Meet Gary Bogdanski, Equipment Manager at The Sharon Golf Club in northeast Ohio. Growing up on a strawberry farm and doing all the wrenching that comes with being a farm kid, Gary was introduced to the golf course by his mom who took a job in the kitchen at the Sharon Club. Tired of going home every day smelling like the rubber plant where he worked second shift while going to college, Gary agreed to give it a week working in the shop and never looked back. Gary finished his degree in mechanical technology engineering while beginning what would become a long tenure at the Sharon Club. Gary has seen it all in his time there including a tractor in a tree. Find out more about this experienced technician, safety expert, and cycling enthusiast, including the details on The Ohio State University – ATI turfgrass certificate program where Gary teaches four nights a week.
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 48. Today we’re talking to Gary Badanskie equipment manager of the Sharon golf club. The sharing club is a private 18 hole golf course located in Northeast Ohio. Gary has two assistants working with him in the shop, one full-time and one part. Gary has mostly Torah equipment. Smithco sprayers and Kubota tractors. Let’s talk to Gary. Welcome Gary to the real turf tax podcast. you doing today?
Gary Bogdanski:
Hey Trent. Good to see ya. Glad to be here.
Trent Manning:
Yup. We’ve been seeing a lot each other these CTM calls and that’s been a really fun process.
Gary Bogdanski:
It has been, it has, it’s hard to believe. It’s been five years that I’ve been on that task group and I’m sure, I don’t know if you were on it before this, but I got the call from Mark Jordan at the time. Who’s the president right now. and he said the Westfield core is pretty close by here. Not too far. Same county. We’re in the same county. And I’ve known mark since. See, he started at Westfield 1988. I started Sharon 1988, probably have known mark probably a year, maybe a year or two after we started. it’s been a good relationship over the years. So it’s a guy. Good.
Trent Manning:
Tell us how you got into the turf industry.
Gary Bogdanski:
So at the tap through a backup a little bit, you’re just like 1972. And my mother took a job at the Sharon golf club working at the kitchen. at the time I grew up on a strawberry farm and know anything about golf. then we fast forward to 1988. And, I’m in this area with school was at Akron, U was taking chemical engineering for three years. And then I then hit a wall. I was like, I really don’t want to do this. So my mom said, Hey, they’re looking for a mechanic down at the golf course. So you know what your mother says to do? You do? She’s a tough, she’s a tough lady. She’s gonna be 96 here in a few weeks. like,
Trent Manning:
That’s awesome.
Gary Bogdanski:
so I had known the course, it stopped in one small as far as clubhouse and stuff to see her. So I came in and Got the interview with Frank Doby, who some just retired here and the 20, 20 he’s been a great as far as talking about mentors and things like that, general manager superintendent for 56 years here, Sharon. So pretty much my whole time here was under Frank Doby. And then the last five, six years he was general managers, senior agronomist, and then David Wilmot. The current superintendent who started here 25 years ago as an intern and and never had never left. And I just stayed here. It is. It is because here, I’m actually like one of the newbies because the golf pro has over 40 years, the office manager has over 40 years the assistant at over 50 years and the irrigation tech he’s still here. He’s got 57 years. So we just did this. It’s a special place. So I came in and interviewed with Frank and I’m thinking turning wrenches here I am on this college track thinking, all right, I’m going to do all these lofty things. And I said to, I’m going to give you like five days I’ll try it for five days see how it goes. And I can remember the first day I came in and it was a. Workman Toro work or not working on a work master you’ll tour, a work master, little three-wheel with a hydrostatic type drive. And they said it won’t start skins over real good, but won’t start and I’m looking at it and I pull the dipstick out and was like, no oil. So right away, I’m like, oh, what am I getting myself in for? Blew the rod. But, so I think after that five days it was like, wow there’s so many different cool things I could see it, I could see the potential the shop itself was fairly small and, but I could just, I like to tinker and growing up on the farm, we’re always working on things, always working on tractors and just. Everything under the sun. And this was cool. What about golf course? Cause there’s so much different equipment, so much different things to do. And at the time I was working, I took a job at a rubber plant and I was working second shift. And so probably for about two, three weeks, I’d work at the golf course in the morning. And I go second shift to the rubber plant and I did this, like I said, for two, three weeks. And then I’m like now forget the rubber plant. Cause I get tired of smelling like rubber running at home. So then I just committed to the golf course and it’s been like every day and no problem going to work every day has been great.
Trent Manning:
That was awesome. That is great for
Gary Bogdanski:
It is, and to be at one place for so many years is, it just takes by
Trent Manning:
Have you had to do anything to keep it from getting stagnant over that many years.
Gary Bogdanski:
so the one thing. When I started here, it was basically a blank slate. This shop needed improved. It was like 1500 square feet. They actual working area. And given my background with with the engineering and I did finish my engine, my degree, I switched up and went to mechanical technology engineering. And I finished up while I was working at Sharon. So I wanted to make sure I got that done. I got involved in CAD drawing and things like that. And my big push was like we need to expand the shop a little bit. The first thing I did was I built my own home. I worked at a counter there. And the shop had a little file cabinet under there. I’m like out in the middle of the shop we’ll file candidate it’s come on, we need some kind of like kind of office to do some work. So I, I actually set out and with Frank’s blessing it’s here’s what I’m going to do. I always propose like here like this is, I think the way we need to do this. And so built the shop, blew some holes in the Bronx block wall for some lentils in put double pane windows. So I got good visibility. It’s fairly soundproof at the time. He had an air compressor over here in this. And so my goal was to move all that stuff outta here, compressor and everything, and add a little more room. So I wanted to add a wash bay. I wanted an area to paint, paint safely, and then an area to put all our oils and any solvents and everything. So I got a special room near in the corner. That’s basically everything’s explosion proof on it, keep everything on that ended going. And they have another area where the move, the air compressor and all those other utilities.
Trent Manning:
Awesome.
Gary Bogdanski:
up the shop. So it’s quiet.
Trent Manning:
What all do you paint there?
Gary Bogdanski:
so there? for a while. We were stripping stuff down, painting equipment, taking it down to bare frame, brace of blasting it, ticking it off and just like an automotive type set up. And it just always felt that a piece of equipment, it looks good. It gets taken care of better.
Trent Manning:
I agree.
Gary Bogdanski:
Yeah, plus it cleans up better and let’s just so you know, and then of course, ball washers and tee markers and all that other stuff, mainly we’re painting equipment taking it down to the bare poxy proxy primer, catalyze urethane sometimes top coat, sometimes clear coat, to throw a little Pearl in there make a little shine So over the years have taken a couple of tripe flexes, taking them all down, bare frame, an old Cushman truckster, which was the irrigation techs, but some job boxes on the side of the aluminum boxes. And Yeah. look, kind of trick, trick things out, but just the general painting just to really have a place that you do paint and not having anybody around it or interfere with the other operations, because so many times you paint something and you got somebody else that got something going on, and it’s just a little bit of a conflict. So just to have that private area. And so that’s what made things not be stale because here I am, I’m drawing up these little areas saying this is what we need and working on that and then from there we added the pesticide or the chemical storage building, which was like a three-year and day. Of designing and getting all the information and getting everybody’s input on that design. So it was one of the designs that I actually could draw up. He had probably about nine sheets as you went down to the billing department and they’re like, this looks good stamped it. And so we’re able to start construction on that in that was 1995. So it’s been a little while
Trent Manning:
Awesome.
Gary Bogdanski:
I got involved in some of the fabrication of it did some stainless steel work, stainless steel, sumps, the wall reinstate systems and the whole work. And then it’s you do a project like that. You’re like so involved into it. And then when you’re done, you just kind let it go and say what’s the next project to start on, you know,
Trent Manning:
lot of us think along those same lines and we probably, at least I’ve been told slow down really appreciate what we just accomplished, but that’s not who we are. We’re
Gary Bogdanski:
No
Trent Manning:
onto the next thing.
Gary Bogdanski:
right now. Yeah. It’s like a little kid it’s what’s going on next. They’re not done with the one thing but no, I’ve got a whole list of things and I’m sure you do that. It’s Yep. this is good. This is good. This is good. And then just start ticking off the list when the timing is right. How things fit.
Trent Manning:
Yep. Always getting better, always improving. Walk us through your daily shop routine in the season.
Gary Bogdanski:
I get here early in the morning. My first thing is make the coffee, gotta have the coffee. And then it’s as quiet. No. It’s like nobody’s around yet. You don’t have the crews show up. So it gives you a minute to think that Zen moment to think about the day was going to happen and cause using once the crew starts in, it’s just you never know what’s going to transpire. So I get that coffee and then I actually walked through like around the equipment and look it’s that mechanic side intuition. I, and they just certain things, weather, whether it’s a low tire, you start to see an oil spot or like something that was maybe put away broken. Imagine that half the mean, and nobody ever said anything you see those items and then you know that it’s you put it on your schedule, whether it’s like an immediate attention, obviously like the tire or something like that or an oil spot. And then after everybody gets here and gets Mowen it’s always go out and check the equipment.
Trent Manning:
How long do you spend riding around checking?
Gary Bogdanski:
I know probably half hour, 45 minutes, sometimes an hour. It depends on start to see something. But Yeah. I definitely, and sometimes if I’m like preoccupied, I’ll send my assistant out
Trent Manning:
Yeah.
Gary Bogdanski:
look at it.
Trent Manning:
Yeah. How important is that? Getting the assistant out on the course and trying to show him or her your eyes are seeing?
Gary Bogdanski:
That’s like huge because there’ll be a lot of times that especially like an afternoon, we’ll go out together. Cause sometimes you don’t see certain problems till to later in the day and after the do’s gone and all that. And then we’ll our, it’s just a kind of a, like a little meeting where we talk about things that need to be looked at or done. Just Hey, I’ve seen this. Or somebody said something about it and say, Hey, come on the spot and take a look at it.
Trent Manning:
Yeah. Yeah. Yep. That’s good stuff. Do you relieve ground?
Gary Bogdanski:
Oh, that’s what I learned to do relief crying. So when I got here, we had a was that I guess a Peerless model, like a 1340 an open frame built back from probably building from the twenties to the late sixties. And that’s how you could do that was it. It was really fine. So you had the option of straight grinding or a hope grinding. Hook grinding you would grind the bed Knight first. It was an ideal bed knife grinder, probably like a model 50 big thing they would say it was, you could do bed knives in ice gates that was her big know, so we would grind it bed night, first Mount of back in from. And then there’s a little hook. The the edge of the bed knife had a little hard and probably a carbide little carbide tip on it. So it was a grinder ran across. It would follow that bed night. So that’s why he wanted to grind the bed knife. she had a straight in the street edge then you’re grinding each blade. And of course, like I said, it’s just relief grind and you grind it all the way out. Then you take that unit off and then you backlash it.
Trent Manning:
oh, okay.
Gary Bogdanski:
No spin grind. There’s no spin grinding at the time on this grinder.
Trent Manning:
right,
Gary Bogdanski:
spinning bring, spin, grinding around, but on this grinder was no spin grinding. So you’re basically you’re spin grinding. You’re back lap. Again, it was dirty, nasty job and just, I know when I started here, it’s find a pair of safety glasses and a dust mask was tough to find, but it wasn’t very long after you blew up grinding dust out of your nose a couple of nights, like, all right. we need to get some safety going on. that was probably like one of my first forays into let me just make sure we got some safety items here. And it used to grind a mower. It was a Roseman, hydro gangs Roseman. There was like a 30, 30 inch reel. And I was like a really thick light at least quarter inch thick, maybe thicker than that. And that’s what we mowed rough with. And those needs as much relief you could put on possible sometimes it would take you an hour to grind that real, the grind to grind that relief in there. I said after probably about two, I think three years of grinding with that Peerless grinder, I’m like, I’m starting to say, Hey, we need to like look at some other grinders
Trent Manning:
At that point or you just ground and once a year.
Gary Bogdanski:
No pretty much most things, except the greens mowers we’d break down grind. We would grind in the summer.
Trent Manning:
I mean back then, I think it was a lot more and that was probably state of the art was grinding once a year.
Gary Bogdanski:
yeah. And back and back and backlash the backlash all the time.
Trent Manning:
Yeah,
Gary Bogdanski:
yeah, because it was so involved, even Greg took it was like a whole month solid month of just grinding every day, eight hours a day grind. I looked at some of the other grinders and like the spin grinders in particular, I think it was the Bernhard. It was like, there was no relief option. And it was probably been fine for the smaller units, like the greens more
Trent Manning:
yeah,
Gary Bogdanski:
but Roseman,
Trent Manning:
yeah.
Gary Bogdanski:
no relief on it, it’s just you can hear it all the way across the course. Like it’d be singing Spring, loaded bed knife on it. It was an interesting, item. I’m glad we’re finally get to rotaries in the rough.
Trent Manning:
Yeah.
Gary Bogdanski:
So see, one day, probably back in 1991, it was a black truck and the trailer pulled in and there was a smooth talking Southern salesman named Don Cod pulled
Trent Manning:
no, not Don cotton.
Gary Bogdanski:
He had a grinder on that trailer, in the back of his truck, what was the T 3000? It was a grinder that building there in Alabama. And I think he must’ve been coming from the show up Northeast. And we looked at Grindr, we threw those rosebuds in there and he just showed how easy it was big motor, big stone and just grind them all down. And he left that grinder there and we bought it right off the trailer, which is kinda weird and Irene that grinder for 30 years.
Trent Manning:
Wow.
Gary Bogdanski:
So I just got fully sear year ago.
Trent Manning:
All right.
Gary Bogdanski:
But Yeah. that was ever since Don cotton we always connect diverse every once in a while. So
Trent Manning:
Yeah, Yeah, no, Don’s a great guy.
Gary Bogdanski:
He is, I think we’ve got a little endeavor together, something that I invented a number of years ago that he’s been developing the rumen ruined, fill the groom infill.
Trent Manning:
Yup. Yup. I don’t know. He actually brought it by my core. I’m trying to think when this was, it wasn’t that long ago, six months ago. Yeah, he brought it bond. We did a little demo with it and he had made some tweaks to it. I don’t remember exactly what all he had done to it to try to make the design a little bit better. And he was wanting to try it out, but it’s really cool concept. The child came up with there. Tell us some new fabricated lately.
Gary Bogdanski:
So lately. I’ve been on solar power. So
Trent Manning:
Yeah.
Gary Bogdanski:
these movies. So we, for years and years, we had water quarters out on the golf course and they were electric that we had electric lines run out there and get water lines, just like your typical drinking fountain. And so a few years back, we switched over to bottles and then we decided to eliminate the electric lines out there. So we went to solar. So I’ve gotten a little bit of, a little bit construction as far as building these. And they look like wishing. So there was those Wells were already out there, but I had to redesign it to incorporate your batteries, your charge controller your power inverter. And so I’ve got for those out there that I’ve been every year. It seemed like I was building a new one fabricating and put the panels on a little, the racking for that. And do all the wiring and the electrical and then hooking it up. So it’s a little bit of carpentry, a little bit of fabrication those are my little I want to say my little projects that it’s interesting, but at the same time it’s getting involved in green energy, solar power, things like that. But Yeah. over the years I’ve done a lot of different fabrication. So with the that was a while ago with the pesticide storage billing, all that, the fabrication with the rinse site system and the overhead water booms and things like that. And, and like I said the little inventions here and there the one with Don cotton there’s always something in this field, there’s always something that you’re tweaking with
Trent Manning:
I think that’s why you didn’t get stagnant because you’re all these little projects that, and I’m sure you were not a solar panel expert when you got involved with that, but you probably are now.
Gary Bogdanski:
You know what, and that’s one thing it’s always like to learn I always call it on the job training you learn as you go and you take away something that you’ll always remember. And you’ll use it in the future somewhere.
Trent Manning:
Yep. Exactly. your favorite tool and why?
Gary Bogdanski:
As I mentioned before, the paint booth put the paint booth in one of my favorite tools is the spray gun, the paint spray gun. And because it’s just like instant, it’s like instant beautification, and you take a whatever it is. Say, you fabbed up something in the ceiling that bare metal or something that coat of paint on it and you make it look like you make it look like gonna say brand new, but just wow. It just like pops out. About the paint and bringing out what you’ve created. It’s just like ads.
Trent Manning:
Yeah. Yup.
Gary Bogdanski:
And the, I would say the second tool is the internet, because I’m such an information junkie. And that has been such a game changer in this business not only looking up information like with the Twitter and all the other information and use the instant feedback you get.
Trent Manning:
Oh,
Gary Bogdanski:
that’s awesome. It is, it’s just.
Trent Manning:
Yeah. It’s an incredible what all you can learn out there you don’t have to go through 25 books trying to find the one thing you just it in there and it pops up.
Gary Bogdanski:
Yeah, no if you have the books I’m used to be a big library goer in the library all the time. If you ask me the last time I was to the library, I couldn’t tell you. unfortunately it’s not good for the library, but the library the library is stepped up their game as far as internet access and some of the other digital media it’s available.
Trent Manning:
But now like my kids, I have to have internet at the house so they can do their schoolwork. And I’m sure a lot of other families are in the in the same boat. it’s having internet is not really an option anymore.
Gary Bogdanski:
No, no one definitely since with the pandemic and all the classes out, it’s
Trent Manning:
Yup. For sure. What do you do to relax or find some balance?
Gary Bogdanski:
I’ve always been a big proponent of exercise. And number of years ago, probably. 40 years ago, he started cycling like often just to do a, he used to do a ride every year. It was from Columbus, Ohio down to the high river there, and back was like 210 miles over two days. And my brother would do that and some of my friends and it just, it always stuck with me. When I got an issue or something I’ll just get on that bike and I’ll ride. And I know it just clears your mind. And the one year I rode a Canada kept track about 3000 miles one year now
Trent Manning:
As an incredible,
Gary Bogdanski:
and now, and I’ll start and I will ride in like cold weather and it doesn’t bother me. I’ve got the full outfit cold rain. The only thing I don’t like writing is wind. Wind is like
Trent Manning:
Yeah.
Gary Bogdanski:
let’s just, let’s, it’s a tailwind. It’s tough.
Trent Manning:
I don’t know are a lot of fishing and the gear is essential. If you got the right gear, the weather is bearable.
Gary Bogdanski:
Oh, yeah. Great.
Trent Manning:
as comfortable, but it’s bearable.
Gary Bogdanski:
No, oh yeah. Yeah. It’s like I spend number of years hunting, like deer hunting in the winter and that it’s just if you can keep your feet warm, you’re good. Once the feet go.
Trent Manning:
Yeah, it was all downhill. What’s the strangest thing you’ve seen at work.
Gary Bogdanski:
So this has been a few years ago. Um, assistant, he was running tractor with a front end loader scooping sand down there with the top dressed, spin. And uh, it was of those, times, just like, know, Hey, look at something you know, so I pull up and they say well, I’m going to. So, you the tractor got off and we got on, we went up to the course and we looked at, I don’t even remember what it was, but we got back. We’re like looking, it’s like, park the tractor here. Right. know, like here, like, we’re not seeing it, you know? look over and we’re on our maintenance on a bank, like an hillside everything’s on a hillside. So I’m certainly going to say, wait a minute, I see some tracks leading off to that edge over there. And so kind of peer over and they see the tractor and the front bucket hooked on a tree. So the tractor started rolling, roll off the concrete pad. It’s through a little grass strip into like the brush area started rolling down the round, down the back. And hooked onto this tree. If it went away on another five foot, I think it was like a 25 foot drop, like straight down, because we’re on this, they’re like on these uh, sandstone, ridges. And it was just like, wow. You know, and it still tells that story today. Not a scratch on the tractor or anything. It just like hooked over to yeah. So that was one of the strangest things I’ve seen.
Trent Manning:
That’s a good one. So how were you able to get it up?
Gary Bogdanski:
So we took the loader backhoe and you know, hooked onto it and able to pull it up.
Trent Manning:
without a scratch? That’s pretty impressive. So yeah, if you’re going to have an accident at work, that’s the kind you want to have where nobody’s hurt, nothing’s damaged.
Gary Bogdanski:
Yeah. Oh Yeah. no, definitely not that Ridge extends along the whole course, and we had another, incident where somebody, got off a tractor you know, the, they had to use the tree next to them. Well, rolled, over that Cliff rolled over a couple of times was still running. Now when he went down to get it, that tracker go, did say, did it take some, damage? So, The story is if you’re going to get off the tractor you know, putting, park or putting gear or set the brake or turn the wheels uphill you know, do something
Trent Manning:
something that was just let it sit there. What’s one of your pet peeves around the shop.
Gary Bogdanski:
you know, Somebody making a mess, not putting stuff away. Just not cleaning stuff up. And I, I’m not sure where that comes from you know, and we talked about it. We talk about meetings you know, you make a mess, clean it up. Right. So leaving, tools out, not putting away, leaving tools like, for you, something you know, ask where it goes. If you got, I’m not sure where it goes, but yeah it’s just the not clean up you know, said, make a mess, clean it up.
Trent Manning:
Yeah, absolutely. So you can do, it’s not that hard. And if it was a really big mess, I asked for help. So my might help you,
Gary Bogdanski:
Yeah.
Trent Manning:
they cleaned up. So you kind of alluded to this. Do you have a mentor in the industry?
Gary Bogdanski:
So, I was thinking about you know, my timeline here at Sharon and
Trent Manning:
Um,
Gary Bogdanski:
don’t pay, I’m like living in my timelines cause I can walk around the shop and, and early on Frank Doby the, the manager was always you know, if I had an idea or something was always you know, using embrace the idea you know, sometimes always didn’t work out exactly what I was thinking but to me, it taught me that have you know, confidence, you, and they believe in what you do. And to show that you know, they care about you know, the and the people work. And so, you know, I’ve taken that to be like the people that work around me to confidence in what people do and work that way and in the equipment side of it you know, go back to my dad because ever since I was a little, kid four five worked. On On all kinds of equipment on the farm, but then we had these field cars that we would get you know, that would have uh, an automobile that they didn’t want to use anymore. Bring it out. And we’d, work on those you know, whether it’s work on the engine or the transmission or breaks or whatever, and then we’d take them out and they’d be our little demolition fuel cars. And it was always like fun, probably dangerous, but it was fun. You know, have with like you and Corey and you know, the other on the, in SIS, No, I feel you guys are, great because you out there, especially the road mechanic and you know, for Jerry Pate net and just you know, you’ve seen lot of things you know, is one thing that, like I said, being where I’m at. Yes. I’m familiar with my equipment, but the more you do the more you a lot I’m in awe of you guys, because you will know certain things that you’ve seen it, you know,
Trent Manning:
Yeah. Yeah.
Gary Bogdanski:
so, and it’s And that’s the one thing about this industry and you talk about men are, it’s like, think everybody’s a mentor to everybody else because we all, give, you know, we all gifts share. We all share freely
Trent Manning:
I think that’s an excellent point. We are all mentoring each other and just like being part of the task group. I learned stuff from all the people on the task group, the WhatsApp group that we got going, I’m learning stuff from those people. anytime You’re talking to somebody. The is lagged minded. There’s a potential to learn something and it’s just little stuff here and there that you pick up over time, but going back to being on the road. No, I learned more doing that two years than I would have 10 years at a golf course, because you’re just seeing different problems every single day. And yeah, you were working on one brand of equipment and you would run into a problem on that brand and then you would see it across whatever, if it was a problem with a sprayer, you’re going to see it on 25 other sprayers. And then obviously you get better on that. I remember they came out with a rework for the flex 21 for the gearbox, the sales leaking, and had to change the side plate, put a van on it and all this. Anyway, I think it paid hour and a half. Something like that was the time the distributor got paid for doing this repair. And the first one took me about four hours to get it out because I never done well
Gary Bogdanski:
Hm.
Trent Manning:
And you got to pull the old sales out, but nine one Zana anyway. But after I’d done about I did 25 in a matter of two weeks
Gary Bogdanski:
Wow
Trent Manning:
I got it down to 45 minutes in and out. This, getting that mindset, you get all the tools that you need laid out or whatever, and you can burn through them, but going to different shops. With really talented equipment managers and they were not to solve the problem. it was on you to solve the problem. There’s a lot of pressure there. And luckily for us, we had Toro, we could call the TAC team in Minnesota and they’d probably already heard of the problem most likely, but if they hadn’t, they were very helpful. And the amount of online training, and this was oh 8 0 9, there was a ton of online training distributors from Torah. I don’t know how many in a hotel, I would fall asleep watching training videos or whatever whether it’s hydraulic troubleshooting or electric troubleshooting. And that was a great experience. What would be your dream job or opportunity?
Gary Bogdanski:
I would have to say that um, makes you living my dream job. Yeah, the people I’ve met over the years. And I probably know, I know I superintendents, they do equipment teachers and um, you know, a lot lot of it has to do with, uh, Frank He was so well, well Penn state, state graduate um, friends of his would come by, like Terry Buchanan was a regular visitor and stopped by Jim. Luke was a regular visitor. Dr. Um, I said earlier mark, Jordan, and his close involvement with the credit manager task group. like I said before, I got involved in being able to take this blank slate make it what I’ve wanted to be. I think we went from about 6,000 square feet of maintenance facility to over 20,000 in this. And it took some years
Trent Manning:
Yeah
Gary Bogdanski:
from, buildings to six buildings you know, and
Trent Manning:
impressive.
Gary Bogdanski:
some of them are large you know, storage buildings, but Still it’s it is, the one, thing that impressed me one day, and this was probably when quite 20 years ago, maybe 15 years ago, I’m in the shop phone rings you know, surprise who answers the phone you know, working in the shop, There was a lady on the phone and she had a, she had an accent and was um, Spanish accent and she was calling from Spain. And she was wanting to know like, location that her, boss wanted to come and visit me. I’m like, I don’t know. I’m like, I can only, there was kind of weird. could only imagine who was like, and so, you know, I phone here. It’s Jamie Ortez, Pitino, the owner of Valderrama
Trent Manning:
Oh, wow.
Gary Bogdanski:
and seen a couple articles that written for the USDA record. One was on the pesticide storage you know, and I was devolving maintenance facility uh, late nineties, early two thousands. And um, just, he wanted to come by. He was thinking about building a sister course at the time. So, you know, a few later shop tour and it’s things like that you know, appreciate like, you must be doing something right. you know, if you get
Trent Manning:
is so amazing. Awesome.
Gary Bogdanski:
so. I, like I said, get up every day, love going to work always. And like I said, I have a list of things to you know, want to improve on and, and that’s keeps me on.
Trent Manning:
Yep. For sure. If you could work with another technician for a day, who would it be?
Gary Bogdanski:
I got to say Chris ramp
Trent Manning:
Okay.
Gary Bogdanski:
worked with, and you’ve worked with Chris.
Trent Manning:
No, I love and I talk about it on the podcast all the time. And the listeners are probably tired of hearing about it, the one week I spent at Belreave at the 100th PGA championship, working with Chris Rapp, I’ll never forget as long as I live. And Chris is a great human.
Gary Bogdanski:
Oh yeah.
Trent Manning:
Down are, do anything, give you the shirt off his back type of guy and just laid back, knows what’s going on and just goes with the flow.
Gary Bogdanski:
Yeah. no that’s, that you know, the first year with the equipment task group with Chris on there and just like, wow. You know, tell that here’s a very smart individual that just, and that laid back part of it S awesome. Awesome.
Trent Manning:
Because I’ve met a lot of equivalent managers over the years not all of us are laid back, but you’re pretty laid back at same block from what I see, thing being on the task group and even going to show and meeting people. It’s hard to tell they really are, like when they’re in the heat of the moment type thing,
Gary Bogdanski:
Yeah.
Trent Manning:
but Chris has definitely laid back.
Gary Bogdanski:
Yeah. It’s like you have it, under control you know, you’re that calm, cool, exterior and under control. I mean, for I’m a very quiet person. Anyhow, that’s my nature. But if I see something that’s not right, I’m gonna, I’m gonna bring it up. I’m not going to be like, silent about things. So I tendency to like you know, everything over and see how things are gone and, and uh, and then you know, like bring it up. If it’s see something, say something right.
Trent Manning:
oh exactly. So yesterday the club clearing a hillside and cutting down small trees and I hear the chainsaw run and I’ll look over there and I don’t see any orange. I immediately think. He’s not wearing his chaps. So I drive over there and I said, where are your chaps? Oh, they’re there in the Gator. And it was pretty cold yesterday. So I don’t know if it’ll fit over these clothes, the chaps. And I said, if you don’t have the chaps on you don’t use the chainsaw. our rule. So
Gary Bogdanski:
right.
Trent Manning:
fit over your clothes, we’ll have to buy some bigger ones, you’re not running a chainsaw without chaps. And all is just too dangerous and he’s like, okay. And obviously he gets the chaps on and I hear the chainsaw. I run it again. Later I look up there and I see the orange. one of the good things. I was just thinking about that yesterday, about them being orange. So it’s a whole lot easier from a distance you can identify. Do they have them on or not?
Gary Bogdanski:
Well, yeah, no, definitely. probably about nine, 10 years ago. Maybe 12 years ago that involved with the OSHA onsite consultation. Which is a free service. That’s sponsored by OSHA. They’ll build in all 50 states. You know, we have a consultant come out, you can have them go through everything or certain things or whatever you want in. Um, can just remember that I was telling, telling Frank, I said, you know what, I’m gonna call and have like OSHA come out. You know, then I had to, explain exactly what you know, what involved with the consultation. Cause. A lot of, I think a lot of courses they’re a little bit leery about when somebody says OSHA, it’s just like, whoa, but the consultation group, that’s the, what they call good OSHA. You know, they build themselves at the good OSHA. So, know, through your, your programs, whether your has comp programs or your you know, respiratory programs, your emergency evacuation. All those. So I did get involved in like the whole program for, the club itself. So I get heavily involved in it. So some of that you know, we talked your daily routine you know, checking equipment and just like you brought up about chainsaws you know, if you something like whether it’s safety glasses or hearing protection, or like, and usually I’ll usually, I always carry some safety glasses with me and my cart. It’s like, you need to
Trent Manning:
Yeah
Gary Bogdanski:
these on you know, mean, they’re so cheap. They only buy boxes zones. Like, So I, can’t stress enough. And I’ve talked about a number of times um, education sessions about you know, service and that’s being free. And to sure you gotta, do a little bit of work, but it’s not all that terrible. And Yeah maybe some, signage here or you know, make sure you know, your programs in order or you’ve got the programs
Trent Manning:
Hmm.
Gary Bogdanski:
pretty.
Trent Manning:
does that work when you call them and have them come out, they just give you a list of things that needed to be addressed.
Gary Bogdanski:
You call them out consultant will come out. We have like a, meeting, then you just do a walk around globe, you look at your electric panels at your, signage. You’re looking at the fire extinguishers you know, they’ve checked off if you’ve got eyewash that you’ve been checking those new grinders are you up to specs. And just if confined spaces you know, anything that, and they see so many things that you don’t really see sometimes, or you’re not even aware of
Trent Manning:
sure.
Gary Bogdanski:
for you know, is like, it used in books. I was like stack know, books, but Yeah. So I every year, having come out we always, do a walk around and gets easier every year
Trent Manning:
Yeah. Is that a free service they offer.
Gary Bogdanski:
It’s a free service,
Trent Manning:
Okay. Yeah, that is great.
Gary Bogdanski:
you know, but do have to make the corrections. No.
Trent Manning:
Yeah, but I think a lot of clubs we do want to be doing things the right way. If you’re not doing it the right way. It’s liability.
Gary Bogdanski:
definitely. The first consultant I come out he’s like, like, this is first time I’ve ever been to a golf course.
Trent Manning:
Wow.
Gary Bogdanski:
No, they do a lot of industry and a
Trent Manning:
Yeah. Yeah,
Gary Bogdanski:
manufacturing And so I, I think they, they definitely appreciate it because it’s a little different environment than what they’re used to.
Trent Manning:
I think you bring up a very valid point on a lot of us don’t know what the regulations are. Maybe we’ve heard about our bench grinder and the stop or the rest needs to be a certain distance. Maybe we’ve heard of that. Maybe we hadn’t. But I went to a steel class a few years ago. I try to go every year I went in this past year, but several years ago learned about the change catch that catches the chain when it comes off the bar. And I knew there was a chain catch there and I knew it should be on the piece of equipment. I didn’t know. It was like a $1,500 fine. If it’s not there. other thing I found a lot of them on the bigger cells is just a little piece of aluminum. So if the chain comes off one or two times, then it breaks off and the operator doesn’t know that it broke off. So he doesn’t say anything. Or if he did see the piece laying on the ground, he said, I don’t know what that is and throws it in the woods or whatever. So I do try to make a habit of going through the small equipment room and looking at the chainsaw and make sure the Chang catches working.
Gary Bogdanski:
Yeah. no, that’s a good, that’s a good point. And you don’t of your walk around or whatever you do, and you know, daily routine you put it on the list and you know, a lot of stuff falls under guarding, things like that with, uh, with OSHA, if you don’t have a guard on something or not
Trent Manning:
Yeah. Yeah. What do you know now that you wish you’d known on day one?
Gary Bogdanski:
Phrase I’ve heard often. It’s like, you know don’t sweat, the small stuff know, kinda like a deep breath you know, kind of look, look it over. And you know, when you you have things happen, sometimes there’s like a knee-jerk reaction. About, oh my God. You know,
Trent Manning:
Yup
Gary Bogdanski:
um, guess I’ve mellowed out even so I’ve mellowed out over the years and um, that you know, works out. As long as nobody’s or dead you know, it’s gonna work out. The other thing is, more, more like a tip, but it’s like, know, the manual, at the books, look at the literature you have. I know so many guys that started on stuff and it’s like, once look at the book you know, uh, uh, because things do change, but like I said, an information junkie, I’m always starting to look at, at things. I’m going to work on before I worked on it. you know, even just a parts breakdown or something you know,
Trent Manning:
Yeah. Yep.
Gary Bogdanski:
Plan, your process ahead of time. And know, go a lot easier I don’t know how many times you take take something off. It’s like, oh, shouldn’t have took that off. Like,
Trent Manning:
Yeah. Yeah, for sure. And I would say far as younger people in the industry, some of the biggest mistakes, I guess you would call that a mistake is they’ll jump in and just start taking everything apart. Instead of really looking at it and saying, okay, to get this one piece off, I’m going to have to remove this and this I’m not going to have to remove 25 things. I really only need to remove these two
Gary Bogdanski:
right, right,
Trent Manning:
So I think that’s a great thing. And if there’s any firefighters or volunteer firefighters listening, I think they would be familiar with this term scene size up. So they’re always sizing up the scene. As they’re up to the scene, don’t run the fire. They walk up their size and everything up. safety.
Gary Bogdanski:
no, that’s, like I said, that’s a good point. And then in a lot of that, with you know, experience and maturity that, you know,
Trent Manning:
for
Gary Bogdanski:
look at, What you have in hand.
Trent Manning:
What are some of the latest tips and tricks you want to share with us?
Gary Bogdanski:
So, one trick that I use not too long ago, that I kind of liked is take a race, like a bearing race. That’s like in a blind hole you know, and that, that bead that Beatles. In there that we’re actually working pretty good. I guess I had some, rollers here that were sitting on the bench some that didn’t get to for a while. And I’m like, you know what, let me go over and try this. I was impressed with that. I like that one. And then not too long ago, I seen where somebody was using pressure to remove like rubber boots and things like that.
Trent Manning:
Yeah.
Gary Bogdanski:
um,
Trent Manning:
I saw that on Twitter just the other day,
Gary Bogdanski:
So years ago we were doing Ray candle uh, They had the little rubber grip on there and they got a little, hole on the river grip. So we would take that air hose. We put that up there and it was great. Cause it was expanded enough. You can put the rubber grip where you wanted it, move it, rotate it and just you know, let the off. It would just clinch right down. And then also a sparkler boots. You got stubborn sparkplug boots. You know, where boots, you know, onto the plug is you could a couple of different ways. You can do it. If you can sneak a small thin air to pass the ignition. And blow air down there or put a little, like a little hook on one and reached down the other way and blow air now to expand that boot out. Cause I’ve literally ruler literally had those boots on here. There was so tight that you end up breaking the insulator, trying to get the spark plug out. Yeah. Know, another, little tip if it’s not a tip, wanting something and I, over the years you know, of been expanding where I’m at is I’ve always done my homework as far as with the you research on the item or procedure I’m wanting to accomplish say, if it’s an item you’re going to buy you know, and who else has it and all those resources and whether superintendent or the stakeholders or whoever’s involved in making those decisions, they want to see you know, and want to seek success with their businesses, a golf course, success of making that everything works right. And if they know that you’ve done or seen you’ve done like the research and involvement in why item or procedures necessary, um, the homework goes a long way you know, say, Hey, I need this doesn’t really work out too well, but it’s like, why do you need it then? Here’s the backup.
Trent Manning:
Yeah. Yeah. If you got some evidence to back up and justify why you need to make a for sure. That’s yeah, that’s great. What are the biggest changes you’ve seen over the course of your career?
Gary Bogdanski:
with equipment the, technology involved in the equipment you know, used be, I can remember you know, the last time I ran a sprayer, it was like a, had little on the back of a Cushman and they had a little, boom valve. It was like a rope, like on, off, on off. And if he had a problem, the problem was usually the rope broke. You know, you know, Now if you look back in your boom’s not on, not off, it’s like the, troubleshooting involved in going through the you know, of a system can be very, involved, very time consuming technologies. Especially in GPS with the sprayers and all that. I think that’s amazing that whole technology just like absolutely. You know, I love the fact, I love the fact the way that works and so far, and the sprayer we’ve had in the last five years, it’s been pretty, pretty Bulletproof worked pretty good, but sometimes, you get into technology where you’re not the person that can solve this problem you know, there’s a problem. So, know, you to either call him dealer kind of hookup and see where, things are going on. That’s where I see where there’s like a little of a block as far as troubleshooting is, you’re not always able to accomplish the troubleshooting that you want to accomplish
Trent Manning:
right?
Gary Bogdanski:
because you’re of locked of it.
Trent Manning:
Yep. And I don’t know where that’ll end up, but on others, a big push for right to repair. And getting the software out there. My unit available to the end-user. I know John Deere has an option where you can get their service advisor. It’s last I heard anyway, it was like
Gary Bogdanski:
Okay.
Trent Manning:
bucks for the software slash cable and then $1,500 a year. And I don’t know how many clubs are gonna flip the bill for that, but it’ll be a supply and demand thing too. If you’re having to get a mobile tech out 10 times a year, maybe it’s worth it.
Gary Bogdanski:
Well, and just like, you, call to get somebody to come out and say like, they can there like a couple of weeks.
Trent Manning:
for
Gary Bogdanski:
it’s that, it’s a time. It’s a time factor too.
Trent Manning:
Yep. that’s very true. Tell us about the younger generation
Gary Bogdanski:
So
Trent Manning:
endeavors and what all you got going on.
Gary Bogdanski:
about four years ago, I was approached by Ed angle and how state university, their ATI branch the Worcester campus to the turf grass real, more maintenance class, most of the students to as the reels class. Um, So I thought about it and I’m like a lot of times they just like jump and just jump in and see what happens. You know? So I think this is my fourth year because I’m teaching a class right now. four nights a week. So this is, fourth time teaching the class. And you know, gets a little easier and I’m going to say the students, the younger generation you know, in there, like their eyes are like wide open you know, have no idea, like the concept of certain things. I have a mix of students that are going to be superintendents, are going to be managers and the, mechanical ability you know, from like zero to really knows what they’re doing. Great to be able to, to you know, show students like the proper way of how things should. Done measured all things that, I had to learn from either books while at the time it was books. And, but to have somebody that’s been in the industry so many years and say, well here, is what you’re going to see. This is what you need to do. This is what’s. The problem is, the students have really, you know, they like it because I try to keep it. I try to keep it hands on. You know, I teach lecture like theory. I know as far as you know, real, geometry and frequency of clip and attitude and how the effect after kind of appearance and things like that. But you know, we’re we’re busting reels out. We’re busting them out, we’re setting them up, Rainen setting them up and you know, try to get as many, uh, types of brands in there. So I get the Toro, the Jacobson, the um, John Deere and, you know, those, get the main three through there. I’m getting bareness yet. But Like I said, I wasn’t sure what I was going to see when I first jumped in, but you know, after involved into it I like that part of it. And then I started teaching another class, which was more of a mostly freshmen class it’s turf equipment, operation and maintenance.
Trent Manning:
Okay.
Gary Bogdanski:
So we’re, we’d actually go out to uh, state there has a course golf course, just north of campus to go out there and actually run you know, greens, mowers, fairway mowers, rough mowers, and they learned to change cups and make bunkers. And then the second half of the class, they learned to do the preventative maintenance you know, change, oils. And we do a little troubleshooting. Like if it won’t start you know, what to for and just the real, real, basic class. But at least it gives them that um, That idea of, of equipment and you know what to look for because you know, if in, I’m starting out in industry, you never know where you’re going to be at. You may have somebody that’s there to work on equipment. You may not have somebody there to work on equipment, but at least if, and you have idea of what to look at,
Trent Manning:
Yeah.
Gary Bogdanski:
and also it gives them a chance to see if maybe they do like working equipment or doing those things. And it’s like, oh, maybe I’ll take the reels class. You know, it takes some other classes and just get us some more technicians, equipment managers in the field, which
Trent Manning:
Yes.
Gary Bogdanski:
I’m at, because I can’t this forever and you can’t do this forever. And we need the ones that come up and show us a few things, which I’m always learning. I’m always learning from whether, an, an person, a younger person It’s been, fun.
Trent Manning:
That’s awesome. for you. How many students do you have
Gary Bogdanski:
The reels class, we keep it small, like five or six. I think the most I’ve had a seven because I got the best knife grinder and the real grinder, and it kind of gets backed up. The other class? I’ve had as many as 22, this last year had 17. So, you know, fair amount, Some of those students are going to be in like in sports turf. So golf course, turf management, some are going to be uh, know, in So there’s, There’s a good. variety. Yeah. I think if you take the, so how state has this, program specifically for perf grass equipment management. So it’s a certificate program, so it’s basically two semesters. You do an internship and you get the certificate, but you learn, welding Newman, reels, small engines, hydraulics drive lines, like electrics. So you get a pretty good balanced education in that. And then you do an internship with a course then you’re, market and there’s so many openings for
Trent Manning:
Oh yeah.
Gary Bogdanski:
yeah.
Trent Manning:
Yeah. Anytime it doesn’t matter if you go to GCSA or turf net or wherever you go to look for job postings, there’s all kind of equivalent managers and
Gary Bogdanski:
That’s one thing you can always move around
Trent Manning:
I definitely think that’s one of the perks is yeah, you can move anywhere in the country. Now you want to go golf everywhere.
Gary Bogdanski:
there is.
Trent Manning:
We’ll let the listeners know how they can get of.
Gary Bogdanski:
Have a Twitter handle. That’s G bought 2001 at G bought 2001 and mostly you know, fake tweets. It’s usually school, school
Trent Manning:
thank you so much,
Gary Bogdanski:
well, no, thank you.
Trent Manning:
on this is it’s been great. listeners are gonna love it
Gary Bogdanski:
I hope so.
Trent Manning:
and we will see you in San Diego.
Gary Bogdanski:
we will.
Trent Manning:
I hope you enjoyed hearing from Gary, what a great guy. And can you believe how long he’s been at the Sharon club and not just him, but his GM super. I mean, it’s unbelievable. So, you know, they take really good care of their employees and I think that’s what we’re all looking for is to find that spot where they care about. I’d like to take care of us and they got her back. I’m really thankful for what Gary’s doing for the next generation of technicians at OSU ATI, we need more EMS. Whether it’s a local college, a tech school, their local chapter, or for GCSF a GCSA we’ll have an opening for proposals for next year’s conference and show starting February 15. If you’re interested in teaching something, please submit a proposal. They’re always looking for new ideas. Gary’s experience with OSHA has been so valuable and developing CT. And he’s an absolute expert on safety and on painting. He has a whole paint booth at a shop. That’s a really incredible, and I can’t think Gary enough for being a guest and how much he means to me and to this industry 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.