Editor's note: TurfNet does not endorse specific products, but we do endorse the entrepreneurial spirit of innovative superintendents.
When Rodney Hine realized a need for an effective and easy-to-use greens-grooming brush that would help him in the day-to-day performance of his job, he did what any innovative and resourceful problem-solver would do - he made one. And he shares it with other superintendents.
But more important to Hine than high profits since bringing his brush, known as TurfTrainer, to market at the 2018 Golf Industry Show, is his business plan. That philosophy includes members of his family playing an active role in the operation, responsible sourcing, partnering with a local non-profit for the developmentally disabled to help assemble them and pricing them at a point that makes them accessible regardless of budget.
"The difficult thing was the pricing of it," Hine said. "I wanted any course that wanted to brush to be able to do that, so we priced it reasonably so everyone can afford it. I wanted that to be part of our business plan and philosophy."
Hine has been the superintendent at Boston Golf Club in Hingham, Massachusetts, for the past 18 years. For much of the time, Hine has thought there must be a better way to groom finely mowed turf. Specifically, he wanted a brush that worked, was easy to attach and easy to remove to minimize disruption to daily tasks.
"The inspiration for the TurfTrainer was that the products that brush greens, or control grain were attached to the mower itself, and that presented a problem," Hine said. "We were hampered doing what we wanted to do agronomically, and we were hampered by the challenges the mechanics had. They already had a lot on their plate, and we were just adding more."
Rather than a bristled brush, Hine's invention, known as TurfTrainer and available through his family's HineCraft company, , is a piece of synthetic turf that attaches directly to mower buckets. A channel bracket attached to the bucket and two snap pins hold the brushes in place.
"It all translated to be easy to have a tool that works when they wanted to use it and when the turf needed it," Hine said.
Just as important as maintaining a profitable business venture is Hines' philosophy that includes his family, ethical sourcing of materials and assembly of components, and fair pricing and accessibility for colleagues hoping to solve a problem on their golf course. In an industry built upon a foundation of relationships, superintendents elsewhere are taking note.
"I can buy a brush from someone else, but it's not going to be as good," said Sean Reehoorn, superintendent at Aldarra Golf Club in Sammamish, Washington. "Plus, I feel better for supporting a small business. I like to see the little guys survive, and Rodney is a little guy."
Since the early days of TurfTrainer, promoting the product has been an all-Hines-on-deck affair. His family helps run the business, including wife Caroline Water-Hine, sons Wesley (15) and William (13) and daughter Alexis (18), who helps with sales when she is not working on her father's crew at Boston Golf Club. Some might recall Alexis, then 14 years old, giving demos in the TurfTrainer booth at the '18 GIS.
"The family is very involved. We had board meetings at home to pick the name of the company. We tried to make it fun to get them involved," Hine said.
"It was amazing watching Alexis hanging in there in our booth and explaining to these grown men how it works. She can talk to anyone."
Said Reehoorn: "To see her when she was 14 or 15 explaining what it is and how it works, in this day and age when we are talking about inclusion and attracting women into turf, it's awesome."
I'm not a big brush guy. . . . I like to support Rodney, because his business is a true family affair.
All components are manufactured and sourced in the U.S., including the matting, with specific requirements for pile depth and firmness, is custom made in Dalton, Georgia. The entire apparatus is assembled by clients of the Southbridge, Massachusetts chapter of The Arc, a 501 c3 organization that serves those with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
"They love doing it," Hine said. "And it is rewarding to have them be part of this."
Matt Wharton, superintendent at Carolina Golf Club in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Hine first met at the 2015 Syngenta Business Institute, and have been friends ever since. He first saw the TurfTrainer at a presentation in a San Antonio hotel during the GIS, and took the plunge later in the year at the Carolinas GCSA Conference and Show.
"I'm not a big brush guy," Wharton said. "I can't say what it is about Rodney's product that works better than others, because I've never used any others. When we do light topdressing applications, we incorporate it for the next two or three mowings for minimizing sand pick up.
"I like to support Rodney, because his business is a true family affair."
The life of business owner has done nothing to dampen Hine's passion for greenkeeping.
"It's stimulating and fills my need to be challenged and problem-solve," he said. "But, I also really love being an entrepreneur. I love helping people and working with them to solve their problems."
