Genuinely Meticulous With Andrew Small

Name: Andrew Small

Title: Environmental Technician

Facility and location: BallenIsles East Course, Palm Beach, FL

Troon Value: Troop Value: Genuinely Meticulous: I pride myself on being detailed and doing my job the best I can and learning something new every day.

Q: When you were young, what did you want to be when you grew up and please explain if there was a story around that.

A: When I was young, I mowed my parent’s lawn because it was a good way to zone out and appreciate the environment. I liked exploring the outdoors because I’ve always been curious about nature and keeping it looking great.

Q: What/Who got you interested in the business of agronomy?

A: I got my first agronomy job at a youth baseball complex near my house in Aberdeen, MD. I took care of the natural turf fields and a few synthetic fields. The complex also had a minor league team that I did an internship with for a season in the summer. This is where I got my first experience with fertilizers and mixing a sprayer.

Q: What has been your career progression thus far at BallenIsles?

A: I’ve learned how to operate all the equipment and learned how to mix and spray the golf course.

Q: Do you play golf and if you do, do you find by playing at your course or other courses, that this helps you in your daily job as far as noticing the course from a ‘player perspective’?

A: I play some golf in my free time and played in high school. I love watching the Masters – that golf course is the pinnacle of perfection so yes, it helps me in my daily job to see things as a golfer, like making sure the greens are rolling good and looking healthy.

Q: Tell us something about agronomy that probably the average golfer does not know.

A: The technology I’ve used to do my job effectively is using a moisture meter. It lets you know if the greens are too dry or too wet. This job can be complex trying to understand all the chemicals we use to keep diseases and weeds away, but I have realized this job is mostly dealing with people and building relationships. If you can influence people and gain their trust, then it makes your job a lot easier to get tasks done on time and done correctly.

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