• o r

THE

DECEM BER 1973

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
LOOKING AHEAD TO '74
First of all, I would like to thank
the membership of CAGCS for showing
the confidence in electing our new
board and myself as your new Presi­
dent. It is an honor of which I will try
to be worthy.
We have a Board of Directors which
presents a good cross section of our
state. We, as your executive commit­
tee, need the help of the membership
to ensure a smoothly run organization.
Your suggestions are more than wel­
come. Please try to have all sugges­
tions, both pro and con, presented to
myself or any board member, in writ­
ing. This way you can be sure of ac­
tion at the next board meeting.
Once again this year, the board will
meet previous to our monthly member­
ship meeting, to allow us the time to
conduct the business properly.
The aims of our new board will be
as follows:
1. Try to upgrade the salaries and
working conditions of our mem­
bership.
2. Keeping Connecticut jobs for
Conn. Supts. This means any job
opening should be immediately
reported to Bob Osterman, our
Employment Chairman.
3. Have the membership submit
helpful articles for printing in
the Conn. Clippings to Bob Os­
terman. This is your paper and
only as good as you make it.
4. Committee Chairmen will submit
a written report, monthly, for
publication in the Clippings.
5. increase both our local and na­
tional membership. Once again
this is up to the individual mem­
ber.
6. Volunteer to serve on a commit­
tee. Unless you tell us, we never
(Continued on Page 2)

THE GRASS CATCHER

THINGS TO DO IN WINTER

The USGA Green Section’s Educa­
tional Conference will be held on Janu­
ary 25, 1974 at the Biltmore in New
York City.
The theme is “Managing Turf in
the 70’s”. Announcements and reserva­
tions forms will be in the mail soon.
Hope to see you all there.

While it is generally true that the
golf course labor problem in the North­
east had improved some this past year,
it has by no means reached the point
where the Superintendent and the Green
Committee can relax and “breathe
easy” about this situation. Competition
for good workers in the highlyindustrialized states of New Jersey,
New York and Connecticut has always
been keen, with industry usually win­
ning out because of the more attractive
“bait” that it has to offer. One of
these incentives is the prospect of yearround employment. It is through this
medium that the golf courses are able
to keep their key men from year to
year. The number of men retained de­
pends largely on budget limitations —
some clubs can retain the full crew
while others manage to keep only a
nucleus of workers. Some of the im­
portant jobs that such a crew might do
over the winter are the following:
1. Paint and repair all machinery
and equipment.
Paint and repair benches, ball
washers, shelter houses, the mar­
kers, flag poles, etc.
2. Repair roads, paths and bridges.
3. Prepare topsoil (mix and steri­
lize) .
4. Install
drainage
lines
where
needed and blueprint them for
permanent record.
5. Clean out tile lines, drainage
ditches and brooks.
Clean out heavy brush areas
around the course that generally
slow up during the season.
Clean up rocks, stumps and other
obstructions to golfers as well as
maintenance equipment.
6. Remove trees that hamper the
movement of the rough units; that
resrict air drainage about greens.

Congratulations to Jim & Jan Mac­
Donald on the birth of their daughter,
Heather Joy, born October 9, 1973.
DON’T FORGET ! ! !
Conn. Association of
Golf Course Superintendent’s
Annual Christmas Party
Sat., December 15, 1973
Watertown Country Club
Cocktails 7-8 p.m.
Dinner at 8 p.m.
Dancing 9-1
$10/person
DOOR
PRIZES
EMPLOYMENT WANTED
Capable young man is seeking em­
ployment in the New England area as
an assistant superintendent or foreman.
He is married with two children. M ili­
tary status — two years in the U. S.
Marine Corps. Experience — 3V2
years as a greenskeeper at a golf and
country club in the state of Washing­
ton. Helped in building several new
greens using stolons and seed. Rebuild­
ing tees and all jobs usual to mainten­
ance of golf courses. Can operate all
golf course equipment.
On behalf of the “Conn. Clippings” ,
officers and directors of CAGCS, I
would like to extend to everyone of
our readers and members the very best
of wishes for a Merry Christmas and
a Happy New Year.

(Continued on Page 2)

—

CONNECTICUT ASSOCIATION
OF GOLF COURSE
SUPERINTENDENTS
P resident ...................... Frank Lamphier
V ice P resident .................. Robert Tosh
S ecretary ....................... Bob Osterman
T reasurer .................. James MacDonald
B oard o f D irectors
John Perry
John Lynch
Alfred Bachand
Karnig Ovian
Robert Chalifour Edward Anderson
Robert Viera
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. CLIPPIN GS 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

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE
(Continued from Page 1)

know what special attributes you
may have.
7. Have better attendance at our
regular monthly meetings. If you
are there for the day, we expect
to see you at the meeting. We
need your ideas.
8. Work more closely with our Na­
tional organization, keeping them
abreast with what we are doing
on the local level.
This information will be published
in the Golf Superintendent.
To
quote
Cliff Wagoner,
our
GCSAA President, “Your association
owes its position and stability to a
long line of dedicated doers. What you
do for CAGCS will determine how use­
ful CAGCS will be tomorrow.”
I know we are all looking forward
to the Christmas party at Watertown
G. C. on December 15th. Please try to
attend this festive occasion.
Try to make a special effort this
/ear to attend the National Conference
in Anaheim, Calif. We should all be
on hand to induct our very own,
Charlie Baskin as President of GCSAA.
Again, thank you for electing my­
self as your President, and allowing me
to have such a fine board of “doers” .
F rank E. L amphier
P resident
C.A.G.C.S.

2

—

THINGS TO DO IN WINTER
(Continued from Page 1)

7. Prune and trim trees around the
course
—
especially
around
greens in pocketed areas and
shaded trees.
8. Rebuild
p o o r 1y
constructed
greens.
9. Build or enlarge on barn and
shop facilities.
10. Enlarge tees and do any other
construction work that couldn’t be
done during the golfing season.
11. Fill in “useless” traps — traps
that nobody gets into except the
maintenance crew.
Some R eminders
F or T he Superintendent
1. Reread service manuals that ac­
companied new (and old) equip­
ment.
2. Take inventory and order neces­
sary replacement parts that are
important to have on hand.
3. Carefully study records for the
past year and streamline where
possible.
4. Set up service charts for each
piece of machinery; also depre­
ciation table to replace machinery
when its life expectancy period is
over.
5. Set up a timetable for deliveries
of fertilizer, fungicide, herbicides
and other materials for next sea­
son. Order enough fertilizer!
6. Attend as many turf conferences
as possible over the winter.
7. Catch up on reading of turf pub­
lications.
W inter Conferences
Over the winter season several im­
portant conferences are scheduled that
should be of interest to Green Commit­
tee Chairmen and Superintendents in
the Northeastern Region. Many nation­
ally recognized turf men will be present
to participate. An important part of
the overall turfgrass picture will be
presented and discussed at these meet­
ings.
The golf season may be slow or
closed for many at this time, but the
season for learning is ever with us.
With so many nationally known ex­
perts present it’s a good bet that each
person in attendance will bring home
some new thoughts or ideas to put to
work on his individual course. Usually
these ideas mean savings for the club
in question — hope to see you there,
faithfully at work for your club.
A l R adko, N ortheastern D irector
USGA Green Section.

AIR-COOLED ENGINE
MAINTENANCE TALK

by F arrell S loo p ,
E. J. Sm ith & Sons
Most complaints concerning engine
operation can be classified as a com­
bination of malfunctions. When the
cause of malfunction is not readily ap­
parent, always perform a check-up of
the three main points of the engine:
Compression, Ignition, and Fuel Sys­
tems. This check can usually be done
in a matter of minutes. It is quick
and a sure way of determining the
cause of engine failure. Many times,
engine failures can be caused by poor
engine service. All engines should be
clean and free from dirt, dust and
grass clippings. As you know, it takes
many things all put together to give
you a good running engine and good
engine performance. That’s what you
want and what you expect from any
engine.
F uel T ank : Be sure fuel tank is
clean inside and is filled with fresh
gasoline.
F uel C ap A ir V en t : Keep air vents
open.
F uel L ines : Fuel lines should al­
ways be in good shape.
Carburetors: Must be clean. Dirt
is the carburetor’s number one enemy.
Over a period of time, silt, carbon,
and gum deposits may decrease the
size of jets as well as the air and fuel
passages and interfere with the work­
ing of the carburetor. Keep them clean.
A ir Cleaners and F ilt er s : A prop­
erly serviced air cleaner protects the
internal parts of the engine from dust
particles in the air. If air cleaners and
filters are not carefully cleaned, dirt
and dust which should be collected or
trapped in the cleaner will either be
drawn into the engine and become
part of the oil film or will choke the
engine, causing an excessively rich
mixture of fuel. As we all know, dirt
in the engine oil forms an abrasive
mixture which tears the moving parts
instead of protecting them. A stopped
up air filter or air cleaner can cause
raw gasoline to wash oil off the cylin­
der walls, thereby, causing poor lubri­
cation. Always replace air cleaner gas­
kets and mounting gaskets that are
worn or damaged.
E ngine B lower H ousing: Blower
housings should be clean and free of
dirt and grass clippings. The blower
housing controls the air that is brought
forth from the flywheel that gives the
direct air current around the engine
block and cylinder head to cool the
engine. Always keep the cylinder block.
(Continued on Page 3)

3

—

THE YEAR OF EXTREMES - 1973

MATURITY IS MANY THINGS

by S herw ood A. M oore
W oodw ay Country Club
No one connected with the turf
industry in the Metropolitan New York
area — or in fact the whole Northeast
— will ever forget the 1973 season.
We did not have a little of everything,
we had a lot of everything. Mother
Nature threw the book at us this year
in the form of adverse weather (ex­
cessive cloudy days, excessive rainfall,
and excessive heat), every disease im­
aginable, insects galore, and then to
tap all, the summer ended off with a
blistering heat wave.
After a very mild winter, Spring
broke early and March had some very
nice workable days, so all turfmen
thought what a wonderful season was
ahead for us. That was short-lived —
for the rains came and continued.
Cloudy rainy weather can make the
grass look green, if you ignore the
diseases, but when the sun breaks out
that little grass plant just fades away.
This is what happened near the end of
June and the first part of July —
grasses started to die like mosquitoes at
a Dursban cocktail party.
Those areas that did survive this
period met a new onslaught in early
August by another downpouring rain
(oh, what ever happened to those half
inch and one inch rainfalls) followed
by warm, muggy weather. Diseases
were working on diseases — they had
no grass left to devour.
Ah, we thought in mid-August when
we had a breathing spell of cool nights,
we are “over the hump” and “Poa
annua” weather is back with us. So
we started to aerify and rip the turf
areas apart for reseeding, when Mother
Nature let go with another block buster
in the form of two weeks of hot weath­
er — nine days of which the tempera­
tures were over ninety degrees. So
there went some more grass — yes,
even new seedlings to the ravages of
heat and disease. Those who had dif­
ficulty in identifying Pythium diseases
previously had no trouble during this
period.
In fact, the grasses have been in­
fested with every disease in the book
this year — the plant pathologists are
grinning from ear to ear. In spring
and early summer, Red Thread or Pink
Patch (Corticium fuciforme) and the
Leaf spots (Helminthosporium) walked
thru the fescues and bluegrass turf
areas. Many beautiful bluegrass lawns
were brown from leafspot diseases.
Fusarium Blight or Frog Eye D i­
sease (Fusarium roseum) was more

M A TU RITY is many things. First,
it is ability to base a judgment on the
Big Picture — the Long Haul. It
means being able to pass up the fun-forthe minute and select the course of
action which will pay off later.

(Continued on Page 4)

M aturity is the ability to stick with
a project or a situation until it is fin­
ished.
Maturity is the capacity to face un­
pleasantness, frustrations, discomfort,
and defeat without complaint or col­
lapse.
Maturity is the ability to live up to
your responsibilities, and this means
being dependable. The world is filled
with people who can’t be counted on.
People who never seem to come
through in the clutches. People who
break promises and substitute alibis
for performance.
M aturity is the ability to make a de­
cision and stand by it. Immature peo­
ple spend their lives exploring endless
possibilities and then do nothing. Ac­
tion requires courage. And there is no
maturity without courage.
M aturity is the ability to harness
your abilities and your energies and to
do more than is expected. The mature
person refuses to settle for mediocrity.
He would rather aim high and miss the
mark than aim low — and make it.

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT
Are you an active member,
The kind that would be missed;
Or are you just contented
That your name be on the list?
Do you attend meetings
And mingle with the flock;
Or do you stay at home
And criticize and knock?
Do you take an active part
To help the work along;
Or are you satisfied to be
The kind that just belong?
Do you ever go to visit
A member who is sick?
Or leave the work to just a few
And talk about the clique
Think this over, member
You know right from wrong;
Are you an active member
Or do you “just belong” ?
Anon.

AIR-COOLED ENGINE
MAINTENANCE TALK
(Continued from Page 2)

cylinder head, and blower housing
clean.
S park P lugs: T o perform its’ basic
job of providing a high voltage spark
at the proper location or time in the
combustion chamber, a spark plug
must exactly match the dimensional re­
quirements of the particular cylinder
head in which it is installed. Spark
plug electrode gaps wear away at a
rate of .005 to .008 during a normal
service life in most all engines. The
air-cooled engine, unlike the engine in
your car or truck, works under a load
most of the time. Under load spark
plug condition becomes critical as elec­
trodes wear and fouling deposits accu­
mulate on the plugs core, hidden mis­
firing develops. To help avoid prob­
lems with small air-colled engines, re­
place spark plugs regularly and clean
the spark plug with every oil change.
A bad spark plug will spoil a new
change of engine oil. A bad spark plug
will not burn all gasoline. Raw gas will
work down into the engine crank case
and cause bearing wear.
F ly W h eel System : The flywheel
is located on the crankshaft with a soft
metal key. The flywheel and flywheel
key is held in place by a nut or starter
clutch. The flywheel key must be in
good shape to insure proper location of
the flywheel for ignition purposes. Do
Not use a Steel K ey under any circum ­
stances on a small engine. Use only
the key that is supplied for the model
engine to be serviced. Flywheels used
are made of aluminum, zinc, or cast
iron. The flywheel has three (3) jobs
to do. It acts as the device for stirring
the air to cool the engine. It keeps the
engine turning when it is not receiving
power from the power stroke. It keeps
the magnetic field in motion and
makes the ignition system capable of
supplying the amount of voltage neces­
sary to form a spark at the plug on
time.
E ngine Oi l : Think of engine oil as
a quart. Yes, engine oil has four (4)
different jobs to do.
1. It lubricates.
2. It cools the engine.
3. It seals the seals in the engine.
4. It helps keep the engine clean.
Remember oil is an engine’s life
insurance.
POINTS TO REM EM BER:
Look and check all parts so as to be
sure they are in order. Track Down
each possible cause of below standard
conditions and correct them NOW.
(From the Carolinas Newsletter)

—

THE YEAR OF EXTREMES - 1973
(Continued from Page 3)

prevalent this year than many of us
have ever witnessed. This disease
caused considerable loss of turf on
lawns, fairways and roughs this sea­
son. And naturally Dollar Spot (Sclerotinia homoecarpa) and Large Brown
Patch (Rhizoctonia solani) did not
take a back seat. They were ever pres­
ent. Mention has already been made of
the severity of Pythium Blight or Cot­
tony Blight (Pythium ). Fairy Ring
(Basidicmycetes) was present in all its
glory, plus no doubt numerous other
diseases that we did not even want to
think about.
Oh yes, don’t forget our friends the
turfgrass weevils. They took their share
of LUif in M a y and June, and then,
not being satisfied with that, produced
a second active brook in August.
The Japanese Beetle is making its
presence known this year after being
sort of forgotten about for years. Even
some resistant strains are being re­
ported, so from now on do not include
them out. The chinch bugs took a hack
seat this year — probably got drowned
out — but the sod webworm and cut­
worms made up for them. If you wit­
ness numerous birds working raven­
ously on your lawn, you had better in­
vestigate before the above mentioned
critters wipe it out.
So it really has been a year of ex­
tremes — with rainfall, temperatures,
humidity, insects, wilt, and what-haveyou. Even though it is best not to think
about it and try as we may to forget,.
I think that 1973 will be a topic of
conservation among turf men for some
time to come. I only hope my golfing
members do forget and forgive.
(From T ee to G reen , Oct. ’73)

4

—

HOW TO DECORATE
A CHRISTMAS TREE
First, get a tree. Second, with
branches. Third, Green. Now you are
ready to start. Climb to the attic.
Wrestle old suitbox full of twinkling
doodads. Box will break open third
step down. Lay out strings of lights.
Stop. Go to Store. Buy six dozen light
bulbs. Plug in lights. Try to find why
lights don’t work. Go to store. Buy
new strings of lights.
Place tree in rack. Pick tree up.
Place in rack. Pick it up. Do this
twelve times. Nail tree to floor. Climb

T o *c

on chair. Fasten star to top of tree.
Lean way over to accomplish this. Pick
the tree and yourself up. Repeat this
three times. Turn job over to wife and
kiddies. Sit down. Say, “Yes, its very
Pretty.” Repeat these words until Janu­
ary first.

THE FOLLOWING COMPANIES ARE CONTRIBUTING TO THE
SUPPORT OF THE CONN. CLIPPINGS:
ALFCO R O K EBY CO., INC.
1211 Stony Hill Road
Wilbraham, Mass.
F ran k D ow ney , CAGCS m em ber
(413) 596-3009
OLD FO X CHEMICAL COMPANY
P. 0 . Box 62
Pleasant Valley, Conn.
Joh n Grant , CAGCS m em ber
749-8339
W ILLIAM D EST
W illiam Dest, CAGCS m em ber
Stolens - C -l, Arlington
C-19, Congressional
246-6279
0 . M. SCOTT & SONS
Proturf. Div.
Marysville. Ohio
Al A rison , CAGCS m em ber
336-9890
V ALLEY FARMS TU R F N U RSERY
Box 81
Avon, Conn.
J o e B idw ell , CAGCS m em ber
658-6886

TOM IRWIN CO.
113 A Street
Burlington, Mass.
Jo h n P. C allahan , CAGCS m em ber
677-7054
THE CHAS. C. HART COMPANY
304 Main Street
Wethersfield, Conn.
R ob ert K enn edy , CAGCS m em ber
529-2537
IRRIGATION AND EQU IPM EN T
SU P P L Y CO.
Milford, Conn.
R ich ard H osking, CAGCS m em ber
874-1096
SO M ERS TU R F SU P P L IE S
Orange, Conn.
Bill S om ers , CAGCS m em ber
795-4320
CLORO-SPRAY CORPORATION
475 Beaver Street
Bristol, Penn. 19007
E dw ard ]. S an son , CAGCS m em ber
F ran k P alad in o , LIA G CS m em b er
215-426-7723

FIRST CLASS

CONN. CLIPPINGS
Robert Osterman, editor
937 B lack R ock T urnpike
E aston Conn. 06612
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