Q J f (Gourde Superintendents SAssociation OF President— JOSEPH BUTLER United Shoe C o u n t r y C l u b 3 R i d g e w o o d Terrace Beverly, M a s s . Phone W A 2-1263 First Vice-President— L E O N V. ST. P I E R R E Longmeadow Country Club 5 1 Fenwood Road L o n g m e a d o w 6, M a s s . P h o n e LO 7-5562 Second Vice-President— A N T H O N Y 0. C A R A N C I , JR. L e d g e m o n t C o u n t r y Club 22 H i l l v i e w Drive N o r t h P r o v i d e n c e 4, R . I . Phone PA 3-1688 Secretary— JOHN C A L L A H A N S p r i n g Valley C o u n t r y Club 194 E d g e h i l l Road Sharon, Mass. Phone S U 4-6370 Treasurer— A R T H U R L. C O D Y W o l l a s t o n Golf Club P h o n e Supt. Office at c l u b G R a n i t e 2-3535 Home GRanite 2-7913 19 A r d e l l Street N o r t h Quincy, M a s s . Trustee— A L B E R T L. A L L E N K e r n w o o d Country Club P h o n e P I 4-7783 Kernwood Country Club Salem, Mass. Trustee— W I L L I A M ASH A l l e n d a l e Country C l u b P h o n e W Y 3-8767 9 Patton Street No. Dartmouth, M a s s . Trustee— JOHN K E A L T Y The C o u n t r y C l u b 209 W. P l a i n S t r e e t Cochituate, Mass. Phone OL 3-1408 Finance Committee Chairman— GEORGE R O M M E L L Hyannisport Club P h o n e S P 5-2419 169 G o s n o l d S t r e e t Hyannis, Mass. Educational Committee Chairman- THOMAS CURRAN Oak Hill Country C l u b P h o n e Di 2-9198 37 Parker S t r e e t Fitchburg, Mass. Golf C o m m i t t e e Chairman— E D W A R D J. M U R P H Y L e x i n g t o n Country Club 194 Oxbow Road Wayland, Mass. Newsletter Committee Chairman R I C H A R D C. B L A K E Mt. Pleasant Country Club Phone 869-2737 211 Sewall Street Boylston, Mass. Past President— N. J. S P E R A N D I O C o n c o r d Country C l u b Concord, Mass. Phone EM 9 4723 NEW ENGLAND NEWSLETTER. January 1964 The Jan. meeting was held Jan. 6 at the Waltham Field Station. Our guest speaker Don Waddington gave an interesting and informative talk on "Root Growth as Effected by Oxygen Diffusion". All committee chairman present reported. Below listed are several proposed by-law changes: Article IV. Membership - add new paragraph number 7, to read as follows: As of Jan. 6, 1964 a golf course owner, a club manager, or a golf professional, shall be considered as being not solely interested in golf course maintenance, therefore he is not eligible for membership. Article VI. Election of Officers & Directors - Omit thirty days in the last sentence of section 1. Article VIII. Committee - section 3 Duties and Responsibilities - number 2 Finance Committee - add a new paragraph to read as follows: A vote of two-thirds of the members present is required for approval of any expenditure not recommended by the Finance Committee. An application for Associate Membership was received from Herbert Berg, Supt. Pleasant Valley C. C., Sutton, Mass. Charlie Parker, Supt. Agawam Hunt C. C., recupperating at home after a brief illness. Our sympathy is extended to John Realty on the recent death of his wife. Sime Braio, Worcester C. C. retires after 42 yeans service, John Almonte new Supt. Dates To Remember U.S.G.A. annual greens section meeting Jan. 24, 1964 at Biltmore Hotel, New York City. Subject "The Putting Green" Golf Course Supts. Assoc. of America 35th International Turf Grass Conference & Show - Feb. 9-14, Philadelphia, Pa. There should be a record attendance this year from the Eastern Supts. due to location. Train service from South Station in Boston to Philadelphia. The Patriat 175 - cost under $20.00 one way - leaves 1 rOO P.M. arrives Phila, 7:20 P.M. Members not planning on attending please send proxy votes to Art Anderson or Tony Caranci or Dick Blake at your earliest convenience. - FOR SALE Budget Special - 1962 Worthington Tractor - used one year - excellent condition - Call Lou Duval, Chestnut Hill C. C. 254-3678. Congratulations are also in order to Lou and Mrs. Duval on the recent birth of a daughter. NEXT MEETING Feb. 3 - Waltham Field Station 10:00 A.M. Directors Meeting Business Meeting 11:00 Lunch 12:30 Educational Program 1:30 Fran'k Morean - Representing Sawtelle Brothers the Cushman Haulster - a film the 1913 and 1963 U.S. Open Golf Tournament at the Country Club a film Be thankful for the troubles of your job. They provide about half your income. Because if it were not for the things that go wrong, the difficult people you have to deal with, and the problems and unpleasantnesses of your working day, someone could be found to handle your job for half of what you are being paid. It takes intelligence, resourcefulness, patience, tact, and courage to meet the troubles of any job. That is why you hold your present job. And it may be the reason you aren't holding down an even bigger one. If all of us would start to look for more troubles, and learn to handle them cheerfully and with good judgement, as opportunities rather than irritations, we would find ourselves getting ahead at a surprising rate. For it is a fact that there are plenty of big jobs waiting for men and women who aren't afraid of the troubles connected with them. - by Robert R. Updegraff The editor USE OF SOD IN A MODERN TURF MAINTENANCE PROGRAM While sitting in on the meeting sponsored by The Golf Course Superintendents Association of New England to discuss the broad subject "Turf Winter Kill", I arrived at the following conclusions: Turf dies at times during the so-called dormant season because: 1. The season was too wet. 2. The season was too dry. 3. There was too heavy a snow fall. 4. There was too light a snow fall 5. The temperature went too low. 6. The temperature remained too high. 7. The Superintendent removed snow cover. 8. The Superintendent did not remove snow cover. 9. An application of fungicide for winter-disease protection was omitted. 10. An application of fungicide was applied, but at the wrong time. 11. A protective mulch was applied, but at the wrong time, or removed at the wrong time. 12. No protective mulch was used. After enumerating these above twelve factors which contribute to Winter Damage, I am ready to give up. How can you as a Superintendent possibly be right? The odds are at least twelve-to-one against you. That would be like picking the twin double at Narragansett. There was one point that every one seemed to be in agreement. The older greens and other turf areas with age behind them seemed to suffer the most this past winter and spring season, and everyone seemed to be in accord that this was probably due to the higher percent of Poa Annua present. The logical step which is next arrived at in such a line of thought is elimination of the Poa Annua. There is no question that on an existing golf course the way to bring about this elimination is by renovation or reconstruction of the area, and in the case of putting greens or tees, new sod would be used to replace the old Poa Annua. I am sure thai you, as experienced! Superintendents, are aware of the facts which pertain to the use of sod in a golf course maintenance program. However, it may be helpful and of some merit to review these points. First, the use of sod in a reconstruction program, as I have referred to above, is a positive program. The results are mature and immediate. It is possible under extreme conditions to disrupt an area and have it back in use in three weeks' time. This becomes extremely important in .these days of heavy player demand on your golf course. If it is decided to use Merion Blue Grass for the surface material on tees, we find that Merion does better when seeded straight, rather than placed in competition with other grass varieties. However, the immediate results from this seeding are very disappointing, so I would be reluctant to try to establish Merion from seed in an area where there would be pressure to use ajt once. Seed the crop in a nursery area, and then move it in as sod to the use area. In this day, sod prices from commercial growers have been going lower, rather than following the trend of the times and increasing. Methods of cutting and loading and transporting sod have improved. I am sure that every Superintendent will want to maintain at leasit a minimum nursery area for emergency repairs. However, he may "decide that when a major sod use program is undertaken, a commercial turf nursery can besit sufpply the need. SAMUEL S. MITCHELL From New England Golf Course Superintendents' Association If golf you must go to the Cape or to the Oarolinas or to Florida. But stay off golf courses north of the Cape Cod Caraail. That is the warning issued by members of the New England Golf Course Superintendents' Association, a large group whose job it is to keep courses playable. "Courses in the Greater Boston area as well as North and West of Boston ciannot be played at this time of year", association members warn. "Just one days play on most greens would destroy them for at least a year, and divots taken by shots from fairways cannot grow in again—not at this time of year." Cape courses fair better during the winter than courses in this area, even with heavy play throughout the winter months. "It's because of the sandy structure of the soil", Milton "Buster" Brown explained. "Still that doesn't save us completely. We've seen wet days on the Cape when golfers insist on playing. They leave heavy foot prints on the greens and if they are not smoothed out quickly they will firm up in the night's cold and it will take a lot of work to get that green ready to play again. Because the Cape is such a playground for the winter golfer unusual precautions are taken to keep damage minimum. First we move the stakes around quite a bit on the tees sio one area won't get too much play," Brown said. "Then we rarely have fewer than three holes in each green. During the week if play is light we will keep the stick in the same hole for that day. On weekends, if play is heavy we will move the fiagstick several times during the day so one spot doesn't get worn down. Even with all these precautions' we still have some trouble." Hyannisport, Pocasset and Ooonamessett (or Clausons) are the most popular winter courses on the Cape. They are open most of the time. "But the compulsive golfer, who can't stay away, should remember one thing", the association warned. "Call before going to the Cape. Those courses sometimes are closed. Greens on those courses can be damaged just as the off Cape greens can be. By helping us now you help yourself to better golf when the season comes." By Milton (Buster) Brown Suipt. Coonamessett C. C,