2024 Super Social Media Award: Ty Robb and Robb Uzar

Life becomes a whole lot more complicated with kids. Your old routines, your whole being as you knew it, is gone, never to return.

Florida assistant superintendent Ty Robb used to “go out to the old watering hole and talk with other assistant superintendents” on Fridays, but he started to stay home last year even before he and his wife, Claudia, welcomed their son, Cyrus. “I wanted to get back and talk with the guys,” he says, “get that conversation started again.” But it was not the bar that beckoned.

It was social media.

Nearly a year has passed since Robb launched Turf Talk on X Spaces, a virtual third space for turf pros — and those who appreciate turf’s art and science — to gather and chat. Before long, he switched from monologues to conversations when he asked fellow Florida turf pro Rob Uzar, currently the superintendent at Hammock Creek Golf Club in Palm City, to host with him. Attendance jumped from four or five, to eight, then a dozen, then into the 30s and 40. Last week, 85 people logged in across an hour and a half, with 10 of them presenting whatever they might be working on.

Robb was initially inspired by Mike Rollins, a regional manager at SIP Corporation who hosted his own X Spaces whenever he was traveling on the road in Grindzilla, his sprinter van stocked with shop tools.

“It was all the EMs and I love when those guys get fired up,” Robb says. “It was great conversation. That was definitely some inspiration listening to that. ‘We can do that! Superintendents can do that! That’s good stuff!”

It was and, as it turns out, they can. Robb and Uzar plan to keep Turf Talk rolling — pun maybe a little intended — and perhaps even start uploading archived audio somewhere so folks can listen back to old installments. Their work launching and building a turf community has landed them a 2024 Super Social Media Award.

They will be honored alongside their fellow award winners Wednesday, Jan. 31, at the Social Media Celebration at Aquatrols booth #2747 during the GCSAA Conference and Trade Show in Phoenix. The event begins at 2:30 p.m., with winners recognized around 3 p.m. The event is open to all and free drinks will be served.

What surprised you about building a community of turf pros (and fans) on X Spaces?

Ty Robb: The reach it has. We’ve had guys in the Midwest, guys on the West Coast, we had someone pop in from Dubai one time, from Australia. The sports (field) guys just come on in. We had the field manager for the (New England) Patriots on, we had Darren Davis on one time, Carlos Arraya was really good — he was brutally honest. We had Thomas Bastis, PGA Tour competition agronomist. (Former USGA agronomist) Todd Lowe is a regular.

Rob Uzar: There are even people outside the industry. There’s a guy who just plays a lot of golf and I’ve talked with him about coming on. ‘I’d love to, but remember, I’m not in the industry, I just play a lot of golf courses.’ ‘That’s cool — another perspective!’

TR: I think one of the favorite regulars has to be KBG.

RU: Oh, KBG.

TR: KBG’s just a guy out in Oklahoma who overseeds his lawn and uses a reel mower. Darren Davis was talking about work-life balance and why do we do this, and KBG chimed in, ‘I take care of my lawn and I find real enjoyment in it. It’s therapeutic. I was going through a rough divorce and what got my mind off it was just going out and mowing.’ I just loved that. Someone who’s not in our industry — he sells robots to restaurants — can connect through this.

X Spaces is a great virtual gathering place but what if folks can’t log in at 7:15 on a Tuesday night?

RU: One of the things we keep getting asked is if the Spaces are recorded. I found out X does save them for a certain amount of time, so I was able to download them and I’m figuring out a way to put them back out there so people can listen to them again — or for the first time. We’ve always liked the live aspect, so I don’t see us turning it into a podcast. But we have talked about being able to tape what we do and put it into a podcast form so the recordings are in one spot for everyone.

Do you have any plans to expand in 2024?

TR: It’s a lot. We try to do Tuesdays but sometimes life gets in the way.

RU: We have baseball coming up in a couple weeks. I don’t remember what days we have what, but I know there’s something all the time, so it could be changing back and forth.

TR: Someone requested Friday. Do I want to spend my Friday night talking turf? I don’t know. Maybe.

Matt LaWell is Golf Course Industry’s managing editor.