FEBRUARY 1972
-aHIYI/^'

ourse
OF

S u p e r i n t e n d e n td
NEW

ENGLAND,

~ ^ l s A o c i a t i o n
INC.

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

THE NATIONAL CALLS
This is the time. The p l a c e ? Cincinnati. And the occasion
. . . the 43rd annual International T u r f g r a s s Conference and
Show.
This really is .the time, then . . . the opportunity for the
grass-growing, green-bent brothers of the golf course superintendents' profession to get together and bring out the best
in one another, because conferences begin and end with the
individual. What he takes out of the well-planned program
amounts to what the whole thing's all about. That's why being
part of this worthwhile venture is next to necessity.
New England should be proud of its part in the conference.
This year the section will send a national president to the
conference front in the person of Dick Blake. The last time
Blake zoomed out of the section it was in pursuit of the presidency at Denver. Since then he's become one of the real do-italls at his post. Under his direction the association has done
a complete turn in the direction of self-respect.
They'll toast Blake out during this year's ceremonies. He
pulled the usual one-year term and now stands prepared to
slip back into the vast membership while another takes his
place. And for this reason . . . the changing of the guard,
New England association members owe it to themselves to be
on hand for this phase of the conference action.
Such a close feeling should suffice as reason for a healthy
outpouring of New England representatives. After all, how
many times does one of the brothers bow out in the afterglow
of a job superbly executed? This is Dick Blake's fate. Everyone in the New England wheel of the profession should be on

NEXT

MEETING

The next meeting of the G.S.C.A. of N. E. will be February
2, 1972 at the Holiday Inn, Newton, Mass. Please note the
change of day to Wednesday, not on a Monday. Ronald Kirkman, secretary read the minutes of the last meeting and also
noted that he received a letter from the National stating that
Arthur Anderson and S a m Mitchell are now members of the
C.C.S.A.A. Quarter Century Club. Phil Cassidy is home from
his recent stay in the hospital after a leg operation.
Directors' Meeting

10:45 a . m .

Regular Business Meeting

11:15 a . m .

Lunch

12:00 p . m .

Educational P r o g r a m

1 : 0 0 p. m.

President Grant reminded the members that the new up-todate bylaw books are ready and you can get the new copy by
turning in your old copy. The B o a r d of Directors appointed
Max Mierzwa to serve as a trustee for the remainder of Ron
Kirkman's term.

hand to mark his farewell.
Aside from the personal involvement, the conference is still
another avenue of cementing the relationship of superintendents
from near and afar. There are no definite figures available
at this writing, but it is expected that superintendents in excess
of 3,000 will converge on Cincinnati to see what their profession is all about.
There is always something new and different at the conference site and supers should take advantage of this off-season
study of the ways and means to a better-conditioned golf
course. The program committee has arranged an attractive
schedule whereby the superintendent is able to partake of
practically every sprig of his profession.
Exhibits and displays also will be sure to catch the fancy of
those in attendance. It is an automatic assumption that the
super can go to the national and expect to view the very latest
in equipment, sometimes even before it is off the assembly line.
The biggest lure, though, is the comradeship which the conference offers. At this one time in the year a super from
Texas becomes involved with a super from Rhode Island or
where have you. They have this one lone opportunity to swap
ideas and opinions. It is the only time, in fact, that the national
becomes national . . . when members from all corners of the
country get together as if they lived a chip shot away.
The international conference is a must, an integral part of
the superintendent's never-ending grasp of education. It brings
us all together. This is a sign of wonder in itself.
— Gerry Finn
The following is the list of. committee appointments made by
President Robert Grant at the recent association meeting.
Membership Committee — Chairman, Tom C u r r a n ; Wayne
Zoppo, Ron Kirkman
Finance Committee — Chairman, Nary S p e r a n d i o ; Lou Duval,
Phil Cassidy, N o r m a n Mucciarone, Tom Schofield
Educational Committee — Chairman, L a r r y B u n n ; Don Hearn,
John Hudyka
Golf Committee — Chairman, Julius Aksten; Bob Mucciarone
Newsletter Committee — Chairman, Dean Robertson; Leon St.
Pierre, Donald Hearn
Welfare Committee — Chairman, Arthur Anderson; Max
Mierzwa 4 Tony Caranci, Charles Garden, John O'Connor,
Bob Mucciarone, Dick Blake, J o e Silk
Employment Committee — Chairman, Tom C u r r a n ; Dale Barber, Brian Cowan, Joe Rybka, A1 Auger
Publicity Committee — Chairman, N o r m a n Mucciarone, Arthur
Washburn, Leon St. Pierre, John Sperandio
Turf Research — Chairman, Bert F r e d r i c k s ; Dr. Joseph Troll,
John Dolan, John O'Connell, Lou Duval, Charles Gardner
Scholarship Committee — Chairman, Phil Cassidy
Pre-Conference Planning Committee (National) — Co-Chairmen, Bob Grant, T o m C u r r a n ; Dick Blake, Dean Robertson, Leon St. Pierre, N a r y Sperandio
Parliamentarian — Tony Caranci

ourde

Superintendents

^Adociation•

MUSCLES O N W A Y OUT
Y o u ' r e a golfer and not prone to pulverizing the ball. Nowadays, that's the next thing to being a tennis player. Muscle,
muscle, muscle. That's the name of the game. Y o u either beat
the ball to death or you die in the trying.
That's how it is now. How about the f u t u r e ?
Let's ask golf course architect A1 Zikorus who has laid out
a beast or two in his time.
Zikorus is all against muscle. His whole profession is against
muscle. " I n the f u t u r e " , says Al, "there will be an increasing
demand on skill rather than on strength. That's the way it
has to b e . "
The veteran architect lays his whole plea on logic and the
times, especially the times when land is becoming the most
precious item on a designer's board.
" L e t ' s face it", squares Zikorus. " T h e land situation is get~TiiTg~ tighterand — tighter.^Wirar we^^have- ttr^T)"Tiorw4s*Tnril:d~
compact course, one which doesn't make so many demands
on length. We're down to the point where we have to think
of skill rather than strength."
In recent years the new course wasn't considered i n vogue
unless it measured at least 7,000 yards. There are examples
of this, from one section of New England to the other. However the results of putting the country club member in the
position of potential blacksmith hasn't turned out as rosy as
it was once deemed.
" R i g h t now we're thinking in terms of a course length of
6,500 to 6,800 y a r d s " , Zikorus reveals. " I n the past we were
dreaming up par four holes of 420, 4 3 0 and 4 4 0 yards. I
really think we took the game out of club golf. Personally, I
think having to hit two wood shots on a p a r four hole takes
all the joy out of golf."
Zikorus admits that the whole concept of golf architecture
might have got out of hand for a while. " I am not criticizing
any particular builder", he states. " I am probably as guilty
as the next man. But I think we sort of lost our heads when
we were concentrating on size . . . from all aspects."
One of the big, bigs in this respect was the sudden switch
to enormous greens. Zikorus has some commentary on this.
" T h e y (the greens) have grown all out of proportion", he
discloses. " I think they'll come back to reality in size. The
greens just followed the trend of trying to give the golfer
everything in relation to being huge. There's no reason for
a green to be as big that it invites four putts."
Zikorus, citing the restrictions placed on an architect these
days because of the land shrinkage, thinks the task of building
a golf course has magnified because of it. " T h e r e are so many
things to think about", he tells. " T h e site usually is drawn to
the point that it takes a lot of planning to allow for such
things as the clubhouse, pool, tennis courts, paddle tennis
courts and other conveniences. That's why the size of the
course has to be brought back to reason. We have to make
players realize this is a skill game, not a game of strength."
Thus, the changing times. In recent years the emphasis
seemed to be on building the biggest, toughest course in the
area. But now that land has become something akin to a
gem, the trend is leaning to forgetting the muscle and accentuating finesse. The cycle has come around to its source. Muscles
are out. Knowhow is in.
— Gerry Finn
. President —
ROBERT G R A N T
22 Patricia Road
Sudbury, Mass. 01776
Phone 443-2671
Brae Burn Country C l u b

First Vice President —
THOMAS CURRAN
153 Fisher Street
Walpole, Mass. 02081
Phone 668-722 I
The Country Club

Second Vice President —
WAYNE ZOPPO
48 Barberry Drive
Seekonk, Mass.
Phone 399-7141
Club Affiliation
A g a w a m Hunt

Secretary —
RONALD KIRKMAN
25 Green Street
Needham, Mass. 02192
Phone 444-8412
Club Affiliation
Needham Golf C l u b

Left to right: Ronald Kirkman, secretary, Lou Duval, treasurer
and President Robert Grant of the G . C . S . A . of N. E.

The files of the secretary show that the. following newsletters
are missing. Can you help us to complete the files? If you have
any of these please notify Ronald Kirkman.
1929 — May
1940 — December
1941 —- February - November - December
1942 — February - August - December
1943 — J a n u a r y
1944 — March - M a y - J u n e
1947 — November
1948 — November
1949 — April - November
1950 — April - July
1951 — November - December
1952 — March
1953 — J a n u a r y - February - April - M a y - J u n e - August-September - October - December
1954 — J a n u a r y - March - May - September
1955 — October
1956 — October
1958 — May - J u n e
1959 — J a n u a r y
1960 — J a n u a r y - September
1961 — October - November
1 % 2 — J a n u a r y - F e b r u a r y - M a n r l n April - M a y - June - - July
August - September - October - November - December
1963 — May - J u n e - July - August - October - November
1964 — J a n u a r y - February - March - April - May - J u n e - July
1965 — J a n u a r y
New

Applications

Charles R. Lane, Associate, No. Andover Country Club, 12
Washington St., No. 58, Methuen, Mass. 01844.
Robert W. Johnson, Associate, Winnesucket Country Club,
277 Wrentham R o a d , So. Bellingham, Mass.

Treasurer —
LUCIEN DUVAL
R.F. No. 5 Gault Road
Bedford, N. H. 03105
Phone 472-3454
Club Affiliation
Manchester Country Club

JOB

OPEN

9-hole Municipal Course
Contact: Mr. E. A. Wagner
22 Avalon R o a d
Melrose, Mass. 02176
Trustee —
MAX MIERZWA
106 Crestwood Street
Chicopee, Mass. 01020
Phone 594-4996
Chicop< i Country C l u b

NORMAN MUCCIARONE
101 Alban Road
W a b a n , Mass. 02168
Phone 332-3056
Club Affiliation
W o o d l a n d Golf C l u b

Trustee —
BERT F R E D E R I C K
4 5 Stoney Brook Road
Nabnaset, Mass.
Phone 453-1231
Club Affiliation
Vesper Country Club

Finance Chairman —
NARYSPERANDIO
Concord, Mass. 01742
Phone 369-4723
Club Affiliation
C o n c o r d Country Club

O F

S O U N D O F F !! !
(Ready or not, it's time jor Sound Off
that Newsletter feature which brings out the very best in the form of
comment and opinion from our favorite people, the
readers.
'Sound Off is published for all of the golfing public.
Anyone
is invited to partake here, whether in a moment of agreeing or
disagreeing.
Just jot down your views and send them along
to Newsletter Mail Box, 24 Riverview
Drive, Newbury,
Mass.
01950. The Newsletter
reserves the right to comment
on all
letters
published.)
v>
*
" L e t ' s say I'm from that side of the street that says I don't
want to be identified. I mean I want to be Mr. X .
"What I am is a chairman of the green committee. And I
know that with this admission I have to be classified as one
of those hard-headed members of the country club set. To
which, I say . . . 'forget it.'
" M y gripe here is not with you people but with my club.
And this may startle everyone reading this. But . . .and what
this is all about is this . . .
" I am the chairman of the green committee at my club . . .
and I don't know what I'm supposed to do. This really is a
secret revelation. The results of our club elections aren't supposed to come out until the middle of the month. But when
I realized that I was supposed to step in and take charge of
our golf course superintendent, I really didn't know what to
do. So, this is why I'm writing to you people. Maybe you can
give me some kind of inkling as to what I should say and
what I should do when I meet our superintendent. To be
honest with you, I never knew the man existed until I was
elected to this position.
" P e r h a p s you can clue me in on what I'm supposed to do.
Our club president just tapped me on the shoulder and said
I was to be the green chairman. Where do I go from h e r e ? "
Name Withheld
Also the Club
Introduce yourself to the superintendent and make like he
was a human being!
" I am a member here at a very far-out club, and I can't
think about anything pertaining to our course other than the
ragged condition it was in when last we played. ( A long time
ago, since the snows have been puffing about here for the last
few weeks.)
" I ' m wondering whether or not the superintendents' group
has come up with some kind of remedy to take the curse out
of playing golf in the middle of winter. We have some real
high-grade snowstorms in the winter, but we always seem to
bounce back without too many mishaps on the highway. In
between time the golf course just sits there without any response. Most of the time there is snow on the fairways, but not
enough to keep anyone from playing.
"What I want to know i s : How come our superintendent
doesn't come out to the course and make it playable. The
conditions are not that b a d . . . just a little snow and a little
slush. I think it's darn right indecent of him. I think he should
be fired."
CHRIS CURRAN
Round Top, Utah
Your super has been fired. That was two years ago. So far,
your club hasn't had any takers yet!

N E W

E

N

G

L

A

N

D

,

I N C .

" I am a club member who doesn't really give a damn whether
or not the economic situation puts us in a financial drag or not.
To me, it doesn't mean that much.
"Anyway, I just thought I'd like to write about the doldrums
of country club life, the life I've learned to accept while picking up the pieces of my past here.
" T h e life is nothing. I come and go as I please and no one
seems to be bothered about it. There is not much social life
and I am just about at the end of my rope concerning that.
"Regardless, I would like to say that the golf course superintendent here has done a magnificent job. I am not at liberty
to tell you his name but would hasten to brag about his work.
What I would like to know is this: How do we tell our super
he is S U P E R ? "
TRES ADDLER
Parody, Miss.
Tell him like it is . . . that he's a super-super and that he's
the most important guy between the first fee and the 18th
green
"Don't blame me for moving in here with a late accolade.
" Y o u don't know me and I don't know you, but . . . I
have enjoyed every bit of writing that has appeared in the
New England Newsletter for the past three or four years.
" T h e content really doesn't mean that much. I'm interested
in it, but I get more enjoyment out of the quality in the-words
throughout the paper. I think you people should climb aboard
the merry-go-round and maybe put out a paper that would
appeal to everyone. What do you think about such a brazen
idea?"
DREW DOWNING
Setback, Ariz.
W e have certain appeal. W e ' d rather let it stay at that.
*

*

*

*

(That puts the curtain down on another session with
very interesting
readers. Don't let the live ammunition
you. It's all for fun. It's for real, too)

ENERGY A N D THE

some
slay

ENVIRONMENT

B A S I C P R E M I S E : The only way to know what is going on in
the natural world is to measure the total amount of energy consumed and the efficiency with which it is used.
C O R O L L A R I E S : Pollutants are resources out of place.
Any material or energy that has not participated in the
evolutionary history of plants and animals is to be suspect
as a source of environmental stress.
There are no ecologically sound technological solutions
to environmental problems: there are some technological
solutions that are more ecologically sound than others.
A technological ecosystem cannot be substituted for
natural ecosystem.
(photosynthesis)
I

PLANTS

HERBIVORES

CARNIVORES'

/
DECOMPOSERS

Golf Chairman —
JULIUS AKSTEN
6 Main Street
Southboro. Mass. 01772
Phone 485-8885
Club Affiliation
St. Mark's Golf Club

Educational Chairman —
LARRY BUNN
145 Dedham Street
Phone 828-0467
Blue Hill Country Club

Newsletter Chairman —
DEAN ROBERTSON
24 Riverview Drive
Newbury, Mass. 01950
Phone 462-4540
Club Affiliation
Chestnut Hill Country Club

Past President —
R I C H A R D C. BLAKE
211 Sewall Street
Boylston, Mass. 01505
Phone 869-2737
Club Affilit
-. Plee
it Country Club

Information contained in this publication may be used
freely, in whole or in part, without special permission as
long as the true context is maintained. W e would appreciate a credit line.

a

P C e t u e fuzbuMife

FRIENDS

O F THE

ASSOCIATION

Agrico Chemical Company
R. D. Sibler. J r . . Representative
375 Power Rd.
Pawtucket, Rhode Island 02860

F a r m Bureau Association
158 Lexington St., Waltham, Mass. 02154
F r e d Heyliger, Representative
Thomas F . Grummell, Representative

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

Fisk, Alden Ford Tractor Sales
Rear 900 Providence Highway
Dedham, Mass. 02026

Allen's Seed Store, Inc.
South County Trail Rt. No. 2
Slocum, Rhode Island
Charles Allen, Jr., Rep.

Manuel Francis and Son, Inc.
Turf Nurseries
624 Webster St., Marshfield, Mass.

Bacher Corp., Lawn and Snow Equipment
876 Boston Rd. (Rt. 3 A )
Billerica, Mass. 01866

Ron Gagne — Scotts Golf Course Div.
Kendall Park, Phone 617/285-7466
Norton, Mass. 02766

Magovern Company, Inc.
Lawn A c r e Road
Windsor Lock, Conn.
D. L. Malier Co.
Water Supply Contractors
P. 0 . Box 274, Woburn, Mass.
New England Sealcoating Co., Inc.
Astroturf, Tennis Courts, Pavement
Sealcoating — Hingham Industrial Center
Hingham, Mass. Tel. 749-3236
Old F o x Chemical Inc.
Fertilizers — Seeds — Turf Chemicals
66 Valley Street
East Providence, Rhode Island 02914

B a k e r Tractor Corp., Ford Tractors
Harley Davidson Golf Cars
Swansea, Massachusetts

Gold Star S o d F a r m s , Inc.
(Canterbury, New Hampshire)
( S a l e s Office) 1265 Mass. Ave.
Lexington, Mass. 02173 Tel. 861-1111

The Charles C. Hart Seed Co.
Richard McGahan, Rep.
Wethersfield, Conn.

Grounds Equipment Co., Inc.
383 Boylston St., Newton Cen., Mass.

Richey & Clapper, Inc.
28 Rutledge Road
Natick, Mass. 01760

Lowland Street, Hollisl
Sand for Golf Bunkers

Trencher & Equipment Leasing, Inc.
Ditch Witch Trenchers
38 Fairview St., Agawam, Ma. 01001
Phone 413-781-4600

Corenco Corporation
525 Woburn Street
Tewksbury, Mass. 01876
William Ferris

Irrigation and Equipment Supply Co.
P. 0 . Box 9, 66 E r n a Avenue
Milford, Conn. 06460
Telephone (203) 874-1096

* T h e Clapper Co.
1121 Washington St.
West Newton, Mass.
* Geoffrey S. Cornish
Golf Course Architect
Fiddler's Green, Amherst,

01746
is

Mass.

* T o m Irwin, Inc.
11B A Street
Burlington, Mass.

George E . Cull
Terra-Green Soil Conditioner
112 Green St., Abington, M a s s .

Karandrew Turf F a r m s , Inc.
S a m Mitchell, Sales Representative
15 Longmeadow Drive, Canton, Mass.

C. S. Curran
T. R. C. Products, Oils and Greases
7 Linden St., Framingham, Mass.

The Kenneth Barrie Company
Irrigation
375 Centre St., J a m a i c a Plain, Mass.

Eastern Industrial Handling Co., Inc.
Norwood, Massachusetts
Westcoaster Turf and Golf Carts

Larchmont Irrigation Co.
Larchmont Ln., Lexington, Mass.

Fairway Equipment, Inc.
Sales — Service — Rentals
35 Walnut St., Reading, Mass.

Mallinckrodt Chemical Works
Second and Mallinckrodt Streets
St. Louis, Mo. 63160

Sil Paulini, Inc.
"6 Manor Avenue
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.
Tuco Products Co.
Division of the Upjohn
Kalamazoo, Michigan

Company

White Turf Engineering
5 Sumner Drive, Winchendon, Ma. 01475
617-297-0941
Philip A. Wogan
Golf Course Architect
21 Budleigh Ave,, Beverly,

Mass.

Wyandotte Chemical Co.
709 S a l a d a Bldg., Boston, Mass.

* Contributors to the Lawrence S. Dickinson Scholarship Fund

b

DEAN ROBERTSON
^
Newsletter Committee Chairman
24 Riverview Drive
Newbury, Massachusetts 01950
Phone 462-4540
Club Affiliation
Chestnut Hill Country Club
LEON V. ST. PIERRE
Business Manager
GERRY FINN
Contributing Editor

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