Q&A: Head of the Grass

First off, Rod Smith is not a groundskeeper.

He's a grounds manager, a horticultural czar of sorts who oversees the upkeep for two of Las Vegas' busiest public venues -- the Las Vegas Convention Center and Cashman Field, home of baseball's triple-A Las Vegas Stars.

The 36-year-old Smith has been managing the lush Cashman Field diamond for just a few months, taking over in May, but boasts considerable experience in horticulture. Prior to being hired by the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, Smith tended to the grounds at UNLV for nearly 10 years.

Smith wasn't born with the urge to plant and water sod -- that would come later. He initially studied marketing in college while living in Houston. Later he moved to Las Vegas to work for a beer manufacturer before returning to school at UNLV to pursue a degree in criminal justice. While observing the well-manicured UNLV campus, gardening became Smith's passion.

During a seasonably scorching afternoon last week, the dedicated Smith discussed his job and why he is glad to say, "Sometimes, you'll catch me talking to the grass.":

Las Vegas Sun: How is it that someone with your diverse background and education became a professional gardener?

Rod Smith: At the point when I went back to school at UNLV, I really didn't feel fulfilled. I decided to go to school for criminal justice, and the only direction I saw with that was being able to work for the Department of Forestry. But I absolutely loved the grounds at UNLV ... so I walked up to the director of grounds one day and said, "I want to work for you."

Sun: How did you progress to becoming a grounds manager?

RS:I started at the bottom, picking up trash around UNLV, locking buildings and then going to school in the evenings ... I'd go around pruning trees and things like that. From there I got to be a member of the tree crew, which gave me a better idea of horticulture, and at that point I decided to go to CCSN (the Community College of Southern Nevada) to obtain my degree in horticulture and landscape management ... Through the progression I went from pushing a broom to becoming a gardener and eventually I was the facilities supervisor at UNLV.

Sun: Let's talk about the diamond at Cashman Field. On game day, what areas of the field are you most concerned with?

RS: Game day itself consists of preparing the skin, the most important part of a baseball field -- the infield, home plate and the pitcher's mound. Basically we're trying to make it safe and soft and playable. The way you manage the skin can affect the hop of a ball hit through the infield, and it needs to be fairly consistent throughout the season. You need to make sure to get rid of foreign objects that can lead to an inconsistent hop from a ground ball.

Sun: What sort of feedback do you get from the players?

RS: The people who hear that are the (groundskeepers) on the field (Smith manages a staff of nine) and eventually it comes to me ... We might hear that home plate isn't level, but the pitchers are normally the ones who have the most issues because they're particular about the mound and they're the ones leading the game.

Sun: What type of grass is used at Cashman?

RS: Bermuda is the grass that we are growing as the dominant turf. This is the seasonal turf in the summer. In the fall we overseed with perennial rye grass for winter color as the Bermuda goes dormant. The rye is also for color when we have events such as Go-Low (a custom car event), Big League Weekend or (Major League Baseball's) Home Run Derby.

Sun: What are ideal conditions for caring for the field?

RS: I guess we've been pretty lucky recently. The heat is great for us as far as growing conditions, even though we're using more water and we can't rely on the rain as much. In Las Vegas we're actually in a really good situation for turf-grass management. A lot of people will say that it's tough to grow grass here, with the high temperatures, but it's something that's workable with education.

Sun: Is there a "super grass" out there that's high-durability and low-maintenance?

RS: That's what we're all getting paid to figure out right now ... There are some new grasses coming along. We just seeded a Bermuda grass called Bermuda Triangle that has a blend of three different types of grass. But a true "super grass," no. Not that I know of.

Sun: How do you monitor water use?

RS: We're actually performing a water audit (this week), which is something the Las Vegas Water District promotes. That's where we find out exactly where our heavy uses of water are and if the field is being watered efficiently. That's where we bring in somebody to provide an expert opinion.

Sun: When we watch baseball on TV it's easy to notice the intricate patterns on the infield and outfield grass. How do you decide on something like that?

RS: Actually there are some meetings about that. Right now our pattern is called a Heat Wave, and that came from one of our guys with a lot of creativity (Alan Austin), although the entire crew had a big part in keeping it as a signature model for the field. Other designs are the Diamond, which is a crisscross of mowing patterns. We have also done the Star pattern for special events.

Sun: What's your feeling about artificial turf?

RS: I have to be a proponent of grass. The playability, aesthetics and safety issues all favor natural grass. Grass is safer on a player's legs, ankles, just about any body part you can think of. I don't believe we'd ever have artificial turf (at Cashman).

Sun: Probably the most famous groundskeeper in pop culture is Carl, the character played by Bill Murray in "Caddyshack." Is that a fair representation?

RS: (Laughing) I'm sure there are some out there like Carl, but I don't know any of them. There are many professional organizations in Las Vegas as far as gardening is concerned, and we belong to those types of organizations. We're serious about our jobs just like anybody else.

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