( G o u r d e S u p e r i n t e n d e n t s d i s s o c i a t i o n OF President— JOSEPH BUTLER United Shoe Country Club 3 Ridgewood Terrace Beverly, Mass. Phone WA 2-1263 First Vice-President— LEON V. ST. PIERRE Longmeadow Country Club 51 Fenwood Road Longmeadow 6, Mass. Phone LO 7-5562 Second Vice-President— ANTHONY D. CARANCI, JR. Ledgemont Country Club 22 Hillview Drive North Providence 4, R.I. Phone PA 3-1688 Secretary— JOHN CALLAHAN Spring Valley Country Club 146 Edgehill Road Sharon, Mass. Phone SU 4-6370 Treasurer— ARTHUR L. CODY Wollaston Golf Club Phone Supt. Office at club GRanite 2-3535 Home GRanite 2-7913 19 Ardell Street North Quincy, Mass. Trustee— ALBERT L. ALLEN Kernwood Country Club Phone PI 4-7783 Kernwood Country Club Salem, Mass. Trustee— HOWARD FARRANT PinebrooK Country Club Phone OL 3-5296 Wheeler Lane Natick, Mass. Trustee— JOHN KEALTY The Country Club 209 W. Plain Street Cochituate, Mass. Phone OL 3-1408 Finance Committee Chairman— PHILIP I. CASSIDY Weston Golf Club Phone HI 4-4127 45 Grosvenor Road Needham 92, Mass. Educational Committee Chairman— ROBERT GRANT Supernault National Country Club Phone EM 5-5538 Deershorn Road Lancaster, Mass. Golf Committee Chairman— EDWARD J. MURPHY Lexington Country Club 194 Oxbow Road Wayland, Mass. Newsletter Committee Chairman— RICHARD C. BLAKE Mt. Pleasant Country Club Phone 869-2737 211 Sewall Street Boylston, Mass. Past President— N. J. SPERANDIO Concord Country Club Concord, Mass. Phone EM 9-4723 NEW E N G L A N D February and March, 1963 NEWSLETTER- The February meeting- was held Feb. 4 at the Waltham Field Station. Phil Cassidy Financial Comm. Chairman gave an interesting and informative report on the financial status of our Association. He also made several recommendations in regards to living within our budget and dues structure. Applications for membership were received from: John Smith, Jr., Supt. Indian Ridge C. C., Andover, Mass. Associate membership Max J. Mierzwa, Supt. Springfield C. C., Springfield, Mass. Regular membership Manuel N. Francis, Supt. Belmont C. C., Belmont, Mass. Associate membership Dr. Burton R. Anderson, Supt. Augusta C. C., Augusta, Maine Associate membership The above listed Supts. were voted memberships at the meeting held March 8, 1963 at the Student Union Building, University of Mass., Amherst. "Burt" Anderson incidently, was presented the Booklet on Boston for traveling the greatest distance to our last meeting—and right behind him were Bill Barrett from Portsmouth C. C., N. H. and Dick Mansfield from Vineyard Haven, Mass. * * * Our heartfelt sympathy is extended to the family of Mario Finizia who died Feb. 27, 1963. Mario was 52 years old. A member of the Rhode Island G.S.C.A.; the New England G.C.S.A. and the National G.C.S.A.A. He worked at Wannamosett C. C., R. I. for 36 years and was Supt. for 15 years. He is survived by his wife and 3 children. Robert E. Cummings of Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce discussed the facilities that will be available in Boston after 1965 to accomodate a National Turf Conference and Show. The new Prudential Center will have 4 acres of exhibition space and room for 700 exhibits; 18 meeting rooms, a,nd adequate hotel and motel arrangements all in the downtown Boston area and numerous restaurants and theater accomodations are within walking distance. If the membership is interested in having a national conference and show, now is the time to start: planning. Conference dates are already made for 1964 and 1965. Every year at this time wherever Supts. gather, Snow and Ice removal is always discussed pro and con. The below two articles should be of interest especially this year as most courses have been covered with snow and ice since Dec. 1962 thru the present date. Suggestions for Removing Ice Cover from Golf Course Greens Uncovering greens can be quite a problem, particularly when the cover is ice. A solution appeared in the February, 1962, issue of the MidContinent Turfletter published by Green Section staff members Marvin Ferguson, Jim Holmes and Holman Griffin. The following represents pertinent excerpts from their treatment of the problem. Damage to ice covered greens is most severe on poorly drained greens. This damage actually results from insufficient oxygen' in the root and rhizome area and increased activity of parasitic fungi. What then can be done to minimize the turf damage? 1) Break up and melt the ice Punch holes at least three inches into the soil by using a inch diameter or larger sharpened bar making the holes from one to three feet apart. Keep holes open throughout the ice period. A melting of the ice can be hastened by applying fertilizer-soluable inorganic as ammonium sulfate (two to three lbs. per 1,000 sq. ft.), natural organic (10 to 20 lbs. per 1,000! sq. ft.). Natural organic fertilizer is preferred as less burning may occur. Apply fertilizer only when another ice cover is very unlikely. 2) Remove the water After final melting of the ice and warm weather is forecast drain or dry the green. This water removal can be done in many ways; push water from low areas with squeegees, shovels, etc.; in severe cases dig a ditch, through green to be filled and sodded later; punch rods through the soil to underlying tile. 3) Protect against diseases It is a standard good practice to spray greens with a mercuric fungicide prior to the first snow of winter and once or twice when greens are clear as the winter progresses. With greens covered with ice it is most important to treat with fungicides of the Mercury, Cadmium, Thiram type as soon as possible as fusarium and helminthosporium fungi are most prevalent as ice begins melting. Diseased areas should be treated three to four days apart. 4) Don't build troubles in In the construction of new greens or the rebuilding of old greens provide for adequate surface and subsurface drainage. Well drained greens are damaged considerably less than poorly drained greens when covered with ice. ICE SHEET DAMAGE IN THE MIDWEST Theodore W. Woehrle, Supt. Beverly Country Club Chicago, Illinois The winter of 1961-62 will go down in history as the worst winter for turf in the Midwest. Hundreds of greens, tees and fairways were lost to damage caused by an ice sheet and snow coverage that lasted over 100 days. There were basically three types of damage that occurred. These were suffication, C02 poisoning, and root and crown rot. Maintenance procedures were all discounted and soil structure was believed to have been the biggest cause of the majority of damage. Recovery from this dilemma was obtained by overseeding and aerification. Research is being conducted at several of the Midwest Universities to learn the exact casual agent and what steps may be taken to lessen the damage if similar conditions exist in future years. General observations that were noted: 1. Soil type was believed to have been the biggest cause of damage. 2. Various strains of bent were more tolerant to damage than others. 3. Maintenance procedures were discounted as causes for damage done. 4. Early ice removal during the initial stages of thawing is advised. 5. Succulent growth late in the fall is to be discouraged. 6. Early succulent growth in the spring is not advised. 7. USGA greens with good water and air drainage survived remarkably well. $ $ In the New England area many Supt's. have already removed the snow from their greens. This was done in some caises with dozers or tractors equipped with snow type buckets on front-end loaders. In the Worcester area 2-3 feet of snow was removed and this exposed a solid layer of ice 4" to 8" thick depending on the location of the green. GOLF ON FROZEN TURF Every golf club has its die-hards who won't admit that the golf season has come to an end. and who will continue to play when the course should be closed. Frost itself does not cause any particular damage to turf and is actually beneficial, in that the expansion caused by the freezing tends to break up the compacted areas. Playing on frozen greens can cause damage, especially when the surface has thawed and the soil underneath is still frozen. Plant tissues are damaged during this period. Footprints often can be observed after play on frosty areas, and they can be seen for a long period afterwards. There can be root damage as well, caused by the action of the golfers feet pushing the soft unfrozen surface across the frozen area beneath, thus shearing off the roots. Tf play has to continue regardless of the damage to the turf, it would be wise to consider temporary greens. These should be mowed fairly close to give the golfer a satisfactory putting surface. Along the same lines it would be desirable to mow an area in front of the tees to protect the turf on the tees. Any club desiring to have the best turf in spite of these conditions would be wise in putting up a sign that reads, "GO SOUTH YOUNG MAN, GO SOUTH". • * * THE WINDSOR CO. We are prime suppliers of unlimited, selected quantities of used tobacco cloth for use on newly seeded areas and has been used very sue cessfully in golf course construction. It is a material which helps retard erosion and delays moisture evaporation. It has also been used extensively to hold down straw over newly seeded ar eas. It keeps new seed from being washed away by heavy rains or watering. This material is 33y feet wide by varying lengths up to approximately 125 yards. One lineal yard weighs approximately one pound. We would be pleased to send you a sample. It is offered at 30c per pound in lots up to 50 pounds and 25c per pound in lots up to 200 pounds and 20c per pound in larger quantities. All shipments are F. O. B. Windsor, Connecticut. 3