Jason Skaggs is the equipment manager at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair, Florida. After starting out of high school as an oil-changer at a car dealership, Jason moved up quickly to apprentice. He got his reel grinding experience as a Toro dealership technician and eventually made his way to the golf course. We’re talking fabricating reel racks, going in-depth on shop floors, and how rewarding it is to see the results of your labor all day long. Jason reminds us there’s no ceiling on your dream job and encourages us to reach out to the next generation to share the great career they can have as turf techs.
Transcript
Trent Manning:
welcome to the reel turf techs podcast for the technician that wants to get reel follow along. As we talk to industry professionals and address hot topics that we all face along the way we’ll learn tips and tricks. I’m your host, Trent. Manning let’s have some Welcome to the real Terp techs podcast. Episode 37. Today, we’re talking to Jason’s gags. Equivalent manager at Pelican golf club. And Bel air Florida. Pelican is a private 18 hole golf course. And host of the Palkin women’s championship. Jason has one technician and a shop. And has a mix of Toro and Deere equipment. Let’s talk to Jason. Welcome Jason to the real turf techs podcast. How you doing?
Jason Skaggs:
I’m doing wonderful. How about you?
Trent Manning:
They’re doing good. Doing good. We had a little bit of technical difficulty getting this going on my half. Not on Jason’s. So we’re finally here and this is going to be a really good episode. Thank you? for coming on. I really appreciate it.
Jason Skaggs:
Not a problem, Trent. Hey, real quick, before we get started, I just want to tell you, thank you for what you’re doing for our industry. I really appreciate it.
Trent Manning:
Oh, well, good. Thank you. That’s good. Good to hear. And I have got a lot of good feedback guys say saying that and that’s that’s great. So we’re going to keep it up. Tell us how you got into the turf industry.
Jason Skaggs:
well so right out of high school, I started turning wrenches at a dealership. I was hired as an old. All changer and an approximately about two months into it, they asked me if I wanted to become a drivability tech and that I’d be an apprentice. So for the first month I was apprenticed and then all of a sudden I came in one day and the guy that was teaching me had moved his tools out and I became a drivability tech at 18 years old and Chevy dealership.
Trent Manning:
Oh, wow.
Jason Skaggs:
was, yeah. Needless to say, I didn’t make it right. Struggled flopped around a few, you know, few different dealerships. And I seen an ad for a tech for Toro at a Kenny machinery in Zionsville, Indiana. They’re Toro distributor. So went to work for them and I went to work right at the start of fall season, which was when they brought all the reels in. And so for the first six months, That’s all I did was grind, rails, tear, rows apart, grind them, put them all back together. And before then, I didn’t know what a real was.
Trent Manning:
Right, right, right.
Jason Skaggs:
I did that for, I did, I did that for about six months. And then I actually went back to the auto industry and became a master tech for Mazda in Southern Indiana. And did that for, I don’t know, about seven years. And they decided to shut their door. And I thought, you know, I really liked working on reels and thought that would be, you know, a new venture for me. So I ended up getting into a a golf course and floated around a little bit, you know, different, different public courses and got to Florida. And then my career has taken off.
Trent Manning:
Yeah, that’s awesome. While the Gacha the Florida.
Jason Skaggs:
Well I kind of wanted to, I knew that it was golf capital of the world. So, you know, I wanted to do the year round thing and kind of had a blended family and we wanted to start over. So we headed to Florida.
Trent Manning:
Okay, awesome. Where it’s always hot, right?
Jason Skaggs:
It’s always hot. It’s hot. It’s five o’clock in the morning.
Trent Manning:
I don’t know, I was talking to a Howard horn. I interviewed him. His episode will be coming out probably in a couple of weeks. And he’s from north central Florida and he said it was hot, really hot and really fricking hot. It was the three levels of hot in Florida. Anyways. It’s kind of funny, maybe laugh walk us through your daily shot.
Jason Skaggs:
So we Me and my sister in our, probably the first record, the first two to get there. We pull everything out, get all the walk mowers hooked up and we normally have our morning meeting and then I probably go out on the golf course for the first hour, hour and a half. And check all cuts, check all reals. My, my assistants pretty, he was actually spent 18 years at Innisbrook in a. New port Richey. He, he, he knows pretty much what to do in the shop. So I stay on the course probably hour, hour and a half and just checking everything.
Trent Manning:
Gotcha. That’s cool. What about relief? Grounded? Do you relief ground?
Jason Skaggs:
So right now I have Bernhardt and that was the reason I’m switching to my sappy grinder so I can
Trent Manning:
Okay. I got you.
Jason Skaggs:
The, the grinders that actually are in my shop right now are only there about three years old. But when I, when I took this job about five months ago, I wanted to relief grant and I told him that, you know, that was one of the big parts. So that was, that was a big sale for me.
Trent Manning:
Okay. That’s awesome. Where did you get in touch with sip Did you first start using those?
Jason Skaggs:
So I never heard of sip until I got to Florida. And my first job here in Florida was at Pasadena yacht and country club. And they actually have a set of probably one of Mark’s first sets of grinders.
Trent Manning:
Okay.
Jason Skaggs:
Yeah. And I actually had actually called markup and had them come train me. And when he got there, he was after surprised that they were still even in use and they’re still using them today.
Trent Manning:
Wow. That’s awesome.
Jason Skaggs:
Yeah. So that was how I first learned about SAP.
Trent Manning:
That’s a good story.
Jason Skaggs:
Yeah.
Trent Manning:
Tell us something you’ve fabricated lately.
Jason Skaggs:
I’m big into leveling, so I have a granite level in table. So the last thing I fabricated was a bracket on the front of my table to I set all my reels in mowing. I put the midnights on and then I, set the reel down so that it duplicates how it’s going to be out on the course. So that was the last thing that, that’s the last thing I fabricated. one of the things that I fabricated bracket when I was at Islam also was I went don’t racks to set. When I raised my, when I raised my mower up, I. could lower my reels down on, on three different rocks and roll them around the shopping. And they would be the same height as my grinder and my benches and everything. I didn’t have to carry nothing.
Trent Manning:
Okay. Yeah,
Jason Skaggs:
I’m in the process of getting ready to start building those here at my place,
Trent Manning:
I bet. Have any reels with this rat cold?
Jason Skaggs:
Well, they were, they were three different three individual ones
Trent Manning:
Okay, I got you.
Jason Skaggs:
the same way so that, you know, I, I do the front row and then I’d go back and do the back row.
Trent Manning:
Gotcha. I make sense. So with the sip grinder, will you still need the bench plight as much?
Jason Skaggs:
I don’t believe that a will. what I’ll use the granite plate for. Just to check the SFP gunner to make sure that I’m in.
Trent Manning:
All right. And then you’ll know if you need to call Mike or not.
Jason Skaggs:
that’s right. That’s right. And, and I, plan on probably burn his ear up here a lot here in w next couple of weeks.
Trent Manning:
well, it might be the other way around my burn near thir up
Jason Skaggs:
Mike likes, Mike likes the top.
Trent Manning:
Yes. Yes, he does. But he’s a great guy, nothing. I mean, nothing wrong with that. And then I had a blast down there meeting you and everybody else that I got to meet. And that was, that was a lot of fun.
Jason Skaggs:
Yeah, no, I’m glad to drive. You came down. It was, it was a good day.
Trent Manning:
Yeah. That was a good day. What’s your favorite tool and why?
Jason Skaggs:
Well, I had to really, you know, I had to think about that one. You know, at first I was going to say my phone because, cause I really use, I use that quite a bit during the day. You know, either one to network or to, to look something up. But I think it’s going to come down to my Makita three eights impact a battery, and I seem to use that. I got it about two months ago and I seem to use it every single day, all day long. And you know, I probably use it more than I use any kind of impact.
Trent Manning:
Actually I seen Ben beard tweeted today. He just got a brand new three, eight strive, Makita impact. And he was talking about how much he loved it.
Jason Skaggs:
Oh yeah. I mean, I used to take wheels off build reels. I mean, it’s just, it’s it’s amazing little tool.
Trent Manning:
Have you tried their ratchet?
Jason Skaggs:
I haven’t, but I’ve been looking at it.
Trent Manning:
Yeah. Yeah, Yeah. Yep.
Jason Skaggs:
Yeah.
Trent Manning:
Talk the club into buying you. One of those. I know Eric Dickerson, he’s, he’s in love with his I think he might’ve said that was his favorite tool when I interviewed him. But I’m a snap on guy. I’m kind of crazy. I shouldn’t buy snap out cause it’s what really ever pressed, but. Are really black battery powered ratchets. I don’t, I was talking to you a Roland MacPherson, and I was telling him how bad I hated the sound of the old air wreck.
Jason Skaggs:
Yes. Yes.
Trent Manning:
I don’t know why, but it drives me insane. So he was nice enough to send me a video of the air ratchet run until I, so I could hear it since I don’t get to hear one anymore. Real nice guy. That’s right? Yeah, No. I mean, that’s one of the great things about this industry is, you know, being able to. The rag on people and cut up And you know, have a good time. We’ll keep it light.
Jason Skaggs:
No.
Trent Manning:
that’s one of the great things about
Jason Skaggs:
together
Trent Manning:
Oh, for sure.
Jason Skaggs:
yeah.
Trent Manning:
What do you like best about your job?
Jason Skaggs:
I guess the best thing that I like is I love being able to set something up and go out and see my work. There’s nothing better than a fresh ground set of rails cut in first thing in the morning. And you know that you put all that, you, you did the work, you know, there’s a lot, you know, factory jobs, you, you fix something or you put something together and you’ll never see that. You know, here, you actually, you actually get to see your, your labor of your work all day long.
Trent Manning:
Right? Yep. Well, I think that’s the special thing about. Cotton unit or real minus whatever you want to call it is, you know, if you do an old change, nobody’s ever going to see that, but when you set a cutting unit up and you take it out there and you, and it moves grass and it looks great, it’s definitely very rewarding
Jason Skaggs:
Correct. I mean your superintendent or your groundedness. And I mean, they can grow as much grass as they want, but if it ain’t cutting, right. You know,
Trent Manning:
for sure. What’s is the strangest thing you’ve seen at work?
Jason Skaggs:
Well, I’ve seen it all. I’ve seen a lot of things upside down. But I guess I have to go back to a couple years ago was when somebody took a lighter and check the check to feel and it laid on it lit on fire.
Trent Manning:
oh, wow.
Jason Skaggs:
Yeah, it was on a trial. It was on a John Deere triplex. He took, he unscrewed the lid and put his lighter down and next thing you know, we had flames it didn’t didn’t explode, but it, it, it lit on fire.
Trent Manning:
Oh, wow.
Jason Skaggs:
Yeah.
Trent Manning:
That is something I else. Yes. After seeing it all, You just thought you saw it all.
Jason Skaggs:
Yeah. I’ve kicked around for years, you know, Hey, you need a light to check that, you know, I really never thought that that would ever come to true.
Trent Manning:
yeah. Yeah. It’s, it’s amazing. What can happen at a golf course? Was one of your pet peeves around the shop or the house?
Jason Skaggs:
Well around the shop and this has kind of came on and in my older age is just dirty floors. You know, grass blowing in all day or sand into the, you know, by the, by the end of the day, I’m ready to clean my floors.
Trent Manning:
Hm.
Jason Skaggs:
And it’s just, I don’t know, like I said, younger, it didn’t bother me, but now, you know, when you get down on your knees, that’s the last thing I want to do is get down into power, grass or dirt. One of the thing is I’m not feeling your weed eaters or your blowers. Back-up at the end of the day. That you know, why, why can’t you take enough time to fill those up before you put them on a shelf?
Trent Manning:
Yeah, that’s a good one. I don’t think that one’s been brought up before either, So that’s really good. Fill them up. Why not?
Jason Skaggs:
yeah, why not? You know, you’re going to have to tomorrow anyway.
Trent Manning:
exactly. What would be your dream job or opportunity?
Jason Skaggs:
Well, If we would have done this interview about six months ago, I would have told you that I was working at when I was at four seasons. But I have to say that right now I am working at my dream job. The Pelican is to me, it’s probably the highest. Job that I ever, that I ever get to work at and I plan on trying to retire out of here.
Trent Manning:
Okay. That’s awesome. That’s good for you. I got a follow up question on you liked to clean the floors. What is your preferred surface for your floor? Do you, are you a poxy guy or what are you using on your floors?
Jason Skaggs:
So I just painted my, you probably seen it on Twitter. I just painted the grinding room with a it’s an armor seal.
Trent Manning:
Okay.
Jason Skaggs:
It’s, it’s a little bit tougher than than a poxy. And it, it covers real well and it’s, it’s pretty dope. Get it from Sherwin Williams and I’ve got an LPGA event coming up in two weeks and hopefully right after that, once things calm down, I plan on doing our whole entire shop that way.
Trent Manning:
Okay, let’s go. Do you make sure colors up for. You know, walkways shop
Jason Skaggs:
if I had a big shop, I would. But unfortunately the shop that I’m in now is it’s just like bays. So it’s not like a great big building. So I’m just, I’m doing sand, sand, stone color,
Trent Manning:
Okay. I probably helps hide some of the dirt too. Doesn’t it?
Jason Skaggs:
some of the sand.
Trent Manning:
Yeah. Some of the stuff.
Jason Skaggs:
I feel like we worked in a sandbox. so, when we first moved to Florida, we went out every night and that was probably for the first six months or so. And now we’ve been here. Seven years. We probably go maybe once a year and I live a mile from the beach, so,
Trent Manning:
Yeah, that’s crazy.
Jason Skaggs:
right.
Trent Manning:
What do you know now that you wish you’d known on day one?
Jason Skaggs:
I wish that I would have, started right out of high school in this business. You know, instead of being in it for 15, I’ve been in an over 30 years now coming out of high school, didn’t know anything about golf course industry.
Trent Manning:
Yep.
Jason Skaggs:
And you know, that’s the sad part about it is I wish I wish we could figure it out. I wish we could figure it out how to get it more out there.
Trent Manning:
did you have any kind of golf background you liked to play or anything like that?
Jason Skaggs:
I’m a big sports fan. So, you know, I, yeah, I play, but I’m also competitive, so, and I’m not very good at golf side. I don’t play that much.
Trent Manning:
Yeah, that’s, that’s really good. Cause I’m in the exact same, but I’m way too competitive and I’m way too hard on myself and it’s not an enjoyable game for me,
Jason Skaggs:
Right. And then, and then after being there 12 hours a day, sometimes that’s the last thing you want to do is walk around a golf course.
Trent Manning:
oh yeah, for sure. Yeah. Well, you got any tips or tricks you want to share with us?
Jason Skaggs:
I don’t have any, tricks, the funny thing is I’ve had notes for this, for that question for a while. And then after sitting and listened to the wizard and JP talk I was going to talk about being consistent
Trent Manning:
oh, okay. Yup.
Jason Skaggs:
And he ruined that for me. So I guess, I guess I’m going to use his new word and talk about being uniformed.
Trent Manning:
Yeah.
Jason Skaggs:
If you take a day off, it’s going to bite you in the bud here. if you don’t straight true with what’s working and, stay true as well. got you to where you’re at, then, things are going to happen.
Trent Manning:
Right.
Jason Skaggs:
I was going to use the word consistent, stay consistent. But after listening to him, it was like, nah, I can’t use that now.
Trent Manning:
So I want to tell that story when we’re at the sip Grindr seminar. I think wouldn’t it actually, mark that brought up consistency first
Jason Skaggs:
I
Trent Manning:
talking about how he did not like the word consistency, because it refers to thickness of a fluid. Like viscosity or something.
Jason Skaggs:
Yeah.
Trent Manning:
all as, as the way he described it. So now all of us in the group are taking that out of our vocabulary.
Jason Skaggs:
It’s right now. It’s unit now it’s uniform.
Trent Manning:
Yep. So now we want to be uniform. But that was a good point and, and it makes sense. And I think we’re all helping each other. You know, through this podcast, through going to seminars, through networking with your friends or whoever, we’re all getting better because of,
Jason Skaggs:
Right. I don’t know. And like I said, this justice podcast alone has done tremendous far industry.
Trent Manning:
I really appreciate that. And that’s why we started. I just I’m like most of the listeners, I just want to help. And I thought maybe this will be a good way to, to spread some knowledge and let people know that you’re not the only one struggling, you know, with whatever knuckleheads is breaking this or that, or you’re not on an island by yourself. There’s a lot of other people going through the exact same thing.
Jason Skaggs:
Right.
Trent Manning:
What else do you want to talk about?
Jason Skaggs:
I wish that, us, in our later years could figure out how to get this out into the younger industry until the younger kids. my wife actually is administrator at a middle school and right before COVID hit, you know, I planned on taking reels to a school and doing a demonstration.
Trent Manning:
Okay. Yeah.
Jason Skaggs:
just trying to get the word out
Trent Manning:
I mean, I do think it’s got to start, you know, and. it’s a grassroots effort with stuff like that. You taken a real to the middle school and showing some kids and you can make a career out of this.
Jason Skaggs:
Right. And, 15 years ago, you know, you would think this is not a career, but I mean, just, just in the changes in the last 10 years is, they can definitely make a career out of it.
Trent Manning:
oh for sure. yeah. And we had a ways to go get and pay where it needs to be. And I’m not saying it’s where it needs to be, but it’s definitely up from when I first started. For sure. We weren’t, we weren’t getting paid. And, but they’re seeing the value that we give membership and the coerce. So we’re getting there.
Jason Skaggs:
Yeah. I need to find some more. Why? When it finds more Wyatts.
Trent Manning:
That’s right. Yeah, exactly. I got lucky hired a guy back this spring and he was in a well-done program and he just, he actually walked in. The interview, her drop-off off application that of course, down the road. And I know the technician over there and he called me and said, we had this guy come in and he’s a welder. He came up, work out and he knew I was looking for somebody. So I call him up and he’s like, yeah, I’d be interested. So he shows up that day. I me like within an hour, he’s like, yeah, I’m in town. I’ll just run over there. And so talked to him, hired him and mean he’s working out great, but kids like him are few and far between.
Jason Skaggs:
Right, right. When I was looking for an assistant, I mean, it was a struggle. And luckily I found some, like I said, I found somebody that had been at one place for 18 years and they were just wanting to change.
Trent Manning:
Yeah, that’s amazing.
Jason Skaggs:
Yeah. Yeah. So, so he’s coming. I mean, we clicked really well,
Trent Manning:
that’s a good cause. That’s the other thing that you deal with is. Personality conflicts too sometimes. I know personally, I don’t get along with some type of people.
Jason Skaggs:
right.
Trent Manning:
yeah. I’m sure a lot of us are similar to that, but it happens.
Jason Skaggs:
Yeah,
Trent Manning:
Well, you got anything else you want to talk about?
Jason Skaggs:
not really.
Trent Manning:
Okay. All right. Well, I’m sorry for the difficulty that we had getting started here. I apologize for that. And now I’m gonna be I guess, wrenching on my zoom P four and figure out why the headphones are not working.
Jason Skaggs:
It was probably that traveling back and forth.
Trent Manning:
what it was. I don’t, it could have been Mike Rollins or maybe a D Wayne’s got in my bag. Yeah. We’ll blame it on him.
Jason Skaggs:
Yeah. And, touch up on, people like Mike Rollins. just getting him in the industry. I mean, it’s, that’s been one of the best thing for our industry lately is somebody.
Trent Manning:
I agree. A hundred percent the.
Jason Skaggs:
I mean, that dude takes it Sears and he loves what he’s doing.
Trent Manning:
Yeah, you can tell how passionate he is. And his energy level blows me away and people say, oh, I probably had that much energy when I was young. I don’t think I ever had as much energy as Mike does. It’s just, it’s like,
Jason Skaggs:
right, right. I know. don’t think I have either.
Trent Manning:
I had dinner with him and John and Jerry on Thursday night. And somebody said, so what time we’re going to start them. And John said, I probably, you know, get their little seven laughter seven and Mike’s like, I’m going to be there at six. O’clock on the dot. I just love his energy, his passion. And we’re going to turn this into the mock Rollins show, I guess, but I do appreciate what he’s doing for our industry.
Jason Skaggs:
we’ve got the, we got the women’s championship coming up two weeks and he’ll, he’s going to start Monday with me and be with me for two weeks.
Trent Manning:
That’s very good. Tell the listeners how they can get ahold of you
Jason Skaggs:
So you get a hold of me at a E M at the Pelican.
Trent Manning:
yeah. On Twitter. All right. Well, good deal. Thank you, Jason, for coming on. I apologize again, for our technical difficulty there.
Jason Skaggs:
We figured it out. That’s what we do.
Trent Manning:
That’s all we do. We figure it out. That’s
Jason Skaggs:
Yes, sir.
Trent Manning:
We’ll talk to you saying
Jason Skaggs:
All right, man. Thanks Trent.
Trent Manning:
thank you. Hope you enjoyed hearing from Jason. What a great guy. And Jason is a perfect example. If you put your head down. And work hard. And be a sponge. Taking in all that information. You can get to your dream job. I’m so happy for him. No, forget to do the survey. You can go to our bio on Twitter. At real turf techs. And fill out our survey. So then it’s an email. Uh, realtor tax. Uh, gmail.com. With any questions, concerns. If you like what we’re doing, let us know. If you don’t like what we’re doing, let us know. We’ll talk to you next time. So you buy. 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.