Whether it is at the golf course or off it, Trent Manning stays so busy that his boss wonders when he has time to rest
Manning keeps just about everything with moving parts running like a well-oiled machine at Ansley Golf Club in Georgia, which is no small feat at a dual campus club separated by 27 miles of Atlanta traffic. When he's not working on equipment, he's probably busy training an employee how to use it, negotiating equipment purchases, helping educate his colleagues around the state and throughout the country, executing the vision of Ansley director of agronomy Courtney Young, inventing something, rebuilding tractors, winning a bass fishing tournament or working with Cherokee County Search and Rescue."I don't know how much he sleeps," said Young. "It can't be much."
For all he does for Ansley Golf Club's two properties, Manning has been named one of three finalists for the TurfNet Technician of the Year Award, presented by The Toro Co.Manning, 39, started at Ansley on the crew as a summer job when he was in high school. He graduated to irrigation tech and later assistant mechanic before leaving to pursue other positions elsewhere and finally returning as the head mechanic over two campuses.
With each new responsibility he is given, Manning charges through it in a way that no one in Georgia has seen since Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman cut a nearly 300-mile-long swath from Atlanta to Savannah in 1864.
"It took him a month to master the irrigation system," Young said. "He tested every head on the golf course every week. We had detailed lists on everything. Then the assistant mechanic position opened. I think he was already bored with the irrigation system, so he took that (with no mechanical experience) and charged right through that.
"He's been the angler of the year twice, and he helps the county with search and recovery. He's so enthusiastic about everything he does."
Golfer safety is paramount at any golf course, but that is especially true in the Southeast where summer thunderstorms are common. So, when there was a malfunction with the lightning-detection system at Ansley, getting it fixed was a priority. The cost to repair the system according to manufacturer specs would have been enormous. Manning took the system apart, identified what he says was a design flaw and fixed it. He then developed a technical troubleshooting bulletin that he gave to the manufacturer.
"When I told him how much the parts were, he said 'I guess I'm about to become an expert in lightning-detection systems,' " Young said.
The next thing I know, all these mechanics are here for dinner, and Trent is grilling out for them."
Young started at Ansley 30 years ago as the grow-in superintendent, and since then has been active in networking and sharing ideas with his colleagues throughout the Atlanta area through regular luncheons. He suggested to Manning that equipment managers could do the same thing.
"The next thing I know, all these mechanics are here for dinner, and Trent is grilling out for them," Young said.
He has been instrumental in developing education protocols for technicians at the state and national level. He even has developed an interactive online spreadsheet through which he and other equipment managers throughout the region can price shop for parts and record the data in a spreadsheet for others to use.
"Before that, he didn't know anything about spreadsheets or web sites," Young said. "Now, he's started a group where other mechanics can contribute to compare parts and prices."
His ability to innovate helps Young put his ideas into the ground. When Young told him he needed a way to spot water small, isolated areas on the golf course, Manning created a compact water trailer from a fertilizer tote and a gas-powered pump. The unit, Young said, cost less than $1,000 to build and paid for itself in a week. It also won a blue ribbon from the Club Managers Association of America for innovation.
"If I have a vision, he is able to execute it," Young said.
"Trent just figures things out and figures out how they work and how to fix them."
The winner will receive the Golden Wrench Award and a weeklong training session at Toro's Service Training University at the company's headquarters in Bloomington, Minnesota.
Criteria on which nominees are judged include: crisis management; effective budgeting; environmental awareness; helping to further and promote the careers of colleagues and employees; interpersonal communications; inventory management and cost control; overall condition and dependability of rolling stock; shop safety; and work ethic.
Previous winners are (2016) Kris Bryan, Pikewood National Golf Club, Morgantown, WV; (2015) Robert Smith, Merion Golf Club, Ardmore, PA; (2014) Lee Medeiros, Timber Creek and Sierra Pines Golf Courses, Roseville, CA; (2013) Brian Sjögren, Corral de Tierra Country Club, Corral de Tierra, CA; (2012) Kevin Bauer, Prairie Bluff Golf Club, Crest Hill, IL; (2011) Jim Kilgallon, The Connecticut Golf Club, Easton, CT; (2010) Herb Berg, Oakmont (PA) Country Club; (2009) Doug Johnson, TPC at Las Colinas, Irving, TX; (2007) Jim Stuart, Stone Mountain (GA) Golf Club; (2006) Fred Peck, Fox Hollow and The Homestead, Lakewood, CO; (2005) Jesus Olivas, Heritage Highlands at Dove Mountain, Marana, AZ; (2004) Henry Heinz, Kalamazoo (MI) Country Club; (2003) Eric Kulaas, Marriott Vinoy Renaissance Resort, Sarasota, FL.
There was no award in 2008.