DECEMBER 1968

ourSe
O F

S u p e r i n t e n d e n t s
N E W

E N G L A N D ,

- d i s s o c i a t i o n
I N C .

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

DON'T STAND STILL
Just as the world around us changes, so, too, does the greenacred domain of the golf course superintendent.
It is this element of change which has certain people
worried.
How about starting with the expression "old-fashioned"?
Too many of the men, who keep a smile on the face of the
country club member by creating a feeling of pride through
spic and span condition of his golf course, are trying to build
tomorrow's dreams with yesterday's tools.
This, as a matter of fact, is the respected opinion of a
pioneer in his own right — Orville 0 . Clapper. Now, Orville
is a so-called supplier, if you will, but he also is a businessman
with a lot of sense.
" A n d I wouldn't call it horse sense, either", Orville chirps.
" I may not be of the new generation but I must survive in it.
Let's call it mechanized sense for lack of a better description.
I've acquired it. I'd say the superintendent should at least
look into it before the world passes him b y . "
This new outlook, as presented by Clapper, is bred out of
the one universal problem of the superintendent — that of
performing well at the labor market. The shortage of adequate help has not been kept in check. On the contrary, the
needs of turf management go begging b y the season. It shall
not be long before a national recruitment movement is proposed to curb the number of dropouts who desert the ranks
of golf course maintenance.
Clapper's suggestion is sound. " T h e r e is only one real answer to the problem," he offers. " W e must attack it with an
old weapon with a new name — automation. In this case it's
been forced upon us by labor, itself. New machines, which
eliminate the need for using man hours, are in the process of
being invented, developed and applied to make a superintendent's task easier. The only fly in the ointment comes from
the super and the club he represents. One or the other usually
can't see the advantages of investing money in new mechanical aids. This is rather silly in a way, because in the end
everyone comes out ahead."
Most of Clapper's thinking is directed toward the maker of
the country club budget. " I have visited many courses where
man hours are being wasted in an impractical way", Orville

An Old Timer with Young Ideas
contends. " T a k e a piece of antiquated equipment that is forever breaking down. A superintendent must direct his attention, time and help on the refurbishing of it. Usually, by the
time the old wreck is launched again . . . the j o b it was to do
has either been completed by hand or been swallowed up in
defeat of poor course condition."
The problem of equipment breakdown is directly related
to the woes of labor dropout and improper utilization of the
labor on hand. " I f a club or public course would realize that
man hours poured into repair of equipment constitutes a loss
of budget funds, they would soon see the advantage of replacing the crippled machinery with healthy, long-life machinery",
Clapper advises. " I t is simply a matter of dollars and cents."
There is added to the Clapper contribution the fact that
modern equipment puts speed into a j o b and thus further
cuts down on outlay of money in the form of overtime hours
to labor.
The cold state of the situation prohibits argument to this
theory. For one thing, it is becoming increasingly difficult to
find good labor and almost impossible to retain it. Competition from other fields acts as a drain on the market available
to the superintendent.
Therefore, the club and super cannot afford to stand still in
the way of trying to slide by with inadequate equipment. If
one machine can do the work of three men, it should be inferred as virtually sacrilegious not to purchase it. This is not
a last-resort remedy. It is the only logical answer to a diminishing labor market. It deserves consideration when the superintendent and club treasury come to grips in their annual
confrontation this winter.
— Gerry Finn

NEXT MEETING

The Next Meeting on December 2, 1968 will be our Annual
Meeting. It well be held at Holiday Inn, Grove St., exit 128,
Newton, Mass.
Directors
10:30 A.M.
Regular
11:00 A.M.
Dinner
1 2 : 1 5 Sharp
Educational Program
1:15 P.M.

ourSe

Superintendents

LAST MEETING
The November meeting was held at Sam Mitchell's Easton
Golf Club and a Beef Stew was served prior to playing a
9-hole tournament. Those who did not play golf toured the
"new nine" that will be ready for spring play. Phil Cassidy
reported that the Scholarship Committee had worked up a
letjer that would be sent to all alumni of Stockbridge and to
the Golf Course Superintendents far and wide. Your copy is
enclosed. Remember that these donations are tax exempt.

^Association'
New member to be voted on at next meeting:
Stephen D. Kristof, 23 Belknap Road, Medfield, Mass.
Club Affiliation — Charles River
The Nominating Committee recommended the following slate:
President — Anthony Caranci, J r .
First Vice President — Richard Blake, Leo Brown
Second Vice President — Robert Grant, Michael O'Grady
Secretary — Thomas Curran, Joseph Zoppo
Treasurer — Lucien Duval
Trustee 3 years — Robert Mucciarone
Finance Committee Chairman — Julius Aksten
Educational Committee Chairman — Edward J . Murphy
Golf Committee Chairman — Wayne Ripley
Newsletter Committee Chairman — Dean Robertson

Points to Ponder - Desiccation

By ALEXANDER M. RADKO
Eastern Director, USGA Green Section

Tom Nibiet (left) and J o e Rybka, Thorney Lea Golf Course
Winners of the Pro-Super Tournament at Brae Burn
on October 28, 1968

PLEASE . . . . NO OVERTIME
Here we are racing into winter and the golf season supposedly on its last legs . . . if it already hasn't been shot down.
Yet, out there among the persistent the click of club striking
ball and the crunch of spike pounding into the green continue.
All the while it is sour music to the superintendent, that is
if his club insists its members have rights to use regular
greens just as long as they can see them.
We of the concerned set know of the consequences promiscuous use of regular greens brings. The New England Association — with the exception of those areas where climatic conditions dictate otherwise — take a firm stand in support of
temporary or alternate greens.
For the most part golfers are reasonable men and women.
They realize the pitfalls of the superintendent's profession —
one of which is the hidden dangers found in allowing mem- x
bers to prance about on frozen greens and recently thawed
putting surfaces. This message, then, is not for them. It applies to the few who are blinded by the false indication that
greens without snow should remain open when in an all-clear
condition.
One of the virtues of the cooperative member should be
foresight. The use of greens in winter sometimes leaves the
golfer with a deceiving impression. The harm done the greens
very often is a delayed reaction type of hurt. Very often it
won't show until midway through the following summer. One
of its signs is the sudden appearance of poa annua, that pesty
growth which sneaks into injured areas whenever presented
the opportunity. Such an occurrence is the direct result of
damage wrought by regular green use in winter. So, the delayed reaction strikes, but the uneducated look for other avenues to place the blame.
Anyone, with even a bare introduction to the problems of
maintaining a proud playing surface, knows that late winter
and early spring are the most difficult time for turf. Traffic
on greens at these times is an absolute drain on the efforts of
the superintendent to give members a healthy playing area
during the normal span of the golf season. If anything, golfers
owe it to themselves to declare war on sending the season into
overtime.
— Gerry Finn

Desiccation is and has been our winter problem for years,
but like all problems it doesn't hit home or seem to be important until it happens to you. Last winter was one of the
meanest winters for the golf courses in the Northeast in many
a year. The winter was open (no snow cover) and windy . . .
in fact strong winds blew incessantly day and night and the
grasses in exposed areas dried out. Few escaped injury, and
these were principally the newer courses. After the GCSAA
Conference we began to get reports of dusty, dry and crackly
turf that was powder-dry in February.
Desiccation can occur on certain areas during years of good
snow cover too. Courses in the northernmost areas normally
enjoy more snow cover than we in the lower New England
and Midwestern States; however, even on snow-bound courses
strong winds can remove the snow to expose areas which can
become desiccated. Superintendents in the northernmost areas
soon learned that one way to curb serious injury if desiccation
was a threat on a green or tee is to topdress the exposed
area heavily in January or February, with double the normal
amount of topdressing soil (i.e., two cubic yards per 5,000 instead of one). This affords good protection, and those who
have done it swear by it as an excellent treatment to reduce
desiccation problems to a minimum.
This past winter others watered as best they could; some
rented city water trucks, some watered with their spray tanks
— and this helped — if enough water was applied.
Other materials advocated or being tested are polyethylene
plastic tarps, polypropylene screens (black and green), snow
fences, branches and brush, fertilizers (principally organic)
and anti-desiccant materials. In my experience to date, the
topdressing technique has been the most successful of all.
Additionally, topsoil acts as a smoothing and truing material
to keep greens in top form. Not just any soil is suitable, it
must be the kind that is normally used for topdressing your
greens. Another side benefit is that snow mold fungicides,
applied to topsoil after it is spread, will keep the green protected better than if the fungicide were applied alone.
How do you know whether you will need to protect your
greens against desiccation this winter? Only time will tell!
It isn't possible to forecast this anymore than it is possible to
forecast January's exact weather at this time. You must wait
and see how the winter breaks. If it is an open and continuously windy winter, as it was from December '67 through
February '68, be ready to treat greens that are exposed by
mid-January.
If the winter is mild, or if lots of snow falls, there will be
less danger that desiccation will occur. But this is what makes
the job a challenging one — after one experiences the rigors
of summer mortis, it would be helpful to have a relaxing winter. If we could count on it, we'd all be happier when spring
rolls around.

O F

Vandalism . . . The Continuing Curse
Vandalism had another productive year on the golf course
. . . according to the earthy-tongued response to a spot survey among N. E. superintendents.
There was nothing new in the way of method of operation,
although there were some reports of more than usual brazen
acts. One super lost two golf carts despite the protection of
a chain link fence. " T h e y simply cut a hole in the fence and
away they went," was the terse message which should key a
renewed effort to establish laws beefy enough to discourage
potential culprits.
The New England Association once again will help sponsor
a bill in the state legislature with the intention of setting a
mandatory fine payable in every conviction involving golf
course vandalism cases.
A year ago the effort was unsuccessful. However, a new
plan has been arranged and a new bill will be submitted with
a reduction in the $ 2 0 0 figure for the fine. It was believed
that $ 2 0 0 was deemed too severe a penalty. Thus, this year's
try will come with a more practical figure to push the bill's
passage.
Vandalism, as a sworn enemy of the New England Association, is an annual pest. Conservative estimates range from
$ 5 0 0 to $ 1 , 0 0 0 in damages. The loss in dollars and cents,

4th Green at Chestnut Hili
though, is secondary in importance. The real hurt comes in
the inconvenience it brings in matter of repairing or replacing the selected target, plus the scars it leaves on a course.
Superintendents can help themselves in this fight. The biggest aid in retaliation is strict enforcement of personal punishment. In other words, punishment should not be selective.
If the guilty party happens to be a disgruntled caddie or a
fun-seeking son of a prominent member, the penalty should
be the same and as severe as the circumstance will allow in
order to set an example as a weapon for future incidents.
True, vandalism is a continuing curse. But more than a
passing awareness of the problem and a concentrated effort
to substitute penalty for warning might give the superintendent enough ammunition to deal the recurrence of this shameful behavior a convincing setback.
— Gerry Finn
L I S T OF D I R E C T O R S
President, Anthony Caranci
V. President, Richard Blake
V. President, Robert Grant
Secretary, Thomas Curran
Treasurer, Lucien Duval
Norman Mucciarone
Edward Murphy
Robert Mucciarone
Wayne Ripley
Philip Cassidy
Dean Robertson
Albert Allen
Leon St. Pierre

N E W

E N G L A N D ,

I N C .

The Case For Certification
(This is the first of a two-part series on the proposal to further dignify the profession of Golf Course Superintendent by
establishing a program of certification. Part one deals with
the reasons for considering such a big step. Part tivo will
cover the requirements proposed for
certification.)
So, you think you're a genuine, grade-A, publicly-accepted
golf course superintendent. And you just might be that. But
here I am, a show-me . . . I'm-from-Missouri Doubting Thomas. Let's see those credentials!
The opening paragraph should not be., misconstrued as a
pugnacious challenge to the authenticity of the position of the
thousands who dedicate their lives to the game of golf through
the daily application of their knowledge of turf management.
Rather, it is offered as an awakening to the fact that the
profession is in need of some type of nationally-accepted
method of distinguishing the dedicated from the fly-by-nights.
Obviously, certification is the answer. It is offered to the
superintendent and country club as a twofold guide in bringing about a more organized relationship with the professional
world. It is a boon to both parties. The professional superintendent benefits in many ways. He is protected in his position
by the very implication of the term, certification. It means he
is qualified to undertake a particular j o b and competent to
apply these same qualifications to it. The country club also
reaps the satisfaction that it has in its employ the type of man
associated with success in the profession.
Certification is a necessity for many other reasons. It safeguards against the infiltration of the unqualified who not only
harm their personal reputations with half-hearted, groping
efforts but also bear false witness against the profession they
unjustly represent.
In the same breath certification sets a number of standards
for the bona fide superintendent to abide by. It is a measure
of keeping the super on his toes, a situation which in the end
will keep him razor sharp in regard to the demands of his
position.
In matters of seeking employment, certification must rate
another plus. A certified superintendent, once the term is publicly accepted, will be able to apply for a job knowing that
he will be considered in the light of a qualified professional.
And once the country clubs fall in line with the practice of
considering only certified men for openings, the program will
prevent the engaging of self-appointed supers.
The wage scale of the superintendent can only be improved
by adoption of certification. With a code of ethics accompanying the requirements, it follows that certain salary minimums
would be set up to prevent the possibility of undercutting
offers by applicants for a job.
More than anything, though, certification is simply another
way of lifting the public image of the superintendent. It lets
the public know the profession is interested enough in itself
to be selective in the matter of accepting its own members.
This is reason enough to launch a full scale investigation into
the possibilities of establishing certification.

(Next month: How certification

would

work.)
— Gerry Finn

"Some people still haven't learned"

NMfntR

—

—

P t e t u e fuzbuwije FRIENDS OF THE ASSOCIATION
Alfco Rokeby Co., Inc.
Fertilizers and Chemical Specialties
P. 0 . Box 267
Marietta, Ohio
Dr. Burton R. Anderson
Golf Course Architect
Turf and Golf Course Consultant
Route 5
Augusta, Maine
Astroturf Recreational Surfaces
Monsanto Company
R. Spencer Thompson
P. 0 . Box 2130
Springfield,, Massachusetts

C. S. Curran
T. R. C. Products, Oils and Greases
Finest Lubricants for Golf Course
Equipment
7 Linden Street
Framingham, Mass.
Gaffny Enterprises, Inc.
Irrigation Specialists
North Main Street
Middleton, Massachusetts
Gold Star Sod Farms, Inc.
181 South Avenue
Weston, Mass. 02197

Baker Tractor Corp.
Ford Tractors
Harley Davidson Golf Cars
Swansea, Mass.

Grounds Equipment Co., Inc.
383 Boylston Street
Newton Centre, Massachusetts

Philp C. Beal Associates, Inc.
Consulting Engineers
Irrigation and Recreational Facilities
P . 0 . Box 102
Hanover, Mass.

Tom Irwin Co.
Bennett Hill Road
Rowley, Massachusetts

Gene Fitzpatrick
Certified Laboratories
12 Paradise Road
Ipswich, Mass.
The Charles C. Hart Seed Co.
Wethersfield, Connecticut
The Clapper Co.
1121 Washington Street
West Newton, Massachusetts
Geoffrey S. Cornish
Golf Course Architect
Fiddler's Green
Amherst, Massachusetts

Johns-Manville Sales Corp.
150 Causeway Street
Boston, Massachusetts
Karandrew Turf Farms, Inc.
Sam Mitchell, Sales Representative
18 Old Randolph Street
Canton, Massachusetts
The Kenneth Barrie Company
Irrigation
375 Centre Street
Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts

Magovern Company, Inc.
Lawn Acre Road
Windsor Lock, Connecticut
D. L. Maher Co.
Water Supply Contractors
Testwells — Gravel packed wells
Byron Jackson Pumps
P. O. Box 274
Woburn, Massachusetts
Melanson of Georgetown
Modern Steam and Pressure Cleaners
Modern Industrial Cleaning Chemicals
Georgetown, Massachusetts
Ken Minasian
Scotts
6 Amelia Court
N. Providence, R . I.
Old Fox Agricultural Sales, Inc.
Jerry Spahr

44 Lexington Ave.
Magnolia, Mass.

Richey & Clapper, Inc.
28 Rutledge Road
Natick, Massachusetts
Sawtelle Brothers
Jet. Routes 128 and 62
Danvers, Massachusetts
Shepard Sod Company
Merion Blue Grass and Pencross Bent
200 Sullivan Avenue
South Windsor, Conn.

Fuel Activator Chemical Corp.
C. F . Barbour — Regional Director
43000 Prudential Tower
Boston, Massachusetts

Kerr McGee Chemical Corporation
P . O. Box 790
Waterbury, Connecticut

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

Larchmont Irrigation Co.
Larchmont Lane
Lexington, Massachusetts

Wyandotte Chemical Co.
709 Salada Building
Boston, Massachusetts

George E. Cull
Terra-Green Soil Conditioner
Oil-Dri Corp. of America
112 Green Street
Abington, Mass.

Bob Lippman
Tuco Products Company
Division of the Upjohn Company
Kalamazoo, Michigan

Yerxa's, Inc.
Golf Course Equipment
740 Broadway
South Portland, Maine

MOSLEM

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FIRST CLASS

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Contributing

LEON

V . ST.

Business
DEAN

Editor

PIERRE
Manager

ROBERTSON

Newsletter Committee Chairman
24 R i v e r v i e w D r i v e
N e w b u r y , M a s s a c h u s e t t s 01950
P h o n e 462-4540
C l u b Affiliation
Chestnut Hill Country C l u b

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