PROFILE
“ He took me to the Florida Turfgrass Show , and I had no clue about the depth of this industry ,” said John . “ I thought it was really cool .”
John was also impressed by his father ’ s presence and impact in the industry .
“ He knew many of the original founders of GCSAA and all the original founders of SFMA , current and past researchers , and I would just listen to all of these stories ,” said John . “ With his contacts I was able to make a lot of good friends and learn a lot about the industry .”
John started visiting golf courses and sports fields , and would take any new inventions to Dale Sandin at the Orange Bowl for testing .
“ My father had made a slicing machine called the Verti-Groove with Dale to help drainage ,” said John . “ Dale was quite a critic ; but every piece of equipment we had , I would go to the Orange Bowl , and we would try it out . I would then take it to golf courses and try to sell it out of the trunk of my car . The Penetrometer was one of the first things we invented . We had a moisture sensor , pH meter and thermometer , and we started leaning toward diagnostic tools .”
Tom and John Mascaro built Turf-Tec as a mail order company , with John typing labels on a typewriter and mailing flyers to golf courses and sports fields .
“ We would get a check in the mail with the order form , and we would ship out the product ,” said John .
John got to work with his father for 12 years , and together the two invented a wide range of products for the turfgrass industry . Tom Mascaro passed away in 1997 .
“ He loved making things ,” John recalled . “ Art was a hobby ; he did clay sculpting , wire sculpting , and just liked to make things with his hands . As a kid , I used to hang around and watch him sculpt or repair things . He could repair or make anything . I learned a lot from him .”
According to John , many people don ’ t realize Tom ’ s contributions to the industry . For example , at early turfgrass conferences in the 1940s , Tom would carry a wire recorder , record the proceedings , have the information transcribed and turned into a booklet and then send it to all conference attendees free of charge . His goal was always to educate and advance the profession .
During his career , Tom taught turfgrass courses ; lectured at approximately 20 turfgrass conferences per year for more than 50 years ; served as an adjunct professor at Florida International University , Biscayne College and Nova Scotia Agricultural College ; authored technical articles ; developed a turfgrass correspondence course and a handbook for sports field managers and wrote a textbook tiltled “ Diagnostic Turfgrass Management for Golf Greens .”
Among his many awards and accolades , Tom Mascaro received the U . S . Golf Association Green Section Award , the Distinguished Service Award from GCSAA , multiple Texas Turfgrass Association Awards , the Pennsylvania Turfgrass Council Recognition Award , the Oklahoma Turfgrass Research Foundation Award , Florida Golf Course Superintendents Association award for Lifetime Service , induction into the Oklahoma Turfgrass Hall of Fame and the STMA Lifetime Achievement Award . The Mascaro-Steiniger Turfgrass Museum at Penn State University was also named in his honor ( and that of another industry pioneerm — golf course superintendent Eb Steiniger ).
Said John , “ His creative mind was amazing . His inventions were way ahead of their time .” SFM
John Kmitta is associate publisher and editorial brand director of SportsField Management magazine . sportsfieldmanagementonline . com January 2024 | SportsField Management
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