SEPTEMBER 1967

ourSe Superintendents
)upi
Q J f (Gourde
OF

NEW

^Association

E N G L A N D

Sponsors and administrators of the Lawrence S.
Dickenson Scholarship Fund — Awarded yearly
to deserving Turf Management Students.

Secretary —
L E O N V. S T . P I E R R E
51 Fenwood R o a d
L o n g m e a d o w , M a s s . 0 1 106
Phone 5 6 7 - 5 5 6 2
Club Affiliation
Longmeadow Country Club
First Vice-President •—
A N T H O N Y C A R A N C I JR.
2 2 Hillview Drive
N o . Providence, R. I. 0 2 9 0 0
Phone 7 2 3 - 1 6 8 8
Club Affiliation
Ledgemont Country Club

Educational Committee Chairman —

THOMAS CURRAN
37 Parker Street
Fitchburg, M a s s . 0 1 4 2 0
Phone 3 4 2 - 9 1 9 8
Club Affiliation
O a k Hill C o u n t r y C l u b

WILLIAM ASH
9 Pafton Street
N o . Dartmouth, M a <
Phone 9 9 3 - 8 7 6 7

NORMAN MUCCIARONE
101 A l b a n R o a d
W a b a n , Mass. 02168
Phone 3 3 2 - 3 0 5 6
Club Affiliation
W o o d l a n d Country C l u b

LUCIEN DUVAL
9 Rose Lane
Framingham C e n t e r , M a s s . 0 1 7 0 1
Phone 8 7 2 - 0 0 0 6
Club Affiliation
Chestnut Hill C o u n t r y C l u b

Finance Committee Chairman '—

Second Vice-President —
RICHARD C. BLAKE
211 Sewall Street
Boylston, M a s s . 0 1 5 0 5
Phone 8 6 9 - 2 7 3 7
Club Affiliation
M t . Pleasant C o u n t r y C l u b

N . J. S P E R A N D I O
Concord, Mass. 01742
Phone 3 6 9 - 4 7 2 3
Club Affiliation
Concord Country Club

PHILIP C A S S I D Y
45 Grosvenor R o a d
Needham, Mass. 02192
Phone 4 4 4 - 4 1 2 7
Club Affiliation
Weston Golf Club

Past President —
J O S E P H BUTLER
3 R i d g e w o o d Terrace
Beverly, M a s s . 0 1 9 1 5
Phone 9 2 2 - 1 2 6 3
Club Affiliation
United S h o e C o u n t r y C l u b

ROBERT G R A N T
22 Patricia R o a d
Sudbury, Mass. 01776
Phone 4 4 3 - 2 6 7 1
Club Affiliation
Brae Burn C o u n t r y C l u b
Golf Committee Chairman —
E D W A R D J. M U R P H Y
194 O x b o w R o a d
Wayland, Mass. 01778
Phone 3 5 8 - 7 4 1 0
Club Affiliation
Lexington C o u n t r y C l u b
Newsletter Committee Chairman —
DEAN ROBERTSON
2 4 Riverview Drive
Newbury, Mass. 01950
Phone 4 6 2 - 4 5 4 0
Club Affiliation
O u l d Newbury Golf Club

Qoif (Gourde Superinten clen I5

August 6, 1967

AUGUST MEETING
With a turnout of 114 people for the Clam Bake at
Sam Mitchell's Easton Golf Club, I would say that this
was a huge success. After talking ,with a few of the members I think that the general feeling is that we should
make this event an annual affair.
The Nominating Committee was appointed and Joe
Butler was appointed as Chairman. The rest of the committee are as follows: Tom Curran, Manual

Francis,

Sr., Ronald Kirkman, and Wayne Ripley. New applications to "Be votecf on at the next meeting:
ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP
James MacDonald — Anthony J. Kruckas
GOLF TOURNAMENT

ocia tion

RESULTS

PRESIDENT'S M E S S A G E
THE N U M B E R S '

GAME

Have you ever played a horse or the treasury pool on
a hunch? Some of the Superintendents and fertilizer
manufacturers are doing exactly this with the multitude
of new fertilizer formulations that have glutted the
market.
A number of new formulations were offered this
spring, leaving out phosphorous P205. For example,
10-0-5 and 20-0-10 without proper research, blending
and trial period, before they were hastily put out on
the market, for the golf course trade.
The idea is sound for our infested Poa-annua turf and
the excessive build-up of phosphorous in our soils. The
problem here is the blending of these formulations,
which left a lot to be desired.
Some companies still have the colossal nerve of not
stating essential information, even though required by
law, (on the bag) the ratio, the percentage of water
insoluble nitrogen and water soluble nitrogen, nor the
sources by which they are derived from.

1st low gross (tie)
Gary Luccini, Mel Wendell

77

1st low net
Norman Beaureguard

65

2nd low net
John Petraitis

67

Time has come to stop this farce of gimmick fertilizers and twisting the numbers on the bag.

3rd low net
Nary Sperandio

70

Fertilizers should not be applied on a hunch, but on
scientific fact.

1st low gross
John Morse

40

1st low net
Ray Washburn

36

1 congratulate the fertilizer manufacturers for their
attempt to blend a fertilizer tailor-made for Poa-annua
turf. This was only a half-hearted try in order to capture the market which so badly needed this type of
blending.

9 Hole Tournament

NEXT MEETING -

September 11, 1967

The next meeting will be at Wanamoisett Country
Club, Rumford, R. I. Mel Wendell is the Superintendent.
Nominating Committee

10:45 a . m .

Directors' Meeting

11:00 a. m.

Regular Meeting

11:30 a. m.

Lunch

12:30 p. m.

Golf

1:30 p . m .

Directions to Wanamoisett: South on 128 to Rt. 95
south to Rt. 1A in South Attleboro, go past Narragansett Park to Third set of lights and go right. Then proceed to Hoytt Street and look for Club.

Some Superintendents have been serenaded by sweettalking._saksmen into buying materials which they did
not need, and even in some cases, caused them problems.
The 1967 season had the Superintendents reach in
their files for the cold, wet and humid turf maintenance
plans.. In plain English, moderation was the key- word.
Heavy applications of fertilizers were ngt part of these
plans.
During the past decade it has been fashionable among
the people in our profession to overload turf areas with
fertilizer . . . "color me green" was their motto.
Impatience and nature are not compatible. This year
is a good one to re-evaluate some of our cultural practices, and you, the Superintendent, be the diagnostician
and not someone that has a product to sell.
Leon V. St. Pierre
President

OF

FEAST OF THE TRANSFIGURATION
By Gerry

Finn,

Springfield

Union,

July

13,

1967

According to tournament law at the Longmeadow
Country Club, this is the day members gaze upon the
fairways and greens and give themselves the "this is my
own . . . my native l a n d " treatment. Then, they take hold
of their favorite four-ball partner and set out in pursuit
of a respectable score in the qualifying round of their
private pull for 19th hole immortality — the annual
Longmeadow Invitational.

Spoon-Fed Course
It is deemed automatic that the course, on which they
shall frolic for the next four days, coincide with the importance of the moment. Not only must the host player
be exposed to the most immaculate of conditions, his
partner in the premeditated crime of slaying par should
be impressed enough to come away from it all S u n d a y
night with the realization Longmeadow stands as the
citadel of spoon-fed courses.
Such a strong aside to the actual playing of the event
constitutes the inspiration Leon St. Pierre acquires some
10 days or so before everyone swoops down on the real
estate for their general battle with p a r and ensuing particular struggles in the match play phase of things. St.
Pierre is the greens superintendent at Longmeadow and
a short visit with him in these times of strife solidifies
the theory that here is a man sitting on a powder keg.
Greens superintendents are tragically in need of proper
recognition. Their image hasn't shaken the hand-medown effects of yesteryear when most people considered
them to be nothing more than backyard gardeners with
two green thumbs. At one time the universal appraisal of
the greens superintendent's task (in a long span when
his title lost all executive flavor in the peasant-sounding
" g r e e n s k e e p e r " ) was written off as elementary seed
spreading. The belief prevailed that he picked up his
fertilizer, tied his lawn mower behind him, shoved a
sprinkler head into his back pocket and set out to make
the brown grass green and the bare spots the breeding
place for new growth. He was said to come equipped
with rain-making devices, acquired in trade with the
Indians and be blessed with a certain power to inspire
success where other less fortunates had produced drastic failure.

NEW

E N G L A N D

Formulas and Remedies
St. Pierre has shades of this breed strung through him
but also reeks of the new, bold look in greens superintendents. He is professionally trained to perform a highly-specialized art. His head is stuffed with formulas and
remedies to bring a sick and dying golf course back to
sparkling life. He, and the rest of the fraternity of fairway fondlers, have finally been accorded a place in the
technical family of life's ambitions. And with the recognition has come the b,est conditioned courses this side of
Forest Lawn . . . and there I go, waving the flag again.
Anyway, St. Pierre gets the message when names start
to trickle on the big entry board for the four-ball. His
aim, nurtured by a secret mental jab f r o m the membership, is to turn Longmeadow into Augusta National — a
feat which he knows is impossible. Nevertheless, he goes
about his business with that lofty goal as the driving
force behind the green movement.
Leon has 11 full-time workers on his crew and they are
briefed on the situation about two weeks before the tournament. S o m e say goodbye to their families for that
length of time. Others prime themselves for the long
hours ahead with a last social fling. The situation is
something akin to the departure date for those summer
vacations at Camp Drum.
The big headache this year for the St. Pierre team has
been what the boys in the know refer to as " a nitrogen
explosion." The cold spring we encountered a couple of
months ago is responsible for this " d a m n - i t . " The breakthrough of sudden heat releases the nitrogen in such a
manner the plant gets so lush it wilts out. So, restoration
of the afflicted grasses takes up the time and medicine
allocated for the usual snipping and shining of trees and
greens.
Moisture Needs Control
The one thing you don't want to do in these dire times
is to ask St. Pierre how his "helminthosporium" is doing. "Helminthosporium" sounds like a dirty word, and
it is. Straightened out, it is another term for leaf spot.
Such a malady is the result of high humidity and too
much moisture . . . the weather conditions which have
drained Western Mass. of late. This little devil affects all
grasses and must be treated in the early stages. " M o s t
people think a lot of water and plenty of sun are all a
course needs," Leon advises. " B u t we like to control
moisture. We'd rather apply water when we want it . . .
not when nature wants i t . "

Of course, there's always "public enemy No. 1 " to
give St. Pierre a strong bout in the middle of all his
other tasks. This would be "Poa-annua," the cancer of
the greens superintendent's glossary of golf course diseases. The treatment of this malady is eternal. It has to
be phased out with a series of knockout chemicals and
the introduction of bent grass in the planned areas of its
death.

Today, then, is the beginning of the Longmeadow
members' finest moments. They shall arrive on the tee,
expecting the usual miracle of the feast of the transfiguration. For the next 96 hours they and their guests shall
know what it means to play Augusta National, and St.
Pierre can cast a prayer toward the sky, breathe easier
and say " a m e n . "

FRIENDS OF THE ASSOCIATION
Abbott Spray and F a r m Equipment Co.
Waltham Street
Lexington, Massachusetts
Dr. Burton R. Anderson
Golf Course Architect
Turf and Golf Course Consultant
Route 5
Augusta, Maine
The Clapper Co.
1121 "Washington Street
West Newton, Massachusetts
Geoffrey S. Cornish
Golf Course Architect
Fiddler's Green
Amherst, Massachusetts
The Charles C. Hart Seed Co.
Wethersfield, Connecticut
Fuel Activator Chemical Corp.
C. F . Barbour — Regional Director
43000 Prudential Tower
Boston, Massachusetts
Gaffny Enterprises, Inc.
Irrigation Specialists
North Main Street
Middleton, Massachusetts
Grounds Equipment Co., Inc.
383 Boylston Street
Newton Centre, Massachusetts
Kerr M e G e e Chemical Corporation
P. 0 . Box 790
Waterbury, Connecticut
John P. Simon, Asst. Mgr.
Springfield Rendering Company
P. O. Box 379
Springfield, Massachusetts 01101

Irrigation Consultants Inc.
251 Harvard Street
Brookline, Massachusetts

Sawtelle Brothers
Jet. Routes 128 and 62
Danvers, Massachusetts

Tom Irwin C
Bennett Hill
\
Rowley, Massai

Richey & Clapper, Inc.
28 Rutledge Road
Natick, Massachusetts

Karandrew Turf Farms, Inc.
S a m Mitchell, Sales Representative
18 Old Randolph Street
Canton, Massachusetts

Philip A. Wogan
Golf Course Architect
21 Budleigh Avenue
Beverly, Massachusetts

Johns-Manville Sales Corp.
150 Causeway Street
Boston, Massachusetts

Wvandotte Chemical Co.
709 S a l a d a Building
Boston, Massachusetts

Larchmont Irrigation Co.
Larchmont Lane
Lexington, Massachusetts

D. L. Maher Co.
Water Supply Contractors
Testwells — Gravel packed wells
Byron J a c k s o n P u m p s
P. O. Box 274
Woburn, Massachusetts

J . F . Aveni
Lu Soil — Soil Conditioner
Minerals & Chemicals Philipp Corp.
25 Concord Street
Belmont, Massachusetts

Alfco Rokeby Co., Inc.
Fertilizers and Chemical
P. O. Box 267
Marietta, Ohio

Magovern Company, Inc.
Lawn Acre Road
Windsor Lock, Connecticut

Ken, Minasian
Scotts
t, - i j & j j j ^ s - , 6 Amelia Court
N i Prdyidenge, R. I.

New England Engine & Parts Co. Inc.
The Pacer Distributor
884 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, Massachusetts

'tin' Kenneth Barrie Company
375 Centre, Street
: :
J a m a i c a Plai'ri; Massachusetts

Stanley S. Philipkoski
Sales Representative
Stauffer Chemical Co.
380 Madison Avenue
New York, New York

A. C. Lawn, Inc.
P. O. Box 436
Wakefield, Mass,-

Newsletter C o m m i t t e e C h a i r m a n DEAN ROBERTSON
2 4 Riverview Drive
Newbury, Mass. 01950
Phone 4 6 2 - 4 5 4 0
Club

Specialties

Affiliation

Ould Newbury Golf Club

b