Matthew Caine, Equipment Manager at the Apes Hill Club in Barbados, started out working in the manufacturing industry. He saw an ad in a newspaper looking for a golf course fleet manager. He was interested at first but after talking to a coworker at his current job that had been there for 27 year and only had one Christmas off, the golf thing piqued his interest. Matthew manages five mechanics and a maintenance assistant in his current role. He has built a machine shop inside his shop to make parts because getting parts delivered in Barbados is difficult. Matthew is a relative newcomer to our industry but has made tremendous strides to get his equipment where it is today.
Transcript
Trent Manning:
welcome to the reel turf techs podcast for the technician that wants to get reel follow along. As we talk to industry professionals and address hot topics that we all face along the way we’ll learn tips and tricks. I’m your host, Trent. Manning let’s have some Welcome to the real turf text podcast, episode 56. Today, we’re talking to Matthew Kane equipment manager. At eight Hills club and Barbados. Ape sale club has a private 18 hole facility. With the 19th hole island green. And a nine hole par three short course. Spread over 500 acres. The club is a combination of golf and upscale residential community. And features amenities Such as swimming pools. GM’s tennis court and restaurant. They’re also heavily involved in sustainability. With interest in beekeeping. Free range chickens. And organic farming. Matthew has five mechanics and one maintenance assistant in the shop. 85% of his fleet is Jacobson. With the other 15 being Toro and dear. Let’s talk to Matthew. welcome Matthew to the real turf tax podcast. How you doing today?
Matthew Caine:
I’m well, thanks for having me on new tats podcasts on trainees is a pleasure actually being here. Thanks for having me.
Trent Manning:
It’s going to be a lot of fun, man. Let’s go be fun. It always is. Tell us how you got into the turf industry.
Matthew Caine:
all right, so that’s a interesting story. I was, I worked in manufacturing for most of my career. I, my second, last job, I should say I was at the local power plant after leaving a manufacturing company. So I spanked. A few months at the power plant, working on these massive engines, changing injectors and huge pistons. I walked up and this vacancy in the newspaper or a golf course, a local golf course for so one to manage our, after a fleet of golf carts, I wasn’t interested in. while I was at the power plant my trainer at that time told me he’s been for 27 years or 27 years. He’s had one Christmas off.
Trent Manning:
Oh, wow.
Matthew Caine:
I’m like all key. Cause a hit shift systems. I hate working a graveyard shift and it was a 24 hour, a day, seven days a week, 365 day a year operation, obviously because of the power company. So I applied for the job managing the canopies golf carts and walks up and I happened to get the job and that’s the way it of started getting my feet wet in the turf industry. I’ve been in the industry for about 2018. So it’s not very long, but I haven’t made a huge impact since they’ve been in it from the inception.
Trent Manning:
Yeah, it definitely sounds like it. And when you first got hired at the golf course, the you go straight to equipment manager and you’re over the whole shop or.
Matthew Caine:
Yeah. So funny enough, when I was hired, the company was going downhill and going downhill very quickly. Home money had run out and there were four mechanics that team but the Dane superintendent had this problem, his mechanics, where when a machine broke, the mechanics would say, oh, this machine needs an engine. This machine is, and you see what they wouldn’t troubleshoot it. They were just. Go straight and see as the most expensive thing they could find. So they don’t want to go to the trouble of troubleshooting it. So the superintendent ended up buying engines by and he never fixed the problem. So he was at Ainsworth’s. So he decided to hire somebody else to look after the shop. Cause he’s not mechanically inclined. when I came on board, yes, I did manage the shop from the inception, but I had to manage the shop with absolutely nothing. The morale, the human resource morality, gaze the morale was all time law because you couldn’t get new parts. You couldn’t get anything. Equipment was breaking. Nobody want trouble troubleshooting anything. It was a sad period to see at least but I made the most of it and chemo on top of it all. I couldn’t turn the whole shop around revamped the whole workplace without the Munis department, but a lot of systems in place procedures and tried my best to do what it could to boost morality guys. Cause That’s the biggest asset for me at that point in time was the power, the person that reported to me. So if they weren’t happy, then nobody was happy. So I tried my best to try to boost their morale and do what it can and try to spend as much time with them as they could on the floor to get things going. It was interesting as well because. When it started, obviously I was inexperienced in the world of golf. A I’ve never seen a real, more, never worked on a golf cart. But I had that team probably 14 years of mechanical experience under my belt. Cause they was manufacturing companies, power plant garage. It was just all over the place, fixing things. I echo the comments of a technocrat. You break, I fix it yeah. So I had to show these guys, Hey, I’m not here to command you do X, Y, Z. I’m here to work with you was we’re all here for one common purpose and that’s to get new machines going. I spent a lot of time working with them on the shop floor, getting blended rapport with them, showing them that I’m not the bad guy. that’s basically going into the turf industry and what I did when he first got into it. Yeah. I was thrown into the deep pain for lack of better words. Was he the same course sink or swim? And I think I swim
Trent Manning:
Yeah, no, it definitely sounds like you’re swimming and I’ve heard several stories of great things you’re doing over there. And that’s one reason I wanted to have you on the podcast.
Matthew Caine:
well, thanks a lot. Thanks. We’re seen as a Spreadfast, I’ve met a bunch of really nice guys at the San Diego confidential. I was actually one of your equipment managers round table was in that class. And that was awesome as well, having everybody just bounce the ideas and converse, and that was amazing.
Trent Manning:
Yeah. I really liked the round table idea because a lot of us are pretty introverted and we don’t want to talk in front of big crowds and in a small group at a table, you’re going to have some really good conversation and picking up a lot of stuff.
Matthew Caine:
That’s definitely true. There’s this stigma associated with mechanics and technicians that we’re the gays that no one wants to approach, cause we’re always upset, always grumpy and, or as you said, The general consensus is retained to be the introverts, but I want to remove that stigma. I want to try my best to remove that stigma. I went at the attic, the golf shore, just pass, be were in a class with Laura kitting. I think that was the lady she held up for class on communication and communication strategies. And I thoroughly enjoy that class because it is a weak point for me, especially communicating not only to my staff, my team, but you have to liaise with the superintendents, the directors who are mourners, sometimes parts, suppliers, equipment, suppliers, manufacturers, distributors. And if you can communicate with these people effectively, then. It makes no sense to me so that stigma associated with us being introverts. They, I want to try my best to remove that stigma because all of us have the ability to communicate and communicate effectively. But we just need to have to do to get all to the comfort zone of not communicating and actually do it. And that four hour class with Laura, it opened my eyes to a lot, a huge amount that I was lacking, person figures communicating and a lot of the points that she made mention of a straightaway came back to borrow this implemented right off the bat. And I saw a huge turnaround in homemade staff Dealt with things. So my boss that with things it was impressive. And I want to get any word about that, that we don’t have to be the introverts. We don’t have to be cause we are as vital a rule to the organization as anyone. We, our voices need to be heard as the EMS, so we don’t have to be to introduce.
Trent Manning:
Yeah, for sure. We can definitely make or break an operation. And I try to preach it all the time on the podcast about getting out of your comfort zone and get comfortable being out of your comfort zone because that’s where we do our best work is not in our little box or in our little shale. It’s when we get out. And one thing that it’s a great feeling for me to see a lot of the guys in the real turf tech community and gals too getting out of their comfort zone and doing things they’re not really comfortable. And it’s gonna make us all a whole lot better. And I know at least three that are submitting proposals to teach at the golf conference. And I’m just stoked about that. We need more education. We need more content out there. Bring it anybody’s listening, you can do it too.
Matthew Caine:
Yeah,
Trent Manning:
have asked me several years ago, I would have said, there’s no way I could do that. I can’t stand in front of a group and talk, but believe it or not, you can.
Matthew Caine:
it’s definitely true. I’ll as well. I’m in the process of submitting a proposal to do a class for that main reason, our voices need to be heard. A few of your podcasts as well, encourage me to make that move to do it because you guys keep mentioning the point. When we go to these Gulf shores, the EDM content is so limited. There needs to be more, our voices need to be heard. We need to be a more classes more education for EMS, specifically education for EMS, how to come from the EMS, the people who are actually in the field hands-on day-to-day. So that encouraged me to put pen to paper and formulate a proposal for the upcoming golf show. So I want to thank you for that.
Trent Manning:
no, that is awesome. I’m so glad. I’m so glad. And I think you made a good point with, I think it carries more weight when it’s coming from another equipment manager. And case in point I was up at Rhode Island and there was a time management class and I can’t remember the gentleman’s name, but he was a really good speaker, but he was not connecting with the audience of Em’s just because he didn’t have that background. And yeah, we still learnt some stuff from him and all that fine, but I don’t, I think it’s really about building that connection and I’m much more likely to connect with somebody that has walked a day in my shoes.
Matthew Caine:
Yeah, I totally agree. Totally
Trent Manning:
for sure. So tell us, do you relief grind?
Matthew Caine:
Funny enough, I only started relief grinding this year. And I’ll give you a story about that. So back to when we first started working at the episode club I made mention to the fact that everything was going downhill, but then we had some Bernhard grinders. You benefit granted grant ended. We had a separate relief grinder that never worked because we couldn’t afford the parts to get it working on the parts. Believe it or not with just a grinding stone.
Trent Manning:
Oh, wow.
Matthew Caine:
Yeah. So that team they couldn’t afford just a simple grinding stone to do a relief grade on the other unit. So it never happened. Oh, Fast forward company closed. It was bought over and I purchased a new set of grinders were not new. New to me. I bought some scenario grinders, especially all forties. And these grinders had the built-in relief mechanism. When I purchased the equipment on grinders or the, the whole package, the distributor who had purchased it from there were supposed to come to Barbados and train myself and my team on how to use the grinders on setup, reuse and properly as a cuter relief grain or that stuff. And it never happened fast forward. So I spent A tremendous amount of team on YouTube, on Google watching videos on how to set up these rules, how to grain is used properly. And after Liam is so many Em’s at the Gulf shore just held and after having been sensitized to the importance of the relief grain, I became more involved with it more and more involved with it. And Yeah. So at this point no, today, yes. I relieve grain. Every single thing that goes on my grinder. But it was a long way to where I am today because I didn’t before. Not because I didn’t see the importance of it, but because what, I didn’t know how to, and I didn’t have the facilities to do it because we didn’t have the resources, but at this present moment, yes, every single unit that goes on my grinder, hazard relief screen, every single.
Trent Manning:
Can you speak to the differences you’ve saw from
Matthew Caine:
yeah. Yeah.
Trent Manning:
no.
Matthew Caine:
Before the relief grain, my units will lose their beer. I call it the quality of cut. They will lose their car so quickly. Was the golf course at present is still in the green stage and your superintendent and his assistant seem to think sand is. I don’t know, they just put sound on everything every single week. T’s fear is greens. Everything is sign is it gets me so annoyed. It just, you finished grinder unit and then to hear we just send it to Greenland. I was like, oh, wat. Yeah. prior to the reef grain, the units would lose their cut so quickly after the first navels done technically. But after I started putting on your relief grain, it hauls that age so much better. And I haven’t changed. The units are It’s not like they use a better quality asthma edge maps, real or a JRR bad knife. Did seem Ben nave scenarios, but they’re just holding the age so much better. By having that relief grain on it. So he had, so that in itself means that I get to reduce my grain schedule because I grain every single week, every week, a grain. I grain my greens more twice a week. My ferry more grains is grown once a week. I have a, an approach, more clothes warranties, and sarongs, I have a huge grain in schedule. So by maintaining that edge, I can know, reduce my schedule and spend more time doing other things. So yeah, the relief grain does help and I can speak for that first and it does definitely help.
Trent Manning:
Yeah, no, it sounds like you’re a firm believer in relief drive to now. That’s awesome. That’s so good though. I love it. So this next question is, tell us something you’ve fabricated lately, and I’m going to cheat a little bit because, and our Twitter space, you were talking about converting to a lead acid cart to lithium cart. And I really want to hear about that.
Matthew Caine:
Yeah. Actually we converted five, no three converted today. We’re going to cover another tool tomorrow. So as I mentioned, the Twitter space, we have a local Evie company that sells electric vehicles or the Nissan leaf, the mg in the sun because they aim V3 hundreds of pickup van SUV type vehicle. So they sell these EBV vehicles as well as Evie buses and other Evie components. So I just touch base with the directors and explain to them, Hey, I have these golf carts and. I’m wondering if we could convert them to lithium and they will. Yeah, we will. We’ll undertake this project with you. So they had a bunch of leftover batteries from the Nissan leaf. So coming up with that, they built these battery packs, these huge battery packs that we placed, these the, let us add lead acid batteries and golf carts through some battery controllers. And then I be wired my golf carrots to accommodate the lithium batteries and lithium chargers because no longer using onboard money, the club care, the club, car cars, are they not? I know we use charters republics. Saudi curves are rewired reconfigured, but they still have functions such as regenerate braking. Walks not you still plugging your scan tool if necessary and program the speed control on what’s going on. That’s still there. You would have differences your battery sources know from lithium as opposed to let us in. And when we converted the cards, the carrots get about five times faster, their rockets. So I have to not distribute them to the line staff because they will crush them. they’re tremendously fast and the battery life is extended. Sometimes the carrots don’t need my help to help to charge the batteries. We just doing the peat nearly as quickly as you let us it. And the maintenance costs as well has decreased dramatically as well. Cause it’s a one-off cost of purchase the battery pack as opposed to the lead acid batteries, which have to be filled with distilled water and checked periodically to make sure that they all talk to them. Yeah, so you moved to lithium was a no-brainer, but, and it was also a huge advantage of the GRC car maintenance and cost savings. Because no, I spend less time, less resources maintaining that led us to cards and they get a longer duration. In terms of life span from refurbish cards.
Trent Manning:
Can you go into the controller and adjust the speed?
Matthew Caine:
Yeah, just late usual. When we all club car system, I bought little diagnostic. What did the controller and it changes speed? settings, degrade settings, the RSL settings D doesn’t change that doesn’t change. The carrots can be limited as well. They can be
Trent Manning:
Okay, are those carts DC motors or AC motors,
Matthew Caine:
DC mortals.
Trent Manning:
DC motors. I was just curious because I’m running the Cushman holler pros and it has an AC motor, and I’ve been really happy with it, but it’s lead acid and I’ve experienced all the struggles with lead acid,
Matthew Caine:
Yeah.
Trent Manning:
the batteries ever four years, watering them once a month. It’s this.
Matthew Caine:
It’s just so messy. And the battery loves corrode. I like the move to lithium. It had so many advantages that I couldn’t see why not.
Trent Manning:
Yeah. Yep. For sure. Oh, that’s awesome. Do you have anything else you’ve fabricated lately that you want to tell us about?
Matthew Caine:
last fabricated was a hub spender for my Polaris. They have three Polaris utility vehicles. One of them the hub you spend or that works inside the bearing was completely ruined was the mechanics disregarded checking new berries. So we spent a Brook and was completely knackered. So we had to do some aluminum, welding and and make a new spindle about on with aluminum and machine don’t the ODS and eighties, but to fit the bearings. And it was pretty basic, but the aluminum building part was a challenge. Cause I’m no good at that. It’s always messy.
Trent Manning:
Okay. No, that’s awesome. So do you have a light there at your shop?
Matthew Caine:
Yeah. So when we reopened the golf course and they really appreciate me, my boss for this he basically said, mark, the shoppers, you’re making phenomenal those words. Exactly.
Trent Manning:
was awesome.
Matthew Caine:
Yeah. So I set out to make my shop self-sufficient on inclusive minutes facility, a. Baptist stigma. I want it to remove the stigma that shops have to be Greazy floors and messy walls and oil Steans. So my floors are great. Potsy my walls are, wait, and shop is, immaculate for lack of better words, because I want that main people actually entered the shop, their jaw, their George ops and it’s, it’s kind of a selfish desire. Because when we hear golf, course, we think of hope for pneumonia. Green’s already teased. He’d be grass, the actual golf and experience. No one thinks would be minutes facility. So I was like, suppose a golfer happens to stroll off the golf course and enters the maintenance facility. I want that the facility is as equally phenomenal as a course, he or she is playing on. So I set up my workshop, my minutes facility just phenomenal. So I fitted his shop with everything that I thought I would need to meet self sufficient so that I don’t have to leave the shop to go to a parts store or hydronic store to get anything done. So I bought my own hydronic crimper. So I made me one hydronic pools as any, any shop I bought my own NEF so I can make my own bushings any. Wrong stock parts. They can make any shop. I bought my own milling machine so I could make any fabrication I bought make a, take an Ark and also certain in bottles. So I could do any sort of building the shop and the grinders. So what it did as well, I made a machine shop within my workshop. So my machine shop is a fully enclosed environment that hoses or grinders and what it called the hazardous machines, the lift, the middle of the stuff that kicks off, chips or fumes or a sparks. And they include those in a separate shop inside my workshop. And I did that because ultimately I want to have. My local skills centers bring students through the shop to observe the grinding operations and observe these things happening in the Munis facility. Because in Barbados, nor would considers golf well, golf, maintenance, AGC, isn’t something someone asked players to do. You just happened to end up in golf, Munis in Barbados. So I want to sensitize the general public or the school system. To walk careers, one can help with Ingo maintenance. So I built this machine shop within my workshop and they’re glass walls. So one can stay outside. The glass was in a sea of proximity and observe the technician actually grained in real stone and a relief grain, grain in bed. Nays doing lieth work, doing the millwork, crimping, the hydraulic whores and see all this happening with any conflicts or be general workshop.
Trent Manning:
that is awesome. That’s an incredible, and that’s great what you’re doing. And I do want to say here in the states, there’s still a lot of, not a lot of people that know that there’s a job in golf, maintenance
Matthew Caine:
yeah. Serious.
Trent Manning:
serious. So it’s, yeah, it’s a struggle everywhere. I think across the world, lot of people know, yeah, maybe you could be a golf pro or maybe you could be a cart staff that gets your clubs and stuff, but I usually don’t see us and not really think about it, which is good. We’re supposed to be out of sight. Tell us what your favorite tools.
Matthew Caine:
My favorite tool is my multimeter, my multimeter a few years ago not a few about a decade or so ago. I was at work on this guy called me and said he has this cure he’s working on. And the care would have going to gear is stuck in third gear in live mode. And I didn’t know where to start. With this care, because at that time I was wholly and solely mechanical aid. I couldn’t care less about anything electronic at that point in time. And this care had me so frustrated and he had a ticket to another day to do diagnostics on it and all this stuff. And the guy charged so much money to just present a scan tool to tell me what the problem was. So then coming onto that, I told myself, you know what, I am going to learn automotive electronics. I’m going to learn electronics one of hole. So I went to school and they did a course in automotive electronics and they fell in love with it. And since then my go to tool has been my motivator. And I found that to be such a huge advantage. No, because if it didn’t have electrical knowledge or knowledge of electronic. In general, I could not do what I’m doing, especially with the new golf equipment. They’re so heavily reliant on electronics. I couldn’t troubleshoot simple circuits. I couldn’t do any of that stuff. So having the basis and a firm foundation in automotive electronics, that sort of propelled me to where I am and to fall in love with what can be considered to be a tool, a multimeter, because that is a first thing I grab. If someone calls and say, Hey, your machine isn’t working, or it is a starter. I don’t go for a range. I don’t go for spanner. I don’t go for a ratchet. I go with my motivator. Cause 90% of the time, the problem is electronic problems. And it just takes the knowledge of being able to troubleshoot that circuit to figure it out. So yeah, coming out of that, Oh, yeah. I also purchased when it was brand new workshop since diagnostic equipment. I think I spoke about that need the Twitter space two weeks ago when the guy was asking about my tests, a tool. So I bought a diagnostic tool. I call it the most sophisticated tool in Barbados because it, climate is, it could diagnose anything. Once you have the connections for it, I need it. If you don’t have your connections and you know how to make up your plugs, your communication and transmit plugs, you can connect to any piece of equipment and diagnose it. And that would probably be my second, favorite tool, because in Barbados, we are so isolated. We don’t have a Bobcat dealer. We don’t have a Kubota dealer. We have a John Deere dealer, but they’re doing how anything. So we need to be able to depend on ourselves. So me having my trusty diagnostic tool on my multimeter, I can depend on myself and get any job done with
Trent Manning:
Yeah. Yeah, no, that is awesome. That was so good. I love it. I love it. And I believe you’re the first guest that said multi meter there’s nothing wrong with that, because that is one of my favorite tools and being Corey Phillips that you met at the show we used to, so we work together, or we worked at the Toro distributor at the same time and we had a lot of windshield time. So we’d call each other and talk about problems. We were seeing this or that or whatever, but I think we both think about it the same way is when we were going to a customer, I hope this is a good electrical problem. I need a good electrical problem today. So I love a multi Mader and probably working with Toro with. When I’ve really learnt how to troubleshoot electrical problems and that kind of stuff, that a bunch of good training videos online through the, Toro portal, that was a really good taught me a ton. And they always emphasized how important the multimeter was. And not that there’s something wrong with a test lot, but I’ve never been a fan of a test lab because all it tells you is you have some voltage there. It doesn’t tell you how much voltage you got there, unless you’re good enough. And I know you’re wrong. There’s some old school texts out there that are dangerous with Tesla. Yeah. And I could say, oh, that’s a 9.5 volts just by the brightness of the lot, but I’ve never got that good.
Matthew Caine:
Yeah, no I’m not a funny test late either because it takes the other resistance to the circuit you’re testing as well. When you’re testing really sensitive circus, the ECU circuits that switch negative or switch law as some instances, and you add up tests, they turn the boat, the wires, the whole makeup adds the resistance a lot to the circuit. that load could be detrimental to what you were testing your multimeter as a very negligible. If any Lord, the flukes are phenomenal clothes, there was virtually nothing, no lottery system. So that’s why before the multimeter test lights are great. If you’re, if you know exactly the circuit you’re testing and there are no sophisticated electronics to it, but yeah, I tend to stay away from those
Trent Manning:
yeah, no, I agree. I stay away too. What do you do to relax or find your balance?
Matthew Caine:
I was really into motor sports. No that were part CP. It just watch motor sports. But then since COVID, we haven’t had more sports events in two years a. I’m fond of fishing, but I don’t fish on boards. They have what I constantly worst case of motion sickness known to humans. if I’m being driven and I just glanced I mean, watch I get sick.
Trent Manning:
Oh, wow.
Matthew Caine:
Yeah, it’s terrible. So I fish off of rocks or cliffs.
Trent Manning:
What about flying to San Diego?
Matthew Caine:
Here’s the thing, right? For years, I’ve been trying to figure out what caused my motion sickness and one thing. The I came up with mid sense and that is this my body can’t differentiate between seeing movement and feeling movement. So where one is on a boat, you’re feeling yourself moving, but you’re not seeing yourself in because the your perception, your deposition does not change, but your body is feeling yourself going up and down, up and down. So as lately as something is wrong here, Nope. Yes. When I’m being driven at a glance, I may watch my perception is no, my wash That doesn’t change and what my body is, feeling myself, moving in the vehicle. So it’s like, oh no, something’s wrong. Get sick. But on an airplane, on a train, you only movement. You feel as the rumbling from the engine, any odd turbulence, you don’t feel like you’re playing, turning a corner or going up a hill, or you don’t feel the airplane is one steady. One steady thing and do rumble from the engine. So I don’t feel myself move, so I don’t get sick because I caught some trends a while ago when I went to England and it was idea. I’m definitely going to be sick on this train, but again, you don’t fear itself. We were on a tree and your feed, your rumble for pony tracks, but you don’t, you don’t feel yourself moving something. Yeah. This phenomenal made sense. Six minutes.
Trent Manning:
Okay. That
Matthew Caine:
So yeah, flame, I don’t get it. But driving on boards, organiz a terrible,
Trent Manning:
What’s one of your pet peeves around the shop.
Matthew Caine:
when guys don’t put back tools, the views
Trent Manning:
So that happens in Barbados too.
Matthew Caine:
that happens in Barbados that’s the biggest thing. They. I like to have a system. I need to know where my tools are. My spinals are where my ranges are and if I know I left it there and I come up and it’s not there, I’m going to be upset because I know how have to look for it at somebody where is a tool that I left here or that it’s supposed to be here. that’s probably my biggest pet peeve when you guys don’t return tools to be designated areas and they really should cause it give all of them some really cool two bosses. So they really should return.
Trent Manning:
Yeah. Yeah. What would be your dream job or opportunity?
Matthew Caine:
Having had my feet wet, anywhere to golf and golf maintenance. And after attending the golf shore and meeting all you phenomenal guys. And after having built my workshop and commissioned my worst from having a chance to design my workshop and make it phenomenal, I’m going to use that word. Ultimately I want to, I would love to get into maintenance consultancy for lack of hours. We had a few shippers here in Barbados who were assisting with the construction of the golf course. And these guys were guys that literally traveled the world, just doing just that shipping of course is hopping one dozer after units and just ship any word away. And I was. Absolutely envious and Austin truck, where these gays, that there has such passion for what they do such finesse for what they do. And they’re in such high demand shippers. They’re hard to find. So I’m like, you know what? I would love to work with companies that build golf courses. I will come in, I will build Europe managed facility. I will commission it. I would design it, hire the person, no train them, sensitized them, putting systems in place. Do your equipment orders, your negotiations your warranties. Stop your spare parts rooms and hand it over and move on to the next one.
Trent Manning:
Yeah. Yeah, that would be awesome. That would be really, really cool. And I think you could probably get your feet wet doing that and Barbados. It sounds like because you said there’s not a lot of resources there for people.
Matthew Caine:
Yeah, there isn’t. So why, how have been doing, we have five golf courses in Barbados. And I have a very good rapport with all five of them. Only three of them have equipment managers and as well, the three of us have very good rappers as well. So I go between all five of them. And I try to when all five, four, the fifth one is a little, yeah. Before the main I float between and offer advice and helpful where I can in the workshop with regards to equipment proposals and workshop, Zane’s putting systems in place to getting workshops functioning the way it should. I have great pleasure in doing that. So yeah I do get involved with the hamburgers on a smaller skill, helping all the other golf courses where I can in their maintenance facilities, even if it means going and rebuilding a whole chapter or maybe one. Yeah. I take pleasure in that
Trent Manning:
Yeah, no, that is awesome. What technician would you like to work with for a day?
Matthew Caine:
now that when he saw that question, not that was a, that was a difficult one for me because once again, rear saw isolated in Barbados. We have from all the cool kids, all the UK overseas I already have a met any technicians priority, last golf shoe. And that’s pretty Unfortunate, because the EEM life, the fraternity is huge. Are you guys invited me to your WhatsApp group after the golf show, Corey sent me the invitation and then you guys encouraged me to actually get my Twitter out to the game because I wasn’t a Twitter user. I was more Instagram and on LinkedIn, but you guys are encouraged me to do the Twitter. It may have science. We have a group leader as well, so joined Twitter. So after joining Twitter and joining you oxide group and. Seeing all you guys, I don’t know if there’s any one guy want to work. I would love to work in all of your shops. I would like to work with all of you late, and it may have some city, but that’s not the truth because I believe when it was there and he met the guys from the Melrose leadership, email, rose experience, every guy had a different story. Everyone had a different background, a different They were all different. And I was just there to say to myself saying, you know what, I would love to work alongside this guy in this shop, this guy in this shop. And there was some that manage multiple facilities, public courses, and they go from course to course manager managing facility to facility. And I would love to do that as well. So unfortunately I can’t say there’s one particular EMR I would like to work with. I would just Jimmy, who like to work with all you guys to get a few for what you all do in your own environment.
Trent Manning:
Unfortunate, because I think that is one of the best answers I’ve ever heard. And I agree with it a hundred percent. So a lot of the listeners now I’ve did my trip up to new England and back, and I stopped by nine different shops. And I obviously, I didn’t work with them for a day, but just visiting nine different shops and seeing how they operate and picking up little things you see in the shop like, Hey well, what are you doing with that? Whatever it
Matthew Caine:
Yeah.
Trent Manning:
And I mean, it is incredible. As an equipment tech, one of the most tedious jobs is keeping your parts inventory straight. But that job just got a whole lot easier. With using AASB task trackers parts, scanning. Technology. I can scan or see parts into the inventory. And as I use them. I can scan them into a work order. If you hadn’t had a chance to check out the technician side of ASB task tracker. I highly recommend you reach out to them. At ASB task, tracker.com. To schedule a demo. Using task tracker has made my life so much easier. I love being able to pick up. The scanner and scan parts and inventory. Let’s get back to the episode. What do you know now that you wish you’d known on day one?
Matthew Caine:
Day one is relative D one of my, golf minutes career or D a one of my career in general.
Trent Manning:
let’s do both.
Matthew Caine:
Barbados has an interesting coach where the educational system tends to promote more prestigious careers in areas such as medicine, law, finance uh, contain, et cetera. Not so much any technical areas, technical fuse. Yes. The art technical institutions. But for example I can’t study a bachelor’s in barbecues in engineering. I need to leave the island to go do that. So there are so many limitations here, but after having my eyes open to golf maintenance, That isn’t necessary. What is this? Service is a low for the career and a zeal to learn, right? Because there’s so many of you guys who do things differently to achieve the same result and is that zero to learn and to be taught from the Xperience EMS. I want Kim have a very, very, very successful career in golf means with having a bachelor’s degree and is unfortunate in Barbados because the society tends to for more in need this you need this, you need this, but truth is you just need the love for it and to be sensitized to it. What I knew and all they wish I knew, then I wish I knew that I could make a career of something that I love, which is maintenance, which is mechanical electronics, make a career over this and be successful in it without having to be part of the stereotypes, be bachelor degree holders or whatever the case may be. It may go of minutes career. That’s a tough one. I wish I knew you guys sooner.
Trent Manning:
that’s a good, that’s a good answer.
Matthew Caine:
You guys sooner. Yeah, because if I had known you guys, when I had first got me feedback in golf manners, I think it would be more bit more successful because at that time, when he first got a job as the equipment manager, when the course was going downhill, the company’s going downhill. I knew nothing. I knew nothing. And it was the steepest learning curve of my life. I won lately. I had Brit domes at work. At some point in teams. I went to my boss in tears. At some point in deans, I was broken. It was seeming a year two. They was beaten. I was, it was uh, I don’t want to say a terrible period, but it was a period that taught me a lot of growth. With regards to get any workshop where it needed to be getting my team ready to be, to naughty equipment. You, when you didn’t want equipment it was, steep. And I had to do all that with literally nothing, literally nothing. it was, It was steep and it, it brought me, but it kind of made me, made me who I think I am today. So Yeah. if I knew the network existed, but then I would have jumped on this bandwagon so much earlier, so much swimming. Yeah.
Trent Manning:
Yeah. Well, and I think that’s awesome though. I’m sorry that you struggled, but like you said, that makes you grow and that makes you who you are today.
Matthew Caine:
Yeah.
Trent Manning:
You would not be the same person if you didn’t have all those struggles before and, And sometimes learning the hard way is the best way to learn. Yeah. Well, And it’s, it’s always you know, just like if somebody gives you the answer to a test question, I don’t help you any, but definitely if you would have gotten involved with the community, we could have helped you out for sure. then made life a little less stressful.
Matthew Caine:
yeah Well, that in itself was, that’s why I said probably wasn’t unfortunately, because it taught me how to deal with stress. It taught me how to manage with nothing. Literally it taught me how to get stuff done with nothing. And after being successful with a task, when you had little to no resources is saying praise you for that, you feel after that task is completed, is second to none. There was one instance where I had the greens more. Actually I had, it was only one greens, more weed, more greens with one more teased would be same, more sodium when she would go more greens with coming readjusting. More and more teas That’s whole body. It was one more. And then one day, this more decided to burn the whole electrical harness, the whole harness. You started it to burn, burn cripsy. I faint the entire late because the next day was a tournament and they spent the entire night by myself in the workshop. Rewiring this thing, every single individual wire, every place from scratch, every single fuse, every single thing. And the next morning, the machine started and left the workshop and did what it was supposed to do. And is this sense of pride? They felt out having completed a job after having done that to this day, I still have that more. I still have it. I don’t use it, but it’s, like a trophy. It sorta remind me you know, this is where you came from. This is what, this is what, This is what you had to do to get to this. No. So that is going to stay there in the corner and be a Relic for as long as they could possibly keep it. Yeah,
Trent Manning:
That’s great. Yeah. Yeah. And that’s such a sense of accomplishment doing something like that and especially the pressure with a tournament coming up and I got to get it done tonight then. Yeah, that is awesome. Good for you. What kind of tips and tricks you want to share with us?
Matthew Caine:
I know if there’s anything that could teach you guys. this is probably a common one. We may Tora Tora 45 hundreds, those rollers the Caribbean stainless steel bearings. They always give a lot of guys, a lot of trouble to get I just simply belt a beat in steady bearing and it literally drops out causing the welding, the beach draws in that bearing. And it just literally, it literally drops. Right. But those guys who have a lift in their shop the law Paris that you can fabricate at your shop case in point, I. My Polaris as well may order one, the clutch carries some bearings, some bushings that work on the output shaft on those bushings were completely completely shocked. And so the clutch itself was rocking on the shop, had a lot of free play. So one of them buying a new clutch, just me at one, this make the bushings and replace them and good to go. Another tip or trick, which I had to do today. if you have an orange that you can’t find your right SES superglue works. So my big, I have a huge excavator. The. We’re using the golf course and the suction filters shot or in this organism, it’s six inches in diameter. I have nothing for the place. So just about two inches of this boring was damaged. So what he did, I went from my boring kit, much orange is a bit the hardest, same diameter as the damaged, boring, and just cut it, in diagonals and stick the pieces together with super glue and emit one big orange.
Trent Manning:
That was awesome.
Matthew Caine:
Yeah. mid one big or this was sticking stick. Any parts together. Cause all that orange needs to do is expand and see So you just need to cut the diagonal, stick it properly. And it’s going to do the job as well as a brand new Ori. But those who can get the big earrings, you could just make organs, but you just ruin a knife.
Trent Manning:
Yeah. That’s
Matthew Caine:
I tell it doesn’t afford us of that. So put the army Twitter in a little bit. So you guys could see you as what, what I’m talking about.
Trent Manning:
Okay. Yeah, definitely do that. Awesome. What else do you want to talk about?
Matthew Caine:
Well, there’s this huge debate and I try to stay out of it. Red, green, orange people’s preference with regards to red, green, orange, and I stay out of that debate. And you got Len your suggestions if you choose to, but to still, without any BA, because for me, Bear mind. I keep making mention of it. We’re very isolated from everything. So for me, it wasn’t necessarily a matter of red or green or orange. It was what was feasible and what works. So I, I don’t necessarily have a preference with regards to anyone. I would operate any piece of equipment from any manufacturer. It doesn’t matter once it works and they all do the job and do the job well, but there are some forums that one way may enter where some interviews may be heavily. All one end of the spectrum and others may be heavily on the other end and dispatch from. My thing is what works. What works for you? If you have the budget for it, then get, if you have the budget for B yet, B if you’ve been using beef for two decades and B has never failed you way switched to a or B or C stick to what you know, does this, my general consensus on that? If you have any, pointers on the
Trent Manning:
I don’t know about pointers, but I’ll give you my, opinion. And you know what they say about opinions as far as cutting units go, In my opinion, Jacobson is working their way out of golf for some reason. I don’t know why, but they’ve been struggling for years and years and years. And I never really had an issue with Jacobson the equipment until I couldn’t get parked for Jacobson equipment. So if it all, it’s all going to break, I don’t care what color it is. Every single one’s going to break and. I want to be able to get parts for it. I don’t want to be able to fix it. So if I look at Toro and John Deere cutting units, the reason I like Toro cutting units better is when you adjust real to bed knife, you’re making a positive movement on the bed knife or on the bed bar to move the knife. And on John Deere, you’re relying on a spring to move your real or move your bed knife closer together. And I’ve never been a big fan of that. And I liked Toros. The cutting unit frame is fixed together better. One thing I do like about the John Deere is the quick adjust feature that they have up and down. That’s nice. So if you could have a Toro cutting unit with a quick adjust, that might be one of the better cutting. Yeah. Out there and far as the attraction units I really liked the John Deere pro Gator. I think it’s superior to the Toro Workman. That’s just been my experience. When I worked for Jerry Pate, we worked on a lot of workman’s and my John Deere pro Gators. get 15 years out of a pro Gator.
Matthew Caine:
Whoa.
Trent Manning:
Yeah. And honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever replaced a clutch because the clutch was burnt out. They’re tough. And I rebuilt a bunch of transmissions because they did have some transmission issues back in the day. so that’s kinda my sense on that, but I do think it boils down to what you’re paying for the equipment and how good service and parts is.
Matthew Caine:
Yeah.
Trent Manning:
you can’t get your service in parts it’s no good to me. That’s the way I look at it. And then if I’m looking at a fairway mower and B fairway mower and a fairway mower is $8,000 more expensive than B. I’m probably going to buy a B if parts and service are equal and I’m not worried about what color it is, because I can’t justify to my boss and my boss can’t justify to our membership, how this one fairway mower cuts grass $8,000 better than the other fairway mower. You know what I mean? It’s not worth fighting that fight.
Matthew Caine:
Yeah. Is that what he is? What totally agree of, for me, it didn’t matter who parts of inability was always going to be the issue. Red, green, orange didn’t matter. Getting parts is lease a two month, wait, at least for anyone. That’s your next best thing? Was he praised? No. So I, kind of angry you guys that could get parks in a few days or a week early. I can’t do that. I cannot do that. I literally have to stock. I have a budget for my department. I have a budget for fuel, have a budget for oils and grease and general consumables. And I have a budget for my spare parts and my spirit parts budget is. Uh, On many of us a year and
Trent Manning:
wow.
Matthew Caine:
Yeah. Is large because I, have to buy my spare parts, literally in book, I need to purchase at least 50 60 of those and dollars worth of parts at a team full of conscientious Senate though. And it is, that’s how we have to do it because I can’t get parts as readily available as duress. So my inventory literally has to have everything to keep my machines going. And I literally have everything at set machines inventory actually. When we reopened, I bought extra machines so they could operate them any redundancy. So My greens Moore’s I bought an extra one and that is always parked until the one in operation at sees a certain or where usage and an effort to keep rotating them in a, in a redundancy. So that way I have two more hours that are fully commission. Good to go. They’re not going to give me any, or they shouldn’t give me any surprises. And there’s always going to be one, always ready to go if necessary. So if one does give me a surprise, there’s always a backup. I did that with my greens Moors. I did make teas Moors. I do that with my fair remorse, with my cutters and my approaches. I have literally a spare more for all of my tasks. They operate in a redundancy because it’s so difficult to get parts. It is ridiculous because.
Trent Manning:
I know Matthew Axton and Berinert. A lot of the same struggles, it sounds like getting parts and he stocks complete engines ready to go in the machine and all kinds of crazy stuff. So I can’t imagine what y’all have to go through and it really makes me appreciate the service we get here in the states. And I really don’t want to tell you, but normally if I order a John Deere part, there’s a warehouse just outside of Atlanta, which, I mean it’s an hour away from me. I’ll usually have the John Deere part of the next day.
Matthew Caine:
yeah.
Trent Manning:
the Toro parts. I normally have those the next day. If they’re in stock and Pensacola I’ll have them the next day, if they have to come straight from Toro, which is up in Minneapolis, I get them in two days. So no, no complaint on part.
Matthew Caine:
Yeah was ludicrous here.
Trent Manning:
Yeah, that is crazy. Are you ready for some rapid fire questions?
Matthew Caine:
I guess
Trent Manning:
Yeah, that’ll be fun. What’s your favorite movie?
Matthew Caine:
Harry Potter,
Trent Manning:
Awesome. What would be your last meal?
Matthew Caine:
my last meal would be brisket and grow potatoes.
Trent Manning:
Oh, bring it. I love some brisket. What are you most proud of?
Matthew Caine:
I am most proud of where I’ve come. I think I’ve come a long way. I think so. And I sit down and reflect on where I started on, especially how I approach things. I was a firecracker, always snapping, always upset, always annoyed. And that isn’t, that doesn’t help, especially with. Your health, your personal health? Aspect of it, I think. Yeah. I’m most proud of where I’ve come from in terms of? progression Progression.
Trent Manning:
That is awesome. That is really good. I love it. Tell the listeners how they can get ahold of you.
Matthew Caine:
I I’m on Twitter. I think my handle is keen to force it.
Trent Manning:
Matthew, this has been a huge pleasure and I hope you you’re laughing and having fun and I’ll love it, man. I love your personality. I love everything you’ve done over there. It’s amazing. No longer than you’ve been in the industry. All the things that you’ve created, just that I’ve heard in the last hour. So yeah. Kudos to you. You’re killing it and keep up the good work.
Matthew Caine:
Yeah. Thanks for having me. was absolutely nervous to get on this show. I think I sat with Corey at lunch after one of his classes at the golf show in San Diego and he was late. I was talking to him about my experiences in Barbados and Angus. It was a you guys. And he was like, oh, I need to get you on. I want to talk to Trent and we’ll get you on a, on a, on a podcast. And they do no I was so nervously. I’ve never done a podcast before. Well, Thank you for having me and thank you for listening to my story. And a hope that someone could take away something. If anything at all from, or what was said is this evening.
Trent Manning:
oh, absolutely. And I think that’s what I love about doing this is like you made the point where we’re all doing the same thing. We all do it a little bit different and picking up one thing. If you can listen to this podcast and pick out one thing, it was worth listening to. I hope the listeners have as much fun as I do. And the guest does because we always have a good time
Matthew Caine:
Yeah,
Trent Manning:
this is just fun. So thank you again, and I’ll definitely see you around in the WhatsApp. Do you plan on coming to Orlando next year?
Matthew Caine:
Yeah, I’m doing a class there,
Trent Manning:
Okay.
Matthew Caine:
so
Trent Manning:
Definitely. Look me up. I owe you a beer. Yes, yes, Yes, sir. All right. Thank you. I hope you enjoyed that as much as we did, we had a blast on that one. Matthew is such a great guy. And it’s amazing what all he’s done. With limited. Resources. That’s crazy. And I couldn’t imagine having to wait. Weeks and weeks to receive parts. And I can’t imagine getting a 50 or $60,000 order together. To just order parts. I mean, it takes me long enough to get a two or $300 order together. So, yeah, I couldn’t imagine. kudos to Matthew. He’s doing great things down there. It was really great meeting him at the show. I wish we’d got to spend more time together. That’s the way it always is a show. And while we’re talking about show. Make your plans now. I know Mike Rawlins is already a Megan plans. He was making plans. soon as we got back from San Diego, he’s ready to go. And I am too. I can’t wait. This is going to be a, a great show. A great time. we got to prepare early. You got to, got to get her stuff together. Until 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.