July 1981
ourAe ^duperintendentd
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OF

NEW

E N G L A N D ,

^y^AAocia lion
INC.

Sponsors a n d administrators of the Lawrence S.
Dickinson Scholarship Fund — A w a r d e d yearly
to deserving Turf M a n a g e m e n t Students.

Too Many Cooks... and Chiefs
All of the trite saws apply here. " T o o many cooks spoil
the broth," " T o o many chiefs and not enough Indians,"
-intrusions of those makings.
Into the life of the golf course superintendend has appeared a new menace to his ever-demanding operation.
Call him the intruder, the meddler. Whatever, he's a detriment and he must be, as they say in the TV cop flicks,
"dusted."
This dreaded curse surfaces in the role of a country club
committee head or member of same whose responsibilities DO NOT include supervision or guidance of the
superintendent. Yet, for some strange reason, he has
taken upon himself, self-appointed authority to direct the
day-to-day handling of the club's golf course maintenance
and improvement program.
The in-house administrative mechanics of the country
club encompasses a myriad of duties. There is the house
committee, the tournament committee, the pool committee, the grounds committee, the handicap committee. You
name it, the country club has one.
Unfortunately, certain members of one or the other of
these well-intentioned groups look at their appointments
as a right to take part in every aspect of governing the
club. In essence, they actually believe they are members
of the "soup to nuts committee." Therefore, they think
their input is mandatory in every issue discussed and
every decision made.
As a matter of restating the specs, as they were, the
superintendent answers to the chairman of the grounds or
golf committee. Supposedly, they enter into a compatible
relationship in which each offers suggestions, discuss
their ramifications and come to a joint conclusion in implementing the results.
Of course, the ideal grounds chairman is one who accepts suggestions rather than concentrating on giving
orders. The history of any country club maintenance program shows that this arrangement has produced the best
results.
So, for the most part, it is the chairman who sets the
ground rules for his relationship with the superintendent.
If he insists on one-way input, obviously, there is nothing
the superintendent can do about it other than hope the
chairman is well-versed in the intricacies of grooming the
golf course.
Some grounds chairmen are and it is to their credit that
they are interested enough in the job to avail themselves
of information so vital to the overall operation.
The bugaboo, though, comes from another direction.
Too many members, associated with other committees,
are putting in their two-cents' worth and expecting a
dollar in change.
It has been reported that superintendents are being
hounded and harassed by foreign committee people to the
extent that they find themselves in a state of confusion.
"One guy tells me he wants the greens mowed to a certain height and the next thing I know another is telling me
he prefers a different cut," one superintendent said
recently. "Of course, it puts me on the spot since

-regardless of my rank or station -1 am an employee of the
country club. I only wish some order and definition of
authority within the framework of the committee setup
could be effected."
Therein lies the solution to a problem that could become
a very serious obstruction to the superintendent's day-today work schedule.
The country club chain of command doesn't need any
restruction. However, the principal parties in its makeup
should make an attempt at its redefinition. If a meddler is
rocking the boat, he must be made to sit down or be
quietly advised that his presence on the board or committee is no longer required.
The task of maintaining and improving the golf course
already has suffered its share of complications because of
the prevailing economic cutbacks instituted by most
country clubs. The superintendents is burdened with the
job of producing the same results with less at his hand to
produce them.
Now, along comes another headache in the form of
people insisting that they should take part in the greening
of fairways and smoothing of greens. As far as the
superintendent is concerned, such intrusion (most of
which borders on the idiotic) only adds to the confusion.
The country club, then, not only has a responsibility to
provide the nearest thing to the ultimate in services to its
members, it also has the responsibility to its employees to
create reasonable conditions under which they can help
deliver those services.
One sure way of this is to keep unauthorized members
out of the superintendent's hair. While he tries desperately to comb them out, the golf course could go to "you
know where."
Gerry Finn

Next Meeting

August 3, 1981
Agawam Hunt Club

Wayne Zoppo - Host
superintendent

By now you should already have a flyer
with directions and particulars.
Our thanks to Doug Johnson and Paul
Miller for hosting the two previous meetings
and tournaments. I know that everyone present enjoyed themselves on both occasions.
Our sincere thanks to both of you and to the
management and staff at both Pinebrook and
Tedesco.

Qaf

Course

Superintendents

Dow Ad an Insult!
The message came across with a resounding chop to the
reputation of the golf course superintendent. It was supposed to be eye-catching and amusing.
It was...and it wasn't.
Recently, several publications relating to the turf field
smacked a full page ad in their editions, depicting five
irate golfers launching an harangue over the condition of
their course. The object of their bombastic blast was a
superintendent, pictured as a disheveled Casper Milquetoast - type with his shoes untied and a dirty handkerchief
hanging out of his pocket.
The ad was sponsored by the Dow Chemical Company,
trumpeting its prized insecticide - "long-lasting
Dursban." The pitch was to show the browbeaters coming
down hard on the "defenseless" superintendent like a
swarm of vultures attacking a warmed-over carcass, exploding their wrath over course damage caused by insects.
Of course, the poor soul had failed to order his Dursban
-and he was paying dearly for it. Even the selection of
complainers reeked of an animal house scene. Four of
them were armed with golf clubs while the fifth (supposedly the club president) was backing them to the hilt
with the club logo on his green blazer displaying the long
arm of ranting and raving authority.
People, noting the ad, probably got a big laugh.
However, its thrust had to be aimed at the superintendent
who is responsible for the purchase of chemicals as an aid
in his course maintenance program. And, if there were a
superintendent with a smile on his face, he has to be either
frothing at the mouth or getting himself fitted to a strait
jacket.
Obviously, the ad is degrading and deserving of strong
response from the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America. Not only does it present the superintendent in a disparaging light, it makes the typical country
club member appear as a maniac who bones up for his
daily act tearing into an employee with bona fide professional credentials.
One of the journals, publishing this outrageous affront
to the superintendents' profession, is Golf Business. It
added to the insult by placing the ad opposite an editorial
by associate publisher James R. Brooks.
Ironically and stupidly, the subject of Mr. Brooks' piece
is the golf course superintendent and his failure to take a
personalized part in the upgrading and recognition of his
profession. In it, he makes several suggestions to
superintendents for polishing their in-club image and promoting a more informed golfing public at his club.
Apparently, Golf Business has no regard for the advertising content of its publication. The sight of the ad,
following a reading of an editorial with worthy intention,
has to make the interested observer gasp in disbelief. On
one hand, it tries to boost the superintendent and on the
other it fractures his reputation with a visual bombshell.
Several superintendents already have reacted to this
blatant smudge on their reputations. One, in particular,
has sent a letter to a publication using the ad with hopes
that some kind of retraction or apology be made to rectify
the uncalled-for slur. Another is seriously thinking of a
Dow boycott. Other responses will swing into action as the
insult sinks in deeper.
So far, nothing has surfaced in the form of rebuttal from
the GCSAA. Naturally, superintendents will expect the
association to use its clout and have the largest impact in

PRESIDENT
Ronald Kirkman
25 Green St.
Needham, Mass. 02192
H o m e Phone 444-8412
O f f i c e Phone 444-5548
Club A f f i l i a t i o n
Needham Golf Club

FIRST VICE PRESIDENT
Brian Cowan CGCS
Robins Way
Harwich, Mass. 02645
H o m e Phone 432-9041
O f f i c e Phone 945-9230
Club A f f i l i a t i o n
Eastward Ho.

SECOND VICE PRESIDENT
Donald Hearn CGCS
4 Topeka Rd.
Chelmsford, Mass. 01824
H o m e Phone 256-8709
O f f i c e Phone 894-5906
Club A f f i l i a t i o n
W e s t o n Golf Club

SECRETARY
David Barber CGCS
145 Dedham St.
Canton. Mass. 02021
Home Phone 828-7266
Office Phone 828-6540
Club A f f i l i a t i o n
Blue Hills C.C.

^Association
It is with deep regret and sadness that
we announce the passing of Meindert
Schults. "Red worked for many years
for our association and most recently
served as a trustee. He was a true friend
to most of us and will be missed by all."
FIRST PUBLICATION
Kevin Osgood
John Medvecky
Newton Commonwealth Club
Merrimac G.C.
Regular Member
Associate Member
Neil Loomis
WaylandC.C.
Associate Member

Charles Passios
Middleton G.C.
Associate Member

Congratulations and welcome to Pat
Christy, Acoaxet C.C., voted in at the last
meeting.
righting this wrong. Since the GCSAA serves as the national spokesman for the profession, it is its responsibility to unload on Dow and any other company engaged in
this form of degradation.
However, there's one hitch which should be embarrassing to the national and shocking to its membership. Golf
Course Management, the voice of the golf course
superintendent, also published the Dow ad.
Talk about rubbing your own face in the mud. Is the
GCSAA for us or agin' us?
Gerry Finn.

Mr. Superintendent
-Are You An
"Endangered Species"?
By Stan Frederiksen
Manager - Turf Products
Mallinckrodt, Inc.
St. Louis, Mo.
Mr. Golf Course Superintendent" is your future as a
career turf manager "clouded?" Perhaps much more than
you think. Let's take a look at some very ominous considerations you will have to face in the very near future.
Back in the early '60's, Miss Rachel Carson's book Silent
Spring was published. It had an everlasting impact upon
the world of growing things, including your "thing,"
highly maintained fine turf. Undoubtedly its original purpose was a truly noble one - to focuc public attention upon
the indiscriminate use of chemical pesticides and the
adverse effect this could have on man and his world, not
to mention the Earth's millions of other living inhabitants.
However, the over reaction by federal, state and local
government officials was startling. Federal agencies,
armed with powers delegated to them by Congress, began
removing from the marketplace, pesticides they found

TREASURER
P e t e C o s t e ' CGCS
121 Granite St.
Medfield, Mass. 02052
H o m e Phone 359-7247
Office Phone 566-0240
Club A f f i l i a t i o n
The Country Club

TRUSTEE
Meindert Schults
737 Princeton Blvd.
Lowell, Mass. 01851
Home Phone 458-7605
O f f i c e Phone 452-8228
Club A f f i l i a t i o n
Mt. Pleasant G.C.

TRUSTEE
Melvin O'Kelly
345 Plain St.
Marshfield, Mass. 02050
H o m e phone 834-4229
Office Phone 837-3321
Club A f f i l i a t i o n
Marshfield C.C.

TRUSTEE
T o m S c h o f i e l d CGCS
290 North Rd.
Sudbury. Mass. 01776
H o m e Phone 443-3712
O f f i c e Phone 235-7333
Club A f f i l i a t i o n
Wellesley C.C.

FINANCE
CHAIRMAN
Robert J o h n s t o n CGCS
128 Wilbraham Rd.
Hampden, Mass. 01036
Home Phone 566-3075
Office Phone 566-3096
Club A f f i l i a t i o n
Hampden C.C.

OF
had caused some kind of harm, either to people or the "environment." They also began removing pesticides they
felt "might," even under the remotest possible circumstances, cause some sort of problem, whether there
had ever been such problem reported in connection with
those pesticides or not. Further, the "possibility" of
potential harm was not limited to that associated with
people. The new phrases "balance of nature" and "endangered species" and others began to appear. One group
or another began worrying whether in the next 15 or 20
years the "purple-crested-thing-a-mabob" would become
extinct because of the impact in the "environment" of
chemical pesticies. Strangely enough, some of these
groups paid little attention to the very basic question
-"Should the world be made safe and adaptable for people? - or for 'endangered species?' "
Let's make some observations as to what has happened
since Silent Spring to bring us to where we are at present,
with respect to pesticides and their use.
1. Gone from the marketplace are many of the important pesticides that helped farmers grow plentiful good
crops that you could buy inexpensively. The same
pesticides helped you grow beautiful fine turf. Few of
these ever caused problems, but (found some government
agencies), they "just might" cause problems, and so they
were banned.
2. Gone is the incentive on the part of the chemical companies to develop new pesticides to help your career. Why
should they? There's now only one chance in several thousand that any new i m p o u n d could ever become commercially available as a pesticide.
3. Gone is the source of many of your turf pesticides
-that source being pesticides originally researched and
developed for food crops. Because turf is such a small segment of the agriculture market, very few, if any, companies would ever embark on a program of research to
develop a pesticide just for turf when the chance for its
commercial success is so slim. With pesticides for food
crops in jeopardy, you can imagine how remote is the
possiblity of new pesticides for turf.
4. Just after Silent Spring appeared, the food pesticides
people found their warehouses filled with pesticide compounds that the government had banned for food crop
use. When a magazine writer said that, " A S14 million
market has opened up for fungicides on golf course turf,"
you can bet the food pesticides manufacturers started
moving their erstwhile unsaleable (for food crop use)
fungicides over into the turf market, rightly reasoning
that "very few people eat grass." It was at this time (mid
1960's) that you saw entry into the turf fungicides
markets, by firms which had never participated in such
markets before.
5. Right after "Silent Spring," Monsanto published a resounding rebuttal to the book. To discover what the world
would be like without pesticides, read the October, 1962
issue of Monsanto Magazine article entitled, "The
Desolate Year." It depicts a world without pesticides,
overrun with insects and other pests, and presents a
frightening picture of how tenuous is the thread that
holds civilization together. Without pesticides, the human
race could literally be eliminated. The grim fact is that all
the pesticides we've ever had could only hold antagonistic
pests in check. In no way could all of them be eliminated.
Witness even today in your continuing battle against turf
pests, how many insects and fungi have already adapted
to pesticides and/or have become entirely resistant to
many of them. To reinforce yourself on this particular
point, be sure to see the motion picture "The Helstrom
Chronicle," which shows that practically all insects can

GOLF CHAIRMAN
Stephen M. Murphy
75 W o o d l a n d Ave.
Lynn, Mass. 01904
Home Phone 592-2554
Office Phone 592-8238
Club A f f i l i a t i o n
The Gannon G.C.

EDUCATIONAL
CHAIRMAN
Richard C. Zepp
86E Sterling St.
W. Boylston, Mass. 01583
Home Phone 835-4980
Office Phone 234-2533
Club A f f i l i a t i o n
Whitinsville G.C.

NEWSLETTER
CHAIRMAN
Charles Lane
5 G o o d n o w Lane
Framingham, Mass. 01701
Home Phone 872-7832
Office Phone 875-4490
Club A f f i l i a t i o n
Framingham C.C.

PAST PRESIDENT
Dean Robertson
24 Riverview Drive
Newbury. Mass. 01950
Home Phone 462-4540
Office Phone 745-7289
Club A f f i l i a t i o n
Kernwood C.C.

NEW

ENGLAND,

INC.

adapt to just about any pesticide - and that it may not be
too far in the future when insects, not humans, will rule
the worldl That is, unless mankind can continue its
pressure on the pest world through much more pesticide
research and a constant flow to the marketplace of more
new pesticides.
6. Is pesticide research dead? Maybe not quite, but it's
rapidly approaching that state. Dr. John Shred, the
famous Connecticut entomologist, told me at a turf conference a couple of years ago, that at that time of the year
just 12 months before, he had, in the first quarter of the
year, screened hundreds of chemical compounds for insect control activity. During the current quarter, he told
me he'd received candidate insecticide compounds from
only two companies.
7. Over-reaction has also shown up at the state and local
levels. More and more states, because of pressure from environmentalist groups, are placing their own bans on
many pesticides, whether there's any real basis for such
action or not, and they are imposing almost intolerable
regulations and conditions. An example is California
where anyone who even recommends the use of a pesticide
must have a permit or license. In the original legislation, a
license was needed not only for the state itself, but also
for every county of the state in which that pesticide was to
be sold and/or recommendations for its use made! It's just
about enough to turn off anyone and let the pests take
over by default.
8. Another part of the untenable present pesticide situation is the practically impossible maze of registration procedures. Whereas formerly a good pesticide could attain
registration in a few weeks, it may now require years - and
lots of money. New obstacles have been thrown up, including such things as "feeding studies," "residue
studies," "environmental impact studies" and the like.
Some companies have received pesticide applications
back from the EPA no less than five or six times for "more
data" the "dotting of i's," "the crossing of T ' s , " etc. Do
you wonder about the increasing prices of pesticides? You
shouldn't when you begin to realize the tremendous costs
ivolved just in registration, including the horrendous
work involved, the numerous trips to Washington, etc.
9. The crunching halt to pesticide research was mentioned earlier. The true extent of this literally jumps at
you when you hear that many companies are completely
abolishing their pesticide research facilities and terminating their people. Many experiment stations, formerly strong in agricultural and turf pesticide research,
have either cut back or eliminated this from their programs.
10. Again, a persistent reason given for removing longstanding well-and-safely used pesticides from the market
is that they "might" (not " w i l l " ) result in malignancies or
"get into the food chain" (another favorite phrase of the
environmentalists), or otherwise adversely affect the
"ecological balance." It's likely true that indiscriminate
airplane spraying of toxic substances over wide areas
could pose health problems. But this is far different (for
instance) from a qualified turf manager spraying a few
ounces of a mercurial fungicide on a tiny (relatively, in
area) putting green, where there's proof that it can only
move downward (never laterally), and will tie up into insoluble and therefore innocuous soil compounds that can
never contaminate or pollute.
So-o-o-o - Where does all this leave us?
Some conclusions and what we can do about them - the
remainder of this article - will appear in next month's
newsletter.

Information

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Pl&zte
B a k e r T r a c t o r Corp., F o r d T r a c t o r s
H a r l e y D a v i d s o n Golf C a r s
Swansea, M a s s .
Y a m a h a Golf Cars

*

T o m I r w i n , Inc.
11 B A St,
Burlington, Mass.
L a r c h m o n t E n g i n e e r i n g and I r r i g . Co.
L a r c h m o n t Lane, L e x i n g t o n , M a s s .
617-862-2550

Bordens Spreader S e r v i c e
M a y n a r d , Mass.
Tel. 617-897-2571
Sales Rep. J a c k B o r d e n
Bulk L i m e s t o n e D e a l e r

Country Club Enterprises
Club Car Golf Cars
Tennis & Leisure Equipment
P.O. Box 400, W. Falmouth, Ma. 02574
617-563-2284
G e o f f r e y S. C o r n i s h & W i l l i a m G Robinson
Golf Course A r c h i t e c t s
F i d d l e r s G r e e n , A m h e r s t , Mass. 01002
C.S. C u r r a n
,

I & E S u p p l y , Inc.
66 E r n a A v e .
Box 9 M i l f o r d , Conn. 06460
203-878-0658

N e w E n g l a n d S e a l c o a t i n g Co Inc.
T e n n i s C o u r t Const, and M a i n t e n a n c e
S e a l c o a t i n g H i n g h a m Ind. Center
H i n g h a m , M a s s . 749-6800
N.E. Chapter Land I m p r o v e m e n t
C o n t r a c t o r s of A m e r i c a
P r o f e s s i o n a l C o n s e r v a t i o n of
Soil and Water
C o n t r a c t o r in your area,
call Peter W h i t i n g , Pres.
617-877-5323

O l d Fox C h e m i c a l Inc.
F e r t i l i z e r s - Seeds T u r f C h e m i c a l s
66 V a l l e y St.
E. P r o v i d e n c e , R . I . 02914
P r o - L a w n P r o d . , InB
Box 4908,
Syracuse, N.Y. 13221
R i c h e y 8< C l a p p e r , Inc.
28 R u t l e d g e Rd.
N a t i c k , M a s s . 01760

Return to:
CHARLES LANE
5 Goodnow Lane
Framingham, MA 01701

FIRST CLASS

Framingham, Mass. 01701
Home Phone 872-7832
Office Phone 875-4490
Club Affiliation
Framingham, C.C.
PETE COSTE'
Business Manager
LEON ST. PIERRE
Co-ordinator
GERRY FINN
Contributing Editor

Tuco Products Corp.
D i v . of the U p j o h n Co
Kalamazoo, Mich.
D a v i d Sylvester
- 203-828-3790

R. F. M o r s e 8.Son, Inc.
W. W a r e h a m , M a s s . 02576
T e l : 617 295 1553
-J. W i l l e n Roell. R e p - . —
Larry Bunn, Rep.

Scotts P r o - T u r f D i v .

Gold Star Sod F a r m s , Inc.
Sod & P i n e B a r k M u l c h
C a n t e r b u r y , N H. 603-783-4717
Weston, M a s s . 617-894-5474

T u c k a h o e T u r f F a r m s , Inc.
S l o c u m , R.i L i t c h f i e l d , N H
1-800-556-6985
Alan Anderson
Sam M i t c h e l l

D L Maher
Box 127, C o n c o r d St.
N. Reading, Mass. 01864

The C l a p p e r Co.
1121 W a s h i n g t o n St.
Newton, Mass.
617 244-7900

Rep. Ed Wiacek 1-401-253-4284
Rep. Kevin Lyons 1-617-366-4825

Texas Refinery Corp.
Donald A. Kemp
110 Church St., Pascoag, R.I. 02859
Tel: 401-568-3993

The Magovern Co. Inc.
27 Lawnacre Road
W i n d s o r Locks, Conn. 06096
Tel. # 1-800-243-7718 or 1-203-623-2508
Louis C. Rogers. Vice Pres.

Chester Drake & Sons Inc.
222 Walnut St.
Framingham, Mass. 01701
Golf Course C o n s t r u c t i o n
617-875-7929

S a w t e l l e Bros.
565 H u m p h r e y St.
Swampscott, Mass.
617-599-4856
Scott Associates, Inc.
60 W a t e r Street, C l i n t o n , Mass.
617-365-6341
Pumps-Sales, s e r v i c e
Installation- Vertical
Turbine pump specialists

Lakeshore Equipment & Supply Co.
Mike Flannigan, Rep.
Abington, Mass.
800-321-5325

The C h a r l e s C H a r t Seed Co.
W e t h e r s f i e l d , Conn,
Bob K e n n e d y , Rep.
Roy Sibley, Rep.
203-529-2537

T . R . C . P r o d u c t s , Oils a n d Greases
7 L i n d e n St., F r a m i n g h a m , M a s s .

FRIENDS OF THE ASSOCIATION

+ T u r f P r o d u c t s Corp
1496 J o h n F i t c h B l v d .
S W i n d s o r , Conn. 06074
1 203-289-3471
J o h n P e r r y , Sales Rep.
*

Turf Specialty, Inc.
84 Merrimac St.
Hooksett, N.H. 03106
Turf & Ornamental Supplies
Ken Turner 617-263-7526
V a l l e y F a r m s N u r s e r y 8, Supply, Inc.
133 Hopemeadow St., Rt. 10
S i m s b u r y , Ct. 06070
P u t t i n g Green Sod for the Professional
Joe B i d w e l l Pres.
Bus. - 203-651-8555 Res. 203-658-6886
White Turf Engineering
5 S u m m e r D r i v e , W i n c h e n d o n , M a s s . 01475
617-297 0941
Phillip Wogan
Golf Course A r c h i t e c t
21 B u d l e i g h Ave., B e v e r l y , M a s s .
Contributors

to the Lawrence

Scholarship

Fund

S.

Dickinson

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