Member Spotlight

Member Spotlight on Brendon Connor

Superintendent of Grounds, The College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts

Where did you go to school?

I began my turf career at Wachusett Country Club in West Boylston, MA during high school working under Donald and Matt Marrone. This is where my passion for turf began. After high school, I attended UMass Amherst, Stockbridge School of Agriculture majoring in Turfgrass Management. A few years later, I attended Worcester State College majoring in Business.

Where did you go from there?

After my first year at UMass, I completed my internship program at The International Golf Course in Bolton, MA under the guidance of Ron Melenski and Jim Whitley. During my short three years there, I learned a great deal about turf management and becoming a crew leader. After graduating from Stockbridge, I was fortunate enough to have the opportunity to be the Superintendent of Twin Springs, The Internationals’ ninehole public course in Bolton, MA. At the end of my third year, I decided to go back to school for my business degree at Worcester State College.

Who have been your sports turf mentors?

I have had the privilege of working alongside some of the best turf managers in the business and building a large network of colleagues. After my time at Wachusett Country Club and The International, I went to Wellesley Country Club as Assistant Superintendent under Bill Sansone. Bill taught me about the importance of proper cultural practices and the extreme importance of paying attention to detail. Scott MacIntosh is another mentor I look up to for support with different challenges we may face from sports events, and of course, Mother Nature.

What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?

One of the most useful pieces of advice I’ve received is not to be afraid to reach out and ask questions. Sometimes I feel like I don’t want to bother others during a busy workday so I may hesitate to reach out. NESTMA has been a great asset in expanding my network of friends and colleagues and this helps me feel more comfortable asking others their opinion on certain topics or experiences they may have dealt with in the past. Over the years, other colleagues have reached out to me on my thoughts, opinions, or experiences. I love trying to help others get better and solve problems. It makes our industry and friendships that much more valuable.

Is there a recent project that you have been able to complete / implement?

It’s been a few years, but we renovated the playing surface, soil profile and irrigation on our football stadium, Fitton Field. This project allowed us to enhance the profile making the field more of a sand-based field and convert it to a low mow bluegrass playing surface which has been an outstanding and safe field for our football team.

What is the next “game changer” you see on the horizon for the sports turf industry?

I’m sure it’s no surprise but autonomous mowers and paint machines are changing the way we do things. We are going into our third fall with our Turf Tank paint machine. Although we can’t completely walk away from it, the Turf Tank saves us a tremendous amount of time in man-hours with measuring and laying out fields. The precision and time savings are very beneficial to our overall operations. While the Turf Tank is operating, we can complete small tasks while it is running.

What is your favorite / most useful:

Equipment: Reel mower. Being able to keep turf cut with a sharp reel mower on our game fields makes our turf quality and density much better, reducing the need for chemical applications and helping our IPM program.

Product: Pac-Low Growth Regulator improves the quality, density, and health as well as suppressing Poa annua. Pac-Low also reduces clipping yield which reduces overall mowing time and fuel consumption.

Technology: Turf Tank saves time and improves quality and versatility between crew members. It’s relatively easy to train our crew on and to keep the same quality for our Division I sports events.

What advice would you share with people starting out in sports turf management today?

My advice to them would be to push yourself and never stop learning. Get involved, ask questions, go to seminars, webinars, conferences, take notes, read, and make sure to network with others in the industry. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. And, more importantly, make sure you listen to the answer, advice, or suggestions from others.

What have you enjoyed most / find most beneficial about being a NESTMA member?

Networking with others at events and conferences. I have met a lot of great people through NESTMA events along with great learning opportunities. The thing I love most about NESTMA is how everyone involved is so passionate about the industry and are always willing to help others become better.

Can you share a bit about your family and what you enjoy doing in your free time?

I have been married to my wonderful wife, Kim, for what will be 20 years in October. We have two beautiful daughters: Madelyn 14, who loves to dance and is an avid animal lover; and Isobel, 16, who plays travel softball year-round for her high school and loves to ski in the winter months. My wife Kim is an Occupational Therapist Assistant and works for the Summit PACE program through Fallon Health. As a family, we love to relax and vacation on Cape Cod and in York, Maine. When I am not working at Holy Cross as a sports turf manager, I have been a Call Firefighter in my hometown of Holden since 2009. If I’m lucky enough to have a little free time, I love to go fishing, both salt and fresh water. •