It was appropriate that the first day of Jacobsen's Future Turf Managers event here in Charlotte, N.C., ended with a tour of the recently opened NASCAR Hall of Fame because it was a day full of twists and turns for the 29 senior turf students in attendance, most of whom have just graduated and are heading for careers in golf course or sports turf management.
From a tour of the company's Wilmar production facility to a stop at the Quail Hollow Club for a presentation by superintendent Jeff Kent and demos of some of Jacobsen's latest and greatest turf equipment and a stop at the previously mentioned shrine to stock car racing — with a few leisurely bus rides tossed in for good measure — it was a jam-packed day for participants and a certain industry media member who was invited along for the ride.
And with the start of day two just an hour away — the agenda has us visiting Jacobsen's corporate headquarters for a few presentations (one by GCSAA's own Brian Wingerd on the value of association membership) and a look at its Jacobsen University training program, as well as a trip south to Columbia, S.C., to tour some of the sports facilities at the University of South Carolina — what better way to rip out a quick blog post than with ... PHOTOS!
The tour at Wilmar took participants through the entire production process, from parts fabrication to shipping, with an extended examination of reel manufacturing.
More from the tour of the Wilmar production facility.
Quail Hollow Club superintendent Jeff Kent (standing, far right), fresh off a successful hosting of the PGA Tour's Quail Hollow Championship, spoke to attendees about tournament prep and careers in golf course management.
Kent took the group to the nearby 10th hole at Quail Hollow to point out some specific maintenance practices that he employs.
For this group of attendees, the equipment demo portion of the show began with a look at Jacobsen's rotary and rough mower offerings.
Jacobsen's Eclipse walk-behind and riding greensmowers were put to the test during the equipment demo.
Last on the stop for this group of Future Turf Managers was the fairway mowers, where attendees got to test drive Jacobsen's LF 3800 and the SLF 1880.
Finally, the NASCAR Hall of Fame in downtown Charlotte, which has only been open for about a week. Even if you're not much of a NASCAR fan — and I would classify myself and about half of the attendees as passive followers of the sport — it was an interesting visit.
Jacobsen's Eric Sides, the training manager for the Jacobsen University program, is an actual NASCAR fan, and here he takes on one of the interactive displays at the NASCAR Hall of Fame, a pit crew challenge.
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