Brandon Hoag is the Equipment manager at Glens Falls Country Club in Queensbury, New York and the 2021 Winner of the Most Valuable Technician Award presented by GCSAA and GCM Magazine in partnership with Foley Company. A newcomer to the industry with a pretty handy background in machining and fabrication, Brandon talks about his love of the Roller Tamer, the outdoors, and being a dad to two boys.
Transcript
Trent Manning:
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 This episode are real turf techs on golf course industries. Superintendent radio network is presented by Foley county, a strong supporter of equipment technicians and golf course maintenance departments everywhere. Foley county offers a proven solution for above and below the turf for turf professionals. To learn more about Foley company’s line of real grinders bed, knife, grinders, and the air to G2 family of products, or to find a distributor visit www dot Foley, C o.com. Foley. Ready for play. Welcome to the real turf text podcast, episode 52. Today, we’re talking to Brandon Hogue equipment manager at Glen falls country club. And Queensbury New York. Glens falls is a 1912 Donald Ross design, 18 hole private club. Brandon is the sole technician working in his shop. Brandon runs, Jacobson greens, mowers, and fairway mowers. Turo rough mowers. Cushman trucks, jurors. And John Deere Gators and tractors. As well as the Ventrac. And he has Foley grinders. Little disclaimer. We had some audio issues that we couldn’t remove. But this is a great interview. And we didn’t want to Chuck it. Let’s hear from Brandon. Welcome Brandon to the real turf text podcast. How you doing today?
Brandon Hoag:
Good, man. Thanks for having me.
Trent Manning:
Oh, yes, sir. This is going to be fun. Looking forward to. Two fellow MVT winners.
Brandon Hoag:
Yes. Congratulations.
Trent Manning:
Yeah, 2018. And you’re 2021.
Brandon Hoag:
this year.
Trent Manning:
That’s awesome, man.
Brandon Hoag:
And congratulations, I saw earlier today, that is your first with your podcast show.
Trent Manning:
Yes. So we’re courting for the listeners on March 1st and one year ago today we put out our first couple episodes. And I never dreamed what this would turn into. I just thought it was going to be a rambling hillbilly talking about golf course maintenance stuff. And maybe I would have 10 listeners and I would have been happy with that, it really turned into something special for sure.
Brandon Hoag:
You got a big following. So congrats,
Trent Manning:
Thank you. Thank you. Tell us how you got into the turf industry.
Brandon Hoag:
honestly, it was just by chance. I was in the fabrication industry and was in the, I was at my place of employment for 11 years. It was basically family owned operations. And the father that away and a son started to change direction went from a huge industrial welding shop to, they wanted to start lawn sprinklers. So was a big change of pace. And
Trent Manning:
Yeah.
Brandon Hoag:
basically it went from a big industry to a little family run shop that a bunch of people left and it was literally by chance, like the day after. The first assistant at our golf course called me. And I’ve been friends with him for years and years, and he knows my background. So he just called me and said, Hey, listen, we’re in dire need for somebody that knows anything about mechanical just fixing anything we haven’t we’re just so hard spot. So I said, you know what? Walk has it. I’m not doing it right now. I can come help you out. So I went there and walked into a, it was a catastrophe. It was. Everywhere you look, there was stuff in pieces broken. The whole shop was just in disarray. So I was kind of like, what did I do? And thankfully, I’m just here to help for a little while. But through persevere virulence and the hard work, I just kept on getting things fixed and turn the shop around constantly and my boss and the assistance. They just they wanted me to stay. Worked out a deal here we are five years later.
Trent Manning:
Oh, that’s awesome.
Brandon Hoag:
Yeah, So it was just by chance. It was just weird. I don’t have a background in the golf industry, so I don’t really play that much either. Luckily for any superintendent that golf course I go to, cause I haven’t, I’m not a golfer, but I love the game. I just I don’t play it. The whole ability to work on the machinery, the precision of it. I would, I have a background in machining, so I was able to basically transfer all that knowledge over to do all the grinding, all the real prep and the knives and all that. So it, have that background was a little bit a little easy for me to transition over and that aspect in that aspect.
Trent Manning:
for sure. And I think a lot of us, most of the people that I’ve met anyway, and the people I’ve interviewed on the podcast all have similar stories where it was just happenstance that they got at a golf course. Now they knew Molly or whatever.
Brandon Hoag:
I was born and raised in this area and this is a private golf course. So for 30 years or whatever I drove by this course and never knew anything about it and then never even seen it because it’s just a little hidden gem that it’s very private. So now I go there every day.
Trent Manning:
Awesome. Do you relieve grant?
Brandon Hoag:
I do relief crime. Yes, sir. We have a new fully grinder. That’s able to do that and take advantage of it. But I don’t backlash that often we’re continually. We have a bought a lot of series of mowers that basically always have backup had units that I have a different series, so I swap them out as we go. But I do relief drying just for the friction loss of horsepower, stuff like that. I did do some back lapping when I first started. And I think just the way we, our practice doesn’t really It’s not advantageous for us because we’re always putting a spin on it.
Trent Manning:
Yeah, nothing wrong with that. Like I like to say on the podcast, we don’t judge here whatever works for you. Then there’s some people that exclusively lap, and I don’t necessarily agree with that. If it works for them, it works for that. When you relieve ground, how thin are you getting your land width on the blade?
Brandon Hoag:
I do a 45 degree angle. It basically matched the, I match it to the length of the rise. It’s equal this equal distance basically, unless you have a, like our LS or our fairway mowers, we run our, and our real. So they’re a real thick gauge blade. So I’ll do a long ramp on it to get the thickness down a little bit. Oh, other than that, it’s just to basically equal distance,
Trent Manning:
I got you on the RNR rails. I hadn’t run any, and a long time is the quality of the real better than it was. I don’t know that being really speaking on that in the last five years.
Brandon Hoag:
honestly. We run factory bed knives and we try and do factory reels. is this year with the availability
Trent Manning:
Yeah.
Brandon Hoag:
I had to replace a set of five for one of our LS. And I ordered, we, I received two from Jacobson, so there are the other three round back order and I waited, contacted them. And they said there was basically to be determined delivery date. So I said Not knowing that the RNR reels are a thicker gauge than the factory ones with the factory relief on them. I think about the other three. So it’s a backup unit anyway. So we’re going to try and run it and see if there’s any issues between the two factory reels. And then the three RNR reels. There’s cut difference. I didn’t measure them or I did weigh them cause they were the heavier gauge real blade. 1.1 pounds heavier per reel. So I don’t know if that’ll make much of a difference or not. R and R versus factory.
Trent Manning:
Yeah. You wouldn’t think one panel and make a difference, but who knows? I get critical on cutting unit sometimes on different set ups and.
Brandon Hoag:
It depends on who you’re talking to.
Trent Manning:
Yeah. That’d be interesting to see it. Yeah. Do you have a set on 5,000 higher?
Brandon Hoag:
Right.
Trent Manning:
they weigh one pound more or something might be interested in a little task to get going on. Have you tried any of the JRM rooms?
Brandon Hoag:
Nope. We haven’t ran JMR reals. I heard that they’re the harder material I think, the JMR, but we don’t, we just, we try to stick to the fair.
Trent Manning:
Was um, same way. I’ve pretty much just stayed factory. I do use JRM bed. Nice. And I liked their bed knives, but I’ve yet to try. They’re real. And in the WhatsApp group that I’m always talking about, they were talking about that today. One of the guys, I had the question, if anybody had used them, I know a bopper, no on Twitter bop shop he’s used them, but I hadn’t really heard they worked out. I think he’s happy with them, but I don’t know if they’re better or worse or what.
Brandon Hoag:
My aspect is if you have a harder material in your bed knife something’s gotta be softer than the other, I would think so when you start stepping up your heart and. No I don’t know what negativities that brings, but I just think they’re engineered like that for a purpose,
Trent Manning:
oh, yeah, for sure. I agree with that. And personally, I would like my real to be harder than my benef,
Brandon Hoag:
All right.
Trent Manning:
because they’re easier to change and replace that only sent me fabricated.
Brandon Hoag:
All right. Let’s just. And in depth story, but so we, throughout the past few years, we’ve we actually hand mall our greens. We walk Mo so we have some Jacobson, eclipse twos. And we have Jacobs from 3 22 TriFlex that we do our greens with too. But the problem is our distance between the collars and the edge. It drops off drastically after our collars. So you don’t want to have that turning radius. That’s why we walk most typically. So anyway, back to the walk Moore’s we bought a bunch of eclipse to 18 inch mowers and eclipse 1 22 inch mowers for $200 a piece because people just don’t use it anymore. We got a great deal on them. So what I ended up doing was is I stripped all the eclipse ones down and their eclipse ones where the four-bolt four bullet. And so what we’re trying to do is we’re trying to make a bunch of a series of quick adjustment, Jacobson reels, a unit to have three, we have three sets of reels, basically one for our sand eaters, intermediate, and then. Reels. So I’ve been conglomerating all these units. So I took the, all the electronics off the eclipse twos, the newer units, and basically conglomerated all the eclipse ones to operate as an eclipse two on an eclipse to mower. But what I’m doing is I took the all the eclipse w two 18 inch. And I created a jig and I’m cutting all the head units, the head unit frames apart and using just the side plates. And what I’m doing is I had a machine shop, make the tubes for the quick adjustment where the pins go through for the quick adjustment and then just the other pin, the other rod that basically it’s like a hold is the frames and in line, but I’m going to turn the 18 inch frames into 22 inch frames.
Trent Manning:
Oh, wow. Okay.
Brandon Hoag:
Yeah. So basically we’ll have a whole nother set of quick adjustment heads because one of our, one out of the three sets one set is the old four, four point bolt adjustments, which I don’t mind. It’s just a pain in the butt to adjust them and it’s not a table. So it’s my little project I’ve been slowly working at it. And again, back to my machine machining and welding and fabricating skills is something I fall back on and do a lot. But A little thing I’m working on right now. It’s kind neat, but. I got faith in it. As long as you prop up a good jig and don’t put too much heat in certain spots.
Trent Manning:
I don’t. So what’s your experience with that? And the reason I asked this question is I got a guy that works for me and he went to welding school. And when he’ll run a B eight inches. And a single pass whatever, maybe quarter inch plate. And I was up in, I didn’t go to welding school. I’m pretty much self-taught. But from what I learned is you should do shorter links and not heat it up so much. What was your opinion on that?
Brandon Hoag:
Yeah, so definitely if you have say, if you’re trying to like, not two pieces of a quarter inch sheet steel or something like that it’s not gusseted, or it’s not supported in any which way you, if you were trying to run eight or 10 inch. Beet red at that seam. You’re going to, you’re going to warp it for sure. I always try to clamp stuff down if you can clamp it down or if you could even weld like a temporary gusset bar across it or something a piece of tube one spot or a few spots where it won’t allow it to twist or clamping your work down as, so that’s the most important thing because it will, it’s gonna, it’s gonna twist a little bit unless you’re welding something, that’s got a lot of gussets or angles brackets. Or where it might not allow it to twist so much,
Trent Manning:
Awesome.
Brandon Hoag:
But yeah, shorter welds are typically what you want to do.
Trent Manning:
Gotcha. What’s your favorite tool?
Brandon Hoag:
Favorite tool golf shop is going to be at say the roller Tamer.
Trent Manning:
Oh, shout out to Roland.
Brandon Hoag:
Yup. Yup. The roller tantrum by turf dried. That thing is do you have any, are you familiar?
Trent Manning:
Somewhat. It’s been on my wishlist and Roland’s going to be mad at me. Then I bought one yet and Don cotton up.
Brandon Hoag:
Caren old down cotton,
Trent Manning:
Oh, dang.
Brandon Hoag:
but yeah, no it’s it, I can’t say anything bad about it, man. They did a great job with it. It’s very versatile. It is a little bit of an expensive upfront, but. You use it for a few years darn why you spent the money? It’s just, it’s easy. It’s a time saver. I can’t say anything bad about it.
Trent Manning:
That’s awesome. And, honestly, probably the reason I hadn’t bought. If I wanted to blame somebody, going to blind Martin ball because I’ve been running golf code rollers on everything. And those are so easy to rebuild. If they go bad. I know you’ve used any golf coast stuff.
Brandon Hoag:
We have some golf go the rowers on our rough units. And they’re great. I think we’ve had them for boy it’s been over his whole season. They didn’t, there’s like nowhere to.
Trent Manning:
Oh, yeah. Yeah. Now they hold up really well. And I got a new set of fairway mower, so four fairway mowers, and I ordered them pre fitted with golf co rollers and it’s yeah, it’s been great. What do you do to relax or find your balance?
Brandon Hoag:
We’re big nature family. We own a camp with some property. So basically definitely nature hiking. Just being outside.
Trent Manning:
Kids.
Brandon Hoag:
Yeah. Two kids. You’ve got two boys. Five-year-old his name’s Canaan and a 10 year old boy named Ezra.
Trent Manning:
Awesome, man. That’s I’m a girl, dad, but yeah.
Brandon Hoag:
bless you. God bless you.
Trent Manning:
Yeah, no, I got my shot guns ready to go. It’s all good.
Brandon Hoag:
There you go.
Trent Manning:
I’d definitely outdoors men too. My whole life muscle soy. I grew up kind of rural part of the Northern Georgia, which is not so rural anymore, but,
Brandon Hoag:
Right.
Trent Manning:
I love the outdoors for sure. And how great is that to get out and just spend time with your family out in nature?
Brandon Hoag:
Yeah, just simple. The way life should be
Trent Manning:
exactly.
Brandon Hoag:
in Northern Georgia is beautiful too. I haven’t been there, but my dad lives in North Carolina and I’ve spent over that way, but the blue mountains and all that I live up in the Adirondacks up in upstate New York. So
Trent Manning:
Okay. I’ve never been up there, but I would definitely like to check it out for
Brandon Hoag:
Yeah, it’s beautiful.
Trent Manning:
I’m going to see a Jr. Wilson at NOI back on long island. So that’s going to be an adventure for this hill, but
Brandon Hoag:
go. Yeah, I don’t go down there. I don’t, I’ve never been to the city. I don’t really care to so enjoy it.
Trent Manning:
yeah. Yeah. Why not? It’s a puzzle. We’re going skeet sheet, which I thought it was crazy. I didn’t know that they had gun clubs up.
Brandon Hoag:
Yeah, they I’m sure they probably got some nice high end. John floats down there, some ski shooting. Cool.
Trent Manning:
What’s the strangest thing you’ve seen at work.
Brandon Hoag:
I had a group of kids show up in a car one day. I don’t know why, but none of them had shoes on, but they all showed up and they went to a psychic and a cat psychic. Apparently one of the girls lost her. And I guess he was somewhere in town, but the cat psychic told them to not wear their shoes and go to this address, which is our club and to talk to somebody and the cat will be there. I don’t get, I don’t get out on the course that much. So I don’t know about weird stuff out in the course, but to me, I was like, what the heck is going on? So that was weird.
Trent Manning:
You can’t make this up, right? There’s no way you could think for a week to make up a crazy story and not come up with up the light, but
Brandon Hoag:
Everybody’s got something
Trent Manning:
that was really good. What’s one of your pet peeves around the shop.
Brandon Hoag:
that P’s definitely clean and organized. Everything’s got a place where it’s supposed to go. I’m not like super anal. Like you open up my drawers and there’s a spot I don’t have it like outlined where things are supposed to go, but things are nice and tidy, so definitely being clean and organized, starting jobs and not finishing them like my kids. I feel like I’m talking to either my kids or my kids at work one or the other, but if you start it just commit to it and get it done.
Trent Manning:
Yeah, for sure. And I think that’s something we all probably struggle with in our younger years, but we finally overcome. And at some point,
Brandon Hoag:
at some point,
Trent Manning:
do you have a mentor in the industry?
Brandon Hoag:
With my shallow background in the industry? I, the only person that really taught me. far. I have a lot of people that I’ve talked to and have helped me throughout, but my boss really without him first of all, without him, I wouldn’t have my job. And then he also nominated me for the MBT year. Without him, I wouldn’t have gotten now made it for that, but he’s definitely showing me the ins and outs, how things are supposed to work, what things supposed to look like the quality of cut and. He’s worked at Oak hill and pine valley throughout his he’s been on our course for 30 years. So definitely has firsthand knowledge top-notch stuff, but yeah it’s really just, and he’s helped me out through, throughout at all.
Trent Manning:
No, that’s great. And I’m think there’s a lot to be said for somebody really spending that extra time, instead of just saying, do this, or do that, the explaining why we’re doing this and why we’re doing it. I know for me personally, that really helps me out to understand, and makes the job better. If you know the why you’re doing.
Brandon Hoag:
Oh, yeah, you could just, you could do something, not knowing why or what you should expect the outcome to be just do it just to do it. But also too, getting out and running the. Being out there firsthand talking to them obviously talking to the guys, but think if the equipment manager can get out there and run the equipment to see how it’s supposed to run and what it feels like, you get a lot more knowledge off of that to hopefully your guys come back and talk to you firsthand, what’s wrong. And what’s going on with the machine is this right? Or this is leaving a good streak or whatever, but Firsthand getting out there and working with us is a big thing. I think.
Trent Manning:
oh, yeah. There’s nothing that can replace hands-on operation of the equipment for the equivalent manager, because if you don’t know how it’s supposed to operate, it’s hard for an operator to tell you what is doing or what is not doing that it should be doing.
Brandon Hoag:
Yeah, for sure.
Trent Manning:
What would be your dream job or opportunity.
Brandon Hoag:
Something with motor sports I’m big motor sports guy. A motor sports team or anything like that. I think Kanick job or whatever tire changer. I don’t know. Just something that would be like really cool. I think,
Trent Manning:
So what’s your favorite Motorsports?
Brandon Hoag:
Oh, motocross, Supercross, dirt bikes. I need I grew up racing, dirt bikes, so I grew up racing, flat track. So all that’s there for me. I love it.
Trent Manning:
Gotcha. Yeah. Yeah. So Chris Lewis at Eastlake, he was a big dirt bike motorcycle guy before he got into the golf industry. They loved that rice and then that kind of stuff. And I think he worked at a motorcycle shop for several years before he ended up at the golf course.
Brandon Hoag:
Every dirt bike, four Wheeler. Drive by looking at the golf courses to say, man, that would be an awesome place. You’ll rip it up.
Trent Manning:
Oh yeah, yeah. For sure.
Brandon Hoag:
I don’t think like that anymore though. It’s oh my God.
Trent Manning:
Yeah. Yeah. Once you get in the turf industry, you understand? Yeah. Would not be good for course conditions.
Brandon Hoag:
And luckily I’ve seen I’ve seen a lot through like Twitter and stuff like that, where guys are getting all this damage from going out, messing with the greens and stuff. Not knock on wood, our little community. We don’t, we haven’t had that happen. Actually, my superintendent, we were talking about that their day by the weird things that happened. But this year we had somebody on a hole that was close to one of the roads. They filled the cup full of quicker, like dry, quick,
Trent Manning:
Oh, wow. Okay.
Brandon Hoag:
Yeah. So that was no. So that was his weird thing.
Trent Manning:
I’ve heard other things in the cup, but not quick.
Brandon Hoag:
Yeah. see none of that yet.
Trent Manning:
What technician would you like to work with for a day?
Brandon Hoag:
So I’ve taken a lot of courses. Not a lot, but I’ve taken a few courses with Jim needle.
Trent Manning:
Yes.
Brandon Hoag:
was Yes, Use the 2019 Edmund.
Trent Manning:
Yes, sir.
Brandon Hoag:
And I think if anybody knows too much on this earth, he’s one of those people. Just rattling his brain, asking him questions. I, you can’t walk away with him remembering everything. You got to write stuff down because that bad guy is just, she’s a genius.
Trent Manning:
He is, he’s a walking encyclopedia turf equipment. He was superintendent and then service manager worked for the Toro company. Yeah, crazy background. Yes. I agree with you on that one. I would love to spend the day with Jim and I hate that. The show did you go to show this year?
Brandon Hoag:
Yeah.
Trent Manning:
Yeah. Okay. I’m sorry. I didn’t run into you
Brandon Hoag:
I saw you and you had you were busy. I want to introduce myself, but I didn’t get to do it. But I, I didn’t see it.
Trent Manning:
Yeah. I was talking to. I don’t want to say too many people that have never been to many people, but I was very busy.
Brandon Hoag:
Good, man.
Trent Manning:
but then it w it was fun. It was good, but unfortunately I really wanted to see GM, but it didn’t work out.
Brandon Hoag:
I went to, he had a class there, a quality of cut Class. I took that I took a seminar. He actually came to our course this summer and did a seminar for all the local equipment managers. And so that was my first time meeting him. So it was nice to have him go through my shop. Just tell me what he thought.
Trent Manning:
Oh, yeah. Yeah.
Brandon Hoag:
Yeah. So he was telling me he is a great guy. And if there’s any superintendents, cause he still does onsite he’ll do seminars. And if anybody has any ability to hire him for the day or whatever I’m telling you, you will not be disappointed.
Trent Manning:
Oh yeah, for sure. Yeah. That’d be worth every penny, whatever you get. We were lucky enough to have him die, even on that same presentation for the Georgia association. I don’t remember what year. This was three, four years ago. But yeah, just excellent. What do you know now? You wish you’d known on day one.
Brandon Hoag:
This was probably the hardest question for me, honestly. I think the way that I came in the industry basically blindsided, like I said, all our equipment, most of our equipment was put together wrong. There was just wrong parts on it, parts put together wrong series just everything. So it was a huge learning curve for me. And just the whole process, just spend a spin, a process, but I’m glad that’s how I came into it. So I don’t really know what I wish to. I know now. I just don’t know. I didn’t, I couldn’t answer it.
Trent Manning:
Oh, no worries. What kind of tips and tricks you want to share with us?
Brandon Hoag:
So one thing I found out, definitely, especially if you have equipment lift bought a hydraulic lift table it’s just a little pump Jack cable. You can buy it like Northern hydraulics to flat top. It’ll go up to ours goes up to I don’t know what it is. 50 or 60.
Trent Manning:
Okay.
Brandon Hoag:
So basically if I have to take a reel off a machine, when I first started there, a lot of guys, man, handle them, the cutting units, just dragging them around, lifting them for like $500. You can learn how Northern hydraulics has. You can lift up your machine, put the table underneath your machine, Jack it up to where it’s just touching your role or unit or your. Under your unit. And now the unit sitting on the table wheel it over, directly over to your bench where you’re strip the bed knife off of it. And then you can, I also have A leveling plate too. So before I got into the practice to throw the unit on the leveling plate, just to make sure everything’s parallel and then I’ll bring it over. Car and I’ll put it on the lift or on the grinder. It just that’s a big back saver. Time-saver so that’s one thing I’ve definitely have learned that it’s a good trick to use,
Trent Manning:
What’s the dimensions of the tenable.
Brandon Hoag:
table was probably about 20, maybe 24 by 36, like two foot by three or something
Trent Manning:
Okay. Yeah.
Brandon Hoag:
And it’s got like a 700 pound capacity.
Trent Manning:
Oh yeah. Perfect.
Brandon Hoag:
nice to have a duty. And the good thing is it’s also a helping hand to like for anything, if you have a big, long something long, you gotta use it’s not solid on a table or something, you can Jack it up and you can use it as like a second hand helps Derby stuff or whatever. But that’s one thing. One thing I’ve learned that works really well for myself is some guys high-ticket bars they’ll, I guess this is really how anal you want to be. So I’d just be about being an analyst is a little bit about speed too. I used to dual high-ticket gauges one on each side of the cutting unit with the actual dial indicator and they got the earth magnets on them, which they’re the Acura products makes them with the earth magnet on there. You can just slide it out there and just slap the earth magnet on the bed knife and it’s locked in. And then you go to the other side to do the same thing other side. Now you’re looking at two gauges, one on each side and you can zero. Your height, the cut so much faster and precise than going back and forth. As you set it up one time you tighten your nut down and you can visually see on both sides. How close you are. Even Jim Nelson says, yo can do the gage bars. You don’t have to be so anal about, especially on like fairways, but it’s not so much about being. About being precise. It’s the speed too. It’s so much quicker just to slap them up there, adjust it, lock them in and you can see right to left at both. Gauges are dead not, then you go, you can just go to your, go to the next ones. And then our fairways are, you can’t tell the difference. They’re beautiful. And every now and then if I feel like I always have, I have a zeroing gauge gauge block. So you just check your gauges, make sure they’re both reading. It’s that way you get the same measurements from right to left. But that for me has been a huge trick really. Just to be precise and then also it is a lot faster. Yeah. I started off with just the gauge the bars themselves, and then just adjusting the, not the screw and not to what height you think it is. And you just off of you slide it in off of. how precise is that? It probably precise enough maybe, but I don’t know. I think it works really well for me.
Trent Manning:
Yeah, no I personally, I liked the dial indicator and I liked the analog because I’m old school, I guess I like it better than the digital.
Brandon Hoag:
Yeah.
Trent Manning:
I like being able to see the hand move.
Brandon Hoag:
Yeah, having two of them for me just to be the Washington dead, not Darby and just going back and forth at going back and forth on every reel. I have 50 head units that I maintain. So doing that all the time you must do.
Trent Manning:
Oh, yeah, for sure. I think that was a great idea. Having the two up there. And I was just sitting here thinking about that. Yeah. Could somebody make one contraction More out of
Brandon Hoag:
Okay.
Trent Manning:
or whatever that goes up and it has the two gauges on it and
Brandon Hoag:
Oh,
Trent Manning:
some older somehow or something.
Brandon Hoag:
the guys at my shop. They were like, ah, you need to patent that idea. Exactly what you said, have one, one contraction with two gauges a. I think it works great, but like you said, what works for you might not work for other people.
Trent Manning:
True. Yep. They each his own but I really liked that. I know Rolan is working on Hanukkah gage calibrator, if you will. So you can check the accuracy of your Hanukkah gauge and like you were saying, yeah, you can use the gauge block, but what he came up with and Don cotton, that turf Pride’s to start producing these, this is the flat plate with a hole in it that has a certain distance. So that way you’re. This is like using the gauge block, but you’re also making sure the bar is flat without having to take the gauge off of it.
Brandon Hoag:
Gotcha.
Trent Manning:
Yeah. Which I guess you could do the same thing with a couple more gauge blocks on a granite surface plate or something, but this would be one less contained package. Let’s talk about MVP. Mr. 2021 MVT award winner. What was that last?
Brandon Hoag:
it. was a surprise at first. When I first heard that I was nominated as a finalist the other two guys, one guy was from North Carolina, I believe. And one guy was from Ontario it was a big hype at the course was like, yeah those are all big you know, down south you’re going to be hard to keep up with those guys and all the votes and stuff. So I was just, and it went on and went on weeks and weeks. So I was just like, you know what? It was cool to be nominated, but that’s probably as far as. So then I left work one Friday and like 20 minutes later, my boss called me and said, Hey, you won. I was just blown away, man. To be a newcomer in the industry there’s a lot of good guys out there that I’ve met and talked to that a lot of people deserve this, but there’s also not many young guys in the industry too. And I think. What Foley’s doing GCs AA with the whole MPT hip award went know or hoard program. I think it’s a great thing to give some young guys incentive, to do the best they can and to get better and just provide the best quality of product you can.
Trent Manning:
Oh for sure. And the year I won it was just mind blown. Whatever, but like you said, all the people that I’ve met in this industry makes me think I’m not very deserving of this ward. I don’t know how I want it when the guy over here is doing this or is this crazy? So we’re definitely very fortunate to have won that award with all the great technicians in this industry.
Brandon Hoag:
Yeah. And then the whole trade show experience, like that’s my first time even ever experienced a trade. Period, but just networking with people, talking to industry. insiders seeing all the different products firsthand, just and I’m not sure if this is how it’s been for all for a long time, but locally, for me, it seems the trade shows pushed towards the superintendents and assistants, but I think it’s really important that those equipment managers get out there. Talk to those guys. There’s a lot of technicians from the companies that are there, that your top guys are there. I know the working with the fully guys has been amazing, just talking to all of them. They’re so great and smart and they know their stuff. So.
Trent Manning:
I don’t
Brandon Hoag:
everybody I’ve met has been awesome. So in a great thing.
Trent Manning:
there.
Brandon Hoag:
No, I didn’t see him.
Trent Manning:
Yeah, I didn’t either. I went by the Foley booth and I was just now thinking about that, but he’s one, I always try to say, Hey two, and I’ve called him. I don’t know how many times on the phone to pick his brain. When I was working for the Toro distributor, we were also the Foley distributor down here. And I was kind of the Foley guy that anytime a Foley customer had an issue, I was the road tech, they got dispatched. So I spent a lot of time on the phone with Vince and he’s a, almost a gym net. And when it comes to fully product, he’s just on top of it. He’s oh, you need to look at this. This is your problem. He’ll tell you exactly what to think about it. obviously his experience and he’s been there for ever, but I hate, I missed him this year was the point of that story, but all those guys are really great over there. What else did you want to talk to?
Brandon Hoag:
Just expand yourself. Always have the ability to keep learning, networking, talking to guys, other equipment managers out there. Even just running into guys at the trade show, or even in some of the seminars just before I had this award, I’d never, I was not Twitter. I didn’t do anything like that. So I was just not isolated in my, who I knew who I talked to, but ever since I’ve expanded my horizon and really communicate with these guys. There’s so many guys out there that are doing different things that have different ideas that see things differently. It’s a huge network. You should strive to? do. And the stuff that you’re doing is just amazing for the industry and the guys that are in our positions. So really it’s just that just just keep it, keep expanding yourself. give to education and just keep on trying.
Trent Manning:
Yeah. And the thing with the trade show. Yeah, it was great seeing all equipment, but I really, and the education is great. Nothing wrong with education. Always good. But the networking, I think is key
Brandon Hoag:
Oh, yeah.
Trent Manning:
because you can have a five minute conversation with Chad brown. And you’re going to pick something up that you’re excited about. Do your course, that’s going to help you that day or, and then it’s not just to add there’s a hundred guys and gals, Kayla KIPP, shout out to our sister, just got a new job at a very nice facility. We’re
Brandon Hoag:
Congratulations.
Trent Manning:
very happy for her. But yeah, there’s so many good people in the industry. And like I said, you spent five minutes talking to them and you’re probably taking something back. That’s going to help you that day.
Brandon Hoag:
And that’s the thing that I’ve gotten out of it is, as there’s some industries that people don’t want to share their insight with. You. I think everybody that I’ve talked to has been more than willing to share their faults or their experiences, everything. So it’s been great. It really this has been the good part of the whole thing for you. Like you said, networking and having these relationships and just seeing that it’s a big, it’s a big group of people out there that are doing the same thing.
Trent Manning:
Oh, yeah. Yep. We’re all in the boat paddling in the same direction. Yep. Yeah, this has been great. And I can’t thank everybody enough for. Ball on the podcast, listening to the podcast, getting in the WhatsApp group, the real turf tech community. This is a, there’s a lot of guys in the WatsApp today and congratulations on the first year and all that stuff. And I don’t I’m over the moon. I’m really speechless and don’t know what to say. I’m so excited about. How everything’s going. And I look forward to seeing what is like next year and five years and 10 years from now and what we can do to grow this profession and get more younger people in this industry that want to work with their hands and get dirty and get to be outside. All the fun things that a lot of us enjoy
Brandon Hoag:
Yup. Yup.
Trent Manning:
the sun come up every morning.
Brandon Hoag:
Just keep doing what you’re doing. You’re a definitely a key component to that. So props to you, man.
Trent Manning:
Thank you. Thank you. Any other thing you want to share before we get at this is going to be a new segment here for the listeners. Rapid fire questions.
Brandon Hoag:
Rapid fire. Nah. So let’s take a hit and see.
Trent Manning:
What’s your favorite movie?
Brandon Hoag:
I got to go with Harry and the Hendersons,
Trent Manning:
Okay.
Brandon Hoag:
the kids love it. I love, I grew up with it. So I got a few favorites, but
Trent Manning:
That’s okay. What would be your last meal?
Brandon Hoag:
I don’t know. I I thought about that and I was like if it’s my last meal and I saved leftover. Does that mean I get to have another meal or it was just my last minute, but now I I’m a meatloaf and a scalp potatoes guy.
Trent Manning:
Okay. What are you most proud of?
Brandon Hoag:
I’m not, I’m most proud of? my kids and my wife and my family. That’s where my heart’s at. Yep.
Trent Manning:
answer. That is awesome. Thank you so much, Brandon, for being on the podcast. another good episode. Tell the listeners how they could get ahold of you. What’s your Twitter handle.
Brandon Hoag:
Twitter is a, the whole 2021 MVT.
Trent Manning:
And we’ll definitely tag that in the description. Make everybody for listening. I appreciate you being here, Brandon. look forward to meeting you maybe next year in Orlando,
Brandon Hoag:
Oh, I’ll be there.
Trent Manning:
unless you’re coming through Georgia. You stop by anytime.
Brandon Hoag:
You never know if I do, I’ll be there.
Trent Manning:
Hope you enjoyed hearing from Brandon. What a Gregory. And very deserving. Of winning the MBT. Presented by Foley company and DCM. Magazine. I think Brandon made a really good point. About just putting yourself out there. I know it’s not easy. It’s not necessarily what we like to do. But putting yourself out there. You will grow so much more. And I speak from experience. I’m not blowing smoke. To all the, all you listeners. accounts from the bottom of my heart. I would not be doing a podcast. I would not be setting. In sag Harbor. New York. Recording this this very second. If I hadn’t to put myself out there. And yeah, you might not want to do a podcast. You might not want to come to New York. But you do want to grow. And you want to better yourself. So I hope everybody keeps up the good work. I know the season’s coming. My season’s already here. Here. And I can’t believe I’m away for out now. So I’m going to have to hurry up and get back. Because there’s probably some stuff broke. Or at least need some attention. Thank you all for listening. If you won’t in our WhatsApp group. Send me a DM, send me an email. And it keeps growing and growing. Good. More people in there is pretty incredible. Until next time. See you. Bye. thank you so much for listening to the real 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 real turf techs.