Reel Turf Techs Podcast

Episode 147: Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM

• Trent Manning • Episode 147

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On this episode of Reel Turf Techs, we’re talking with Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM, Equipment Manager at Lakewood Country Club in Dallas, Texas. From forklift operator to auto tech to golf course wrench, Tyler’s 21-year journey into turf began when he was asked to fill in for a vacationing mechanic and never left.

Now overseeing two assistants and a wide fleet including Toro, Deere, Stihl, Baroness, Jacobsen, and Kubota, Tyler shares how his ASE certification and fab skills help keep his shop running smooth. We talk welding setups, EMCP exams, earning his CTEM, and what it’s like transitioning from municipal golf to a Top 50 private club hosting a Korn Ferry Tour Championship. Bonus: fab talk, chop saw praise, and guitars.



Trent Manning:

Welcome to the reel turf techs podcast for the technician that wants to get reel follow along. As we talk to industry professionals and address hot topics that we all face along the way we'll learn tips and tricks. I'm your host, Trent. Manning let's have some this episode are real turf techs on golf course industries Superintendent radio network is presented by Foley county a strong supporter of equipment technicians and golf course maintenance departments everywhere Foley county offers a proven solution for above and below the turf for turf professionals To learn more about Foley company's line of real grinders bed knife grinders and the air to G2 family of products or to find a distributor visit www dot Foley C o.com Foley Ready for play Welcome to The Real Turf Text Podcast, episode 1 47. Today we're talking to Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM Equipment Manager at Lakewood Country Club in Dallas, Texas. Lakewood Country Club is a private 18 hole club. Tyler has two techs in the shop. He has Toro, John Deere Steel, Baroness, Jacobson, Kubota. Good mixture, everything. Let's talk to Tyler.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

All righty.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Light camera. Action. Welcome Tyler to the Realtor Turf Texas podcast. Thanks for coming on. How you doing today?

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

Well, I'm doing pretty good. Thanks for having me

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Yep.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

Forward to this for a while.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

awesome. How's, how's the weather in Texas right now? Is it getting hot?

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

a, it's getting hot and humid and, uh, it keeps threatening rain and severe storms and then it just kind of drizzle. So it's kind of is what it is at this point.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

I don't, it's weird. Normally we're getting rain almost every day, which is not typical. What we're getting rain in the morning. You know, a lot of times we'll get the evening thunderstorms that roll through, but this it rains in the morning for 30 minutes and then moves out. I don't know, it's just weird from what we

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

very weird.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Yep. Tell us how you got into the turf industry.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

So it was by sheer luck, I guess, I had gotten laid off working a factory job driving forklifts and also working in the tool room a little bit. And, uh, I couldn't find a job anywhere. So I was working for a buddy under the table doing some carpet and tile and we went golfing one day as work for some reason. And I was like, you know what? I really enjoy golf. Maybe I can just go work here. And my home course had a, a brand new superintendent and he just, he hired me to just be a regular grounds crew worker. And two, two months or maybe three months into it the mechanic at the time, he was just a part-time retired guy that was, spent most of his time working on the cart, he knew who I was'cause I'd been in the auto industry for a while and he had actually, uh. Knew who I was. So he asked me, he is like, Hey, let me uh, cross train you a little bit'cause I'm going on vacation for a couple weeks and you can, you know, handle whatever needs to be handled. I was like, all right, that's fine. Well, it, a lot of stuff hit the fan while he was gone and had to figure things out and started clicking. And so at that point when he come back, he had, uh, decided he was just gonna go work on the golf carts at the pro shop. And so he just left it to me. And then now it was probably seven months later, they had, uh, made it a full-time position at a municipal golf course. And, you know, the background I had, my dad had a small engine shop growing up.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Okay. Yeah.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

it was actually like, it was basically a Walmart, but did a service bicycles, lawnmowers, chainsaws and tires for cars. But I just grew up in that shop and I just learned stuff from his mechanics. I started fixing weed eaters and chainsaws nine, 10 years old and. I worked on bicycles forever and then, you know, here I am after, you know, 21 years in, in this industry. After getting a start out of complete randomness,

Trent Manning, CTEM:

No, that's awesome. That's, yeah. Good story. So you said something about automotive. Did you get automotive training or you just start working at a shop, or,

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

I started working at a shop, went through a training program. I ended up having a SE certifications and breaks and suspension. And then, you know, I've let those lapse long time ago'cause honestly hated working in the auto industry.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Yeah. Yeah. How long did you do the auto thing?

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

I was in the auto industry, started working in high school a little bit like at a tire shop, and then started doing more and more. And then I got out of that. I was about 20 years old, 21 right in there. And then I started working in factories just'cause that where I was from, that's like the only place you could, uh, really make any kind of money. So,

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Makes sense.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

yeah,

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Well, what's your, uh, least favorite part of the job? Is it sand?

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

you know, I hate sand, but I understand the necessary evil of it. But honestly, I'd say my, the thing I hate the worst of this industry, this job, anything like that is getting up at four 30 in the morning every day.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Yeah. Yeah, yeah.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

But it has the benefit of, you know, hey, I'm off work early and I've got time to do things. But then most things stop happen when it's like, I need to be going to bed right now.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Right, right, right. Yeah.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

So it's, it is gotta catch it is catch 22

Trent Manning, CTEM:

I don't, I mean, that is one of the things that I used to really enjoy about working at a golf course is starting early and getting off and then still having, um, you know, eight hours of daylight when you get off work.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

Yeah.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

you know, as you get older and you don't have as much energy, uh, you know, and you work hard all day and you're like, ah, I just kinda want to go home and take it easy.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

Yeah, exactly. Other than that, I, I would say it's probably sand.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

yeah. Yeah. Okay. Fair enough. Fair enough. What's your favorite tool?

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

What is my favorite tool? I would probably have to say my new, uh, chop saw I bought for working with metal.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

okay. What kind?

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

Uh, it's an evolution. I'm not sure if you've heard

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Uh, no. We're,

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

So it's a regular chop saw, like you'd solid blade carbide tipped and it chips it out instead of just grinding it out like your normal chop saw.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Oh,

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

then

Trent Manning, CTEM:

so

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

no, there's no heat to it.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

it's a cold saw, right?

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

It's a cold

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Or also known as

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

yeah. Evolution makes it, and it's, it's got a, low drag, low RPM motor. So you can't just buy the blade and put it on a chop saw.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

And, uh, I was turned onto that by my oldest son, actually. He's a, a welding fabricator building hand custom handrails stairs and all that.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Sorry. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

But yeah, so my, my son turned me onto that and man, it, it cuts through anything like butter.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Okay. Awesome. How, uh, are they? Very expensive.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

it depends on the model you get. The one I just got was shipping and everything. It was 6 89 I think,

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Okay.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

but the blades on it are guaranteed for 3,500 cuts.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Wow. Okay.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

Yeah. And then a replacement blade's like 80, 85 bucks. So it's not terrible for the longevity to get it. But I mean, I was cutting, uh, like I've been doing some. Some things that, you know, well, I guess I'm helping out the course with fence repair and all that, but, uh, I was cutting what was it, inch and a half square tubing that was a quarter wall thick. I mean, and it, it'll cut through that in 20 seconds. So it's a time saver for sure. And you don't get the wobble that you get out of the, the other style. So it'll actually cut it completely

Trent Manning, CTEM:

okay.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

And so when you're at welding 45 degree angles or cutting it at 45 and then you weld'em together, they're, they're right there. So it's, you don't have to cheat'em a little bit, hands down. Worth buying. Anyone else out there listening or even has one, they'll probably vouch for it. But if you don't have one and you're doing a lot of fabrication, pick one up.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

all right. No, that's awesome. And what was the name of it?

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

That's a evolution.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Evolution.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

Uh, you can pick'em up through Granger through their website. You can special order'em through like Home Depot according to their website, but sometimes you just can't trust that.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm gonna, I'm gonna check that out. That's, that's good stuff. Very

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

Get the all, get the new version, the all black. It's like the Max series, so,

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Okay. Very cool. What do you do to relax or find your balance?

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

oh man. The things I do and what I'd like to do, so I, I bowl on a Tuesday night league that's coming up ending, actually tomorrow's the last day, but it's been a 33 week

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Okay.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

it's been, it's, I'm kind of burnt out at the moment with that. I used to golf a lot. And then, you know, changing jobs and moving across the country and then moving again, has hindered the amount I've played. I, I've started playing a lot more here in Texas than I was when I was in Indiana. But for the most part, I, you know, watch Netflix or whatever, or I play one of my many guitars in my collection.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Oh, nice. All right. You need to, need to hang out with, uh, John Murray. He,

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

I know, right?

Trent Manning, CTEM:

the guitar builder. I hadn't heard from him in a while either. I need to reach out. Um, he's a super good guy too.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

Yeah. Like I miss the, uh, I used to have a bunch of bands when I was back home, you know, recorded an album, did a mini tour through California and the Western United States. So,

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Ah, cool.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

yeah, that was, it was fun. I miss, I miss that.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Yeah. I could only imagine. That's cool. Is uh, guitar the only thing you play?

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

so I grew up, was forced to play piano starting at six years And then I was able to quit playing piano once I got to middle school, but I had to pick an instrument in the band or the orchestra. And so I played the trumpet from sixth grade until I graduated high school. But I picked up the guitar on my own when I was 11. I found this really crappy acoustic guitar my mom had stuffed in a closet, and I learned playing on that. And I've never put the guitar down,

Trent Manning, CTEM:

That's awesome. Yeah, I don't, I'm, I'm not, uh, musically talented. So I always find it very interesting to watch somebody that is, you know, I don't, it's just impressive to, you know, and I grew up with this guy. His dad played the guitar and taught him how to play the guitar, and he can play the guitar really well. But then he started playing the banjo, and then it's like no matter what he picks up, he can play it. You know, he's one, one of those top, you know, like never, never even looked at one before and like, okay, just, uh, yep, okay, I got it now, you know, and start playing something just,

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

comes easy to that guy.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

yeah. Yeah. Blows my mind. Yeah. Really talented people out there. What's been, uh, one of your biggest challenges?

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

You know, uh, biggest challenge was moving across country, realizing where I was at after 14 and a half years, and pretty much at a dead end, making very minimal amount of money leaving my sons behind because, you know, divorced will do that. Taking that step and moving across country, not knowing a soul. Other than the people I interviewed with. And then, uh, ended up moving there to, you know, Newburgh, Indiana working for Victoria National. And that was an eyeopening experience going from a municipal course for 14 and a half years to a top 50 club in the country at And then hosting the Korn Ferry Tour Championship. So that was a challenge. And it was more on the personal side of things. It was a challenge as opposed to the job. I mean, it did have some things, but it took me a couple of weeks of being there to realize, you know, why am I so worried about, you know, my after cutt appearance when that's what I do, is I've always done it. You know, my cut quality is great. So I was, you know, I was putting, I think, a little more pressure on myself. Than I should have. And then, you know, kind of went from, uh, you know, working about 50 hours a week to about 70 to 80, which that will, that'll throw you for a loop too. And then, you know, some management changes happened and didn't see eye to eye with the guy at that, that took over at that point. And I made the decision to, you know, let's try this again and move again. And ended up here in Dallas, Texas and absolutely love it down here

Trent Manning, CTEM:

That's awesome. That's so good. Where, where were you at in California? Or like what area of

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

Oh, I wasn't in California. I grew up in southern Utah.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Oh, okay. You too. I, I'm sorry. I don't know

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

Oh no.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

thought you said something.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

up with California. I, I toured California with my band

Trent Manning, CTEM:

That's what I

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

that's where, that's where it was.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Southern Utah. All right. All, yeah. That's a, that's a big move.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

Yeah. That's a very big move.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

and that's gotta be like way out of anyone's comfort zone.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

You know, it was, and it was actually my kids, I'd actually gone through my second divorce and, you know, I was bouncing around between buddies, couches, basements, you know, back and forth at my parents' house a little bit here and there. And my kids were like, dad, you need to find a new job. You need to make more money so you can afford to actually live. And even if you have to move, I'd never even thought about that. So I thought about it for a while and, uh, decided I'd, you know, put my resume out there. And I used turf net and I ended up interviewing through Skype at 11 different count clubs across the country and one in The Bahamas.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Oh wow. Cool. Very

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

and so I was just like, wow, I guess I'm in high demand, which shocked me. And I was like that makes no sense. I'm just a little, little guy from, you know, southern Utah and ended up there. And. At Victoria National and I mean, I can't, there's some negatives about being there and, you know, the whole move, the personal things. But it was, uh, an eye-opening and an experience that I'm glad I did. And then, you know, doing it again and coming down here to Texas is giving me a lot more perspective on, you know, finding my my personal balance between work and, you know, home at that point. So,

Trent Manning, CTEM:

No, it definitely, yeah. Makes sense because some those high level clubs, you know, there's just so much more demand there

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

for sure there is.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

are so much higher.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

They are. And, and you know, it was great experience to learn and learn that, I don't wanna do that again.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Well, right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, I mean, a good friend of mine, uh, Howard horn, he's been on the podcast before too, but he was at the Golf Club of Georgia, which back in the heyday, like late nineties at real high end, 36 hole operation. And then he went from there and went to East Lake, and he was at East Lake for, I don't remember, two or three years, you know, so another super high end, thing. So I give him crap now because he works at Bear's Best and it's, it's a semi-private 18 hole course, and he works Monday through Friday, half a day Friday. I'm like, man, you're, you're semi-retired now, but you know, all these other, these other jobs he had, you know, he's doing the same thing 60, 70, 80 hours a week, you know,

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

Yeah. Well I had, you know, after being at Vic, I had some courses try to approach me from there and it was kinda lateral moves, same type of places, and it was like, yeah, it's, that doesn't seem worth it to me. And so it was like, no, I'll stay here and not move somewhere even more expensive and make the same amount of money, so I'll stay here. And then three years I was done. I had to figure out something different.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Yeah. No, that's awesome. Very, very cool. What's, uh, one of the strangest things you've seen around the golf course

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

Oh, man. Well, there's been a lot of strange things,

Trent Manning, CTEM:

that Yeah.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

you just, you just scratch your head at. Like how does that happen? Actually I would say one of the strangest things was like back home we had a, an issue with prairie dogs. They were an endangered species of prairie dogs, so we couldn't remove'em out of fairways or anything. The only place we were allowed to actually, you know, remove'em or whatever was the greens. So just seeing a prairie dog stop'em with a fairway mower, you know, just to let the prayer dog go down its hole and then it would attack the reel and get sucked in and, you know, scalp it and, you know, kill it. That, I mean, that's some strange things to see.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Yeah. Yeah.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

trying, trying to protect themselves. I would say, you know, some crazy things of seeing sprayers flipped on their sides because it's like, why would you take a fully loaded 300 gallon, uh, tank on that kind of a slope?

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Hmm. Yeah. Yeah. I

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

I think, I think the strangest things you see is just the lack of common sense at that point, and that that might just because people are in a hurry and they gotta get this done or whatnot. But I mean, just some strange things seeing, you know, even here in Dallas, you know, I had watched a, a Falcon or a Redtail talk, I guess it was just swoop down, take a squirrel about 20 feet away from me. I was

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Oh, wow.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

is, what is going on?

Trent Manning, CTEM:

That's so cool though. I love, you know, nature stuff is super cool. We got a couple, uh, red Tail hawks, uh, around our course, and they're always out there and they're always hunting.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

And they're, I mean, they, they're pretty they're, they've been around them en enough that they're, you know, they're not as shy when pe the golfers around. I mean, they're, they stay away from'em, but they're not like just flying off. They're just like buzzing up to a tree or just buzzing over 20 yards to the rough looking for stuff or whatever. It's seeing the wildlife and some of the things they do is kind of some strange things.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Oh yeah, yeah, for sure.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

So, but I mean, equipment wise and common sense is probably the most, most things you see that are, that surprise you and go, huh, that's interesting.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. And I don't, I don't know that the common sense is, is that common sometimes. And

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

I think you're right.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

I don't know if it's just the talent that we get at the golf course that lacks some of the common sense. But I mean, the other thing I do think, and I mean, just something I've noticed personally around here, so when I, I'm still living the same area that I grew up in, and, but when I grew up, it was a more rural area and I think. You know, all the kids that I grew up with, not all of them, but most of them, we just had more life experience, right? Just like working outside, working with our hands, you know? Um, and, and doing those things where I think people that grow up in, you know, an urban area, they don't get, you know, some of those things. Just like, for instance, my ex-wife, it was her best friend. She married this guy, uh, from New York and he moved down here to Georgia to be with her. And he had never driven a car, you know, never owned a car. I mean, this guy's 30 years old and nev ne never driven a car, um, because you didn't need to where he grew up in New York, you know, never, never mowed the grass. You know, I mean, just all these things like, wow.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

What's crazy is, you know, the employees we get and it, it doesn't matter what course it's at, at this point kids that don't know how to drive a stick.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Yeah. Yeah.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

So trying, trying to teach'em how to drive a prog And you're just like, oh, the clutch. I'm gonna have to replace this thing and I don't want to have to do that. And then they get it, they figure it out. And then some of'em talk about they want to go buy a car that's a stick now. And it's just okay, good luck with

Trent Manning, CTEM:

yeah, yeah. Good luck.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

I mean, I'm sure you grew up and you learned to drive on a manual transmission just like I did.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Yeah, we did. I mean, well, and I was, you know, way before I could drive a car, I was driving a tractor.'cause my best friend's dad he cut all the hay in my area, so, you know, for horses and cows and all that

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

So you were out bailing hay and

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Yes. Yes. And if I never see a square bell of hay it's too soon. I mean, I never wanna see another bail again.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

and there was a lot of that in my hometown. I mean, it was literally, as a kid you were, we were riding our bikes wherever we wanted. We had to come Oh, by the time the streetlights were on really? And we did everything that you could, we'd be out there with our 20 twos out rabbit hunting at 10 years old, not even worried about anything. You know, still you could take your gun to school, like in the, the gun rack in your truck.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Oh, yeah, yeah. Yep.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

I mean, we all come from a different, and now it's like my kids, even in the same town, they didn't even have those kind of experiences.'cause you know, it's changed so much.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

oh yeah. I mean the, yeah. The same high school that, you know, I, I graduated from Yeah. We. We had guns in our gun rack and you know, went on right after school. But

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

yep, exactly.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

now you can't do any of that stuff. Yeah. Just crazy. Do you have a mentor in the industry?

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

You know, I'd actually say my the biggest mentor I have is probably my, uh, original superintendent I worked for. He was, you know, he'd been an assistant that, that course was his first, uh, super job. And he had the patience to let me learn. And also, you know, he learned a lot at the same time being a super, he trained me on a lot of things and taught me a lot. Like with spraying, mixing chemicals, that kind of stuff. I've kind of pushed all that to the side'cause, you know, I don't really need to, I don't need to spray, I just need to make sure the sprayer's working. But he showed me the, the patience and humility, and he became one of my really, really good friends. He was always there for me, like when I went through my first divorce with my kid's mom, and even after I went through my second divorce, and I mean, when I had to talk to him about, I was thinking about, you know, leaving and he was my biggest supporter on that. And just the fact of the matter that he'd you know, gave me the time and showed me that, you know, you could start from nothing and be great at something. So I would say he would, he would be my, my biggest mentor in this industry.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

When what you said there, it kind of reminded me. So I worked for the same director of agronomy that I started with, but I hadn't worked for him this whole time. So I worked with him for seven years, or seven and a half the, the first stint and when I got ready to move on. You know, I, I went to him, told him, you know, what I was thinking, and he, you know, helped me talk through everything. He was so supportive through the whole thing. So it just makes me think if you're not working for someone that would support you, moving on, you might not be working for the best person. I'm not telling you to leave, but, you know, that's, I don't know, that just, it hits different, I think,

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

yeah. It,

Trent Manning, CTEM:

with

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

it,

Trent Manning, CTEM:

that.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

it does, you know, I mean, those guy, the, some of those supers are, I mean, I. There's a bunch of'em out there that care about their employees probably way too much than they probably should. You know, let'em slide with this or that when they're having a rough day. But at the end of the day, I mean, it makes that person better. Like in my situation, you know, I slacked off a lot after my first divorce and I ended up having a drinking problem for a while. And you know, he just finally, it's like, dude, you need to figure this out. And he brought it to my attention that I didn't realize I was screwing up And, you know, for him to have the patience to not fire me and that kind of thing, I mean, it, it turned me around like, oh man, you know, this guy cares about me as an individual as well as an employee. And if he's got the best of both of us at that point, then it works out for him in the long run. And, you know, it turns out a better situation.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Yeah. No, that's good. That's good stuff. What would be your dream job opportunity?

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

Oh, dream job opportunity, winning the lottery, does that count as a job?

Trent Manning, CTEM:

I don't know. I don't sure. I.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

you know, I, some people I think would be like, oh, I, you know, I dream job would be, you know, working at Augusta or whatever. And I, I look at that and I go, I just want to, my dream job would be just a nice little muni that pays me really well. Where, you know, you don't have to stress and worry and you Know, sit around and have coffee with people or somewhere in Hawaii maybe, you know, that'd be kind of

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Yeah. Yeah. There you go.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

as tropical. But as in this industry, you know, I think, I don't necessarily say there would be a dream job. I think the dream job would be the one where you feel that you're treated the best, you're respected, and you're compensated for your skills.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Mm-hmm. Yeah. No, that's,

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

That would be what I would say is the dream job right there. And honestly, I'm, I feel like I'm at that point right now at where I'm at with here in Texas.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

That's so good. That's awesome. Yeah. Yeah. Really good. Do you, uh, you got a technician you would like to work with for a day?

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

You know, I don't have one single one. There's a few that I'd like to work with for a day.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Let's go through'em. Yeah. Who?

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

well, we'll start off with you

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Oh, come on. Yeah. That's all

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

just because, just'cause we're face to face.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Of course you gotta say that. Yeah. So it's,

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

Well, yeah, but No, for sure. For surely. I would actually like to work with you for a day.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Well, you're, you're more than welcome. Anytime you want to come to Atlanta, you just let me know and, uh, we'll make it happen and we'll go visit some other cool places too.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

yeah. See, and I'd like to, I'd actually like to work with Austin Wright for a day.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Yeah. Yes. Yep.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

Actually, uh, j Jr Wilson as well, and Kayla definitely would like to work with Kayla for a day. She looked, she seems like it would be a riot

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Yes. She's a lot of fun. Did you get to spend any time with her at, in San Diego? A little

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

yeah, just, just chit-chatting in the hallways and stuff like that for a while.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

a good one.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

she's great and you know, she did my c Tim at Testament,

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Oh, okay. Yeah, yeah. Yeah.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

and then, you know, I'd like to work with Hector Velasquez for a day. Funny story about Hector is so I went to a conference or a, a school that he was doing at, when I was in Utah. He was, uh, he had moved out there to Utah at a Riverside Country Club, and he had put on a through the Utah chapter of the G-C-S-A-A, they did a, uh, service school type. Seminar. And so me and my boss went up there and we, I didn't know what to expect and you know, so I got to meet him. And then we were, and they did it at a different course than when he was working at it, at the one he was working at. And then, it was, it was fun,, he went over his, plastic welding stuff and his, his wire stuff. And it was just, learned about what, what, how he was. So like six months later, you know, I hadn't told anybody that I was moving to Victoria National. I get a random phone call and it's Hector.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Okay.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

He's like, I'm like, how did you get my number? He is like, I got connections. Don't worry about that. I just want to tell you. Congratulations. I know where you're going. I was like, how do you know where I'm going? He's like, don't worry about that.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Huh.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

He's like, he's like, you got some pretty big shoes to fill. But, and then he gave me the biggest advice. He is like, don't fill those shoes, fill your own shoes. And I was

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Ah, nice.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

So I'd like to work with Hector, you know, other than seeing one of his things or, you know, bumping into him at the shows and all that. I think it would be fun to work with Hector for a day.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

No, that's so good. Yeah, hec Hector's a good one. He's awesome.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

yeah, seeing, you know, I'd like to, I'd like to work with Brian Eland again. I used to work with Brian a lot just'cause of the Dormy network and, you know, he'd come up to help us with the tournament and I went out to Arbor Links

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Oh, okay.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

and stuff. Brian's a riot. He's fun, fun to be around, and he's got really good ideas. And he's very technical, so it's, it's, you can learn from him.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Yeah.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

I think those, that would be kind of my list of guys I'd like to work with for a day.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

That's awesome. Yeah. Yeah. No, that would be, uh, that'd be fun. If you can work any of that out. I wanna hang out with you while you're doing it. I mean, that's fun. You know? It's so much fun. And I don't, yeah. For anybody, uh, listening, if you hadn't checked out the YouTube channel, definitely check it out. But we just dropped a episode or a video with John Patterson, so I, I spent a day with our video guy, Kevin at his shop. It was a Sunday, I. And pretty much spent all day over there and, you know, he was showing how he does his check-ins with his, uh, John Deere walk mowers, and we did a shop tour, just, I mean, a bunch of fun cool stuff. You know, I, I don't know, anytime you get a chance to spend, you know, with somebody else do it.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

Well, and that's the thing that's, that's really cool about our industry, especially on the equipment management side, is. No one's out to like hide the information from We're all in this together. We know it's a small, tight-knit community. And so it's like you can call a half a dozen guys or even make a post on Twitter or a post on Facebook group, and you're gonna get some guys that give you crap on there for even asking the question, other people or hey, you know, try it like this. This is how I do it, you know? And just to see that nobody's really opposed to helping another person. And even if it's like five different people saying five different things, one of those things might click and worked for that for you on that situation. And then we've got some of the, you know, sometimes I'm like, they've nerded out way too much with some of this stuff, and those guys are a ball full of knowledge and they're great. Just some of the conversations I've had at, you know, at. Even, uh, here in Dallas with, you know, Tony Bevelo and stuff like that. Just random stuff, and it's just like, how'd you think about that?

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Yeah.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

That's, that's a good idea. You know, it's like, all right, cool. But it's just like, that's kind of the reason I like to work with some of these other people to see how they do it and see if some of the things that they do, I could implement into mine, or some of the stuff I do, maybe they can implement into theirs. You know, just make it that much easier for everybody and you know, everyone on the same page of things.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Yeah. And that's what I like about the local education. I know y'all did something at Tony's shop a couple years ago'cause I was there.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

Yeah. Which did one in, in February there as well with, uh, Mike Rollins,

Trent Manning, CTEM:

okay. Yeah. Well, but what I was saying, like, I like seeing other shops.'cause just like you said, and it don't matter who shop it is, you can pick up something, you know, from anybody's shop, A little idea. They're like, oh wow, okay. Yeah. Why didn't I think of that? You know, just little, little things. Um,

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

Little tiny things that can go a long way.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

yeah, one, so the class I do at the golf course. Industry show. What is it now? It's not golf industry show. It's not GIS anymore. It's trade show and conference like.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

Yeah,

Trent Manning, CTEM:

that's what it's called now. Anyway, the class that Austin Wright and I are doing, all of the stuff that I put in there is ideas I've seen at other people's shop. I mean, there's, you know, a handful of stuff for my shop, but everything else is everybody else's shop.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

Yeah, I mean the, the round table stuff that we do, I mean, I was there, you know, sat in on that and it was great. You know, it's, you just hear some people that you can tell they're just fresh into the industry and they're just like gathering it all up. And other people kind, sometimes they roll their eyes at things and other times they're like, oh, hey, you know, that's actually really cool. Maybe I should, and then you, you get random people just start and asking random questions that, and it's just like, all right, good. This is good to see. Like the round table discussion is always a fun, fun, interactive thing.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Yeah. Yeah, yeah. No, that's good stuff. What do you know now? You wish you'd known on day one?

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

oh man, that sand is the devil. You, there's no, oh. What's the, how do I wanna phrase that? Um, there's no fix for stupid.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

Then also one of the biggest things is, you know, you gotta keep it simple And not overthink it because that's when you start having issues. But I would say one of the biggest things that, something I wish I knew then as I do now, is that it takes a while to get to be proficient enough. And then once you think you're proficient, you learn something new and just go I don't know anything. And so to have the knowledge I have now when I started, I think would've been a lot better. And I think that could, you know, there needs to be some more schooling, some more training, you know, in this to get people into this in an earlier stage in life. I mean, I'm not sure how it was for you when you got into this industry, but it was, I had to learn everything and figure it out on my own.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Yeah, no, I was, I mean, I was lucky enough, I had a guy that, you know, taught me a lot about mechanicing, if you will, and he knew, you know, some about cutting units, but, you know, I, I definitely learned some bad habits too,

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

Oh yeah, for sure. I think, I think you can do that. Like when I first started in it, you know, I really didn't know anything. And the guy that he barely, I mean I proved him wrong and got yelled at him'cause he was adjusting reels. He was, uh, setting his height and then he was adjusting the bed knife.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Okay.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

And then I got chewed out by him.'cause he's like, you're gonna do it the way I tell you to. I was like, yeah, but your height changes at that point. You're not even cutting grass when you set your height and then all of a sudden you move your bed knife. Well now it's off three or 4,000. Oh, that's bs. And then he comes back to me like a week later and he is like, you know, I tried it your way and you're right. And I was like, it's like just simple looking at it, you know? It's a moving part, so let's, let's get it where it needs to be. And, and I think the other thing was something I wish I would've learned now or new then that I know now is it's not as lucrative as it should be.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

yeah, yeah. No, it should definitely be more lucrative. It has become more lucrative, but it still ain't where it needs to be.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

Yeah, exactly.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

We, we still got a ways to go.

Trent Manning:

Get ready for tips and tricks

Trent Manning, CTEM:

What kind of tips and tricks you got you wanna share with us.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

Tips and tricks. Save your back, get a hoist

Trent Manning, CTEM:

yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

I mean, that's kind, kind of common knowledge. I mean, I've been dealing with some back issues this year. And it's been going on for the last, you know, six or seven. But a lot of it's the stupidity things I did as a kid, you know, racing dirt bikes, climbing trees, jumping fences, soccer. Soccer, you know, skateboarding, all that stuff. But I worked on my back for 14 years and didn't have a lift, and so didn't even have a, a hoist. And so I was lifting reels into the, into the grinder, lifting'em onto the bench. I mean, 5,400 Toro reels into there. I mean, it's like, you know, so I've gone through the ringer on my back. My biggest tip and trick is keep it simple, stupid, and make it easier on yourself,

Trent Manning, CTEM:

No, that's really good advice. And yeah, take care of your body if you can. You know, and I, you know, I have a couple younger guys working for me in the shop, and I tell'em all the time, like, don't do it. You know, I did that a hundred times and my back hurts

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

I, I tell my, my two assistants the same thing and they've gotten really good, they've seen me coming in, can't even walk, you know, and it'll, I'll throw my back out at work, like lifting my arm up on occasion and it's just like, what the heck just happened? I'll probably need surgery at some point, but I'm gonna prolong that as long as I possibly can.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Yeah,

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

And, and I think one of my other tricks, tips, or tricks is, I don't know if I'm allowed to plug any brands of anything, but if I am,

Trent Manning, CTEM:

don't care.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

Oh, okay. I, I didn't know if I was allowed

Trent Manning, CTEM:

No, I don't. Don't bother me.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

the consistency of a birdie bar

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Oh, okay. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

from par bar, that's one of my biggest tip tips right there.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Okay. Yeah. I love a I, that's all I use is Birdie Bar. I love them.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

I mean, I used Accu Gauge for so long and you know, they're groomer gauge. I like it still, but my birdie bar, there's no flex. And I know you felt the flex of the anything else. So my

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Have you used his, uh, groomer gauge?

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

I haven't bought his groomer gauge

Trent Manning, CTEM:

I really like it,

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

You like it better than the Accu Gauge?

Trent Manning, CTEM:

yeah, the reason I like it is it has, uh, a pen, if you will, that rests on the front roller and that pen's movable so you can get it to what you know, so you're hitting in the right spot so you can still, you can spin your reel, you know,'cause some of'em I've seen has like a little screw that hooks on the bed knife, but then you can't, then you can't turn the reel and spin the groomers.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

I'll have to look into that one.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

so his hooks on the front roller. And what I like about it is you hold it like right behind the gauge, so you know, you're kind of holding onto it like this. And you can take, uh, your wrist and push up on the dial indicator, and then you can spin it with the other hand. Then you make your adjustment spin. Make an adjustment.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

So at that point, you're not having to shut the groomer off to, actually, you can just spin it from the reel to spin it. Oh, man. That would make it so much easier.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

You're welcome. Miles. No, I'm kidding. No. Miles

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

they make a great product. I'm actually looking at, I, I wish they was selling, he could do net 30 or,'cause we don't do purchase cards, so it's like, I either gotta pay for it outta my own pocket, then get a reimbursement, or, you know, if he's got a distributor that I can get a, you know, an account with or whatever, because it's a nightmare. We, we, we have one. You know, but it's just like, I would rather have an account somewhere instead of, you know, paying for it out of my pocket and then get waiting for reimbursement. But I really like the product. And I only have the birdie bar, so I'd like to get two more birdie bars and possibly their, their groomer gauge, if it's that good.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Yeah. No, it is. I really, I really like it for sure. Um, yeah. He makes, he makes some good stuff. Yeah. Any other tips or tricks?

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

the other tip is, like I was talking about earlier, buy that evolution. Chop saw.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Okay. Yeah.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

it's a game changer. It really is. Even if you're just cutting a, you know, just a piece of strap steel. It's a game changer. I was cutting some rebar the other day and it's just like, be right through it. It was almost like not as fast chopping through like a, a piece of wood, but for cutting metal, man, it's, it's a game changer.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Yeah, I'm, I'm going to Google that and hopefully find a video and watch, watch it in action. I'm sure there's some

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

Oh yeah. They, they actually have a great video on their website and they've got, they've got it. It's literally a comparison between it and like, I think it was a Milwaukee Chop saw or maybe it was a DeWalt, one of the two. And it literally starts the video and timer starts and it's a guy like, he's putting on his safety glasses, his gloves and all that, loads it into the machine, cuts the thing, and the guy still hasn't even got the other one set up and they're just like both doing the same thing. And then he's, it's just counting the timers, you know,'cause you're having to let it just come down with a regular grind. Saw, you can't force it. And this one you're just, it's right through it. So, and then he goes back behind and welds two things together and puts a back up there by the chop saw while that guy's still cutting.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Wow. Okay.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

yeah, it's a great comparison video.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Yeah. Good stuff.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

but I don't know how much you fabricate. I'm sure you do a lot of stuff.'cause you, you wouldn't think that if I would've, that's, that's something I should say that I knew if I knew now then that I know now is how much more I should have paid attention, like at, in welding class in high school and stuff like that.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Oh yeah, yeah, yeah.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

Because I, you wouldn't think that, you gotta make a lot of, you know, fabricate a lot of stuff until you actually start fabricating a lot of stuff and you're like, huh.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Yeah, I know. It's, uh, we almost need, uh, like, autobody classes,

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

Oh, that

Trent Manning, CTEM:

some of that stuff, you know,

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

Pla plastic welding classes.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

yeah. Yeah. I don't, the thing that I've got into lately is, uh, the hot staples.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

Oh, okay.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Those, yeah. For plastic welding, basically. But you know, it's a staple that goes in.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

things of the two prongs.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

things. That is awesome. Yeah. Yeah. That's some good stuff.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

I think one of the cooler tools I've gotten lately though is, uh, a riv uh, nutsert tool.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Okay. Yeah.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

The things are great.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Yeah that's Sandy.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

Some of the stuff they've had

Trent Manning, CTEM:

You wanna talk about,

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

that has nothing to do with our equipment.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

but say

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

What's that?

Trent Manning, CTEM:

it cut out there for a minute. What'd you say?

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

Oh. Uh, some of the things they've had me, you know, fabricate, not for our equipment or anything, but just for, you know, signage for like the clubhouse and stuff. And that nut or tool has come in handy to hang signs like crazy. I.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Oh, yeah, yeah,

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

So, yeah.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

yeah. For sure. You wanna talk about C 10?

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

Yeah.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

was your CA experience?

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

So it wasn't as tough as I thought it would be. I was, you know, I was nervous. I'm terrible at taking tests, so doing, you know, I just kept putting off equipment levels one and two. And then as finally, like last summer, I was like, I need to take some time off. I gotta burn it before I lose it. And I literally did both, both testing for levels one and two in literally like a day, day and a half at the most, I think I was. And I passed the test with really good, good scores, which I know my stuff, but I am terrible at taking tests. And so every time I'd click the submit button on one of the tests, I'm like, oh, I'm not gonna pass. And it's like, oh, you passed and you had this. And then, you know, I started the, I'D started working on the. The attachment from the rubric quite a while ago. Kind of getting familiar with it and just going through things at the shop to bring those to kind of what they were wanting to see, I was a little nervous with it, with the whole process. You know, I'm being, you know, on screen, showing off everything that I do and everything that I've done and, you know, what my shop looks like and all that. And I was more nervous about it than I, I should have been, because right away, I mean, Kayla was just like, Hey, we're here for you to help you out, so we're, we're gonna go through this and, you know, we're gonna make this easy on you of, you know, understanding what we're looking for and you know, what we wanna see and all that. So it was, it was, it was a great experience, honestly. At the end of the day, when you look at it, it's kind of, it seems like a daunting task. The fact that I have my director of agronomy was very supportive of me doing that because it, you know, brings a shop into line and also, you know, focuses what I I'm capable of doing. And you know, like lately, I mean it, I don't do a lot of. Wrench turning.'cause I've got my two assistants that I've been training and I'm supervising them more than anything. I mean, I'm still jumping in there and grab, doing things that I need to be done or things they've never done before. I'm right there showing'em how to do these things. But they've been great to have and they help me out on a lot of the stuff with the shop prep, you know,'cause it's like, Hey, we need to get this stuff done. Help me out here. You know, it'll benefit you it'll show you what I have to do with this whole thing. And keeping you guys safe and keeping all the other employees safe and having things marked out and the visual stuff and, you know, understanding, you know, the waste disposal of things. Yeah. You guys just know that, hey, we change oil and we, we put it in this, in the, the container. Well now you understand why. We gotta make sure we have everything where it needs to be. And you can't really mix'em and contaminate things otherwise. What are we gonna do with all this, this waste that we can't get rid of? You know? So it it, it was a great experience, honestly.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

No, that's so good. That's awesome.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

and Diana from the G-C-S-A-A is an angel when it comes to all that stuff.'cause she, I don't know how many phone calls I made to her in the last two years about it, of what am I going to, what do I expect? What, you know, is this gonna be okay? You know? And she's like, yeah, it's gonna be just, we're here for you, you know, that we wanna see people get this and achieve this goal. And it feels great to have it because, you know, we're in a class that doesn't have that many. I think when I, when I got my certification, I was number 41

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Okay. Yeah. Yeah.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

and it's the C a's only been out, what, two years? Almost three.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Yeah, probably three.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

the certification's about three years now. I mean, and so I talk to people, I've got a guy at a course here in. In Dallas area that's looking at doing it. And, you know, he's called and questioned me a few times about things. I actually got another guy, uh, in Louisville, Kentucky, that's called me a couple of times asking about some stuff. I worked with him before, well, not worked with him, but knew who he was. You know, when I was in Indiana, he was at another course in Indiana. He'd called me about some things and vice versa. And so, you know, he's called me a few times asking about it. I've got a, my old assistant from Vic, he's at his own course now I keep trying, plugging it into his brain. He needs to start looking into doing this stuff.'cause he is been doing this a long time now and he should probably just go ahead and do that.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Yeah. Good on you. That's

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

I'm, I'm preaching it, trying to get more and more people involved in doing it. And, you know, I think North Texas has a lacking of the equipment manager side of things for training. It's. Usually it's like me and me and Tony are always talking about it. Whenever we see each other about trying to get more education, try to get some events, get a group together, even if it's, you know, people are talking about it, the at the round table and stuff like that of, you know, get your association, get, you know, try and do a night, a month or night every couple months where you guys just go and hang out. You can talk about stuff. You, you can go bowling and shoot the shit

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Yeah. Right. Whatever it is. Yeah.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

yeah, and we have a lack of that here in the North Texas. I look at some of these other sections that you see all their, the different and the turnouts that they And it's just like, holy cow, how do we get that here? And it, I think it's, you know, it's, I mean as far as I know, me and Tony are still the only CTMS in the state of Texas.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Oh, okay. Yeah.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

And that's a, it's a big state with a lot of golf courses and we're the only two, unless somebody else, since I've, since I'd gotten mine has gotten there since then. But

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Well, I'm trying to think. I mean, me and John Patterson might be the only two in Georgia.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

Seems like most of'em are all in like Wisconsin and

Trent Manning, CTEM:

yep. Wisconsin, there's a lot. And then Florida, they got a lot in Florida. Yep.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

I mean, it's like, but I'm, I recommend it to any, anyone that's looking into it. Even if, I mean, yeah, there are the few requirements. You've gotta be an equipment manager for three years before you do the C 10, but you can do your levels one and two, you've been in the industry for five months. You could start taking those, no big

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Right, right.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

But the C tam, yeah, there is that minimum of three years as an equipment manager, which is, you know, in some, some of these guys that want to get it, I mean, I don't think they'll end up. If they stay where they're at, probably won't have that opportunity to become the equipment manager'cause they're just gonna be an assistant mechanic or and it's like, maybe you need to move on to really do that or convince, you know, maybe you can get that, you know, you gotta figure it out. But that's the one hindrance. I, but I, I agree with it as well.'cause in the superintendent side of things, they gotta be a super, for a minimum of however many years it is before they can try to be certified. I get that. But what, for the people that don't have the opportunity to become an equipment manager like certain courses, you know, they're just gonna be a head mechanic and that's all they're gonna have there. There's not gonna be an equipment manager. And so it's and some of the clubs won't pay for, you know, the national dues or anything. And do they want to pay out of pocket the 95 or I think it went up to 115

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Yeah.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

that's still not that bad for the whole year, but it's like, do they wanna pay for that?

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Why don't far as I know, you can still get the deal through R and r.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

yeah, I mean, that one they, they just give you a, a

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Right, right, right. A credit. So I mean, it essentially pays for your membership though.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

yeah, exactly. My boss will ask me all the time, why don't we get 125, a hundred whatever dollar credit from our, uh, because I see Tim, or because I'm an equipment manager. Oh, okay.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

yep.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

Which I think that's great. Of RR to

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Yeah. Yeah. No, it's awesome that they're doing that. That's good stuff.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

I mean, I'm sadly to say it, there's a lot of things I've been buying from RR lately, because some of the things from Deere and Toro have just gotten so out of hand on their pricing,

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Yeah.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

and it's just like, I don't wanna use an r and r reel, but when I'm, I can get the r and r reel for. Two thirds less the cost of what they're trying to charge me. For one, it's like, what's our option? We have budgets we have to deal with. Yeah. Is the quality there? Probably not. But when you don't have the the budget to just drop whatever they want to charge you for anything, it's whew.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

no, it's, it's, uh, it's Rous for what, uh, John Deere and Toro, and I'm sure Jake too. I just don't have any Jake. But they're charging for parts and for equipment. I mean, even a, a brand new piece of equipment. I mean, it's absurd how expensive it is,

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

That's, I guess I could throw into the things I wish I knew then that I know now. If I would've known the price of equipment, I would've figured out a way to start building my own equipment so I could cash in on some of that money.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Right, right. Yeah, no, it's. It's something else. Yeah. It's crazy and

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

that's the thing with specialty equipment, I guess.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

yeah, but it is not that special. I mean it is, but

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

I mean, some of the technology Yes. Is, you know, I, I get that some of the, the cost is there because, you know, hydraulic systems are not

Trent Manning, CTEM:

mm-hmm.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

You know, diesel engines aren't cheap, but as a package, it shouldn't be that much money.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Well, I mean, for instance, um, I had a John Deere prog Gator 2028 fuel injected Pro gator, a fuel pump from John Deere$604

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

Yep.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

one fuel pump. So, and it's a Bosch fuel pump. And so, you know, I punched the number in to Google and I could have got the Bosch fuel pump for whatever, 200 bucks. And I ended up getting one from O'Reilly's for$60 and I mean, it works fine.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

exactly. I mean, I ran into that even years ago with like starters from, for Toro Mowers or whatever, and you, you pull it off, you go to your local parts house, they can cross reference that and it, you know, it crosses to like a, a 1992 Toyota Corolla and you can buy the, a brand new starter for like 120 bucks. It's like, you're gonna charge me 600 bucks for a starter.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Yeah. I don't know.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

seem right.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

That's crazy. You, you,

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

they're special, but they're not. And you know, guys like us, we find to the workaround for that,

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Yeah. I mean, you got to, like you said, we got budgets and, and all that stuff. We gotta keep the equipment running for

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

Yeah. Well, gates they came out with a master interchange like app on your phone now. I've been able to find almost every belt

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Oh, really? Okay.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

for John Deere's and everything, and then you, you cross it.'cause I mean, uh, what belt was it? A clutch belt on a two 20 E

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Okay.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

and John Deere wants like 50 something bucks for that. I was able to get it through O'Reilly through using the Gates Master thing, and it was like 12 bucks.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Really? Yeah. Yeah. I

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

So it's that's another tip right there. Is that Gates Master thing.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Yeah. I'll have to check into that. I hadn't, I hadn't used the app. I've used the gates, you know, cross reverence online, I guess, but

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

Yeah. Yeah. They came out with the, the, my O'Reilly guy. I guess you use O'Reilly

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I do.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

You know, they, I've got an outside sales rep that stops biweekly here and he, he actually had the Gates rep with him like two weeks ago and they had the brochure for it'cause they just rolled it out. So I was like, oh, okay, that'll be great. I'll, I'll try that. And I guess the other one is, you know, Wix Filters app. That thing's great So,

Trent Manning, CTEM:

That's one thing I don't, I mean, I like O'Reilly's, but I've been getting my Wix filters from Amazon'cause they're cheaper from Amazon and I get, you know, shippings just as quick and all that stuff, so,

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

And I'll tell you what, the best deal I ever had for parts and equipment was when I was working for that municipal back home.'cause we had state pricing for everything,

Trent Manning, CTEM:

uh, yeah.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

dude. I was paying like three,$4 for like a 10 56. Wix filter like a big hydraulic filter. I was paying like 14

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

the 4, 4 6, 4 9 air filter that they're like 30 bucks now, even from O'Reilly. And I was getting those for like six bucks a piece on state contract. That was great. And I was like, I, I go somewhere else and it's like, I don't have this pricing anymore. And I'm like, man, that seems expensive for that filter. No, that's just normal price without state price contract, you know, contracts. So it's like, oh, okay. That makes sense now.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Well, I don't know. Yeah, if you've talked to, uh, your O'Reilly's rep, but they can usually work a little on the pricing.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

Yeah. They, they do we get a discount with our corporate account that we have. And so it's, what I see on their website is I pay cheaper than that when it's billed. So. But it's, it's, it's nice that way. And surprisingly, you know, I've never thought much of O'Reilly in my life until I moved here to Dallas.'cause they, that's who they had. They used to use Napa, but Napa here was terrible for'em. So, and they have been really good. Well, it's like, wow. I've never thought much of O'Reilly until now. I use'em and it's like, eh, they're actually really good.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Yeah, no, I've, I've been happy with O'Reilly's and kind of the same thing. I didn't know of them that well. And I'd always use Napa. And it's funny. So we had Curley's Auto part in my hometown, and you would go in, it was awesome, you know, old school auto parts store. And you went in there and you talked to Peanut, and I'm not making this up. And Peanut had every parts book memorized and you know, you'd hold up a part as you are walking in and he'd say, oh, that's off. Such and such, such and such, such and such. You know, I mean, he was just one of those guys. Awesome. Um, but anyway, it got bought out by O'Reilly's, so then I started using O'Reilly's and I'm like, this ain't too bad, you know, and peanut's still there. And he's still, you know, everybody's typing on the computer and peanut's going and getting the catalog out and he's looking through the, the Wicks catalog or Gates catalog or, you know, whatever it is to fi find what we needed.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

Reminds me of my old Jacobson's parts lady from back in the day. Like, I'd call her up and say, Hey, I'm, look, you know, I'm working on this piece of equipment and I need a, you know, the, the fan belt. She just rattles off the part number and I, as I, before I can even like find it, I'm, and then she just. And I'm like, how did you know that? It's like, I've just been doing this for so long. We just got a, what's funny is we just got a, a Jake dealer here in Dallas, like distributor and the guy come over, well, we know a lot of the same people from Utah'cause he's from Utah

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Okay.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

actually worked for the same company that this lady did. And I, so I was talking to him about, did you ever know Suzette? And he's like, actually that lady was crazy. She just know a part number off the top of her head. And I'm like how? I don't understand that.'cause it's so many different pieces of equipment, so many different part numbers. And it's I guess it's just a savant when it came to numbers. Probably like this peanut guy, he

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Yeah,

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

like peanut Yeah. Savant with that. So it's like, wow.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

That's funny. That's good stuff. Were you ready to do some rapid fire stuff?

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

Sure.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

All right. What's your favorite movie?

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

My favorite movie is Varsity Blues.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

that's a good one. Yeah, I hadn't seen that in forever too. Great movie. What would be your last meal?

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

My last meal, a ribeye with a baked potato.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Okay. I love it. Yeah, ribeye, definitely hands down, best cut of steak. There is, and people wanna argue all the time, but there's really

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

No, it's, it's, it's ribeye,

Trent Manning, CTEM:

that's real eye. What are you most proud of besides your family?

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

you know, being able to accomplish getting my CE actually,

Trent Manning, CTEM:

That's so good.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

to, never went to school, but I feel proud, uh, that I have that.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Well, you should. I mean, that's awesome. It's an accomplishment.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

outside of, you know, my family, that's, that's my biggest accomplishment.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

That's so good. I love it. That's awesome. Well, good deal. Um, tell the listeners how they can get ahold of you. You got a email? I know you're on Twitter.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

Yeah. If they need to get ahold of me for any questions, you know, you, they can get ahold of me at tBradshaw@lakewoodcc.com.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

All right.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

And then my Twitter, uh, I can't even remember off the top of my head what it is. I think it's just Tyler Bradshaw, I think.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Yeah, that sounds right,

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

think, I think, I think that's what it's, I mean, I get on there, but I don't pay attention to my profile'cause I'm always looking for things. So I can't even remember what my profile, if I got logged out of my Twitter, I probably wouldn't know how to get back in. Mm-hmm.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Same here. That's good. Well, thank you so much for being on. It's been a blast. Really enjoyed it.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

It's been a pleasure. I've been looking forward to it. You know, I was kind of nervous at first, like, ah, and then I was like, you know what? I know Trent he's pretty down to chill guy. And it, it's just been like a conversation.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

that's all it is, man. Yeah. And

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

So.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

anybody else is listening and you want to be on, you just heard it from Tyler, you can do it. It's just two dudes talking.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

Yep. It's just a conversation. It's kick back, chill, and relax.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

That's it. Yeah. And I don't, I mean, I've had plenty of guests that cracked a cold beer or had a mixed drink in their hand. I don't care. I don't, I mean, it

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

I I've been sitting here with,

Trent Manning, CTEM:

or a Dr. Pepper. Yeah. Or a Dr. Pepper. You know, to eat his own.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

Yeah.

Trent Manning, CTEM:

Well, thank you again.

Tyler Bradshaw, CTEM:

Hey, anytime, Trent, I appreciate the opportunity

Trent Manning:

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.