it is, you know for the Carolinas if you will, but I don’t I don’t think they Mind if you’re in Florida or Georgia or you know, wherever they’ll take your money just like any other association. They’ll take your money
Jon Watson: 58:39
I hear you I didn’t want to say one other thing about see Tim It was just if you’re listening to this and you’re out there and you are afraid of the attesting process Don’t be because I was so afraid to schedule a date to have the attesting because I was afraid of you know, just I, I don’t know. I was just afraid of like, okay, I’m going to show my shop to these people and what if they think like, oh, this is horrible, you know, and it’s not right. But that was the exact opposite of my experience. It was not it’s nothing to be afraid of. They give you everything in the rubric right there, you know, ready to go. And and I promise you that you’ll learn something from it. I don’t think there’s anybody out there that hasn’t gone through it. That can go through that rubric and not find at least one or two things in your shop that you need to fix because I mean little stuff gets past all of us, I mean we get busy and caught up and
Trent Manning: 59:37
Yeah
Jon Watson: 59:38
It just gives you that kind of it, it gives you it on paper to go check and keep yourself on that’s, that’s, that’s the best way I could put it.
Trent Manning: 59:47
Yeah, and one another thing that I’ve said before is With that rubric if you’re trying to get some safety stuff implemented around your shop The rubric can help you do that because you can take that to whoever you got to take it to And say, you know, this is part of the process. This is something they recommend. I think this is a good idea. You know, so it’s not just you going to your supervisor saying, I want to put a fire extinguisher here, you know, or, you know, whatever the scenario is.
Jon Watson: 1:00:20
that’s the exact response I got from my director. Like I said, there was, you know, 20 to 25% of that we needed to tighten up. I went to him, you know, and I said, Hey, these are, these are areas that we’re weak in and we need to get resolved. And I can do that just as long as I have your blessing, I’m going to go and, you know, make it happen. So, and he was obviously, like I said, super supportive throughout this whole process and, yeah, it’s, it’s a great opportunity. It’s there.
Trent Manning: 1:00:51
I love it. I love it. No. Yeah. Well, and the other thing. For anybody that’s thinking about it, or if you got questions about it, reach out to somebody else that’s a CTEM and ask them what the experience was like.
Jon Watson: 1:01:08
Yeah, give me a shout.
Trent Manning: 1:01:10
Yeah,
Jon Watson: 1:01:11
Anybody, but
Trent Manning: 1:01:12
right. Anybody, but John, me, or 26 ish.
Jon Watson: 1:01:20
I think it was I don’t know if anybody’s got it since I did it. I think Diane says 25, number
Trent Manning: 1:01:26
Okay.
Jon Watson: 1:01:27
So, but I want to see everybody get it. I want to see everybody do better. I don’t, you
Trent Manning: 1:01:31
Uh, right, right,
Jon Watson: 1:01:32
is not about gatekeeping or anything.
Trent Manning: 1:01:34
Oh, no,
Jon Watson: 1:01:35
everybody in. Yeah.
Trent Manning: 1:01:37
Yeah, yeah. Yep. More, more the merrier. But yeah, reach out to a fellow CTEM or call Diana if you don’t know a fellow CTEM and she’ll give one of our numbers away if you got extra questions. And when I was up at the Travelers Tournament, we talked a little bit about that before we got started here. Bob. Was he’s thinking about getting a seat to him. So he was asking all these questions. We went through the whole rubric and all the stuff in his shop. And yeah, you might have to do this. All that’s good. That’s good. You know, I mean, because he was a little nervous about some of the stuff too. So it’s perfectly fine to be nervous, but it’s not a big deal and you will figure it out. And, and talk to somebody, network.
Jon Watson: 1:02:28
that’s it. That’s that’s the theme of the podcast here is
Trent Manning: 1:02:31
right. Network.
Jon Watson: 1:02:32
theme is gonna be networking so
Trent Manning: 1:02:34
So, yeah, we’re going to, we’re going to call this John Watson, CTM networking. That’s what the name of this one’s going to be. No, you ready to do some rapid fire?
Jon Watson: 1:02:50
Absolutely.
Trent Manning: 1:02:52
Let’s do it. What’s your favorite movie?
Jon Watson: 1:02:55
Friday the 13th the whole series. I’m a big slasher guy. Love it.
Trent Manning: 1:03:00
Okay. All right. Yes.
Jon Watson: 1:03:02
but Friday the 13th, number one.
Trent Manning: 1:03:04
Yeah. Yeah. Awesome. Jason,
Jon Watson: 1:03:07
Yes.
Trent Manning: 1:03:08
what would be your last meal?
Jon Watson: 1:03:09
So there’s a pizza place near me called Gino’s Pizza. Pizza’s kind of a silly answer, but I’m telling you, if you’re ever in South Florida, get Gino’s Pizza. It’s the greatest pizza ever made. It’s,
Trent Manning: 1:03:21
Okay. Awesome. Gina’s
Jon Watson: 1:03:23
Yeah. Shout
Trent Manning: 1:03:24
I don’t yeah. Yeah. I mean, I don’t think there’s any crazy answers But I will say the one that caught me by surprise Was Taco Bell
Jon Watson: 1:03:36
Oh man. I love Taco Bell too.
Trent Manning: 1:03:38
Well, I mean Taco Bell’s fine, but I don’t know that that would be my last meal.
Jon Watson: 1:03:42
Probably not.
Trent Manning: 1:03:45
What are you most proud of besides your family?
Jon Watson: 1:03:49
So besides family, cause that is a big one. But probably just my career thus far and finding a path Finding a career that I enjoy going to work every day. I really love what I do. And it’s something that this if you had asked me, you know, 10, 15 years ago, if I would be here, you know, absolutely not. It’s been a great run so far and I hope it lasts a lot longer. So,
Trent Manning: 1:04:17
Absolutely. Tell the listeners how they can get a hold of you. You on Twitter?
Jon Watson: 1:04:23
I am on Twitter. It’s, I’m not a bot, I promise. I just did like, it was like create an account, you know, a long time ago, but I didn’t actually put the thing in. So it’s kind of long. It’s J. O N 8 1 1 7 7 7 3 9.
Trent Manning: 1:04:43
okay. We’re going to save the listeners a lot of
Jon Watson: 1:04:46
LAUGHS
Trent Manning: 1:04:47
and I will, I will find that and we will, we will tag you
Jon Watson: 1:04:51
Yes, tag me, tag
Trent Manning: 1:04:52
yeah, when this episode gets released for
Jon Watson: 1:04:55
and reach out with any, any questions regarding CTEM or anything, you know, I’m open book, just don’t be, don’t hesitate to ask.
Trent Manning: 1:05:05
I want you to take your own advice in the WhatsApp group.
Jon Watson: 1:05:08
I know, I, that, I’m gonna do that. I’m gonna do it. I’m
Trent Manning: 1:05:11
do it. Do it. I expect to see a question tomorrow.
Jon Watson: 1:05:16
All right, I’m gonna, I’m
Trent Manning: 1:05:16
putting you on the spot. Thank you so much, John, for being on. That’s been a, been a blast as always. And thanks everybody else for listening. I hope, I hope you enjoy this one. Summertime is upon us and I mean it is wide open around here, but that’s what that’s what we do is go time. Thank you. 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.