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Ken Nail, Equipment Manager at Heritage Pines Golf and Country Club in Hudson, Florida is a United States Marine Corps veteran who found himself a turf mechanic after one conversation about a ‘68 Camaro. Ken learned to relief grind on a Foley grinder from 1969 that was still running in the 2000s. We discuss Ken’s mentor in the industry and the importance of quality of cut vs. being really great at changing oil. Ken reminds us to communicate well with operators and not to be the ‘grumpy mechanic.’

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 Welcome to the real turf techs podcast, episode 55. Today, we’re talking to Ken nail. Equivalent manager at heritage Pines. Country club. And Hudson, Florida. Heritage ponds country club. There’s a private 18 hole course designed by Ron Garl. Ken is the sole technician in the shop. They have mostly Toro mowers and a mixed fleet of carts. Let’s talk to Ken. welcome Ken to the real turf tax podcast. How you doing today? Absolutely. Tell us how you got into the turf industry.

Ken Nail: 
Young guy, I joined the Marine Corps, spent four years active duty, so I did not want to play those games anymore. So I got. This kind of bumbling around doing this, doing that, and about, he said he come out the golf course so I can get you a job. Went out there and worked there for four years, started working my way up, bunkers it’s mitigation started to spray, and I decided that I wanted to go back in the Marine Corps. So I put all that to this Iowa back active duty, full 99. When I got out, there was a Marine Corps base in California looking for a spray type. I wanted to go apply. And as I’m waiting from the superintendent coming off the field and I’m talking to the mechanic and he had a 68 Camaro. When we started talking about cars, he says, you’re a mechanic. I said I’m a gear head. Navels looks at me and says, you’re not going to be very tough to come in and shop I spent 10 years there

Trent Manning: 
Oh, wow. Okay.

Ken Nail: 
and it was an amazing tech taught me everything. I know.

Trent Manning: 
Where were you at? In California

Ken Nail: 
Miramar. San Diego.

Trent Manning: 
Okay. Okay. Yeah. Yeah. Cool. Did you attend the golf show? San

Ken Nail: 
No, I did attend it. I think I’m going next year though.

Trent Manning: 
Okay. I know that’s a, that’s a good push from Florida for sure.

Ken Nail: 
Yeah,

Trent Manning: 
I don’t know if you still had some friends or family or something, somebody put

Ken Nail: 
I do. I got friends out there, but I just, it was a busy year

Trent Manning: 
Cool. Tell us if you relief ground or not.

Ken Nail: 
I would love to, but I haven’t Benard. So like,

Trent Manning: 
Gotcha. Did you before.

Ken Nail: 
I learned how to release Brian on a fully 3 88.

Trent Manning: 
Okay. All right. I think that was before my time.

Ken Nail: 
Yeah. The the golf course ball in 1969 when they opened. And that was the grinder we were still using in the two thousands.

Trent Manning: 
Wow. Yeah, those things are out forever. I’ll give them that.

Ken Nail: 
yeah, a gray grinder. It’s manual. Leah the real one at a time. But once he got the hang of it, pretty quick,

Trent Manning: 
very cool. Tell us something you’ve fabricated lately.

Ken Nail: 
there’s been a while. But the the center of booms on a John Deere, 82 hundreds, one that holds the side ones up. We had one fail and they were not going to spend the 600 bucks to mine. But redid all of the bracing, the brackets basically took something that was rotted out and turned it back around and we’re still using it today.

Trent Manning: 
Wow. Yeah. That’s pretty impressive.

Ken Nail: 
a picture of me standing on it.

Trent Manning: 
Yeah.

Ken Nail: 
Think that’s going to last.

Trent Manning: 
Yeah. That’s cool. Very cool. We had an operator. We have a one bridge on the course that you’re not allowed to go across because it’s not wide enough for. Sprayer. And he went across it and I may erect it and I just bought another one. Luckily we had enough money or whatever, but I had to take some time, I would think to get that put back together.

Ken Nail: 
Yeah, it was our backup unit. I can take my time with it.

Trent Manning: 
rara? I got ya. What’s your favorite tool?

Ken Nail: 
Ah,

Trent Manning: 
Okay. I hadn’t heard that one yet. why is your eyes your favorite

Ken Nail: 
You gotta check the equality, cut, do it in the morning. And I’ll do also when you have to do that for a drive, because once it dries, it will show a lot more flaws. If there are any

Trent Manning: 
True.

Ken Nail: 
and let’s face it. Our job is more than this change. The oil. It’s the cut. Superintendent’s not happy with the cut. He’s not gonna be happy no matter what you do inside.

Trent Manning: 
Yeah. It doesn’t matter how good you can change it all. If he gets a hell of a gun unit and may get liquor out on the grass, for sure. I lock it. You heard it here first on the real turf text podcast from Ken?

Ken Nail: 
the first one for me,

Trent Manning: 
Yep. That was good. What do you do to relax or find your balance?

Ken Nail: 
I got a boat. I spent a lot of time on. We used to, so

Trent Manning: 
What kind of boat?

Ken Nail: 
a 22 foot pontoon

Trent Manning: 
Okay. All right.

Ken Nail: 
go out and golf and I’ll just sit out there. And so commonly rocks and just sit out there and no one to talk to that edge,

Trent Manning: 
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That’s awesome. And you, are you usually by yourself? Do you take the wife?

Ken Nail: 
I take the wife he does her thing.

Trent Manning: 
Yeah, I hear you. I hear you. It works out best that way. Sometimes tell us something strange you’ve seen at work.

Ken Nail: 
I saw this question on the list and I have a few, some not BG, but I’ll give you a PG or oh, was of course we had a flat Barker next to the driving range. If it had a three inch. And exaggerating, but every time it rained, it was clucked. Every leaf that fell off the course and the superintendent told the bunker for it to go out and cleans. It leaves out a trap and I get a call and they got the John Deere track stuck in the leaves. They dropped the cultivator down and it will stop. So I don’t know how they did it. I got a picture of that too. I had to take pictures,

Trent Manning: 
Yeah. How did they do that with it? Not being that deep, there were just so many leaves in there.

Ken Nail: 
There, there were so many leads. Wanted to go in and add, like they’re supposed to, but.

Trent Manning: 
Yep. You never can tell what’s going through the golf course crew person’s mind a lot of times, I don’t think it’s work.

Ken Nail: 
I don’t think he’s ever worked,

Trent Manning: 
Yeah. Yeah. Always thinking about something else. You got any other strange or funny stories?

Ken Nail: 
this was back when operator, it was one of those rare disgustingly cold days and Tampa. For some reason, we were out my twenties. I come up to 18 and 18 T was elevated going down into upon see the other team, lower guy walking back to the shop a little. What else was he walking back to the shop? And I see this hat boat across the pond. He had whipped her and right down the slope, the more what doing a drop of water.

Trent Manning: 
So the mower went in, but he didn’t get wet.

Ken Nail: 
He did not get what?

Trent Manning: 
So how did y’all retrieve it?

Ken Nail: 
Sadly I was low man on the totem pole I got in the water, but the chain

Trent Manning: 
Gotcha. Yeah, why didn’t he get in the water?

Ken Nail: 
He was told to go right traps.

Trent Manning: 
Okay.

Ken Nail: 
Then when he wants to go to get out of the bunker Reiki, super’s no, I didn’t say.

Trent Manning: 
Yeah.

Ken Nail: 
by the time he got down to I want you to walk the course of right to traps. He walked off.

Trent Manning: 
Yeah. Yep. Live and learn

Ken Nail: 
Yep.

Trent Manning: 
was one of your pet peeves around the shop?

Ken Nail: 
Parking in front of my door,

Trent Manning: 
I love it. Yes.

Ken Nail: 
aggravates me. No.

Trent Manning: 
Yeah I don’t understand it and not tell them when they park in front of the door, that we’re on a 200 acre property. And you chose here to park your vehicle. Why

Ken Nail: 
Yeah.

Trent Manning: 
other place?

Ken Nail: 
Normally I’ll just pull it around the building parking lot.

Trent Manning: 
Yes. Yep. I’ve been known to do that too. And depending on how busy I am or not busy, I am the father I drive, or depending on how much exercise I want I’ll drive. And when they’re looking for their cars, oh, it’s over number five T.

Ken Nail: 
Oh, sadly, our maintenance building is nowhere near the course. So I can’t, I gotta look up about it too long ago.

Trent Manning: 
I got you. I got you. That does teach them a lesson. So you alluded to this, who’s your mentor in the industry?

Ken Nail: 
The guy who taught me at Miramar because he taught me everything I know about cut after. Cut. How to set up a real the guy was this amazing.

Trent Manning: 
his name?

Ken Nail: 
His name was Mike.

Trent Manning: 
Okay. Is he still working?

Ken Nail: 
He’s retired.

Trent Manning: 
Okay. Retired. Awesome. So what’s one of the most valuable lessons you learned from MK.

Ken Nail: 
It’s grass. It will grow back no matter how bad we screw the cut-up.

Trent Manning: 
There you go. Yup. I love it. Unless it’s a winter time.

Ken Nail: 
Yeah.

Trent Manning: 
But no, that’s very true statement and always bring it up. J R Wilson. He says, all we’re doing is Mike and tall grass short. And yeah. When you look at it, that is, that’s all we’re doing. What would be your dream job or opportunity?

Ken Nail: 
I don’t know how to answer that question because you should go into every job as it’s being addressed.

Trent Manning: 
Yeah, I could see that, but if you could do anything, what would it be?

Ken Nail: 
Retirement.

Trent Manning: 
Live on a boat. Full-time

Ken Nail: 
Yeah, I live on the Volta.

Trent Manning: 
okay. Nothing

Ken Nail: 
been working since I was 13, so

Trent Manning: 
Yeah. That’s starting at a young age. What was your first job at 13.

Ken Nail: 
I hung tobacco on a tobacco farm and.

Trent Manning: 
Oh, okay. We’re in Georgia.

Ken Nail: 
Walltown called Swainsboro.

Trent Manning: 
Okay. I’ve heard of Swainsboro down south below the gnat line. Yeah. Familiar with that. What technician would you work for a day?

Ken Nail: 
I’d like to go to Bob’s up north. He, I follow him on Twitter and just, you seem to be a very smart. I can pick his brain.

Trent Manning: 
Yeah, Bob, he’s definitely one of the best in our industry. And it’s great that he shares all this knowledge that he has. And he’s putting all that in his blog. So it’s a great resource I know he’s Bob shop on Twitter. I don’t remember exactly. Do you know what his website is?

Ken Nail: 
Not off the top of my head. I’d have to, oh yeah. I wrote down.

Trent Manning: 
Yeah, for sure. Bob he’s one of the. And really appreciate what he does for the industry and his luck. A lot of us were willing to help and share knowledge and all that kind of stuff. And one of the thing is one of the best industries. What do you know now? You wish you’d known day one.

Ken Nail: 
I used to be the grumpy mechanic. I wish I learned early on that you get more help from the. operators, not getting ticked off every time they did something.

Trent Manning: 
Yeah, I’ve been there too. I was definitely one of the grumpy gas and you’re exactly right. You get way more out of it. If you can be a little more friendly. Not that’s the easiest thing to do sometimes. Yeah.

Ken Nail: 
Every golf course has got that one guy that just screw anything up just by looking.

Trent Manning: 
Yeah. Yeah. And I don’t think some of them anyway are not doing it intentionally. They just have really bad luck. What are the latest tips and tricks you’ve seen, or if you would like to share with.

Ken Nail: 
Communication with. the crew is important is if you can’t communicate with them, they’re not going to come up and say, Hey, is this right? Is this wrong? How can I do this better and not damaged machine or used machine for not what it’s designed for? That’s something I’m really working on right now.

Trent Manning: 
What are some of the things you’re doing to communicate more effectively with the.

Ken Nail: 
Like when they load up the club cars and that pile of sand, he three feet over the bed and it’s going to open A little too much weight for this part. Let’s clean some of it out. And that way, that carbs in there for you to use tomorrow.

Trent Manning: 
Nope. Very true. And yeah, I don’t know why they do it, but they do it. This keep piling it on. Because it’s the same amount of shovels or scoops in a bucket or whatever this, I guess I want to save a few trips, but using carts for not what they were designed for, not good. What other kind of tips or tricks?

Ken Nail: 
That’s the big one I’m working on right now? I did take a couple of five H. they cut him off. I can always have one of my pocket. You out in tech mowers you don’t need a full size five eight. the four we’ll dual points. Long as you keep them looped up. They’re not going to freeze so you don’t need much leveraged.

Trent Manning: 
Yeah. Yeah, no, that’s awesome. I have it’s a blue point that I got off the Snap-on truck and it’s an adjustable wrench, but it will open to five eights and it’s only about four inches long and that’s one reason I love that wrench. I use it all the time for everything. Not that I’m a huge fan of adjustable wrench. They have their place, but it comes in super.

Ken Nail: 
I don’t leave the house without that five eights in my pocket. It’s just gotten to that point where I going out to dinner with the wife and not five eight, it’s rolling around in my pocket. So post

Trent Manning: 
No, that’s good. Good. Okay. What else do you want to talk about?

Ken Nail: 
I saw a post on Facebook today and I got the lead rather quickly. Cause I may have gone off a little bit. The guy was complaining about an operator break in south, and that was probably not his fault to begin with. I assistant superintendent chimed up and said, you mechanics should be happy that people break things so you can have a job. Of course, I came out with Who’s going to grind it. Who’s going to change the fluids. Who’s going to diagnose electrical issues, hydraulic issues. He’s like, you can get anyone to do that for 10 bucks.

Trent Manning: 
Okay.

Ken Nail: 
And I wanted to go to reply to that by that has already been deleted. I was like, I had a nice juicy one.

Trent Manning: 
Yeah. What rock is he living under?

Ken Nail: 
Yeah.

Trent Manning: 
And I would feel guilty paying somebody to be a technician for 10 bucks an hour, no matter if the assistant or whatever. That’s great. Yeah I don’t know, but like they say there, there’s some of those people in every group and that’s definitely one reason I stick to Twitter and I’m not on Facebook much. I got a Facebook account, but I don’t look at it a whole lot and I never post anything on there. And occasionally I’ll look in the groups on Facebook, but again, I don’t ever post any. This because everybody’s so negative in there.

Ken Nail: 
As well, I’m fine, but it was my first step in getting out of my comfort zone and talking to other people.

Trent Manning: 
And I understand that, but I’ve told this story several times, the guy that had to preface his question with I’m new to the industry, please don’t beat me up too bad. Here’s my question. And you shouldn’t have to do that. In my opinion, you should just ask your question and people give you

Ken Nail: 
I’ve been doing it for 22 years now. There’s stuff.

Trent Manning: 
right? Yeah. Yeah. The episode, the drop today was Tim Thurston and he’s been doing it 43 years. He still don’t know everything. And obviously he knows a lot more than a lot of us, but he still don’t know what. You learned something new

Ken Nail: 
you got to learn about the.

Trent Manning: 
Exactly. So if for the listeners, if you’re looking for a place to go, I recommend Twitter and we also have the real turf techs, community WhatsApp group. And you’re in the WhatsApp recruit.

Ken Nail: 
I don’t know what that group

Trent Manning: 
Yup. And they talk a lot in there

Ken Nail: 
they do. I asked you a question. After code issue. I was looking at that I knew was bad, but the superintendent was like, it’s not batch. and it was

Trent Manning: 
Yeah. Yep. And how did that help you or did it help you.

Ken Nail: 
I walked in his office and he was like, I’m not sure it’s that. I think we’re dragging the bed. I popped out the WhatsApp group and I said, and showed show all the. What’s the pictures got up. Doors, send some pictures for the same issue. I always have it because we haven’t been at the vertical and he looked at me and he was like turn was on and we’ll raise it up a little bit.

Trent Manning: 
Okay. All right. So he might not have wanted to agree with it, but he did. And sometimes it’s hard to admit that you’re wrong.

Ken Nail: 
I think there’s a, there was a few issues. Dash is the main one, but there are some other issues besides that they hadn’t had a mechanic in two and a half months. So no reels had touched the grinder in two and a half months. And they finally got a sharp pup and we lowered height as soon as I ground them.

Trent Manning: 
True. True. Yep. I got you. That’s it. All right.

Ken Nail: 
Wow.

Trent Manning: 
now. And that’s good. And that’s the thing that I like about interview and we’re all different. And some of them are 30 minute interviews and some of them are an hour and 15. And that’s fine. There’s nothing wrong with that. maybe it gives the listeners a break. They don’t have to listen to V as much.

Ken Nail: 
I’m about eight episodes would be applied.

Trent Manning: 
Yeah. You got some catching up to do there.

Ken Nail: 
Yeah.

Trent Manning: 
Honestly I appreciate you listing and I never dreamed this would turn into what it has, but I

Ken Nail: 
That’s an amazing child. Love what you’re doing for the industry.

Trent Manning: 
Thank you. Thank you very much. And this has been very rewarding. So we’re going to keep doing it. Let’s do some rapid fire. What’s your favorite movie? Great movie. What would be your last name?

Ken Nail: 
New York strip

Trent Manning: 
Yes. I love it. I love it. Read me, baby. What are you most proud of?

Ken Nail: 
Watson. My son turned into a decent human being.

Trent Manning: 
Hail? Yeah, I’m gonna agree with that. That is, yeah.

Ken Nail: 
’cause he was a little troubled there for awhile that he probably got his head out his butt and it’s just amazing to see him turn around and be a good human being.

Trent Manning: 
that’s awesome. Yeah, no, I can definitely relate. And when I was a teenager, I had my head in my butt and

Ken Nail: 
Oh no.

Trent Manning: 
yeah, I think we all probably went through that and I thought my dad was dumb and he didn’t know anything. And then at the age I am now I’d look back. And so that old man knew what he was talking about.

Ken Nail: 
I won’t Argue that at all.

Trent Manning: 
Drew tell the listeners how they can get ahold of you.

Ken Nail: 
I’m on Twitter. I think it’s at Kelly. Realtech there’s my.

Trent Manning: 
That sounds right. And I’ll make sure. And we’ll tag you when the episode drops.

Ken Nail: 
Emails, K nail 19 sixty9@gmail.com. And you can find me on Facebook, but probably don’t reply to that as often as I should, but it’s mostly for family, but you really, they get involved with me.

Trent Manning: 
Yeah. Yeah. Very cool. Thank you so much for coming on Ken, and I wish you the best down there in Florida. That sounds like you probably got your hands full. If they hadn’t had a technician in a couple months, stuff

Ken Nail: 
I’m down one Timor. I got to grind and then I’m caught up. and I can get it on a good.

Trent Manning: 
Awesome. Definitely don’t hesitate to reach out if you ever need anything and we’ll see you in the WhatsApp group.

Ken Nail: 
I appreciate it.

Trent Manning: 
Yes, sir. Thank you.

Ken Nail: 
Thank you.

Trent Manning: 
Hope you enjoyed hearing from Ken. Well, then you might have valid point. On communication with the crew. And I want to try something new here today. If you have a Twitter account. Get on there. Tag real turf tax. And let us know how you communicate with your crew. And don’t forget about our WhatsApp group. If you’re interested in that. Let me know. So the Dubai. 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.

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