Member Spotlight

Michael Malvoso, Assistant Superintendent - Parks and Forestry in Town of Needham, Massachusetts

How did you get your start in the sports field industry?

After multiple golf course internships throughout my college summers in PA/NJ/MA, I moved to MA in 2012 and started working at Old Sandwich Country Club in Plymouth, MA and then Pine Brook Country Club in Weston, MA.

Where did you go from there?

Golf wasn’t where my passion was, and I started working with Greenhaven Turf Care in 2015. I helped more than 100 clients over my seven-year career. These clients varied from public and private school athletics, municipal athletics, college and university athletics and grounds, golf courses, private estates and professional sports including the Patriots, Revolution, WooSocks, and Spinners. In 2023 I made the career change to the Town of Needham, Massachusetts.

Who was your mentor when you were first starting out in the industry?

Brian Linehan, owner of Greenhaven Turf Care. Many of the assistants who hired me wound up getting superintendent jobs elsewhere unfortunately. It wasn’t until Brian and I worked closely together with all the clients and sales reps that I really had a mentor to learn from and bounce ideas back and forth. I was able to see how many different fields were managed and the wide array of agronomic plans that were implemented. Brian’s extensive experience and network of people in the turf world really opened my eyes to learn turf management and business hands on.

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

It’s only expensive if it doesn’t work.

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

Robotic field painting and cloud connected irrigation systems. Laying out a field can be a one-person operation with pinpoint accuracy. Efficiency is highly increased, and the operator can simultaneously do other tasks that may not have been able to complete while stringing a field out. Cloud connected irrigation is the best way to water and protect our most valuable natural resource. Smart systems can self-shut down based on rain events or high winds and increase based off of ET rates making the water use better targeted.

What’s your favorite/ most useful:

Equipment?

Toro Groundsmaster 4500 for premier town fields and Groundsmaster 5900 for townwide mowing without the need for trailering.

Product?

Infiltration and penetrative surfactants. These products reduce water usage, improve field safety and vigor and save games when infield clays were previously too soggy to play on.

Technology?

Cloud based irrigation monitoring software to water more efficiently.

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

Find what environment you like to work in that matches your lifestyle and aspirations. There are so many different avenues a turf management career can take you.

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

In 2012, I moved away from my family in SE Pennsylvania where I was born and educated and now reside in SE Massachusetts. I enjoy spending time outdoors walking and biking in the woods, snowboarding, being on or by the water, landscaping my home, DIY projects and having my 10-year-old Golden Retriever, Dilly, with me whenever possible.

What have you enjoyed most / find most beneficial about being a NE-SFMA member?

The comradery with fellow sports field managers, as well as NE-SFMA educational field days have been the most beneficial to me as a member.