JUNE 1966

"djolf

(Gourde Superintendents
OF

NEW

s^ASociati

E N G L A N D

FORTY-TWO YEARS OLD — and young enough
to reach for higher achievements in turf grass
management and professional stature.

President—

3

LEON V. ST. PIERRE
Longmeadow Country Club
51 Fenwood Road
Longmeadow 6, Mass.
Phoqe LO 7-5562
First Vice-President—

ANTHONY CARANC! JR.
Ledgemont Country Club
22 Hillview Drive
North Providence 4, R. I.
Phone PA 3-1688
Second Vice-President—

RICHARD C. BLAKE
Mt. Pleasant Country Club
211 Sewall Street
Boylston, Mass.
Phone 869-2737

Secretary—

THOMAS CURRAN
Oak Hill Country Club
37 Parker Street
Fitchburg, Mass.
Phone Dl 2-9198
Treasurer—

LUCIEN DUVAL
Chestnut Hill Country Club
9 Rose Lane
Framingham Center, Mass.
Phone 872-0006

Trustee—

N. J. SPERANDIO
Concord Country Club
Concord, Mass.
Phone EM 9-4723

Trustee—

JOSEPH BUTLER
United Shoe Country Club
3 Ridgewood Terrace
Beverly, Mass.
Phone WA 2-1263
Trustee—

WILLIAM ASH
9 Patton Street
No. Dartmouth, Mass.
Phone WY 3-8767
Finance Committee C h a i r m a n -

WILLIAM ASH
9 Patton Street
No. Dartmouth, Mass.
Phone WY 3-8767

Educational Committee C h a i r m a n -

ROBERT GRANT
Brae Burn Country Club
22 Patricia Road
Sudbury, Mass.
Phone 443-2671
Golf Committee Chairman—

EDWARD J. MURPHY
Lexington Country Club
194 Oxbow Road
Wayland, Mass.
Phone 358-7410
Newsletter Committee Chairman—

MANUEL N. FRANCIS
Belmont Country Club
387 Davis Road
Bedford, Mass.
Phone 275-8830

Qoff C^ourSe Superintendents
JUNE MEETING

33ocia lion
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

T h e J u n e m e e t i n g w a s h e l d at the
W e s t o v e r A i r b a s e Golf C o u r s e . T h e r e w e r e
22 C h a i r m e n w h o p a r t i c i p a t e d in the t o u r n a m e n t w i t h t h e i r S u p e r i n t e n d e n t s . Not a l l
p l a y e r s w e r e a b l e to f i n i s h b e c a u s e of s e v e r e
t h u n d e r s t o r m s in t h e a f t e r n o o n , but t h e n w h o
could have beaten 62's anyway.
A n e v e n i n g m e a l f o l l o w e d at s i x w i t h
the C o n n e c t i c u t A s s o c i a t i o n .
NEXT MEETING

T h e n e x t m e e t i n g w i l l be h e l d J u l y 11th
at the L e x i n g t o n Golf C l u b , L e x i n g t o n , M a s s .
DIRECTIONS TO C L U B
F r o m R o u t e 128 t a k e R o u t e 4 - 2 2 5
( E x i t 44) t o w a r d L e x i n g t o n . P r o c e e d o n e
m i l e to a s e c o n d s e t of b l i n k i n g y e l l o w l i g h t s ,
t a k e r i g h t on H i l l S t r e e t to C l u b .
SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSi

TIME OUT!
Publishers Newspaper
Syndicate /2-/S

KM' "iV'i'i

-v'M
'Oh, you golfers! Always complaining about pin placements!'

ERA OF RESEARCH

The p o p u l a t i o n p r e s s u r e is p u t t i n g the
s q u e e z e o n t h e g r a s s p l a n t a n d the golf
c o u r s e s u p e r i n t e n d e n t . It s e e m s t h a t w e
have been planning backwards. Man has
developed highly complex turf maintenance
machinery, chemicals and automatic i r r i g a t i o n s y s t e m s f o r m a i n t e n a n c e of t u r f
grass areas .
Most e q u i p m e n t m a n u f a c t u r e r s and
p r o d u c e r s 'of c h e m i c a l s h a v e a D e t r o i t phx^
l o s o p h y . It is of p a r a m o u n t i m p o r t a n c e to
c o m e out w i t h a n e w line of g o o d s f o r the
t u r f c o n f e r e n c e , h e l d a n n u a l l y , in F e b r u a r y .
M a n y of t h e s e m a c h i n e s a n d c h e m i c a l s a r e
p h e n o m e n a l , b u t , of c o u r s e , m a n y p r o m i s ing o n e s a r e a b s o l u t e f l o p s . W a l k in a n y
golf c o u r s e m a i n t e n a n c e b u i l d i n g , a n d the
t e s t i m o n y to t h i s f a c t is b e f o r e y o u .
Yes, w e h a v e b e e n p l a n n i n g b a c k w a r d s .
L e t us s t a r t at t h e p u l s e of t h e o p e r a t i o n ,
" t h e g r a s s p l a n t . " W e h a v e p a i d too m u c h
a t t e n t i o n to m a c h i n e r y a n d c h e m i c a l s , but
not e n o u g h t o g r a s s e s t h a t w i l l s t a n d g o l f e r s
f r o m 7:30 a . m . to 9:00 p . m . T h e o n s l a u g h t
of p o w e r e d g o l f c a r t s h a v e c o m p o u n d e d
these problems.
Dr. Joseph Troll has sounded a call
f o r s u p p o r t , m a n y t i m e s , f r o m the c l u b s a n d
the superintendents for financial a s s i s t a n c e
to p e r f o r m b a s i c r e s e a r c h on t u r f g r a s s e s .
T h i s c a l l w i l l be c o m i n g to y o u a g a i n s o o n .
S u p p o r t D r . T r o l l a n d h i s s t a f f , at the U n i v e r s i t y of M a s s a c h u s e t t s . T h e y h a v e a
b o n a - f i d e p r o g r a m t h a t w i l l be of i m p o r t a n c e
to the g o l f i n g w o r l d .
Leon V. St. P i e r r e
President

G O L F COURSE CONSTRUCTION
U n f o r t u n a t e l y t h e p r o b l e m of p o o r golf
c o n s t r u c t i o n s t i l l p r e v a i l s in m a n y a r e a s
d e s p i t e the m a n y s o u r c e s of c o m m u n i c a t i o n

OF

open. Too m u c h d i s a g r e e m e n t and m i s u n d e r s t a n d i n g c o n t i n u e between club
officials, a r c h i t e c t s , superintendents, and
c o n t r a c t o r s . I r o n i c a l l y , e v e r y o n e s e e m s to
be in a g r e e m e n t b e f o r e t h e c o n s t r u c t i o n
b e g i n s ; h o w e v e r , d u r i n g a n d a f t e r the a c t u a l
b u i l d i n g of the c o u r s e m a n y d e t a i l s a r e at
v a r i a n c e . At t h i s point a n i m o s i t y a n d ill
f e e l i n g s o f t e n p r e v a i l , l e a d i n g to m i s u n d e r standing and l a c k of c o o p e r a t i o n which
f i n a l l y r e s u l t s in a n i n f e r i o r j o b .
T h e q u e s t i o n now a r i s e s : " W h a t i s t h e
r e a s o n f o r t h i s d i s a g r e e m e n t ? " It c a n be
a s s u m e d that there has been poor p r e l i m i n a r y p l a n n i n g a n d a 1 a c k of c o o r d i n a t i o n
w h i c h h a s l e a d to t h i s a p p a r e n t m i s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of c o n t r a c t s , v a g u e n e s s in r e s p o n s i b i l i t y , a n d q u e s t i o n of j u d g e m e n t . B e t t e r
j o b s w o u l d r e s u l t if the r e s p o n s i b i l i t y w e r e
d e l e g a t e d to the b e s t q u a l i f i e d i n d i v i d u a l s
f o r the f i n a l j u d g e m e n t on q u e s t i o n s p e r t a i n ing to t h e i r own s p e c i a l t i e s . T h e i r d e c i s i o n s
m u s t be m a d e on f a c t , not a s s u m p t i o n .
W h e n d e a l i n g w i t h M o t h e r N a t u r e it
i s n ' t a l w a y s p o s s i b l e to s o l v e a l l p r o b l e m s
on p a p e r . No one is so p e r f e c t t h a t h e c a n
a n s w e r e v e r y p r o b l e m w i t h o u t e r r o r , but he
m u s t strive for perfection through sound
reasoning and methodical planning.
T h e f o l l o w i n g i t e m s s h o u l d be s t u d i e d
by a l l c o n c e r n e d b e f o r e a n y w o r k is done on
the new s i t e :
1. S o i l s a n d T o p o g r a p h y M a p - s h o w ing e l e v a t i o n s , s o i l p r o f i l e 3, q u a n t i t y of t h e
different soil types, and ledges.
2. G o l f C o u r s e L a y o u t - C o m p l e t e
d e s i g n in d e t a i l .
3. D r a i n a g e o v e r l a y m a p s - s e e p a g e ,
w a t e r s h e d , s p r i n g s , s w a m p s , b o g s , etc .
4. W o o d l a n d evaluation - lumber,
pulp, or c o r d .
5. Water r e s o u r c e s - irrigation use,
possible h a z a r d s and drinking water .
6. L o c a l c o n t r a c t o r s - F e e s , o p e r a t o r
r e p u t a t i o n , t y p e s of e q u i p m e n t a n d c o n d i t i o n
of the e q u i p m e n t .

NEW

E N G L A N D

7. G o l f c o u r s e e q u i p m e n t - Q u a n t i t y
a n d c o n d i t i o n of o l d , a m o u n t a n d c o s t of new
equipment needed.
M o s t of t h e s e f a c t o r s a r e t a k e n into
c o n s i d e r a t i o n , but t h e e m p h a s i s m u s t be put
on d e t a i l . M a n y golf c o u r s e s h a v e w a s t e d
time, labor, land r e s o u r c e s , and m o n e y
b e c a u s e t h e s e i t e m s w e r e not s t u d i e d e n o u g h
in d e t a i l .
Who i s r e s ,p o n s i b 1 e to s e e t h a t a l l
t h e s e d e t a i l e d f a c t s a r e p r e s e n t e d to t h e
c l u b o f f i c i a l s ? If t h e c l u b h a s a q u a l i f i e d
s u p e r i n t e n d e n t he c a n g r e a t l y a i d t h e a r c h i t e c t . If n o t , t h e n the a r c h i t e c t s h o u l d t a k e it
u p o n h i m s e l f to give the o w n e r s a c o m p l e t e
a n d h o n e s t a p p r a i s a l of the p r o b l e m s
involved.
New o r s m a l l golf c o u r s e s c u r r e n t l y
being constructed without a qualified s u p e r i n t e n d e n t on the j o b a r e c e r t a i n l y at a d i s a d v a n t a g e . T h e s u p e r i n t e n d e n t s a r e the
i n d i v i d u a l s m o s t a b l e to s u p p l y the d e t a i l e d
f a c t s w h i c h m u s t be c o n s i d e r e d b e f o r e c o n s t r u c t i o n . H o w e v e r , in l i e u of a q u a l i f i e d
c o n s t r u c t i o n s u p e r i n t e n d e n t , m u c h of the
v a l u a b l e i n f o r m a t i o n m a y be o b t a i n e d
through the a r e a soil conservation service
at a m i n i m a l c o s t . W i t h o u t t h i s d a t a a n d
proper preliminary planning, m a n y problems
will a r i s e and d i s s a t i s f a c t i o n will r e s u l t .
It is e a s y to r i d i c u l e s o m e t h i n g a f t e r
it i s d o n e ; but if the p r o b l e m i s t h e r e now,
the s o u r c e w a s t h e r e b e f o r e . T h e r e f o r e , w e
m u s t s e a, r c h f o r the s o u r c e : pe r h a p s a
n u i s a n c e of m i n u t e d e t a i l s n o w , but in the
end r e s u l t t h e p r o b l e m s w i l l be f a r l e s s w i t h
t h e s a t i s f a c t i o n of a j o b w e l l - d o n e .
One m e a n s to t h i s end w o u l d be an
a f f i l i a t i o n of golf c o u r s e s u p e r i n t e n d e n t s a n d
a r c h i t e c t s . We m u s t strive toward better
m e t h o d s of c o m m u n i c a t i o n b e t w e e n s u p e r intendents, architects, and club officials.
Through understanding and m u t u a l r e s p e c t a
g r e a t d e a l c a n be a c c o m p l i s h e d t o w a r d o u r
g o a l - b e t t e r golf c o u r s e c o n s t r u c t i o n .
Robert Flanagan
Cochecho Country Club
D o v e r , New H a m p s h i r e

MLETItR
MEMBERS W H O HAVE PAID 1966 DUES
( AS OF 6-1-66 )

Allen, Albert L.
Anderson, Arthur
Anderson, Burton
Aksten, Julius J.
Anderson, T. P.
Almonte, John
Ash, William
Asquino, Antonio
Auger, Albert R.
B a r n e s , N o r m a n S,
Barrett, William J.
Barry, David
Black, R i c h a r d C.
Berg, Herbert E.
Blanchette, Albert
Blodget, Leonard L.
Braio, Simione
Braga, Manuel
Bruno, Nicholas
Butler, Joseph E.
Callahan, John P.
Cappozzi, C a r m e n D.
Cappozzi, Joseph
Commuso, Nicholas
Caranci, Anthony, J r .
Cariglia, Frank
C a r t e r , W i l l i a m S.
Cassidy, Philip T.
Clement, David A.
Collins, D a n i e l S .
C u r r a n , T h o m a s G.
Dadeau, Douglas
Dandurand, Joseph R.
Daly, Clayton E .
Darlind, Homer C.
Dolan, John
Dooley, Eugene J.

MANUEL N. FRANCIS
Belmont Country Club
387 Davis Road
Bedford, Mass.
Phone 275-8830

Duval, Lucien E.
Espey, John, Sr.
Farrer, Herbert
Farrington, Thomas
Farrant, Howard
Flanagan, Robert P.
Francis, Manuel L.
Francis, Manuel, J r .
Fanizia, Mario
Fuller, Elmer
Gardner, Charles J.
Genthner, Henry W .
Gorton, George E .
Grant, Robert
Hannon, Stephen
Hammond, Franklin
Homan, Henry, Jr.
Hudyka, John
Realty, John J.
Kent, L. S.
Keohan, Bernard K.
Kirkman, Ronald W .
Kirwac, Peter
Latvis, John
L a w r e n c e , Charles B.
Mauk, David W .
Mello, John
Mellon, Albin B.
Merchel, Frank J.
Mierzwa, Max
Mihatazcis, Frank J.
Mitchell, R i c h a r d C.
Mitchell, S a m u e l S.
Mucciarone, Norman
Mucciarone, Robert
Murphy, Edward J.
M c C a r t h y , David L.

MacKintoch, Roy Allan
O'Connell, John M.
O'Connor, John
O'Grady, Michael J.
O'Lari, Charles F . , Jr
O'Leary, Paul J.
O'Leary George F.
O'Kelly, Melvin
Parker, Charles W.
Petraitis, John J.
Piantedosi, Cosimo
Phinney, Edward B.
Pullen, Charles
Powers, Harvey
Ripley, Wayne C.
Roberts, Ralph
Robertson, Dean
Reidy, J a m e s J,
R u s c h i o n i , Dino S.
Ruby, Ernest
Sanborn, Harry E.
Sanders, Albert
Scannell, Thomas
Schultz, Meindert
Silk, J o s e p h F .
Spellos, Mathew
Smith, J a m e s A.
Smith, John, J r .
Sperandio, John F .
Sperandio, Harry J.
St. P i e r r e , L e o n V .
Swayze, Sam
T e d e s c o , Guy
Wendell, Malcolm
Wiget, Floyd N.
Wheeler, James
Wolfgang, Ernest