NEWSLETTER OF THE FLORIDA GOLF COURSE SUPERINTENDENTS ASSOCIATION

Turfgrass seminar host
The Everglades GCSA in cooperation with IFAS is sponsoring a oneday seminar on turfgrass management at the Ramada Inn in Fort
Myers, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 21. Everglades Chapter
President Steve Ciardullo, above, said the seminar will offer CEU s
through the GCSAA and the Florida Department of Agriculture.

UPCOMING
EVENTS
Jan. 6

Central Florida Research Golf Tournament,
Interlachen CC

Jan. 11

F6CSA Board Meeting, Bay Hill Club, Orlando

Jan. 14

North Florida chapter meeting, Ponte Vedra
Beach

Jan. 14-18

66th Annual Sally Championship, LPGA Tour
Event, Oceanside CC, Ormond Beach.
Spectators welcome.

Speakers will include UF researchers John Cisar, Monica Elliott, Don
Short and Robin Giblin-Davis and other horticultural experts who will
share new research and information for use in Southwest Florida. For
more information, contact Steve Ciardullo at 813-482-6818.
Photo by Philip Pettus

Jan. 15

Palm Beach chapter meeting, Jonathans
Landing CC

Feb. 26

Central Florida chapter meeting, Zellwood
Station

Jan. 16

Assistant Superintendent Seminar, Palm
Junior College

Feb. 10-17 GCSAA 63rd Conference & Show, New
Orleans

Jan. 16

West Coast Chapter meeting, Buckhorn
Springs GC

Feb. 14

FGCSA reception, 5 to 7 p.m., Prince of Wales
Room, New Orleans Hilton

Jan. 20

Suncoast chapter meeting, Bradenton CC

March 10

Jan. 21

Southwest Florida Turfgrass Management
Seminar, Ramada Inn, Fort Myers

USGA Green Section Regional Conference,
Royce Hotel,
West Palm Beach

Jan. 21

Treasure Coast chapter meeting, Windsor GC,
Vero Beach

March 12

USGA Green Section Conference, Stouffer
Hotel, Orlando

Editor
Mike
8892
Boca
(407)

GREEN SHEE
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482-3052

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The Green Sheet is a bimonthly
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Jan./Feb., March/April, May/June,
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The Green Sheet is a current, timely
newsletter for FGCSA members as

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Items must be for the good of the
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Deadline next issue, Feb. 5

FGCSA Officers and Committee Chairmen
President
Tom Benefield, CGCS
(407) 6 2 5 - 5 7 3 6
Vice President
Markjarrell, CGCS
(407) 9 6 5 - 0 0 4 6
Secretary/Treasurer
Paul Crawford
(407) 845-2395
Immediate Past President
Ray Hansen
(407) 4 9 5 - 0 5 3 6
Executive Secretary
Marie Roberts
(407) 6 9 2 - 9 3 4 9
(407) 6 9 2 - 9 6 5 4 (Fax)
Florida Green Editor
Joel Jackson
(407) 363-4514 (Voice, Fax)
Green Sheet Editor/Survey
Mike Bailey
(407) 4 9 9 - 8 4 8 0
Education
Rick Walker
(407) 2 3 9 - 1 0 5 7
Publications/FTGA
Mark Jarrell, CGCS
(407) 9 6 5 - 0 0 4 6

Membership
Buddy Carmouche, CGCS
(813) 261-0598
Research
Ray Hansen
(407) 4 9 5 - 0 5 3 6
Long Range Planning
Paul Crawford
(407) 845-2395
By-Laws
John Gallagher
(407) 483-4855
Certification
Dick Blake (407) 736-7051
Joe Ondo (407) 657-7565
Golf/Crowfoot
Joe Ondo, CGCS
(407) 657-7565
Poa Annua
Buddy Carmouche, CGCS
(813) 261-0598
Advisory Committee
John Foy, USGA
(407) 5 4 6 - 2 6 2 0
Government Relations
Tim Hiers
(407) 589-6992
Voting Delegate
Tom Benefield, CGCS

H o w soon
they f o r g e t
There was the score, high up on the
stadium score board: UF 14 - FSU 9.
Who would have thought it would end
like this? Certainly not the thousands of
FSU faithful who made the two-hour
trip with high hopes and expectations of
watching their beloved Seminóles prevail.
During the
past, game parties and friendly
jesting around
the tailgaters,
some u n d e served comments
were
made by the
FSU alumni in
regards to their
revered coach
that made me
Tom Benefield
realize just how
fickle people are and how closely related
the position of a coach is to that of our
profession. The slurring, staggering FSU
supporter with the war paint on his face
and a feather in his hair, cursed the
coach and determinedly said it was time
that he resign from the coaching profession.
What had this man done to deserve
such treatment? He had his team #1 in
the country for more than 3 months. He
led them to defeat formidable opponents at home and away. But in two
consecutive games he came up short by
a total of six points. How soon the FSU
faithful forget.
This really struck close to home in
how we in the golf course superintendent profession are dealt with.
Each of us has had his courses in tiptop condition when all facets of the program come together at any given time to
produce what we all strive for. We have
all heard the praise and adulation from
our supporters, how we were doing a
great job and how our golf course was
better than any other course anywhere.

Flying high on cloud nine and it all
seemed so simple. These people will
adore us forever, right?
Wrong! Just as quickly as coach
Bowden fell from grace, so can we. Just
as in football where you're a star as long
as you are winning, we as superintendents are the fair-haired boys as long as
our course conditions are near perfect.
But as soon as one provides conditions
that are less than near perfect he immediately becomes the whipping boy, the
guy who caused all this mess.
From the penthouse to the outhouse
and you did everything now that you
were doing then but
all of a sudden it is not
6 an
so simple. Just like
adorino coach Bowden —
crowa
same players, same ascan turn sistant coaches, same
game plan —just difinto a
ferent results.
lynch
9
I felt sorry for coach
mob
Bowden that day, not
because he lost the
game but because he had to answer to
supporters like this golden chief.
For I know first-hand how easy an
adoring crowd can turn into a lynch
mob and it is not a comforting feeling.
The moral of this story is, "It's not what
you did for me yesterday but what you
are doing for me today!"
^ ^

FGCSA reception
slated at GCSAA
Conference & Show
The FGCSA is sponsoring a reception at the New Orleans Hilton from 5
-7 p.m., Friday, Feb 14, during the
63rd annual GCSAA Conference and
Show. All FGCSA members and their
guests are invited to attend for cocktails and hors-doeuvres. The Board of
Directors will be presenting the 1991
FGCSA Distingusihed Service Award
to Cecil Johnston, CGCS, Bangplee CC,
Thailand, during the reception, ^Jk

All's fair in love
and water, right?
By Tom Benefield, CGCS
What a funny world we live in. Not
only are some segments of society required to solve the problems they create
but other segments are required to solve
the problems created by others. Such is
the case of the developing war over water and believe you me, this one is turning into a full scale conflict.
The DER passed rules in early 1991
requiring waste water treatment facilities to initiate re-use programs for the
water they must dispose of. The rules
did not mandate that golf courses must
take this water, let alone pay for the
WWTP re-use projects. But yet this is
exactly what the WWTP officials are
working diligently for. Unfortunately
for us, they have the ear of the water
management districts and are working
hand in hand to force golf courses to
take this low quality water and extort
money from us in the process.
Not all of the WMDs operate this
way, but the St. John's District is climbing out on this legal limb that we hope
will come crashing down at their feet.
This district has decided who it is going
to bed down with and has put the priorities and desires of the WWTP at the top
of the list. Gone is any notion of fair play
and moral obligation, gone is any sense
of rational and logical reasoning to drive
their decisions. Left is only their cozy,
tight relationship with the WWTP's.
How they operate is that the WWTPs
will run re-use lines to potential endusers, whether they have contracts for
re-use or not. When the end users, in
this case the golf courses, protest the cost
of the wastewater, the WWTP's contact
the WMD which sends threatening letters to the golf courses about revoking
the consumptive use permits and they
must take the wastewater regardless of
cost. In court they would call this a
license to steal and it has the wholehearted support of the WMD. Matter of
fact, by their actions they indicate a well
constructed plan developed in the se-

crecy of backroom negotiations with the
WWTP's. Who was it that said this is
America, anyway? You would never
know it from the treatment we receive
from this WMD.
How do we get a fair deal with the
WMD's and the WWTP's? The first step
is to get the WMDs to see our side of the
story. It has long been said we have a
positive tale to tell and we must get it
across. It has worked well for some of
the other WMD's and maybe the St.
John's people are not too far overboard
to see the real story and hear the truth.
Or it may take legal action and a court
decision to change their minds. The
$20,000-30,000 to take this situation to
court will be far less than what one facility will have to shell out for this wastewater if this type of extortion is permitted.
Get active, call your WMD, talk over
the rules, be a positive solution to this
problem or else we will all go down the
toilet together.
/

WINTER MEETING OF THE FGCSA
DATE: Saturday, January 11
TIME:
10 a.m.
PLACE: Bay Hill Club, Orlando
All FGCSA members are invited to attend.

V

J

6 3 r d A n n u a l G o l f Course
Conference & S h o w
Feb. 10-17, 1992
New Orleans Convention Center
FGCSA has a room block at

The Hyatt-Regency
New Orleans
• Get your first choice
• Stay together at F G C S A room block
• Complimentary Shuttle Service to
Convention Center, French Quarter and
River W a l k
• Shuttle Serrvice to Airport

Single $130
Double $150
Rates Available from 2/10 thru 2/18
Phone Hotel Direct 504-561-1234
State that you're with the FGCSA
or Phone Marie Roberts at
407-692-9349

Superintendent Reports

Speed Kills —
Are fast greens,
healthy turf
compatible?
The following articles ore reprinted
from the Everglades and Suncoast
chapter newsletters.
By Buddy Carmouchey CGCS, Holein-the-Wall GC
The Stimpmeter readings are increasingly prized by club members as the
measure of their golf course's machismo.
Weekly television doses of golf greens
stimping at 10 or more causes golfers to
demand unrealistic green speeds from
their superintendents. What most superintendents have trouble with is explaining to members that fast greens and
healthy turf are not compatible. The
closer you cut grass, the more susceptible it is to disease and noticeable insect
damage. Furthermore, there is no historical basis for having lightning-quick
greens.
Since the Stimpmeter's introduction
in the mid-70s the average readings have
increased from 6 feet 6 inches to about 8,
while some clubs require readings of 9
or higher. Before the Stimpmeter,
Oakmont was considered the standard
for fast greens in the United States. Yet
Pete Dye had some mathematical experts analyze time-lapse pictures of the
1962 U. S. Open at Oakmont and they
concluded that green speeds at that time
were around 8. Dye maintains that while
the USGA is spending $10 million on
finding hardier turf, all they need to do
is raise cutting height by l/16th of an
inch.
Several innovations in the golf industry have helped to increase green speed.
Until about 15 years ago greens used to
be cut every other day. Thinner
bedknives make it possible to cut below
l/8th of an inch where l/4th of an inch
was the norm until the 1970s. Topdressing is now performed every two or
three weeks as opposed to the old once
or twice a year. And verticutters and

Dye maintains that while the
USGA is spending$10 million
onfindinghardier turf, all they
need to do is raise the cutting
height by one-sixteenth of an
inch.
groomers were not available until the
1970s. So it is reasonable to expect faster
greens today. But the red zone seems to
be about 8 or 8 1/2. Above that turf
begins to exhibit the symptoms of undue stress and the budget rises accordingly. While it is possible to shoot for a
9 or 10 for a tournament or special event,
maintaining these speeds year round is
like walking a tightrope.
Healthy turf and fast greens require a
lot of money and a great deal of dedication. And even with these, you might
want to keep the old resume handy.

*

Each course has
its own unique
green situations
By Jim Svabeky Bradenton

Country

Club

For the past several years we have
been bombarded with the thought that
the fastest green is the best green.
W i t h the increased use of the
stimpmeter, golf courses have been comparing each other by how fast their greens
are. But I believe that each course has its
own unique green situations and the
speed of the green should be relative to
those conditions.
The USGA has warned superintendents about getting carried away with
the use of the stimpmeter and each superintendent should consider his own
situation.
The USGA chart for green speed is
very interesting and shows green speed
for championship play and regular play.
I think it is interesting to see the difference in speeds.

GREEN SPEED CHART
Championship
play
Fast
Medium Fast
Medium
Medium Slow
Slow

10' 6"
9'6"
8'6"
7' 6"
6'6"

Regular
play
8'6"
r 6"
6' 6"
5' 6"
4'6"

GCSAA Refutes
Cancer Link
By Steve Pike
The superintendents and the turfgrass sectors of the golf industry have
taken their share of criticism the past few
years for the use of chemicals in golf
course maintenance, and came in for
more earlier this month when an article
in USA Today questioned the use of
chemicals on golf courses as they might
relate to the four incidents of breast
cancer in the past two years on the LPGA
Tour.
Through the efforts ofthe Golf Course
Superintendents Association of America,
American Society of Golf Course Architects, and state organizations such as the
Florida Turfgrass Association, steps have
been taken to educate critics and the
public in general about the effects of
chemicals on humans.
Those efforts might have taken a big
blow when LPGA president Judy
Dickinson, in USA Today, said she and
others were concerned about the effects
of those chemicals on themselves because of the time they've spent on golf
courses over the years. Dickinson expressed her concern in an article that
focused on four cases of breast cancer on
the LPGA Tour in the past two years.
While one industry official said the
story, with its implications that chemicals used for fertilizer and pesticides have
contributed to those cancers "makes you
cringe," the industry was quick to defend itself against what it viewed as an

Membership

unwarranted attack.
GCSAA president Steve Cadenelli,
superintendent at Metedeconk National
Golf Club in Jackson, N J said his organization has written letters to USA Today
about the article, which he termed
"troublesome."
"The science is out there."
The GCSAA has also sent letters to
Dickinson and LPGA commissioner
Charles Meechem, Jr. expressing its concern and inviting them or other representatives to sit down and discuss the
issue.
There is no concrete evidence or correlation, industry officials maintain, between the chemicals used on golf courses
and the outbreak of cancer on the LPGA
Tour. Most chemicals used in spraying
a course are extremely diluted before
going into the water and then only small
amount—as little as an ounce—is used
for a large area.
"The only 'experts' I've heard of in
these situations are in court trying to get
money," said Dr. Bert McCarty, a turfgrass specialist at the University of
Florida.
"The general public is suspicious of
scientists. This type of thing only fuels
the fire. A lot of things that you have
commonly around your house, like sink
cleaner, are more toxic."
Reprinted from November 30,
1991 GOLFWEEK

Central Florida
Research Tournament
will be played Jan. 6
Stuart Leventhal and the Interlachen
CC in Winter Park are hosting this year's
Central Florida Research Golf Tournament on Monday, January 6,1992.
This year's tournament is a two-man
team scramble beginning immediately
after lunch. The teams will consist of a
golf course superintendent and an official from his club. The funds raised will
go to buy equipment needed to outfit
our new turf laboratory, the Envirotron

being built on the University of Florida
Gainesville campus.
The 10 a.m. meeting will include a
research update by Robert Yount, executive director of the Florida Turfgrass Association . Bobby Brantley,
executive director of the Florida Golf
Council, will discuss the taxation programs being planned by legislators on
golf course properties, and what this
will do to Florida golf.
Entry fee is $120 per team with all
contributions going directly to the
Envirotron Fund. If you cannot stay
to play golf, you may attend the luncheon and meeting only for $25.00
per person. Call Rick Walker, Joe
Ondo or Stuart Leventhal for registration information.

Welcome to our
new members
The following members have
joined the FGCSA since the 1992
FGCSA Membership Directory went
to press. Please add them to the
back of your book.
Central Florida chapter:
Jim Brisette, La Cita CC
Harold "Jay" Cardell, New Smyrna
Beach Municipal GC
John Crawford, Indian River CC
Tom Heard, West Orange CC
Jimmy Lawrence, Rolling Hills CC
Brian Poorman, CC of Orlando
Stephen Verville, Eastwood GC
Freddie Swindle, New Smyrna
Beach Municipal GC
Patrick Waymire, Fairgreen G&CC

1992 membership
directories out; some
still need to renew
The FGCSA 1991-92 Membership
Directory has been mailed to all FGCSA
superintendents. If you have not received your copy, please call the office at
800-732-6053.
Several superintendents have not renewed their membership with their local chapters as yet b u t Buddy
C a r m o u c h e , FGCSA M e m b e r s h i p
Chairman, is busy tracking these superintendents down. The following shows
the current membership in the FGCSA.
Updates will be included with each issue
of the Green Sheet.
Big Bend
10
Central Florida
102
Everglades
86
North Florida
46
Palm Beach
124
Ridge
32
Seven Rivers
21
South Florida
74
Suncoast
63
Treasure Coast
68
West Coast
70
Dual chapter members
18
Total FGCSA membership 714

^

Everglades chapter:
Alan Bakos, Villages at Country
Creek
Dan Kelly, Eagle Creek CC
Joseph Kirby, Lakewood CC
Glenn McCandless, Kelly Greens
CC
Ron Moore, Hunters Ridge CC
Pat Raley, Moorings CC
Ron Richards, Sabal Springs GC
Hugh Smith, Wildcat Run CC
Joel Smith, Quail Village GC
Michael Sorrell, Del Vera CC
Paul Zile, San Carlos GC
S o u t h Florida chapter:
Robert Blevins, Redlands G&CC
Anthony Bryant, Keys Gate GC
Daniel Diaz, Palm Aire Spa and
Resort
T r e a s u r e Coast chapter:
Scott Campbell, Sandridge GC
Bob Mooney, Sandridge GC
Stephen White, Sailfish Point GC
W e s t Coast chapter:
Fred Tucker, Timber Pines GC
i t

Member Accomplishments

Seven members
earn CGCS
designation
This month we are featuring seven
FGCSA superintendents who have recently become Certified Golf Course
Superintendents. If you are working on
attaining this status, please call the
FGCSA office so that we can keep track
of your progress.

J. Mark Black
J. Mark Black received his Associate
of Science and Associate of Arts degrees
from Lake City Community College.
Before his formal education, Mark
worked at the Bay Hill Club in Orlando
and at Greenlefe Resort in Haines City.
Immediately following college, he
served as assistant superintendent at
Imperial Golf Club in Naples for four
years. In February of 1984 he accepted
the position as Superintendent at Bonita
Bay. He was an active part of the team
overseeing the construction and growin of the Marsh course which opened in
January 1985 and the new course at
Bonita Bay, Creekside, which opened
in November 1990.
He currently serves on the board of
directors of the Florida Turfgrass Association, is a committeeman for the
U.S.G.A. Green Section, serves on the
advisory board for the Florida State
Golf Association's publication, FORE:
Florida and has served on the Board of
the Everglades chapter of the FGCSA.
Mark is proud of his accomplishment of becoming a Certified Golf
Course Superintendent. He found it
took a great deal of dedicated study to
prepare for the exam, but it is well
worth it!

David Fry
David Fry was born and raised in
Florida. He received his degree from
Lake City Community College in 1987.

THE JOB SCENE
JOB CHANGES
James Brumbaugh is the new superintendent
at Bella Vista in Howey-in-the-Hills.
Fred Marshall has moved from Suntree to
become superintendent of both courses
at the City of Melbourne.
Jack Faulk is the new superintendent at
Seminole Lakes in Punta Gorda.

Al Wiggen has moved from Outdoor Resorts to
become superintendent at Barefoot Bay
GC in Sebastian.

JOBS AVAILABLE:
Certified Superintendent. Country Club of
Orlando. Contact Don Estridge, 1601
Country Club Drive, Orlando, FL 32804.

Cary Lewis, CGCS, has accepted a position at
the Stouffer-Vinoy Resort in St.
Petersburg.

Assistant Superintendent and Licensed Spray
Technician. Ibis CC. Contact Matt Turner,
407-624-8944.

Gene Baldwin has moved from TPC at
Sawgrass to Hidden Hills in Jacksonville.

Mechanic Needed. Redlands CC. Contact Bob
Blevins 305-247-8503.

Prior to attending Lake City he spent 7
years as superintendent for Sunnybreeze
Palms in Arcadia.
After graduation, David served as
assistant superintendent at Bonita Bay
in Bonita Springs for 2 1/2 years. In
1989 he moved to Mariner Properties
where he currently oversees 3 golf
courses: South Seas Plantation on
Captiva Island, the Dunes Club on
Sanibel, and is assisting in the building
of Riverwood GC in Port Charlotte.
David is a member of the FTGA and
is currently serving on the board of
directors of the Everglades chapter of
the FGCSA. David's hobbies and interests include working around the house,
golf and jazz music.

is currently vice president of the Big
Bend chapter and will become president in November. He suggests that
there is a golf boom in his area of the
country and predicts that the Big Bend
chapter will grow with it. He mentioned that problems of poor drainage
and mole crickets are unique to the
panhandle area of the state and that the
informal nature of the Big Bend chapter helps the superintendents interact
with each other to better handle these
problems.
Buck has always wanted to be a certified superintendent and considers the
test to be very thorough.

Buck Workman

Sam Hocutt is another certified superintendent working in the Georgia
area who is a member of the FGCSA.
He earned his certification in March
and belongs to the North Florida GCSA.
Sam has been superintendent at the
Hampton Club on St. Simon's Island,
Georgia, for the past 3 1/2 years. Prior
to that he was superintendent at Carolina Pines CC in North Carolina and
Heritage GC in Myrtle Beach, S.C. He
has been a superintendent for 8 1/2
years and is especially interested in the
growing-in stage of golf course construction. Planning a course, watching
it develop and grow to fruition make all
the problems worthwhile.
Sam received his associate degree in
agronomy from the Horry-Georgetown

Buck Workman is a Georgia superintendent who has become the first
member of the FGCSA Big Bend chapter to become certified.
Buck received a B.S. degree in business from Lander College in South
Carolina. He worked at golf courses all
through school. Since graduation, he
served as assistant superintendent at
Snee Farm CC in Charleston, South
Carolina and Greenwood CC, also in
South Carolina . In 1985 he accepted
the position of superintendent at
Valdosta CC, which is just 20 miles
from the Florida state line.
Buck is a member of the Georgia
GCSA as well as the Florida GCSA. He

Sam Hocutt

Association Activities

Technical College in Myrtle Beach.
Though he feels that certification is
great and is very proud to have achieved
it, he is struggling to keep up with the
yearly CEU requirement because oftravel
time.

Frederick Granger
Frederick Granger actually became a
certified superintendent several months
ago. He recently moved to the South
Florida area to take the position as superintendent at the GC of Miami after
serving 4 years at Grand Harbor in
Sebastian.
Fred has two B.S. degrees from
Saddleback College in Southern California, one in business management and
one in ornamental horticulture. His
first job was at Tomoko Oaks CC in
Ormond Beach.
Fred loves the game of golf and enjoys reading industry related material.
He studied hard for the test and suggests
that you must discipline yourselfto properly prepare for it. Being certified does
make a difference. He believes that if
two equally qualified superintendents
were being considered for a position, the
one who was certified would have the
advantage.

Steven Wright
Steven Wright received his AA degree from Seminole CC and is currently
pursuing a business degree from Rollins
College.
Steve's first golf course job was at
Sugarmill Country Club where he was
hired by Mark Jarrell and worked his
way up to assistant superintendent. He
accepted his first superintendent position at Country Club of Brevard and
later moved to Suntree where he remained for 5 years. He has been at his
current job at Alaqua for the past 2 1/2
years.
Steve is an active member of the
FGCSA having served on the Board for
the Central Florida chapter since 1983.
He was president of the Central Florida
chapter from 1987 through 1989. He
continues to serve the membership by
his work on the Education Committee
and as liaison between his chapter and

the Florida Green.
Steve feels strongly that the GCSAA
certification test is a fair assessment of a
superintendent's skills. He encourages
all superintendents to take the test and
feels that he himself delayed too long
before taking it. Studying for the test
will sharpen your day-to-day and long
term skills and is well worth the time.
Steve is married and has two children, ages 4 1/2 and 2 1/2. He is an avid
5 handicap golfer and has enjoyed the
privilege of playing a few rounds with
Gary Player and Arnold Palmer.

Carol Thomas
Carol Thomas is our most recent
Certified Golf Course Superintendent.
She earned her bachelors degree in microbiology from the University of Central Florida and went on to gain her
masters degree in microbiology and toxicology from North Carolina State.
Carol has been the superintendent at
Dodgertown in Vero Beach for the past
5 1/2 years. Prior to that she served an
additional 5 years as horticulturalist at
the Clubs of Inverrary in Lauderhill. She
became interested in the turf industry
while working for the University of
Florida Agriculture Center in Fort Lauderdale studying turfgrass diseases.
An active member of the Treasure
Coast GCSA, Carol has just completed
her term as president of the chapter after
serving three years on their board of
directors.
Working at the site for the Dodgers
spring training presents many interesting and challenging projects for Carol.
She has just completed building two new
baseball fields in Vero Beach and is also
evaluating fields and equipment needs
in the Domenican Republic. On a rainy
spring day, you might even catch Carol
lending a hand at tarping the infield!
With winter and spring training, there is
never a slow season on their golf courses.
Carol is a goal oriented person and
was eager to take her GCSAA certification test as soon as she was eligible. She
echoes Steve's comments in that the test
itself was a fair indication of a superintendents skills.
Carol's hobbies include travel, espe-

daily to the Caribbean and Central
America area to sharpen her Spanish. As
you can imagine, she is an avid sports
fan, has been to many PGA tour events
in Florida and even got a hole-in-one
back in the days when she was working
at Inverrary.
The FGCSA is proud to have these
superintendents as members of the association! We urge all members who are
considering the certification process to
contact them for guidance.

i t

Some critical of NCI study that claims
cancer in dogs due to 2,4-D
Reprinted from the October 1991 "Chemically Speaking"
published by the Pesticide Information Office, University of Florida,
Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences.

According to a National Cancer Institute Study published in the Sept. 4
issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute (NCI), dogs, whose owners
use herbicides containing 2,4-D on their
lawns, run an increased risk of developing lymphatic cancer.
NCI researchers interviewed owners
of dogs treated at veterinary teaching
hospitals in Colorado, Indiana, and Minnesota for lymphomas (491 dogs), other
cancers (479 dogs) or other illnesses (466
dogs). The dog owners completed either a self-administered postal questionnaire or a telephone interview which
asked, among other things, about the
owners' use of 2,4-D on home lawns
and/or owners who employed commercial lawn care companies to treat their
yards. Authors of the study said the risk
of lymphoma doubled among dogs
whose owners applied 2,4-D herbicides
to their lawns four or more times in a
year. 2,4-D is a herbicide used for broadleaf weeds (not crabgrass) control on
lawns. (Pesticide and Toxic Chemical
News, Sept.. 11, 1991).
A review of the study by Dr. Raymond
Harbison of the University of Florida's
Center for Toxicology indicates the
study's findings are statistically weak,
inconsistent internally, inconsistent with
expected dose-response relationships,
and unconfirmed in the current scientific literature. Other reviewers of the
study cite more weaknesses.

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GCSAA refutes LPGA cancer claims in USA Today
Please see Poge4

Seven superintendents earn CGCS designation
Details on Page 6
FGCSA Secretary
Mrs. Marie Roberts
1760 N.W. Pine Lake Drive
Stuart, FL 34994

First Class Mail
U . S . Postage

PAID
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Stuart, FL

ADDRESS CORRECTION REQUESTED

Cookingham, Peter
Turfgrass Information Center
MSU: W-212 Library
East Lansing, Michigan 4 8 828

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