THE

COIN.
EFFING

AUGUST 1972

PROFESSIONALISM IN TURF
A. J. Powell, Jr., Turf Specialist, Co­
operative Extension Service, University 
of Maryland — From the Agronomist, 
December, 1970.

Certainly we are proud of our pro­
fession. As golf course superintendents, 
sod producers, general turf managers, 
consultants, or as general turf laborers, 
we can excel or relax into a state of 
self-satisfaction. Because of the broad-
® of a golf course superintendent’s 
jot>, let’s consider some of his needs 
and short-comings as a professional.

Every facet of a golf course superin­
tendent’s job is very challenging and in­
teresting. His work is inside and out­
side. He strives to get the greatest effi­
ciency out of his labor and superiors. 
He must be able to manage labor as 
well as show respect for his superiors 
and course members who are also pro­
fessional men. He must be able to dis­
cuss his problems intelligently because 
his lack of knowledge will be most ob­
vious if he begins to hedge, make ex­
cuses or stretch the truth. He must have 
a positive approach.
How could the superintendent be 
bored? Very often he becomes so fa­
miliar with his problems that they be­
come a part of him and his course and 
the solution seems impossible. It may 
not be an impossible task except in the 
mind of the club or the superintendent. 
We often talk about how a club may 
be completely swayed to one opinion 
by a golf professional, but the same 
holds true with a turf manager. We 
often blame an act of God or poor turf 
''search in a particular area for things 
it we do not feel we can accomplish, 
t he real case may be that we have not 
tried to accomplish the task. A good 
greens chairman will make periodic sug­
gestions to the superintendent. Some of

(Continued on Page 2)

CONNECTICUT 
ASSOCIATION OF 
GOLF COURSE »« 
SUPERINTENDENTS!

s.

FEDERAL OCCUPATIONAL 
SAFETY & HEALTH ACT

The Williams-Steiger Occupational 
Safety and Health Act of 1970 (OSHA) 
which establishes on-the-job safety and 
health standards, applies to all golf 
courses. An employer is required to 
have his course, and everything in or 
on it, in a non-hazardous condition at 
all times. For example, all holes (pre­
sumably not the ones on the greens 
which encase the cup) must be guarded 
to protect employees from falling into 
or through them regardless of where 
they may be situated. Use of tractors, 
carts, sprayers, aerators, mowers, and 
other golf course machines, is covered 
by OSHA standards. Likewise, fertili­
zers and pesticides, disposition of dan­
gerous materials, walking and working 
surfaces, personal protective equipment, 
environmental controls, fire and medi­
cal and first aid protection, materials 
handling and storing, machinery and 
machine guarding, powered tools, elec­
trical requirements, etc., are covered.
The standards that affect golf courses 
(same as for all industries) are con­
tained in Part II of the Federal Regis­
ter of May 29, 1971 entitled “Part 
1910-Occupational Safety and Health 
Standards.” A copy of this, as well as 
all other needs and information, can 
be obtained from the regional office, 
Department of Labor, Hartford, Conn.
Penalties for non-compliance can be 
severe. The following are germaine to 
all golf courses:

Failure to post the official OSHA 

poster — $50

Failure to post citation received at 

the worksite — $500

Failure to post OSHA from 102, 

summary — $100

Failure to report fatality, or incident

(Continued on Page 2)

VOL. 5 No. 3

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

It has become quite clear after at­
tending our monthly meetings over the 
past several years, that the greater per­
centage of our membership couldn’t 
care less concerning the operation and 
business of our association.

When the officers and directors have 
their board meetings, you see some of 
these people at the bar, playing cards or 
just shooting the bull with fellow super­
intendents, when they should be attend­
ing the meeting. After all, they are 
voted into office to guide and direct 
our association. Maybe we should have 
a better screening program before we 
elect some of these people into these 
positions.

When the open business meeting is 
being held you see the same twelve to 
fifteen people at this meeting and the 
same fify to sixty faces at the bar etc.

In order to have a strong association, 
and to meet our objective as stated in 
Article II of our by-laws, it takes every 
members help and co-operation. This 
means having maybe one or two fewer 
drinks and maybe not winning that 
extra dollar playing cards, and getting 
into these meetings. You never know, 
you might have something of value to 
add to these preceedings. Let’s all be 
a little more conscientious and make 
an effort to attend, for the only one 
who is going to benefit from it is you 
and your club.

All members are eligible to attend 
the open business meeting but only 
Life members and “Class A” members 
have the right to vote.

Let’s get every member involved in 
our association, not the same twelve or 
fifteen.

Robert Viera

CONNECTICUT ASSOCIATION 

OF GOLF COURSE 
SUPERINTENDENTS

President ....................... Robert Viera
Vice President ........... Frank Lamphier
Secretary ....................... David Stimson
Treasurer ............... James MacDonald

Board of Directors ■

Roger Barrett 
Gary Bryant 
William Dest 

John Lynch
Harry Meusel
Robert Tosh

Charles Baskin

The object of this association is to 
promote research, education and an ex­
change of practical experiences in the 
field of turf grass culture so that the 
increased knowledge will lead to more 
economic and efficient management of 
golf courses and related turf areas.

The CONN CLIPPINGS is an offi­
cial publication of the Connecticut As­
sociation of Golf Course Superinten­
dents.

Robert W. Osterman, Editor 
937 Black Rock Turnpike 
Easton, Conn. 06612

PROFESSIONALISM IN TURF

(Continued from Page 1)

these may be suggestions that are re­
peated week after week. Certainly this 
helps refresh the superintendent’s mind 
and helps him to set priorities on work 
to be accomplished. This interested 
greens chairman is often criticized and 
told that his particular request could 
only be accomplished during the fol­
lowing winter or during the following 
summer. That is, we want to put the 
job off for another season. Certainly, 
this is not always bad because many 
jobs should only he accomplished dur­
ing certain seasons, but a continuous 
record of these suggestions must be 
maintained. With this kind of pressure, 
how could one become bored? The
perfect course has never been built or 
maintained and certainly the perfect 
superintendent has not been created.

When one mentions the difficulty of 
his job, then you can be assured that 
he is at least trying. Because of prob­
lems peculiar to a course, every super­
intendent has the hardest job. When 
he begins to feel that things are easy, 
then he should change jobs. This situa­
tion should never happen because Na­
ture is unknown and we seldom can re­
lax.
When a superintendent completes his 
responsibilities by 8:30 a.m. eac^ 
morning and spends the rest of the day 
in the clubhouse, his home, or just

— 2 —

generally goofing off, then he is not I 
displaying a professional image. His 
men or superiors do not like it, and he 
is damaging the entire profession. Why 
be so careless?

One should never hesitate to train his 
men as much as possible. Certain jobs 
should not be reserved for yourself just 
to show everyone you are necessary. 
With this type of supervision, respect 
will be lost. Subordinates should be al­
lowed every educational opportunity 
possible. If you can create a real turf 
interest in the minds of laborers, they 
become professionals and not just “yes 
men.

I would like to quote from two para­
graphs of a paper presented to the Vir­
ginia superintendents by Dr. Roy E. 
Blazer. (Tenth Virginia Turfgrass Con­
ference Proceedings: Turf in the Fu­
ture. Pages 77-79. 1970.)

“We need to make a careful job 
analysis to make tasks easier and more 
efficient. Each one of us must maintain 
a positive attitude of usefulness and an 
honest day of services every day should 
be our goal. The best men in the labor 
pool will support a leader superinten­
dent that ‘knows his stuff’. If we are 
not committed to an honest day’s work, 
don’t expect our labor associates to do 
so. The associates that you employ will 
soon become aware of your organi­
zational ability, your intelligence, and 
flexibility in an aggressive turf service 
program. Good men want to be asso­
ciated with a dedicated professional 
and leader — your acts will speak 
louder than your words.

Another difficult problem is commu­
nications with the organizations that 
employ superintendents and profession­
als. The golf course superintendent of 
the future must become articulate in 
verbal and written communication to 
inform the greens committee and mem­
bers on soil climatic, and biot'c inter­
relationships of turf management. Mem­
bers must be informed about the many 
disease plagues and management prob­
lems and how they are counteracted. 
They should know something about the 
idiosyncrasies of grass response to wa­
tering, fertilization, and mowing man­
agement under various environments 
and grasses. If there is a special dif­
ficulty with a tee, a fairway or a 
green, it would be well to communicate 
with the membership on the causative 
factors. Such communications with 
members will make your tasks easier as 
they begin to understand a little about 
grass ecology. In addition, members 
will respond to such educational com­
munication, as many will introduce de­
sirable turf management practices to 
their home lawns.”

FEDERAL OCCUPATIONAL 
SAFETY & HEALTH ACT

(Continued from Page 1)

in which five or more employees 
are hospitalized — $200

Failure to maintain OSH A form 100 

Log, or form 101 — $100

Failure to compile OSHA form 102 

— $100

Actually, depending on the gravity of 
the violation, good or bad faith of the 
employer, his safety record, and size of 
business, the employer can be fined up 
to $1000 a day per violation.

Just recently, safety standards for 
construction vehicles covering roll-over 
protective structures were amended by 
the OSH Administration. The vehicles 
covered by the amendments include all 
rubber-tired, self-propelled scrapers, 
front end loaders and dozers, crawlers 
tactors, crawler-type loaders, motor 
graders and wheel-type argricultural 
and industrial tractors of more than 
20 horsepower used in construction 
work. The standards require that roll­
over structures be able to bear at least 
double the weight of the machine or 
meet the Society of Automotive Engi­
neers criteria and minimize the like1’ 
hood of a complete overturn, ther: 
reducing the possibility of the opera­
tor being crushed. Any machines with
a roll-over structure that meet the re­
quirements of the State of California, 
the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers or 
the Bureau of Reclamation of the U.S. 
Department of Interior in effect on 
April 5, are considered to be in com­
pliance with the new standards. The 
roll-over structures must be installed 
under a progressive schedule of dates. 
The effective date of these amendments 
for new equipment is September 1, 
1972. The amendments contain a 
schedule for effective dates for retrofit­
ting machines built after July 1, 1969. 
The retrofit date for machines manu­
factured prior to July 1, 1969 has been 
delayed pending further study. The 
Construction Safety Advisory Commit­
tee recommended the adoption of five 
standards recently issued by the Society 
of Automotive Engineers on roll-over 
protection to update the amendments.
The five involve prime movers; wheeled 
front end loaders and dozers; track- 
type tractors and front end loaders; 
motor graders; and laboratory evalua­
tion of the protective structures. Gee 
Guenther, Assistant Secretary for 01^ 
pational Safety and Health, the De­
partment of Labor, indicates that OSH 
Administration will initiate action in 
the near future to implement the amend­
ments.

NATIONAL AFFAIRS

The following letter was submitted 
the Nominating Committee of the 
Golf Course Superintendents Associa­
tion of America:
FROM: Mr. Frank E. Lamphier

National Affairs Chairman 
Connecticut Association of 
Golf Course Superintendent’s
Mr. Charles G. Baskin

RE: 
DATE: 20 June 1972

It gives me great pleasure to submit 
for nomination, the name of Charles G. 
Baskin, for the office of Vice President 
of the Golf Course Superintendents As­
sociation of America.

We feel Charlie has done an outstand­
ing job as President Emeritus of our 
local association, as a director of our 
national body, and as Secretary- 
Treasurer of the G.C.S.A.A.

It is on the above qualifications, that 
we, the Connecticut Association of 
Golf Course Superintendents, submit 
his name for nomination. Thank you 
for your consideration.

Very Truly Yours,
Frank E. Lamphier 
National Affairs Chairman 
C.A.G.C.S.

Let’s all get behind Charlie and do 
u we can for his nomination.

THE GRASS CATCHER

by Bob Osterman

A nominating committee has been 
formed by Bob Viera, President of the 
C.A.G.C.S., to select a prospective slate 
of officers made up of men that can 
uphold the dignity, encourage the sup­
port and stimulate progress of the asso­
ciation. This slate will be voted on at 
the annual meeting to be held in No­
vember. The committee consists of the 
following members: William Dest, Uni­
versity of Conn. Chairman; Edward 
Anderson, Wallingford C. C,; Everett 
Pyle, Hartford, Conn.

Anyone who would wish to submit 
someone’s name for possible considera­
tion for a position on this slate, please 
contact one of these committee mem­
bers. All Names should be submitted 
no later than September 1, 1972.

Life saving addition to every First 
4 id Kit for people who are allergic to 
sect stings. One bottle of Adolf’s

Meat Tenderizer.

The Doctor’s prescription is to dis­
solve 1/2 teaspoon of tenderizer in one 
or two teaspoons of water and rub over 
the bite.

3 —

The tenderizer is rich in papain, a 
protein dissolving enzyme which breaks 
down the venom. A dose of this will 
stop the pain of most insect stings in 
seconds if applied immediately.

Safety Aids to he used around Coun­

try Clubs.
1— Hard Caps
2— Rubber Gloves
3— Rubber Suits or Apron
4— Mouth and Nose Mask
5— Fire Extinguishers in all Buildings 

and Equipment

6— Safety Glasses around grinding 

7— “No Smoking” signs near gasoline 

and combustibles

8— First Aid Kits in Maintenance area
9— Metallic Spigots — Not Plastic for 

30-50-gal. drums

Frank Downey

wheels

tains, broken tree limbs, broken flag 
poles, missing or shredded flags, grass 
clippings dumped improperly, hole cups 
set wrong or not changed, equipment 
left out, etc., etc., etc.

Any one of these “little” things can 
happen ten minutes after we leave them 
in good shape, but any one of them 
that are allowed to stay that way very 
long indicate that we’re not seeing little 
enough and often enough. It may not 
be fair, but all too often we’re judged 
not by the excellent greens and fair­
ways, but by our failure to see and cor­
rect that one little thing.

It goes without saying that seeing 
is only the first step. After the little 
thing is observed and noted immediate- 
steps to correct the situation should be 
taken or the whole thing is an exercise 
in futility.

SEE LITTLE

It’s amazing how little we see or, 
put another way, how seldom we see 
little. Little what, you ask? And the 
answer is little things — a myriad of 
them. Little things that individually are 
inconsequential but collectively create 
a bad impression on our golf course or 
playground or park, as the case may 
be.

We have become so accustomed and, 
I’m afraid, conditioned to litter, for 
example, that frequently we don’t really 
see it — much less do anything about 
it. If we as supervisors see these things 
as they exist — and don’t correct them, 
we can hardly expect our employees to 
do so.

Observation is an art that requires 
both training and hard work. All your 
people have their eyes open, because 
if they are closed you must assume they 
are asleep and you fire them, but what 
do they see? Or even closer to home, 
how much do you yourself see? Sure 
we see the big picture, the obvious, and 
react accordingly. Unfortunately, how­
ever, we are so close to our work and 
see it so often that we sometimes fail 
to take notice of some of the little tasks 
that are a headache to us, but are also 
most annoying to our patrons. We 
should never lose sight of the fact that 
these patrons are, in a sense, our 
“bosses,” they are paying the freight. 
They notice all the little things, so, if 
we’re smart, we should make sure that 
we and our people notice them as well.
What are other “little” things we 
tend to ignore or neglect? The list is 
endless: tee towels missing, no water in 
ball washers, inoperative ball washers, 
missing tee markers, no tee markers, 
leaking or inoperative drinking foun­

TOURNAMENT WINNERS

Following is a list of the tournament 
winners for the meeting held June 6 at 
the Farms Country Club in Wallingford.

CLASS A

Gross — R. Barrett
Net — M. Ovian

CLASS B 

Gross — B. Silva 
Net — T. Pepe

ASSOC.
Gross — R. Kennedy
Net — L. Russell

Net — T. Manning

GUESTS

FOR THE DAY 
Low Gross — F. Lamphier 
Low Net — G. Bryant
KICKERS

M. Ovian
B. Viera
L. Kowalski
D.  Ryiz
R. Barrett
A.  Arinson
B.  Scully
D.  Hosking
E.  Anderson
R. Witwoski

MEMBERSHIP REPORT

The membership report of the Con­
necticut Association of Golf Course Su­
perintendents as of August 1, 1972 
stands at 138 after dropping 12 de­
linquents.

Class A ................................... 109
Class B ................................... 10
Associate ...............................  19

CHANGE IN

PUBLICATION SCHEDULE

GCSAA HEADQUARTERS — Read­
ers of THE GOLF SUPERINTEN­
DENT are reminded that because the 
44th GCSAA Conference and Show 
will be held January 7-12, 1973, in 
Roston, Massachusetts, a month earlier 
than in past years, it has become neces­
sary to change the publication’s sched­
ule.
It will be issued as follows for the 
remainder of the year: July, August/ 
September, October/November and De­
cember (Special show issue). The 
journal will continue to follow its rigid 
mailing schedule of the first week 
of each publishing month and readers 
can still expect to receive their copies 
early in July, August, October and De­
cember.
Chapters planning to run an ad in 
the Conference issue must get their ma­
terial to Headquarters (THE GOLF 
SUPERINTENDENT —  3158 Des
Plaines Avenue, Des Plaines, Illinois 
60018) no later than November 1.

G.C.S.A.A.

MANAGEMENT SEMINAR
FINAL DECISION MAKING

Limited to GCSAA members only, 
Wednesday and Thursday, December 
6-7, Hartford, Conn.

Register now! The seminar is limited 
to 50 GCSAA members on a “First 
Come, First Served” basis-determined 
by postmark on envelope. Make check 
payable to: GCSAA — Management 
seminar, and send to Golf Course Su­
perintendents Association of America, 
3158 Des Plaines Ave., Des Plaines, 
Ill. 60018.

— 4 —

PULLING WEEDS WON'T HELP
Research work at South Dakota 
State University showed that the root 
system of a single plant of field bind­
weed will penetrate the soil to a depth 
of 4 feet in one season and spread 
2 1/2 feet laterally. Ry the end of three 
growing seasons, the roots had ex­
tended downward 18 to 20 feet and 
covered a circle 17 to 18 feet in dia­
meter. It only took two growing seasons

for Canada thistle roots to penetrate 4 
feet deep and extend to cover an area 
31 feet by 62 feet.

What of those weeds that can produ 

new shoots from root buds? One patch 
of seven leafy spurge plants increased 
to 872 plants in three years!

If you decide to pull, you’d better 
watch where you throw the weeds. 
Perennial noxious weeds have massive 
root systems which contain up to a 
three years’ supply of stored food.
THE FOLLOWING COMPANIES ARE CONTRIBUTING TO THE 

SUPPORT OF THE CONN. CLIPPINGS:

ALFCO ROKEBY CO., INC. 
Marietta, Ohio
Frank Downey, CAGCS member 
(413) 596-3009
OLD FOX CHEMICAL COMPANY 
Hazardville, Conn.
John Grant, CAGCS member 
749-8339
WILLIAM DEST
William Dest, CAGCS member 
Stolens - C-l, Arlington

C-19, Congressional

246-6279
O M SCOTT & SONS
Marysville. Ohio
Al Arison, CAGCS member 
336-9890
IRRIGATION AND EQUIPMENT 

SUPPLY CO.
Milford, Conn.
Richard Hosking, CAGCS member 
874-1096
TOM IRWIN CO.
Rowley, Mass.
John P. Callahan, CAGCS member 
677-7054

THE MAGOVERN COMPANY 
Windsor Locks, Conn.
Lloyd Russell, CAGCS member 
Curtis Stimson, CAGCS member 
623-2508
CLORO-SPRAY CORP.
475 Beaver Street
Bristol, Pa. 19007
Frank Paladino, LIGCSA member 
Edward J. Sanson, CAGCS member 
(215) 426-7723 collect

THE CHAS. C. HART COMPANY 
Wethersfield, Conn.
Robert Kennedy, CAGCS member 
Robert Kennedy, CAGCS member 
529-2537

SOMERS TURF SUPPLIES 
Orange, Conn.
Bill Somers, CAGCS member 
795-4320
TURF PRODUCTS CORP.
East Windsor, Conn.
Ed Swanson, CAGCS member 
Alfred Purdy, CAGCS member 
800 - 842-7333

CONN. CLIPPINGS
Robert Osterman, editor 
937 Black Rock Turnpike 
Easton Conn. 06612
30

FIRST CLASS