Join us in Episode 109 as we chat with Michael Henderson, the Equipment Manager at Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, CA.
Michael, the sole tech in the shop, manages a predominantly Toro equipment arsenal. In this episode, he takes us behind the scenes, sharing insights into tournament preparation at Pebble Beach from the equipment manager’s perspective.
Beyond the shop, Michael reflects on his unique journey from being a former squid boat commercial fisherman to landing a pivotal role at one of the golf industry’s pinnacle locations. Discover the challenges, triumphs, and unexpected turns that led him from difficult times in his past to his current role as an integral part of the team shaping the iconic Pebble Beach landscape.
Transcript
Trent Manning: 0:05
Welcome to the reel turf techs podcast for the technician that wants to get reel follow along. As we talk to industry professionals and address hot topics that we all face along the way we’ll learn tips and tricks. I’m your host, Trent. Manning let’s have some this episode are Reel 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 Ready for play Welcome to the real turf techs podcast. Episode 1 0 9. Today, we’re talking to Michael Henderson equipment manager. At pebble beach golf links and pebble beach, California. Pebble beach is the number one rated public course in the country. Pebble beach hosted at six us open in 2019. More than any other course in the last 50 years. Michael is the loan tech in his shop. He has mostly Toro equipment. Let’s talk to Michael. Welcome Michael to the real turf text podcast. Thanks for coming on today. How you doing?
Michael Henderson: 1:39
Uh, doing? pretty good. You know, it’s been a lovely day. We’ve had a quite warm weather lately, so it’s a different than usual.
Trent Manning: 1:47
A little warmer than usual for y’all.
Michael Henderson: 1:50
cold for most, and we’ve been in the sixties, so
Trent Manning: 1:53
Oh, yeah, that’s frigid. No, these poor guys and gals up north. I don’t see how they do it. I had that conversation the other day that it was Brian Eplin. I went out to Nebraska and was hanging out with him and some of those guys and he made a really valid point. He said, we get paid about what? Y’all do, and we’re closed for four months out of the I thought, Hmm, one way to look at it. Yeah, it must be nice. Well, tell us how you got into the turf industry.
Michael Henderson: 2:28
Well, I mean, it was definitely wasn’t something I ever expected or saw myself getting into. Uh, I was actually a commercial fisherman prior to this. I fished on a squid boat out here in Monterey, and, uh, we had one season that just went really bad, made, went from making really good money one year to barely anything the next, and we’re sitting on unemployment all the time, and that was actually, uh, it was the first year that Obama had, stopped unemployment extensions, so I got down to like two weeks left of unemployment. And then, uh, my wife was looking around at ads and all that. And she saw that, uh, Pacific Grove golf links over here was hiring for an equipment manager. I was like, well, you know, give it a shot, update my resume, send it in. Well, they called me within like an hour of sending them my resume. And then we met up interviewed that day and just kind of went from there, you know. That
Trent Manning: 3:34
That was quick. That was a quick turnaround.
Michael Henderson: 3:37
well, the hiring took a little longer, had to do background checks and all that, but it was like a week or so before they gave me the offer,
Trent Manning: 3:47
Very cool. So how did you get from fishing to the golf course? I mean, I understand. Yeah. You, your wife found the ad, but what kind of inspired you to go that route? Did you know what an equipment manager was?
Michael Henderson: 4:02
honestly, I had no clue. Originally right after high school, I had gone to school for automotive and I vaguely remember one of the teachers mentioning, you know, the golf industry, they have mechanics to this and that, but that was about it and it just kind of worked out. I was like, well, you know, I know how to fix stuff and it’s close to home, so,
Trent Manning: 4:28
Right. And I need a paycheck, right?
Michael Henderson: 4:32
oh yeah.
Trent Manning: 4:33
Well, yeah. So kind of walk me through your, your story then, or your history, because you started there at that golf course, did the EM thing.
Michael Henderson: 4:43
So I started out at Pacific Grove Golf Links as an equipment manager had zero turf knowledge. I mean, the thing I was good at was fixing stuff, turning wrenches. I worked there for, it was about four years. And then I was talking to actually one of the Toro technicians around, joking around with him like, Hey, you guys wouldn’t be hiring, would you? He was like, Oh, no, no, no, not until I retire.
Trent Manning: 5:11
Okay. Oh,
Michael Henderson: 5:12
what? I know somebody that might be. And he made a call over to Monterey Peninsula Country Club to their lead technician and ended up interviewing with them and see, uh, did actually, it took them about a month to give me an offer. They had to work me into the budget and all that. And, but, uh, I worked there for, it was, I’d say right about three years. And then I actually had, uh, it was a little over a year ago. Another Toro technician had told me, he was like, Hey, the equipment manager over at Pebble Beach just put in his two weeks notice. And basically I was, well, first he told my lead equipment manager over at MPCC. And he was like, well, don’t tell Mike about it.
Trent Manning: 6:03
Mm hmm.
Michael Henderson: 6:04
And then he ended up telling me and the rest was history. Ended up interviewing over there and all that. Been pretty happy there so far.
Trent Manning: 6:12
Well, that’s awesome. And you said a year and a half.
Michael Henderson: 6:16
It’s been a little under a year and a half that I’ve been at Pebble.
Trent Manning: 6:20
Okay. Yeah. Yeah, but I mean you Made it through a full season. So you definitely got the idea of how things go and expectations
Michael Henderson: 6:29
I mean, it was definitely kind of thrown in rough with this. Well, not really rough. It was, you know, that rude awakening, like, Hey, this is what we got going on this year, because, you know, shortly after I started, we had, I think it was a pure insurance championship. And then shortly after that was tailor made. And then after that is. The AT& T Pebble Beach Pro Am, which, you know, there was a little more pressure on that, but it wasn’t bad at all. But, of course, back in July, we had the U. S. Women’s Open, and
Trent Manning: 7:11
Hmm.
Michael Henderson: 7:11
really hits, you know. All the other tournaments were kind of nothing compared to doing a And open.
Trent Manning: 7:21
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Another question I had was how did you learn about reels and cutting units and all those things at your first job?
Michael Henderson: 7:33
I mean, honestly, it was just kind of jumping in and getting into him. I, the equipment manager that was leaving when I had started there was there maybe a week and I mean, he gave me a little rundown here and there, but wasn’t much, just kind of pick things up here and there from other people, you know, talking to some of the Toro technicians and,, actually it’s funny, the person that really gave me my first rundown on grinding is one of the equipment managers for another Pebble Beach course.
Trent Manning: 8:08
Oh, okay.
Michael Henderson: 8:08
it’s like, well, I never knew I was going to end up working there, but Hey, you taught me how to grind.
Trent Manning: 8:13
Yeah. Yeah. No, that’s cool. That’s awesome. So yeah, how is that operation? Is it you got multiple locations,
Michael Henderson: 8:21
So we’ve got four courses that are under Pebble Beach company. There’s Pebble Beach, then there’s Spyglass Hill. Spanish Bay and then Del Monte. Those are our main four. We also have, uh, Peter Hay. It’s a little nine hole course. And I actually take care of the equipment for that one as well.
Trent Manning: 8:43
Oh, wow. And you’re a one man show, right?
Michael Henderson: 8:46
Yeah. Every once in a while I get some help in the shop. So we’ve got like our fleet maintenance. We’ve got a kid that works up there. He’s been coming down and I’ve been kind of showing him the ropes with, with golf and, you know, all that, because he, he’s interested, he wants to learn and move on to a course eventually one day.
Trent Manning: 9:06
that’s awesome. Yeah. Almost like a mentorship program going on there or apprenticeship or yeah, that’s awesome. Well, what’s your least favorite part of the job?
Michael Henderson: 9:18
Well, I mean, there’s definitely the sand.
Trent Manning: 9:20
Yep. Yep. Yep. Yep. There is the sand.
Michael Henderson: 9:23
you a lot of times the sand’s not too bad at Pebble, but I tell you what, we had one errorfication, uh, recently we, we pulled a five eighths plug and the amount of sand we threw down, I was grinding and putting new bed knives on every other day. And this was for like a week and a half at least.
Trent Manning: 9:50
Wow. That’s crazy. Yeah. And you’re in there by yourself and I’m sure nothing else broke during that time.
Michael Henderson: 9:57
Oh, yeah, nothing.
Trent Manning: 9:58
Right?
Michael Henderson: 10:00
think I still got a line or a pile of stuff outside my shop waiting for some attention.
Trent Manning: 10:06
Uh, yep. I know how that is. Well, what’s your favorite tool?
Michael Henderson: 10:09
I don’t know that I have a favorite. Like I love fabricating stuff like that. So I,
Trent Manning: 10:16
Mm hmm.
Michael Henderson: 10:17
my welder that I have isn’t the greatest. I’m actually trying to get a better one, but I
Trent Manning: 10:22
Aren’t we all? Aren’t we all trying to get better welder?
Michael Henderson: 10:26
I’ve got one in mind and
Trent Manning: 10:27
a
Michael Henderson: 10:28
it. We’ll see what happens, but I mean, I’d say that I’d love my welder and I’ve actually, I’ve been using it quite a bit the last couple of days because I’m fabricating a part for a Toro ProPass. Trying to make it a little better,
Trent Manning: 10:45
Okay.
Michael Henderson: 10:46
but I am, besides that, I definitely would say that I love my Milwaukee three eights inch impact. I use that thing for everything.
Trent Manning: 10:57
Yeah, I mean, it’s, it’s hard to beat and the battery powered stuff so much better than back in the day pulling a hose around and all those things. It’s hard to beat.
Michael Henderson: 11:09
I rarely use air for anything anymore.
Trent Manning: 11:11
Oh, yeah, yeah, put, yeah, air tire up.
Michael Henderson: 11:15
yeah, pretty much. No, I do plenty of that. All the events and everything we get going on at Pebble. I, I get a lot of, uh, flat tires.
Trent Manning: 11:24
I’m sure. Yeah, a lot of stuff debris on the course. Y’all hit a lot of stuff mowing.
Michael Henderson: 11:30
Uh, not too much.
Trent Manning: 11:32
Okay,
Michael Henderson: 11:33
It seems like the tires find everything.
Trent Manning: 11:37
Well, that’s, that’s better than a real, in my opinion,
Michael Henderson: 11:40
Oh yeah.
Trent Manning: 11:41
I’d much rather plug a tire.
Michael Henderson: 11:43
I do have one reel. I keep telling myself, Hey, I need to replace that. But I’m just like, eh, lease is almost up.
Trent Manning: 11:51
Yeah. Yeah. What kind of lease three, four,
Michael Henderson: 11:54
We’re on a three year
Trent Manning: 11:56
three, year lease. Yeah, that’s. good. That makes it a lot nicer too.
Michael Henderson: 12:00
So that’s. It’s a three year lease for both our Toro equipment and our Cushman hauler pros. So I, every three years, it’s all brand new. There’s definitely a perk to coming here.
Trent Manning: 12:14
yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Good. New stuff is, is nice. And I know a lot of the listeners are probably like me where we’re running stuff until it dies and it’s, it’s tough keeping, keeping stuff alive and you just keep. Yeah, doing the same thing over and over
Michael Henderson: 12:32
I just,
Trent Manning: 12:32
it’s,
Michael Henderson: 12:34
I was at Monterey Peninsula Country Club, that’s how it was over there. I mean, we kept it going, and we had pieces of equipment that were pushing 10, 000 hours.
Trent Manning: 12:44
wow,
Michael Henderson: 12:45
Fairway mowers, it was regular to have six, seven thousand hours on them. We, we just keep using our old stuff, and then keep buying new stuff, and just adding in, and every once in a while you’d scrap something out.
Trent Manning: 12:59
That’s crazy. Well, what do you do to relax or find your balance?
Michael Henderson: 13:04
Well, I’m a bit of a gamer.
Trent Manning: 13:07
Okay.
Michael Henderson: 13:08
I like playing video
Trent Manning: 13:09
kind of noticed, I kind of noticed the game chair that you’re sitting in.
Michael Henderson: 13:13
Yep.
Trent Manning: 13:15
Yeah. No, that’s awesome. So yeah. What kind of games?
Michael Henderson: 13:18
I’ve always loved Call of Duty, I mean, there was actually a little, a little while when I was first kind of starting out in golf, I had more of a regular schedule that I could get on and play games and was working on putting a competitive team together for that a long time ago, but, uh, do a lot of Call of Duty, uh, lately, Hogwarts legacy.
Trent Manning: 13:42
Okay. Yeah. Okay. Okay.
Michael Henderson: 13:43
I actually just
Trent Manning: 13:44
not a gamer, so I can’t really talk gaming with you. I have heard of call of duty though. Just so all the listeners know, I I’ve heard of it, never played it, but I’ve heard of,
Michael Henderson: 13:56
I got the new one that just came out. And my friends are like, Hey, you’re going to get it. I’m just like, dude, I get to play games, maybe two nights a week right now. I’m not going to spend a hundred bucks on it on another game.
Trent Manning: 14:08
right. Yeah, I got you. Well, what’s been one of your biggest challenges throughout your career?
Michael Henderson: 14:16
Well, I, I’d say one, I mean, being at pebble, we get, you know, a lot of interns and stuff, so there’s a lot of turnover and that’s kind of the golf industry in general with greenskeepers and all that. There’s always a lot of turnover. Having to kind of figure out new people on a regular basis can be challenging, especially figuring out how they work or, anything like that. And then, uh, you know, I’d say the other thing would probably be, and it’s kind of for all equipment managers, is getting that recognition as an equipment manager. All right. Indeed.
Trent Manning: 14:55
Right.
Michael Henderson: 14:57
It’s a vital part of the course, one of the most important, and a lot of times we’re just kind of pushed off to the side. I mean, that’s one thing that I am grateful about Pebble is I do see a lot of recognition and they do value my opinion a lot, so I think things are starting to change there. Uh,
Trent Manning: 15:21
Yeah. And I think it goes a really long way of just, yeah, asking the equipment manager, your mechanic or whoever, just asking their opinion on a lot of stuff, not just the equipment even, you know, and coming. I mean, I always like it when somebody comes to me for advice on doing something on the course, you know, and maybe it’s equipment related, but they say, Oh, we want to mow down this area. know, what mower do you think would be best for that? You know, instead of just, that’s one way to handle it. The other way is the superintendent goes to the equipment manager and says, I want this mower set at this height. And the guy or gals like, okay, and they said it and then they go out and bush hog with it when you had a bush hawk, you know, and you just create more work for them. Yeah. You know, so I think it does go a long way to, uh, have open communication between the EM and the superintendent. What’s the strangest thing you’ve seen at work?
Michael Henderson: 16:29
that’s a, that’s a tough one. Like nothing really pops out at me right now. I mean, I’ve definitely had some moments that it’s like, how did you manage that?
Trent Manning: 16:39
Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
Michael Henderson: 16:41
I did have a little while back. One of our, our younger kids, uh, he came driving into the shop. He’s like, Hey, Mike, uh, I felt a little jerk. And all of a sudden the cart started going really slow and I was like, okay, you know, so I start lifting up the bed to the cart and immediately I see a sleeve underneath the bed. I’m like, I already know what you did. Start lifting the bed. I’m like, yep, you took and caught your jacket in the clutch. All
Trent Manning: 17:18
Yeah, what is it about wearing loose clothes then around equipment, you know? Yeah, missed that day in operator training.
Michael Henderson: 17:28
things guys do, yeah, they, I stopped being surprised a long time ago. I mean, we’ve had, like when I was at other, or when I was at Monterey Peninsula Country Club, like every once in a while, you’d find a gas can underneath the seat of a cart. And it’s like, dude, don’t be doing that. Somebody else is going to take that cart and not know it’s there. And then, Hey, it’s on fire.
Trent Manning: 17:53
Yeah, but they gotta hide their gas can because there wasn’t cans or so, you know, enough gas
Michael Henderson: 18:00
People taking them out of carts. And,
Trent Manning: 18:02
Yep, always something. Do you have a mentor in the industry?
Michael Henderson: 18:07
uh, actually I I’d say that would be my lead mechanic over at Monterey peninsula country club, uh, Jason, learned a ton from him. Pretty much
Trent Manning: 18:17
Mm hmm.
Michael Henderson: 18:18
I went from kind of knowing a little bit of what I was doing at PG, I could, you know, adjust cutting units, all that, but. For him, since it was a high profile club, everything had to be perfect. And just learning his little tricks or like how he would do things.
Trent Manning: 18:38
Mm hmm.
Michael Henderson: 18:39
Like I probably wouldn’t be at Pebble right now if it wasn’t for him.
Trent Manning: 18:45
No, that’s awesome. I mean, we all need somebody, you know, and, and a lot of us maybe had one person, and then there’s a bunch of us that’s had a lot of people throughout our careers that have helped us out or taught us different things. What about any of you the superintendents that you any of them work out a little bit.
Michael Henderson: 19:12
Well,
Trent Manning: 19:12
you
Michael Henderson: 19:13
superintendent at PG golf, uh, you know, we actually, we still communicate often, you know,
Trent Manning: 19:20
Mm
Michael Henderson: 19:21
he’ll hit me up with questions and all that. Pretty much if I get little tricks that I learned here and there, I’ll, I’ll let them know, like, Hey, you know, let your equipment manager know about this or like recently, well, I just got the real height of cut gauge and took a picture of it and sent it to him. Like, Hey, check this thing out. You know,
Trent Manning: 19:46
Yeah, yeah. No, cool. Very cool. Well, what would be your dream job or opportunity
Michael Henderson: 19:52
Well, I mean,
Trent Manning: 19:54
on your own fishing business?
Michael Henderson: 19:56
not anymore.
Trent Manning: 19:57
No, no.
Michael Henderson: 20:00
No, no. Uh, I mean, I, I’m kind of there, you know, I, I’m pretty happy with where I’m at. And I pretty much always, I tell people, I was like, you know, if I go anywhere from here, it’s probably going to be cypress point thing.
Trent Manning: 20:15
Okay, yeah, yeah, no, that’s
Michael Henderson: 20:18
No more tournaments, more money.
Trent Manning: 20:23
right, right. No, that’s good Do you have a technician you’d like to spend the day working with?
Michael Henderson: 20:30
nobody really specifically. I mean, honestly, I, I’d love working with any of our technicians we have in our group chat and, you know, I’ve worked with. Worked around Kayla and Shelby a bit during the women’s open. They were volunteers for it.
Trent Manning: 20:49
They help you out in the shop some?
Michael Henderson: 20:51
No, they took it as a vacation away from the shop.
Trent Manning: 20:55
Oh, okay. I gotcha. I gotcha. Did they, they at least come through the shop? And, uh,
Michael Henderson: 21:02
No, it
Trent Manning: 21:04
Tell you what you were doing wrong or anything?
Michael Henderson: 21:06
Oh no, they didn’t hover over me or anything. One of the, one of the first things Shelby asked me though, she was like, Hey, I’ve got a lot of friends that want to see your shop. Can I take pictures of it for them? It’s like, yeah, you can take pictures of my mess.
Trent Manning: 21:23
Yeah, yeah. That’s good. Awesome. Yeah, actually, I’ve just seen, uh, so last week was the Carolina show. And I just saw both of them at the Carolinas. That was a good time. We had a really, really good time. I know that’s a long way for you, but a lot of the people on the East coast, when the national show is on the West coast, or like this coming up here in Phoenix, a lot of people go to the Carolina show and it’s a really good show. They do a great job, a lot of education and, uh, Small, you know, I mean, it’s smaller than the national show, but still quite a bit of equipment there to look at people to talk to. Well, what do you know now you wish you’d known on day one?
Michael Henderson: 22:08
Hmm,
Trent Manning: 22:09
And don’t say pie tape
Michael Henderson: 22:10
actually,
Trent Manning: 22:11
Rollins would get too excited about that.
Michael Henderson: 22:14
well, it’s funny when I, when I bought the real height of gauge or height of cut gauge, I took and bought a new pie tape too, because the one that was in my shop was all worn out. And honestly, I had never used a pie tape up until more recently.
Trent Manning: 22:30
hmm. Mm hmm. Mm hmm. Mm hmm.
Michael Henderson: 22:33
it’s like even at Monterey Peninsula Country Club, our, our grind schedule was frequent. So, there wasn’t a whole lot of coning, and any time it was concave or convex, it’s like you could tell when you start grinding and basically just take it out until it was good. Um, it’s funny because my lead mechanic over there, he’s just like, ah, you know, I used to measure all that stuff, this and that, he’s like, not anymore. It was like, I just throw it on, grind it out. But, uh, what would I like to know when I started? I don’t know. Besides that, I’m not sure.
Trent Manning: 23:13
All right. That’s good. Yeah. Yeah. It’s all good. How do you deal with that person? What’s a positive way that we can address user error? Right,
Michael Henderson: 23:28
Well, honestly, I, I quit getting pissed off at guys a long time ago. I found that it’s not worth the stress. I, I try and explain things as best as I can. And I am really, if it’s getting to a point that they’re still kind of not getting it. That’s where I just go talk to the super or one of the assistants, like, Hey, this is going on, what can you do? But I mean, I have had times in the past where I’ve straight up told an assistant, I don’t want that guy on a mower anymore
Trent Manning: 24:03
Mm hmm.
Michael Henderson: 24:04
is I had a 31 50 Q I put a brand new engine on in PG golf and it was foggy out. And I’m going out to mow greens because every morning I mowed greens over there. And this guy’s mowing T’s on this, on this triplex and I’m seeing clouds of smoke. I’m like, what the heck’s going on here? It’s foggy. And I’m seeing clouds of smoke.
Trent Manning: 24:31
Mm
Michael Henderson: 24:32
I go up this guy’s got a wide open throttle choke, wide open fuels pissing past the rings and it’s just burning oil. I’m like. Dude, after the super after that, I was like, dude, no, I want him on a mower anymore. And he was this older guy, like he was working on retirement.
Trent Manning: 24:56
yeah, yeah, yeah, we have some of those people that want to show up for a paycheck and that’s the only reason they’re there
Michael Henderson: 25:04
Yeah.
Trent Manning: 25:04
and, and do as, as little as possible. I did, uh. implement the three strike rule and the three strikes were if you knocked the shoot off the buffalo blower three times in one day you didn’t ride the buffalo blower again ever and so far that’s worked out pretty good i’ve definitely had to replace less shoots and i need to i don’t i might even post the picture on twitter or something
Michael Henderson: 25:34
Yeah.
Trent Manning: 25:34
we
Michael Henderson: 25:35
definitely
Trent Manning: 25:36
I’ve like five guys standing around the Buffalo blower, trying to get the shoot back on. And I was just standing there watching. I was like, this is great. I’ve done this thing a hundred times, know, by myself, uh, here it is. Five, five people out there trying to get the shoot back on. It’s really good stuff.
Michael Henderson: 25:56
Luckily, I haven’t had anybody ripping it, ripping his shoots off at a pebble. But now that I say that it’s probably going to happen tomorrow,
Trent Manning: 26:05
Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yep. You put the nail in that coffin.
Michael Henderson: 26:10
uh,
Trent Manning: 26:10
see it in Whatsapp tomorrow.
Michael Henderson: 26:12
at Peninsula Country Club, it was quite often the guys were doing it and it’s like, we tell them like, dude, you know, this shoot’s like over 600 bucks, right?
Trent Manning: 26:23
Mm
Michael Henderson: 26:23
What? Yeah.
Trent Manning: 26:26
hmm, right.
Michael Henderson: 26:27
nice.
Trent Manning: 26:29
for any of the other ones. I’ve been running Buffalo for a long time and Buffalo came out with a new band that goes, that holds the shoot on and it has a clasp on it, so you don’t need any tools to put it back on. And since I went to that, I’ve. I believe I shouldn’t say this either. I’ll be replacing one tomorrow too, but I don’t remember replacing it since I went to that band. And I don’t know if that’s because they knock it off and they can put it back on in the field or it just, it is wider and I think it does grip better. So maybe they’ve, uh, helped us out there.
Michael Henderson: 27:13
There’s the sand and down the end of the chute,
Trent Manning: 27:16
Well, that could be it too. Yes. That could be it too.
27:20
Get ready for tips and tricks.
Trent Manning: 27:22
What kind of tips and tricks you got? You want to share with us?
Michael Henderson: 27:26
1 thing that I’ve implemented. Like, especially more recently, like going through my greens mowers, because all my greens mowers are walk mowers, I’ve got like 26 walk motors at the shop. One thing I’ve started doing more is not just getting run out on the front roller, but also run on the drum. So basically at that point, I know the height I set it to is the absolute lowest it’s going to go.
Trent Manning: 27:59
Oh, I got you. So you’re yeah. Finding the lowest spot on the drum and the roller. Yeah. Have you seen that help and quality of cut and stuff?
Michael Henderson: 28:10
Uh, it has, they say Toro says that on the, the circumference of the drum that you shouldn’t really see anything, but, uh, we had one tournament and they were walking the course or whatever, like our superintendent and other superintendent, the other superintendent was talking about, uh, bumpy greens. I’m just like, all right. Let me do this just help alleviate and then, you know, it’s absolutely not my mowers
Trent Manning: 28:43
Yeah, yeah, Yeah,
Michael Henderson: 28:45
Like up until then I didn’t even worry about it And honestly the only I’ve only seen like five thousands run out on these drums for my mowers I have seen mowers in the past with like 15 to 20 thousands run out on that drum
Trent Manning: 29:04
right. And I could definitely see that factoring into it, but yeah, five out 5, 000 on a drum probably not going to see it, but depending on the heights you’re at, but I do think, you know, we do kind of have to, uh, see why a. On the equipment stuff, you know, when they’re seeing something on the course, you know, if the equipment squared away and we can say, oh, this is squared away,
Michael Henderson: 29:33
pretty much. They
Trent Manning: 29:35
you know,
Michael Henderson: 29:36
had, uh, there was an issue with the T. It was actually 17T. So it was like, a couple passes. On the far left side, it looked like it was scalping. And they asked me, like, hey, can, can you just check out your mower? Make sure it’s all good. So it’s like, I check it out. I’m not seeing anything wrong. I did see that a couple of the plates inside the drum were cracked. But they weren’t flexing or anything. And I just put that one to the side. I was like, alright, here’s another mower. Take this one and it was still doing it. They’re like, hey, you know, it’s still going on I was like, all right Let me go out there and take a look and see what’s actually going on and basically you the turf was stressed out It was just puppy. told him that and I was like You know, it almost looks like it’s not really getting the water This and that and they’re like, yeah, I I gotta go check the irrigation on that side.
Trent Manning: 30:37
Well, I mean, I understand from their side, too. They don’t want it to be the grass, you know, because that’s harder to fix than it being the equipment.
Michael Henderson: 30:48
Yeah.
Trent Manning: 30:49
So, so I, I get it, but it does seem like any time there’s any problem with quality cut or after cut appearance, it is the mowers looked at 1st and the grass is looked at last and, but we have to do our due diligence to prevent that from happening. You know, just by having our records, okay, this is set up this way, my attitude is this, because you’re mowing this type of grass, you know, there’s, there’s a ton of different factors that, that go into it. And, you know, setting in Mike’s class and talking about bed knife angles and, you know, what that can do to the way it stands the grass up and. Or not, you know, I mean, there, there’s, there is a lot that can go into the mower setup and I do think a lot of times we can. Even if our agronomic stuff isn’t perfect. We could set the mower up to make the grass look better.
Michael Henderson: 31:59
Yeah. I’ve actually been playing with bed and eye face, face angles a lot more myself, just cause I mean, it’s been fairly accepted, but like the overlap streaks and this and that, I’m just like, well, I know you guys are all fine with it. It looks okay to you, but I want to try and get that out. So it’s of an even surface, a little better appearance. So I’ve, I’ve been changing my angles here and there and
Trent Manning: 32:32
let us know what you find out. And I mean, every course is different and it’s not going to be, you know, uh, a turnkey thing that you can set up, you know, this particular mower like this, and it’s going to be perfect around the world because we’re all doing a lot of different stuff. But I do think it helps to hear feedback. And that’s another great thing about the WhatsApp group and people sharing ideas in there and experiences. And, uh, I appreciate you being a part of it. It’s been been good.
Michael Henderson: 33:03
No, I, I’ve actually,
Trent Manning: 33:04
keep coming.
Michael Henderson: 33:05
oh yeah, made it more of a, a regular practice for me, is to, especially when like fairway mowers are going out, is just drive around in the morning, watch the mowers cut, see how the, the aftercut looks, and. You know, I’ll spend maybe an hour of my morning just driving around and checking on mowers and then I’ll do it with the T’s, the greens, the fairways, mostly the fairways, because when there’s something wrong, you really see it with them.
Trent Manning: 33:38
Mm. Well, yeah. And it’s a lot bigger area too. That’s affected if there’s something up with fairway mowers. Well, you want to talk a little bit about, I mean, I know we’ve brushed the tournament a little bit, but what is that experience like, you know, before the tournament gets there, the buildup, what all’s happening?
Michael Henderson: 34:02
I mean, beforehand, it’s a lot of just making sure all my mowers are, are going to be on point and they’re ready to go. But you’ve also got, like, Especially with AT& T or the Women’s Open, all the support equipment that gets brought in. Then I gotta start going through all of that, make sure the heights are set, make sure everything’s cut and fine. What I like to do, especially with the Women’s Open, is I started throwing those mowers out maybe two weeks beforehand. To really get an idea of how things are going to work, you know, hopefully work out any kinks before the tournament.
Trent Manning: 34:45
right.
Michael Henderson: 34:46
I’d say beforehand’s probably more stressful than during the tournament itself. During
Trent Manning: 34:52
Mm.
Michael Henderson: 34:53
the tournament, it’s just a lot more hours. And.
Trent Manning: 34:57
Yeah.
Michael Henderson: 34:59
I mean, women’s open, we were working 17 hour days.
Trent Manning: 35:04
Mm.
Michael Henderson: 35:05
There was no backing off. And it was like all morning I’d be driving around, checking on mowers, making sure everything’s going fine, trying to be there to catch something if it happens. Cause I, I had nothing else to do at my shop anyway. So it was driving around all morning. And then, you know, basically when everybody comes in, then I’m going through everything and checking mowers, making sure contact’s fine, height’s fine, everything’s ready to go. That way we could get things set up for the afternoon cut. Because during the women’s open, we were mowing everything twice a day.
Trent Manning: 35:40
Wow. That’s That’s a lot of mowing. crazy And did you have any help that time?
Michael Henderson: 35:48
So I
Trent Manning: 35:49
in the shop during
Michael Henderson: 35:50
Two guys from Turfstar, that’s our, uh, our Toro distributor. So there were two Turfstar technicians there as tournament support. I didn’t let them go through my mowers.
Trent Manning: 36:06
Okay.
Michael Henderson: 36:06
Basically I had them there. I had them there as backup, you know, had them work on little issues here and there that had popped up. Like actually they found a solution to one problem where we were having our. Our fairway sprayer, our big 300 gallon sprayer, we had a voltage drop every time you turned on, or not a voltage drop, but a pressure drop every time you would turn on the headlights. And they finally, they started digging into that like the last day, and uh, one of the guys had been talking to corporate and all that, and we found the solution, or they did. It’s funny, because Shelby actually just had that same issue last week. I’m like, Hey, it’s a fusible link. Trust me.
Trent Manning: 37:00
Oh, wow. Yeah. Yeah. That’s awesome. Yeah. Very, Very, good.
Michael Henderson: 37:04
I also did have, uh, that kid from, uh, our central maintenance for Pebble Beach company that I had been training, he had been down there. I wanted him down there to have a little help and to get him a little more. In field experience, especially with the, you know, heightened pressures of, uh, you know, women’s open.
Trent Manning: 37:27
Right. Right. Did you have anybody advanced week?
Michael Henderson: 37:32
I did not.
Trent Manning: 37:34
That’s impressive. I mean, kudos to you for, uh, hanging in there and still being there when it comes tournament time after going through the stress of, yeah, getting loaner mowers set up and everything else going
Michael Henderson: 37:48
you. Fine.
Trent Manning: 37:50
That is awesome.
Michael Henderson: 37:51
One thing that I’ve really gotten good at, and my mentor, you know, he kind of helped me. Teach me this is time management and prioritization. So knowing what is going to be used first, just weeding everything through like, all right, you want these mowers, all these high, well, what. Are you going to use first? And that’s where communication with a super really helped a lot as well.
Trent Manning: 38:21
Yeah. Yep. No, that’s good. Yeah. It’s kind of a triage almost like, all right, I got to get all this stuff done first, I can move to this. Yeah. then
Michael Henderson: 38:31
I’m always telling myself in my head, order of operations. What do you got to do
Trent Manning: 38:36
okay. Yeah, yeah, that was a good one. I like it. We’re gonna, we’re gonna add that to, uh, tips, orders of operations. Yeah. What about a chain of command?
Michael Henderson: 38:49
So it’s actually, it’s a little weird how things work with Pebble beach company. So. I more work, report to the super, but I kind of work alongside him. He’s not really my boss. So, we have our central maintenance and then we have our manager up there. He’s my boss. He, or basically all the equipment managers for the courses, all the mechanics in general that are at fleet. For on the courses, that’s who we report to, or I guess not really report, report to the super, but
Trent Manning: 39:28
right.
Michael Henderson: 39:29
he’s the one in charge of me.
Trent Manning: 39:32
Now, I was just curious, and you were talking about order of operations, and I don’t know why I just Chain of command has always been something that I’ve been, I don’t know, entrenched in. I’ve never been in the military. I volunteered at the fire department, search and rescue team. And I guess really got the understanding of chain of command going through, you know, those programs. But I do think it is super important to have a chain of command and not that you can’t ever break that. But if you’re trying to answer to three different people, it doesn’t work that way. You know, and I know, I mean, everybody has their own setup and different things might work for different people, but I do know of clubs where they have a director of agronomy and then they have a superintendent. And then they have a first assistant and the EM reports to the first assistant. And I’ve never understood that method. I know me personally, I want to report to the man in charge or the woman in charge, whatever the case may be. I want to report to them. I don’t want to report to number three. And I just, I don’t know, maybe it’s just me. Maybe I’m weird, but
Michael Henderson: 40:56
Well, it cuts out the middleman. You know, it
Trent Manning: 40:59
well, right. Yeah.
Michael Henderson: 41:00
possibility of error or misinformation.
Trent Manning: 41:05
When I mean, I see it, you know, in my setup, I do report to the director of agronomy and I see it a lot in my situation where he might tell the superintendent that he wants them working on this and then he tells me he wants me working on this. You know, and it, it is a little back and forth there like, oh, well, we need this. Well, I got to get this done, you know? So we’re not always on the same page, but most of the time we are. And if I got a question, I got one person to go to, not three.
Michael Henderson: 41:41
Yep.
Trent Manning: 41:42
That’s what I like about it.
Michael Henderson: 41:45
That’s one good thing. With all of us over at Pebble is we’re we’re all pretty much on the same page like we got so we’ve got superintendent then there’s three assistants then there’s a foreman and Well, the the head assistant like the second in charge me him and the super we’re all pretty close And we try and keep each other updated on the same page. They’re pretty good about asking me what’s going on or what I have going on, letting me know ahead of time as much as possible, at least what they need or expect. pretty open communication, which I’m pretty happy with so far, considering I’ve been working with this super for like a month and a half now, because he just started recently.
Trent Manning: 42:39
Okay. Yeah. Yeah. It’s just, yeah. Get getting to, to know who you’re working with. I don’t, I mean, we get, we spend so much time, us that work on a golf course, spend so much time with the other people there. I we see them more than we see our family a lot of times. So it’s, it’s really important to get along. And I think part of getting along is having good communication and letting everybody know what’s going on, whether it’s maybe you got something personal in your life, you know, and maybe you don’t want to go in detail, but just. Let them know you’re dealing with something, you know, that day, instead of them just walking in and seeing you angry and think it’s something they did, you know, cause that, that can happen to you when you run across somebody else and you say, where’s their anger coming from? And I mean, I’m guilty of this a lot is I look, you know, like at my boss and like, man, why is he angry? Did I do something to make him mad? You know? And it’s, you know, something totally different,
Michael Henderson: 43:44
You know, it,
Trent Manning: 43:44
that he’s dealing with.
Michael Henderson: 43:46
it’s funny is when I worked at Pacific Grove golf I had this one guy every time we would drive past each other, I just look at him and start shaking my head.
Trent Manning: 43:58
Mm hmm.
Michael Henderson: 43:59
And there was one day he’s like, dude, Mike, what, what’s, what’s going on? Like, did I do something this and I’m like, no, I’m just messing with you.
Trent Manning: 44:07
Yeah.
Michael Henderson: 44:08
He’s like what? And he’s sitting there like Getting it in his head like what did I do?
Trent Manning: 44:15
Right. Yeah.
Michael Henderson: 44:16
That’s what I I do like to mess with the guys a lot Well, depending on who they are, you know, the ones you can mess with and the ones that
Trent Manning: 44:25
Yeah. Well, that’s uh one of the youngest guys I got that helps me out in the shop and he’s still in high school. So, he just works on the weekends this time of year and then he worked all summer with us. And I mean, he’s a great kid, but he is really fun to pick on. So I just, I mean, I gave him the hardest time, but I tell him and anybody else that I know, that’s the way I show my love is picking on you. If I didn’t like you, I wouldn’t talk to you. But, uh, He’s really fun, fun to pick on. And no matter what I say or do to him, he’s always smiling ear to ear. He’s this happy go lucky kind of guy. And it’s great to have people like that around. And I think it’s important also to, you know, keep it fun in the
Michael Henderson: 45:14
yeah,
Trent Manning: 45:15
I mean, not that we want to do something unsafe or dangerous, but, you know, have a good time because again, we see those people more than we see our family. So we might as well be having a good time. were you ready to do some rapid fire questions?
Michael Henderson: 45:35
let’s get at it.
Trent Manning: 45:36
All right. What’s favorite movie?
Michael Henderson: 45:40
Uh,
Trent Manning: 45:40
your
Michael Henderson: 45:40
say, ever since childhood, it’s always been Nightmare Before Christmas.
Trent Manning: 45:46
Ah, okay. That’s all right. What would be your last meal?
Michael Henderson: 45:51
You know, this one I’ve been thinking about a lot, and I’d say it’d have to be Chicken Piccata.
Trent Manning: 45:57
Okay, another good one. What are you most proud of besides your family? And while we’re talking about family, you mentioned that were married. you have
Michael Henderson: 46:06
Ah,
Trent Manning: 46:06
you Do kids? Okay. Awesome. Well, what ages?
Michael Henderson: 46:11
Uh, oldest is 12 and then I’ve got twins that are 10.
Trent Manning: 46:15
Okay. Fun times.
Michael Henderson: 46:17
they spent a lot of time with me on the course during the women’s open too.
Trent Manning: 46:21
Oh, that’s so cool. How cool is that? I love it. That was awesome. What about not tournament time? They still to work sometimes.
Michael Henderson: 46:32
they did a
Trent Manning: 46:33
with dad
Michael Henderson: 46:34
but yeah, I got to try and be sparing with that and keep the liability risk down.
Trent Manning: 46:40
Well, right. And it all, all depends on the club and all that kind of stuff. But when my girls, you know, were younger, I was bringing them to the course a lot and they had a lot of fun. And my, my oldest daughter, she’s 18 now, but. She would drive, I’d get her, you know, give her the golf cart. She’d make circles around the shop and our shop isn’t that big. And she’d make a hundred circles. And I’d be like, all right, honey, it’s time to go. Oh, come on dad. Just one more lap. Mike, you’ve made a hundred laps. What is one more lap going to do? But I was like, okay, one more. It’s always one but now that. more
Michael Henderson: 47:19
yet.
Trent Manning: 47:20
Yeah. Yeah. Well, and that’s why, uh, I’d only let her drive around the shop because I didn’t want her going out on the course and members and, and all that kind of stuff. And where our shop is, it was kind of, kind of hidden. So. Most people wouldn’t know she was driving around, but that’s awesome. Congratulations on having three girls, girl, dad, power. I’m all about it. I love it, man. I do. Sorry. I derailed you. What are you most proud of besides your family?
Michael Henderson: 47:49
Uh, honestly, I’d say where I’ve ended up, I’ve didn’t always have an easy life. And actually for like three years of my early twenties, I was homeless.
Trent Manning: 48:01
Wow.
Michael Henderson: 48:01
Did a lot of couch hopping, a lot of partying, you know, just didn’t care. And I, hell, there was even one point in my life. I didn’t really care if I lived or died.
Trent Manning: 48:12
Hmm.
Michael Henderson: 48:14
you know, with the help of friends ended up out of that, basically moved here, Monterey and. The rest was kind of history and just the fact that I’ve progressed as much as I have in the last nine years and that I’ve been in the turf industry, you know, not many people can say like, Hey, that’s the, you know, mechanic for pebble beach
Trent Manning: 48:39
Oh no, that’s yeah, that’s an incredible, incredible story. And I’m so glad that you did turn it around and I don’t want to, you know, You tell me no, whatever, but if you can tell me and the listeners a little more like you said, you talked to family and friends, but yeah, how do you come out of something like that? Because this is something that’s, you know, dear to my heart. I’ve been there before too, and it’s not something easy move past.
Michael Henderson: 49:12
no.
Trent Manning: 49:13
to
Michael Henderson: 49:14
so I, I, one of the biggest things is I actually, I hit like a rock bottom. Moment where it was almost like my life was in danger. I was staying at some friend’s house and I had actually got jumped in the house by some people that were over for a party. Friends didn’t do anything to help me out. Basically just left me to be. And when I could finally sleep after having a big old shoe print bruise on my, my ribs,
Trent Manning: 49:48
Mm.
Michael Henderson: 49:48
I called one of my other friends, I’m like, Hey, I, I need to get out of here. I need my stuff gone. I need to go
Trent Manning: 49:57
Mm hmm. Mm
Michael Henderson: 49:58
you know, stayed with another friend for a little bit, but I actually contacted my sister who had offered for me to stay, like, live with her before. I was like, Hey. You know, does that offer still stand and, you know, it, it did, it was just one of those things, cause I was living in the Sacramento area at the time and I, I realized that. I was just going downhill, and if I stayed around there, I was going to keep getting in trouble, and I was either going to be dead or in jail. And, I mean, after I’d moved in with my sister, it was better for a little bit, and, like, it’s funny, she had actually gotten in trouble, and then I was back on my own again. I didn’t have a job at the time, and knew, you know, I had applied for jobs, trying to find something, ended up having to move out of that place. And I moved in with my niece and just kind of jumped around a lot. And then one of my friends called me up. He’s like, Hey, we need a deckhand on a crab boat. You know, are you game? You want to come? I’m like, let’s do it. That is actually what led me to meet. Meet my wife.
Trent Manning: 51:15
Oh, wow. Okay. Yeah.
Michael Henderson: 51:16
So I had met her while I was on that boat and, you know, did part of the season on the boat and then ended up coming back to Monterey to her and,
Trent Manning: 51:26
Mm hmm.
Michael Henderson: 51:27
that’s how it’s been.
Trent Manning: 51:29
Why don’t, congratulations. I mean, that’s, that’s awesome. And yeah, I’m proud of you, man. That’s, that’s really something. I mean, and yeah, don’t ever, not that you do, but don’t take that lightly. Because turning your life around, I mean, that’s, that’s next level stuff. And a lot of people might be fortunate and never have to experience that, but I guarantee you, somebody, you know, had had to experience some kind of issues in their life or, you know, somebody that has, and, uh, I’m proud of you. That’s awesome.
Michael Henderson: 52:07
you. It’s pretty much if there’s anything I’d like anybody to know from that is don’t be afraid to ask for help.
Trent Manning: 52:17
Yep. A hundred percent, a hundred percent. They just say it over and over and over again. Mm hmm. Mm
Michael Henderson: 52:23
Yeah, majority of the time people are going to say no, I ain’t trust me. My own dad told me no one time I’m just like, awesome. What am I going to do? But there will be someone that does say yes and help you.
Trent Manning: 52:41
hmm.
Michael Henderson: 52:42
I ain’t shoot when I moved in with my wife, I wasn’t even supposed to keep staying, it was going to be until I got my own place and then, you know, 14 years later, here we are.
Trent Manning: 52:53
hmm. Right. Yeah. No, that’s, that’s good, man. I’m happy for you. And yeah, I can ever do anything for you or if you ever need to just talk about whatever I’m here for you. And that goes not just for you, but any of the listeners my numbers on the website, I think. I know everybody’s got my email. You’re welcome to email me and I’ll, and leave me a phone number and I’ll call you and that goes for everybody. We’ll tell the listeners how they can get ahold of you. You
Michael Henderson: 53:23
Uh,
Trent Manning: 53:24
got an email address or on Twitter?
Michael Henderson: 53:27
Not on Twitter. Not yet. I, I really need to start getting into more social medias. I try not to dive into it too much,
Trent Manning: 53:36
Yeah. Yeah.
Michael Henderson: 53:37
but I mean, you could do my email. It’s M underscore Henderson, H E N D E R S O N O five at yahoo. com or there’s my, my company email address, Henderson, M at pebble beach. com. Besides that, I’m in a couple groups on Facebook for golf course equipment managers and technicians, and there’s golf course maintenance uncensored, which, that’s an interesting one.
Trent Manning: 54:09
hmm. I bet I could imagine. Well, thank you so much for being on. I’ve really enjoyed this. Thank you.
Michael Henderson: 54:16
Well, thank you for having me. It’s been a pleasure.
Trent Manning: 54:23
thank you so much for listening to the Reel turf techs podcast. I hope you learned something today. Don’t forget to subscribe. If you have any topics you’d like to discuss, or you’d like to be a guest, find us on Twitter at Reel turf techs.