« I M Çjo^f (bourse O F Superin N E W ten den tó E N G L A N D , NOVEMBER, 1970 Sliâociation I N C . NEXT MEETING The next meeting will be November 4, 1970, Wednesday, at the Dedham Polo and Country Club, Dedham, Massachusetts. There will be an 18-hole tournament with a buffet being, served f r o m 4 : 3 0 to 5 : 3 0 in the evening. Robert Mucciarone has promised to have no frost, a warm day and plenty of good food in the evening. There should be a good turnout for this meeting, being so late in the season — at least the old excuse of too much pressure won't hold up. See you there. Directions to Dedham — 128 to Route 109, Westwood exit towards Dedham. Take first right and club is about one mile on your left. Sponsors and administrators of the Lawrence S. Dickinson Scholarship Fund — A w a r d e d yearly to deserving Turf Management Students. NOMINATING COMMITTEE REPORTS Chairman Tony Caranci .of the Nominating Committee reported the proposed slate as follows for 1 9 7 1 : President — Richard Blake 1st Vice President — Robert Grant 2nd Vice President — Thomas Curran Secretary — Wayne Zoppo Treasurer — Lucien Duval Trustee (3 years) — Norman Mucciarone New applications to be voted on at this meeting: REGULAR MEMBERSHIP L a r r y Bunn Milton Hoosic Golf Club 36 Hecla St. Uxbridge, Mass. ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP L a r r y Anshewitz Easton Country Club 32 Alder St. Attleboro, Mass. Charles Gardner Finance Chairman — N a r y Sperandio Golf Chairman — Julius Aksten Educational Chairman — Albert Auger Newsletter Chairman — Dean Robertson WHERE HAVE ALL THE ETHICS GONE ? ? ? It has been brought to the attention of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Human Beings that some behind-theexecutive-door, under-the-table dealings are making a moral travesty out of the hiring and firing of golf course superintendents. True, there comes an occasional time in the life of the golf course superintendent when his services are riding a rail fence, when his days on the immediate job may be numbered. This is a situation not confined to any one profession. It happens, as a matter of fact, in the best of employer-employe relationships. However, the art of using discretion and proper methods of precipitating a break between the two apparently has been abandoned for the rather shady act of dissolving ties on an unethical note. Recently a few examples of this practice have popped into view, and therefore should not go unnoticed. At a certain well-to-do country club a superintendent of long standing has been living a sort of under-the-gun life this summer as the result of an unexpected interruption in the flow of superior golf course conditions. The super, himself, was aware of the unfortunate turn in events. And he set out to correct them. All the time, while he was burning the midnight, daylight and other oil at his command, his employers were busy seeking the services of a replacement. In a word, he was a superintendent on the job during the working hours but that same job was in jeopardy at night. What club officials did was to keep his hopes for a new contract glowing while they conducted interviews for a new superintendent without his knowledge of same. Needless to r — say, the super in question was without proper incentive to effect his turf rehabilitation program and in the long run both parties suffered by the club's actions. The knock here is not intended as a violation of the superintendent's hopes to remain on the j o b as long as he, himself, feels he is doing his duty. That is not right or proper, just as is the practice of keeping a man in the position of thinking his j o b is not at stake when thai j o b has been thrown onto the open market. The club certainly has a right to hire and fire whomever it pleases. This, after all, serves as an incentive for the entire profession of course conditioning. It means that the best job or most lucrative thereof should be available to the best super. However, the superintendent is entitled to certain considerations, such as being informed that his position has been declared open and that his contract will not be renewed. This should be done in advance of accepting applications for a position . . . after it has been declared open and not while the present super ponders his fate. Then, too, superintendents . . . on the outside of this situation . . are obligated to practice their own code of ethics. A super should not apply for a job that has not been advertised as being available. He only is promoting such flagrant examples of unethical behavior. Ethics, then, are the key to the club-superintendent relationship. H i e club can hire, fire, reward or whatever they wish to do with the man designated to make the grass grow green. But it should make that super's position clear at all times. I nder-the-table deals should not be tolerated . . . nor should they be promoted, by the club or the proposed incoming superintendent. — Gerry Finn Superintendents MEMBERSHIP LIST In the October issue of the Newsletter the new and up-todate membership list was printed. For some reason or another some names were not listed. If yours was among the missing, please contact the editor so that he can make the necessary corrections. The following were missed tod are members in good standing: Howard Farrant, Retired 236 Franklin St., Braintree, Mass. 843-1565 Ted Anderson, Retired 1928 Pleasant St., Athol, Mass. 249-6079 — IN WINDY A U T U M N Suddenly the elm's leaves Were birds winging Out of the shaken branches; From parental maplesCame the seed spinners Twirling above contested ground, And curled beech leaves Rolling on the slopes of the wind Set forth with the syllables Of the singing limbs. The wealth of poplars Rained in golden coin To the earth's rich bank. The oak's broad leaves Rocked on the waving air Like anchored boats. A leaf tide of locust Gathered in green foam At the base of the trees. High and low in the birches And in all the families of summer The old ties were broken; Then were the swallows Diving in windy sky; The kites set free beyond retrieving; The wanderers gone forever Over the lofty hill, After the frenzy and falling, After the fir trees' applauding, Never a bird sang loud And the woods were strangely still. — William D. Mundell A g a w a m ' H u n t Clul W A S IT A VERY G O O D YEAR? The year was 1969 and the month of that year was July. "We had 21 days of good old fashioned uncontrollable rain", a superintendent recalled just the other day. "There just wasn't anything we could do about it. It's nice to be able to turn off the rain." So, that brings us to the waning days of the 1970 golf season, and here is where the difference lies. For some, the lack of rain at certain stages of the summer probably raised slight havoc. These would be the supers still without an irrigation system. But they were in the minority. "The difference", said our same rejuvenated super from the first paragraph, "was that we could control the water this year. It's nice to be able to turn off the rain . . . but it's also nice to be able to turn it on when it's needed. Control. That's the secret." "Probably, the best part of this season was the reaction of the golfer", the rain-maker from the above lines offered. " I can't remember when I had fewer complaints. Yes, there was the naturally-expected haunts who never could be satisfied. I' m talking about the members who judge the condition of the course by the number of strokes on their scorecard. For them, the course always will be a shambles." Problems were kept to a minimum. A dry August caused some concern and out of it appeared a thickening of crab grass and some dollar spots. But these must be termed minor annoyances. They could be dealt with in a manner of speaking. They were not the type of problem over which the superintendent had no control. Getting away from the weather aspects of the appraisal, a new-found assset was apparent from almost the very beginning of the season in that the quality of summer labor was improved. - SOIL SURVEY A survey of an area to determine the morphology of its soils, classify their characteristics, and map their location and extent. Soil surveys are made by the Soil Conservation Districts and U. S. Department of Agriculture. Golf Course architects will find the soil survey maps of the areas in which they work to be very useful. CLAY L O A M A soil material which contains from 2 0 % to 3 0 % clay particles, and from 2 0 % to 5 0 % of sand particles, the remainder being silt particles. SOIL CLIMATE The moisture and temperature conditions existing within the soil. The soil has a micro-climate which is the environment of the organisms which live within the soil. Secretary — W A Y N E ZOPPO 48 Barberry Drive Seekonk, Mass. Phone 399-7141 • With this sage statement stacked away for prosperity, the feeling follows that trend. For the most part, 1970 was good to the golf course superintendent. Oh, there were times when he wished he could send up an emergency plea for help to the heavens, but it wasn't that often. W O R D S OF THE M O N T H President — First Vice President — Second Vice President — R I C H A R D C . BLAKE 'ROBERT G R A N T THOMAS CURRAN 2 I I Sewall Street 22 Patricia Road 153 Fisher Street Boylston, Mass. 01505 Sudbury, Mass. 01776 Walpole, Mass. 02081 Phone 869-2737 Phone 668-7221 Phone 443-2671 Club Affiliation .Glub Affiliation Club Affiliation M t . Pleasant Country Club Brae Burn Country C l u b The Country Club Slóóociation "It's hard to look upon the present economic slowup of the "country as a blessing", our super on the scene stated. "But it meant a much better part-time crew for me. I found that our workers were more intelligent and much more willing to get involved. They were really interested in doing a good job. In fact, for many of them it was more than a job. I could see that they got almost as much satisfaction out of experiencing top course condition as I did." In a brush with statistics, the summer was judged to be a dry one . . . some four or five inches below normal rainfall. But all the way down the line reports of turf condition were on the upswing. It was virtually a rarity to hear of someone who had been hit hard by disease or other turf and grass failure. Add to this overall picture the generally conceded fact that the winter had been unusually kind to golf courses and the conclusion is that 1970 was a very good year. Was it for y o u ? Gerry Finn Treasurer — Trustee — Trustee — Trustee — LUCIEN DUVAL fcONALD KIRKMAN ROBERT M U C C I A R O N E NORMAN MUCCIARONE R.F. No. 5 Gault Road 25 Green Street 465 Summer Street 101 Alban Road Bedford, N. H. 03105 Needham, Mass. 02192 Westwood, Mass. 02090 W a b a n , Mass. 02168 Phone 472-3454 Phone 444-8412 Phone 329-9682 Phone 332-3056 Club Affiliation Club Affiliation Club Affiliation Club Affiliation Manchester Country Club Needham Golf Club Dedham Country and Polo Club W o o d l a n d Country Club Finance Chairman — NARY SPERANDIO Concord, Mass. 01742 Phone 369-4723 Club Affiliation Concord Country Club New Hampshire Golf Course Superintendents Association, Inc. Editor —• John J. Barry, Supt. Abenaqui Country Club, Rye, N. H. MEETING NOTES GOLF CARTS Portsmouth Country Club Superintendent, Bob Larech, and Pro Tony Loch took top honors in the net division with a 66 at the annual Superintendent-Pro Tournament held at the Charming-Fare Country Club in Candia, N. H. Golf carts have been with us for several years now. No doubt they have added to the enjoyment of the game. Many people play golf today that couldn't play before because of their physical limitations. The Gross Division produced a tie between Phil and Dennis Friel of the Green Meadow Country Club in Hudson, N. H. and Bob and Tony. Both teams came in with 72 strokes. I wonder if the trophy will ever leave the Portsmouth Country Club. Host Superintendent, Len Chace had the course in excellent shape and coupled with the great weather conditions it made a very enjoyable day. Thank you, Len. Next month we travel to Phillips Exeter Academy in Exeter, N. H. with Bill Cross as host. Bill has scheduled a tour of the facilities at Exeter including the athletic fields and sports arenas. While the cart has been good for golf, many courses bear evidence of the harm they can cause when their movements are not controlled. The golf cart has been designed to produce a minimum of soil compactions but any vehicle can compact soil to a certain degree. The amount of compaction is directly related to the amount of moisture present in the soil. The higher the moisture level the easier any soil is to compact. Also, the more cart traffic over an area, the more compacted the soil may become. After a soil is compacted grass will begin to thin out rapidly. There are two facts that are clear. The first is that the golf cart is here to stay. The other fact is that if not controlled the golf cart can kill grass through soil compaction. One answer to the cart problem is to continue the way we are going but if we do we will lose more grass. We can let the carts continue to roam at will on the course and can begin a fairway aerification program. Think what a job it would be to add all areas of your fairways to your aerification program. Think of the high added expense in labor alone. What is the best answer? I feel the best answer, considering the golfers' wishes and turf maintenance problems, is to establish permanent golf cart paths. Carts should be restricted to these paths and golfers should be asked to leave their carts on the path when playing the fairways. As far as the expense involved in path construction, part of the cart fee should be set aside for this construction and maintenance. Until we have a just answer to the increasing cart problem it is up to the superintendent and the pro to work together in educating the golfer in proper golf cart etiquette. S C H E D U L E OF E V E N T S Date: Wednesday, November 4 10:00 a. m. to 11:00 a. m. Directors' Meeting 10:00 a. m. to 11:00 a. m. Coffee Hour 11:00 a. m. to 12:00 a. m. Business Meeting 12:00 a. m. to 1:15 P- m. Lunch 1:15 P- m. to 3:00 P- m. Educational Meeting P L E A S E DO NOT D R I V E ON WET SOIL P L E A S E DO NOT D R I V E ON B A R E S O I L P L E A S E DO NOT D R I V E WITHIN 30 F E E T OF A G R E E N P L E A S E R E S P E C T R E S T R I C T E D A R E A S A N D A R E A S UNDER REPAIR P L E A S E DO NOT FOLLOW T H E S A M E R O U T E A S T H E OTHER CARTS DOWN A F A I R W A Y P L E A S E DO NOT OVERLOAD T H E CART. Let us all work together to keep the fairways green. William E. Knoop Extension Turf Specialist Univ. of N. H. Maine Golf Course Superintendents Association Editor — Norman NOVEMBER MEETING The November meeting of the MGCSA will be held at the Dutch Elm Golf Club in Arundel on November third. Roger Lowell is the host superintendent. Lucien Bourque is the owner. Weather permitting golf will be played. Food will be available at the club so we will not have to go elsewhere to eat. Pease, Supt., Purpoodock Club, Cape Elizabeth, Maine Nominating Committee At the September meeting president Lloyd Ruby appointed a nominating committee to meet at the November meeting. They will submit names for President, Vice-President, Secretary-Treasurer and one member of the Board of Directors. NOMINATING COMMITTEE Camille Brochu, Chairman; " C h o c " Doiron, James Diorio, MEETING SCHEDULE Date November 3 11:00 - 12:00 12:00 1:00 1:00 Meeting Lunch Education To get to Dutch Elm take Route 111 from Route 1 in Biddeford. After crossing turnpike take first road to the left. There is a Dutch Elm sign on the right. Super-Pro Tournament Augusta C. C. superintendent Jim Diorio and pro Pete Hatfield won their second straight supt.-pro tourney, but it took them three holes of a playoff to do it, on Ernie Hawkes Gorham C. C. They scored a best ball of 71, dovetailing nicely off individual 77's to tie with Jordan River's superintendent Fred Salisbury and pro Peter Hodgkins. Hatfield won it on the par four 385-yard third, after both teams had made par fours on the first two holes. His second shot over the green was 14 feet from the pin and he curled in the putt for a birdie. Low net went to Lucien Bourque of Dutch Elm and pro Dick Harris of Martindale, with a 76-59, under the Callaway System. Second net went to Dave Huff of Scott's and pro Dick Dennison of Oakdale. Jim Diorio won the superintendents' trophy that was donated by Dave Huff. We wish to thank Dave for the trophy, even though he must have gotten the price of it back in what he won. THE TOURISTS They kissed goodbye She flew off to Paris He said "I'll see you When we'll hop on a on the tarmac, and Rome. at Prestwick, dear, plane for 'home'!" He had his clubs and a canvas bag And dollars enough to spare, He played at Troon in the afternoon And spent the night at Ayr. Turnberry tickled his fancy, So he stopped for a couple of days, And a man from Wales took him to Gailes Where the wind sent his drives all ways. Gleneagles next day on schedule — Sure, that was a swell hotel! — As he played around the stranger found That everything was swell! Then he motored to St. Andrews And played the Old and the New, With his taxi handy — all nice and dandy To take him to pastures new. Carnoustie, Rosemount, Cruden Bay, To Dornoch and to Nairn, This man from Wyoming sure was roaming Light-hearted as a bairn . . . They met again on the tarmac To return to the U. S. A. Both were content with the dollars spent, So I guess they called it a day. A. C. G. R. — O F N E W E N G L A N D , I N C . 1 SOUND OFF I!!! (That time is here again, when readers of the monthly Newsletter can sit down and tell everyone what's wrong with the world of golf and ivhat should be done to right it. Letterivriters are reminded that the Newsletter ivelcomes all material, be it caustic or complimentary. But they also are reminded to sign all letters and include their address. Names will be withheld upon request. So, get with the action and oil up your writing arms. Send your letters to Newsletter Mail Box, 24 Riverview Drive, Newbury, Mass. 01950. The Newsletter reserves the right to comment on all letters published. " I have a ticklish subject for your wise-cracking editors to digest and I hope I don't step on any toes in explaining it. " L i k e the rest of you, I am a superintendent with an adequate incomc working at a pretty fair-sized club. If anything, I like to wrap my troubles in dreams when I leave the course. I am not one of those people who live, eat and sleep grass. "What I'm getting at is the fact that certain people have been calling me on the phone to serve them as free consultant on the care of their home lawns. But that's only half of it. What really hurts is their reaction to m y advice. " I did this for one person and gave him some advice which probably would run him a good chunk of money. Well, he cut corners, then had the nerve to come back to me after his cheapness took a toll on his lawn. I won't repeat here what I said to him. But I was wondering if any other supers get this headache tossed at t h e m ? " CALE WEATHERLY Freestone, N . J . W h a t these cheapskates get they deserve, Cale. you're not alone. That type of turf pest is universal. And " T h i s may come under the heading of small potatoes, but from my experiences this summer it might be some kind of a helpful hint to the rest of my colleagues. " I have noticed the frequency of flat tires on our golf cars. The rate of them took a considerable turn for the worse during J u n e of this year and I was puzzled by it. So, I immediately started snooping around to see if anything different was being done in the way of inflating tires and that. " A f t e r an extensive search for causes, I learned that the pro in our shop recently had been selling a new and elongated type of tee. Lo and behold, this turned out to be the culprit. On the cart paths, especially on par-three holes, I found a number of these spiked tees and attributed the flats to their use. " J u s t thought I'd send this out as a warning to the rest of the guys. I know that flat tires can be a nuisance. And anything to prevent them is welcome. Believe me, since I found out about those long tees my flat rate has gone flat." STEVEN JONES Sunbury, P a . There just doesn't seem to be any end to the confusion caused by the golf car. But thanks for the tip anyway. Golf Chairman — JULIUS AKSTEN 6 Main Street Southboro, Mass. 01772 Phone 485-8885 Club Affiliation St. Mark's Golf Club Educational Chairman — ALBERT A U G E R 6 A Fort Hill Street Hingham, Mass. 021 13 Phone 749-2272 Club Affiliation South Shore Country C l u b Newsletter Chairman — DEAN ROBERTSON 24 Riverview Drive Newbury, Mass. 01950 Club Affiliation Chestnut Hill Country Club " P l e a s e stop me if I'm writing to the wrong place, but the superintendents seem to be the only ones who know just what's going on as far as my problem is concerned. "Anyway, I belong to a club and have suffered by the type of soil on the fairways. At least, I think it's the soil that's the big monkey wrench in our operation. Every time it rains here, the course turns into a quagmire. Then, we have to wait for several days of all sunshine in order to play again without water wings. This doesn't seem right to me. (We pay a pretty steep dues here. "What really bugs me is that there are two or three other courses in town that never experience this type of trouble. And at least one of these is a public course. I would think that with all the money invested in our course something should have been done to see just how much moisture the place could t a k e . " CLYDE TRACY (Club withheld) Clyde, you have hit a sore point with supers. Too many clubs rush into course building without conducting a soil study before cementing land transfer. These are available to everyone. You just happened to be caught in an over-anxious group. "Recently I read an article in Time magazine in which he pointed out the great number of moon-shot specialists who are out of work. It also was noted that they were having a difficult time getting other jobs since they were trained for just one thing. " I think this tragic story should serve as a reminder to some of our young people who are now approaching college age and thinking of studying the sciences. " T o me it would seem much more advantageous and practical f o r a young lad to steer himself toward the natural sciences and a study of the environment. I'm thinking in lines of forestry, botany and agronomy. Certainly, they should be made aware of this situation and make plans accordingly. I certainly hope my letter brings some of these boys to the thinking that all space-study is an invitation to potential crimp in their earning power." I. E. N E W T O N Overlay, Va. You said a mouthful, I. E. It's about time all our students got back down to earth. (So ends another version of the Newsletter's refreshing feature. Keep your comments coming. Off alive.) Past President — A N T H O N Y C A R A N C I , JR. 22 Hillview Drive No. Providence, R. I. 02900 Phone 723-1688 Club Affiliation Ledgemont Country C l u b popular and Keep Sound- Information contained in this publication m a y be used freely, in whole or in part, without special permission as long as the true context is maintained. W e would a p p r e ciate a credit line. PCeoAe Agrico Chemical Company R. D. Siblev, Jr.. Representative 375 Power Rd. ' Pawtucket, Rhode Island 02860 Agway Commercial Sales Richard Williams 66 James St., W. Newton, Mass. Phone 244-5309 Alleo Rokeby Co., Inc. Fertilizers and Chemical Specialties P. O. Box 267, Marietta, Ohio Baker Tractor Corp., Ford Tractors Harley Davidson Golf Cars Swansea, Massachusetts The Charles C. Hart Seed Co. Wethersfield, Conn. Corenco Corporation Tewksbury, Mass. 01876 J. E. Nordholm Turf Specialist *The Clapjjer Co. 1121 Washington St. West Newton, Mass. * Geoffrey S. Cornish Golf Course Architect Fiddler's Green, Amherst, Mass. George E. Cull Terra-Green Soil Conditioner 112 Green St., Abington, Mass. Arthur Curran Rock Driller Supply Equipment, Inc. 20 E. Glenwood Ave. Hyde Park, Mass. 02136 C. S. Curran T. R. C. Products, Oils and Greases 7 Linden St., Framingham, Mass. FRIENDS OF THE ASSOCIATION Fairway Equipment, Inc. Sales — Service — Rentals 35 Walnut St., Reading, Mass. Tuco Products Co. Division of the Upjohn Company Kalamazoo, Michigan Farm Bureau Association 158 Lexington St., Waltham, Mass. 02154 Fred Heyliger, Representative Magovern Company, Inc. Lawn Acre Road Windsor Lock, Conn. Manuel Francis and Son, Inc. Turf Nurseries 624 Webster St., Marshfield, Mass. D. L. Maher Co. Water Supply Contractors P. O. Box 274, Woburn, Mass. Ron Gagne — Scotts Golf Course Div. 45 Mechanic St., Apt. 1A Foxboro, Mass. 02035 Old Fox Chemical Inc. Fertilizers — Seeds — Turf Chemicals 66 Valley Street East Providence, Rhode Island 02914 Gold Star Sod Farms, Inc. 181 South Ave., Weston, Mass. 02197 Grounds Equipment Co., -Inc. 383 Boylston St., Newton Cen., Mass. *Tom Irwin Co. Bennett Hill Road Rowley, Masi Johns-Manvill 150 Causeway Jorp. ston, Mass. Karandrew Turf Farms, Inc. Sam Mitchell, Sales Representative 15 Longmeadow Drive, Canton, Mass. Sil Paulini, Inc. 6 Manor Avenue Natick, Mass. 01760 Richey & Clapper, Inc. 28 Rutledge Road Natick, Mass. 01760 *Sawtelle Brothers Jet. Routes 128 and 62 Danvers, Mass. Shepard Sod Company Merion Blue Grass and Pencross Bent 200 Sullivan Ave., So. Windsor, Conn. The Kenneth Barrie Company Irrigation 375 Centre St., Jamaica Plain, Mass. Philip A. Wogan Golf Course Architect 21 Budleigh Ave., Beverly, Mass. ICerr-McGee Chemical Corp. 380 Union St. West Springfield, Mass. 01089 Wyandotte Chemical Co. 709 Salada Bldg., Boston, Mass. Larchmont Irrigation Co. Larchmont Ln., Lexington, Mass. Yerxa's. Inc, Golf Course Equipment 740 Broadway, S. Portland, Me. * Contributors to the Lawrence S. Dickinson Scholarship .. . Newsletter C o m m i t t e e C h a i r m a n 24 Riverview D r i v e Newbury, Massachusetts 01950 Phone 462-4540 C l u b Affiliation Chestnut Hill C o u n t r y C l u b L E O N V. ST. P I E R R E Business M a n a g e r GERRY FINN C o n t r i b u t i n g Editor ' » 71 sri Fund V . vft < -