October 1982
ourde
OF

S s s o c i a t i on

Superintendents
N E W

E N G L A N D ,

I N C .

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.

A Very Tough Act to Follow
He is, as one would suspect, a summa cum laude graduate of the school of hard knocks.
His voice, often heard at monthly meetings, is the conscience of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of
New England.
It's little wonder, then, that Nazareth "Narry" Sperandio holds a special place in his profession.

Narry

Sperandio

NEXT MEETING
Blue Hill Country Club
Canton, MA
Tuesday, October 12, 1982
Directors Meeting - 9 a.m.
Regular Meeting - 10 a.m.
Educational Program
Lunch
Golf
Host - David Barber, CGCS

m

Dave is in his 3rd year as golf
course superintendent at Blue Hill.
Prior, he served in the same capacity at Wayland Country Club
for 17 years.
Dave is very active in GCSANE
and is currently serving as second
vice president and has also served
as secretary. We all look forward
to a fine day on the 12th of October.
Directions - From Boston take rt. 128 south to rt.
138 Stoughton (exit 64 s) Go to first set of lights and
bear right (Washington St.) go approximately 1 mile
then take a right (Pecunit St.). Club is on the left.
Important - please make a reservation by FYiday,
October 8th. Call Dave at 828-6540.

i

J

" I ' v e been through it all," Narry mused the other day.
"It's a strange thing, too. Originally, I wanted no part of
it."
You just heard right. A t one stage of his life, Narry was
content to play the game rather than tend to its cosmetic
and physical needs.
And player he was. Once he shot six threes in a row and
lipped out a seventh while scoring a then-record 70 at the
Marlboro Country Club.
" I used to be able to play the game — darn well, t o o , "
Narry remarked. "But once I got into the task of grooming
it for other golfers, my swing paid the price."
Sperandio, who will blow out 70 birthday candles next
August 16, almost bowed out of the superintendent's field
before his lengthy career started.
" I was just out of the service, had bought a home in
Framingham and peddling milk from a horse-drawn
wagon," Narry recalled. " A friend told me of an opening at
the Concord Country Club, but the job was of little interest to me. However, I agreed to meet with club officials
just to see what they had to offer."
That first offer turned Narry sour on the superintendent's position and he went back to his horse and wagon.
But Concord officials, learning of his background as a former super and one-time owner of the Marlboro course,
were determined to land him. Eventually, they met his salary demands and Narry's been on the job since March 1,
1945.
Obviously, each side of the bargaining table made the
wise decision. In his 46 years at Concord, Narry has developed the course into one of the finest-groomed layouts
in New England.
In fact, Narry was an instant hit at Concord. After nine
months and a series of improvements on the course, club
officials retaliated with a healthy raise. Through the years
there has been an orderly succession of increases that
renews Concord's trust and respect in Sperandio's talents.
A w a y from Concord, Narry has been a dynamo in the
NEGCSA.
" I ' v e held every office available and I've been snaking
meetings as if it were a sin to miss them," Narry noted.
"My two years as president were rewarding, at least to
me. And since my last tour of office I've tried to keep
abreast of developments in the association."
Sperandio's presidential election in 1960 caused somewhat of a celebration, because that was the year he
marked his 25th season as a NEGCSA member and Concord super.
Concord Country Club and Narry go hand in hand.
The club was infested with weeds and other blemishes
when Narry took over in 1945. Consequently, membership
ranks were on the decline. Now, 46 years later, Concord
sparkles to the point where there is a waiting period of 8
to 10 years for new members.
The Sperandio family, consisting of Narry and wife,
Phyllis, plus son Jimmy and daughter Karen, has become
continued on page 2

Qotf

Course

Superintendents

dissociation

Smooth Ride on "Flagship"
"It was a smooth ride on
America's Flagship course."
That statement by United
States
Golf
Association
president
Bill
Campbell,
quoted in Golf World, pretty
much puts the wrapper on
last month's USGA National
Amateur Championship at
The Country Club.
TCC's dawn-till-dusk superintendent, Pete Coste,
Pete Coste
agrees with that assessment.
"I'm not saying we werent' lucky — what with the
weather and all — but the tournament went along just as
smoothly as anyone could hope f o r " Coste remarked several days after its conculsion. "It's very gratifying to hear
some of The comments by players and USGA officials.
Everyone was so satisfied with the operation that it sort of
scares you."
Coste's odyssey of several weeks before and during the
championship ended when Jay Sigel marched through
David Tolley, 8 and 7, to take the title he had pursued in
15 previous trips to the event's first tee.
Sigel was among a slew of contestants who praised the
course and its condition from the opening day of qualifying to the tournament's final putts.
"I'd have to go a long way to find fairways as good as
these," offered Ohio State golfer Chris Perry whose uncle
is the pride of spitball country, Gaylord Perry. " I don't
know how they did it, but I felt I was walking on and hitting
off rugs all week."
Coste admits he took special pains to produce fairways
that were the talk of the locker room.
" W e cross-cut the fairways four times the week before
play started and we cut them after every round of the
tournament," he disclosed. "That's where we came up
lucky with the weather. They were all dry-cuts, which
made the cosmetic effect an eye-opener. We had a 5/8's
setting and that's how short they ended up. Yeah, it was
nice to see. I would have liked to hit off them myself."
The Country Club, which had a hand in the founding of
the USGA some 90 years ago, has been the scene of countless national championships. Hence, it is deserving of the
"Flagship" tag. And that descriptive was enhanced by the
condition of the course for the latest big time event there.
" I knew what was expected of me and the golf course,"
Coste explained. " I was here when the Walker Cup
matches were played in 1973. They wanted the same kind
of setup for play then, so I just carried it over."
In addition to being groomed beyond expectations, TCC
offered the amateur stars a fair layout.
"There wasn't anything tricky about the way the course
was laid out," Coste continued. "The USGA came in, told
me what they wanted in matter of rough extension and
graduation of height and speed of roll on the greens. I just
conformed to its specifications. Then, we got the weather
to cooperate and you saw what the field got."
The course came through the week's play without any
damage, too.
"That's another thing which added to everyone's delight," Pete noted. "The USGA tells its players how to conduct themselves on the golf course. It's a mandatory
thing, also. All ball marks were repaired and the players
saw to it that traps were raked after every entrance. I
think that everyone playing golf could take a lesson from
PRESIDENT
Brian Cowan CGCS
Robins Way
Harwich, Mass 02645
Home Phone 432-9041
Office Phone 945-9230
Club Affiliation
Easfward Ho

FIRST VICE PRESIDENT
Donald Hearn CGCS
4 Topeka Rd.
Chelsmford, Mass 01824
Home Phone 256-8709
Office Phone 894-5906
Club Affiliation
Weston Golf Club

SECOND VICE PRESIDENT
David Barber CGCS
145 Dedham St.
Canton, Mass. 02021
Home Phone 828-7266
Office Phone 828-6540
Ciub Affiliation
Blue Hills C.C.

SECRETARY
Richard C. Zepp
27 Fowler Rd,
Northbridge, Mass. 01534
Home Phone 234-8490
Office Phone 234-2533
Ciub Affiliation
Whitinsvilie G. C.

those guys. They left the course as they found it."
Coste revealed that he put in "the standard 13-hour
d a y " during tournament week.
" I made myself available to tournament officials and
was ready to make any adjustment or correction they proposed," he said. "My crew has to take some bows, too.
They were out filling divots with seed and making other
repairs almost as soon as the day's play ended.
" I had three working on fairway divots early in the
week. But as the field was reduced by match play, I cut it
down to one man. The quality of play helped there. Most of
the players put their shots in the same landing area, so it
wasn't one of those search and repair deals."
Asked if he was glad the "ordeal" was over, Pete sinprised by alluding to a welcome for another major event at
TCC.
"Actually, the way I operated the week of the tournament is how I'd like to do my job year-round," he mused.
"Everything was cut 'n dried. I knew just what they
wanted and tried to give it to them. From what I heard, we
were pretty much on target."
That The Country Club and Pete Coste were. The FlagShip came through again and its first mate (Coste) was
right there to see that there wasn't a ripple of complication or confusion. USGA National Championship rides
don't come any smoother.
Gerry Finn

continued from page 1
a fixture at Concord. " I think they like me," Narry
quipped. "There isn't a social function that goes by that
Phyllis and I aren't invited to. This really has been a labor
of love and reward."
Narry's golf roots follow a familiar path, also. His brother, John, is superintendent at Spring Valley while brother
Tony is a former super who owns Grounds Equipment
Company and the Lakeview Golf Club in Laconia, N.H.
With the 70-mark in sight, Narry admits that the subject
of retirement has come up.
"My bosses and I are going to sit down one day and talk
about the future," Narry disclosed. "Actually, the club is
leaving it up to me. Right now, I've penciled in January 1,
1984 as the logical date for me to start my lazy life. When
that happens, I will have been in golf 61 years because I
took my first caddying job at nine."
One thing the Concord fathers must face: Golf life without Narry and the problem of finding someone to follow in
his footsteps. That will be an assignment in itself, one
whose accomplishment borders on the possible.
Narry Sperandio — a very tough act to foHow. Once
Concord lured him away from that milk wagon it had
latched onto an institution in the superintendent's profession. And, from the looks of the course, that institution is
sturdier than ever.
Gerry Finn
TREASURER
Pete Coste' CGCS
121 Granite St.
Medfield, Mass. 02052
Home Phone 359-7247
Office Phone 566-0240
Club Affiliation
The Country Club

TRUSTEE
Tom Schofield CGCS
290 North Rd.
Sudbury, Mass. 01776
Home Phone 443-3712
Office Phone 235-7333
Club Affiliation
Wellesley C.C.

TRUSTEE
Paul Miller
173 Salem St.
Swampscott. Mass 01907
Home Phone 581-2808
Office Phone 595-3107
Club Affiliation
Tedesco C.C.

TRUSTEE
Stephen A. Chiavoroli Jr.
100 Airport Dr.
Worcester, Mass. 01602
Home Phone 752-6031
Office Phone 791-5373
Club Affiliation
Tatnuk C.C.

FINANCE
CHAIRMAN
Robert Johnston CGCS
128 Wilbraham Rd.
Hampden, Mass 01036
Home Phone 566-3075
Office Phone 566-3096
Club Affiliation
Hampden C.C.

OF

DIVOT DRIFT ...First, we are saddened b y t h e recent loss of Guy Tedesco. Our association and the game of
golf has lost a great friend. Our sympathy to the Tedesco
family ... Congratulations to Brian Cowan of Eastward Ho
for successfully becoming recertified ... Golf chairman
turned director Steve Murphy has slashed many handicaps, some rather harshly. The Murph would not divulge
what method he used for the cuts but one has to believe it
was on one of those nights when another handful of hair
fell out ... Congratulations to Bobby Brown of Sawtelle
Bros, and his wife Karen on the birth of their second
daughter ... One of the worst games of golf that my eyes
have ever witnessed is that of Kevin Lyons of O.M. Scott.
He parred the 18th hole for a newspaper 120. Some of the
outstanding moments of Kevin's round came when Ron
Ryan nicknamed him the snowman (8) after starting off
with five straight eights. Then on the sixth hole he ran out
of golf balls and remarked "give me an eight." On the seventh hole he talked Max Mierzwa into helping him ball
hawk the woods, which did produce four golf balls. He lost
all those by the turn and had to make a pit stop in the pro
shop. On the back side it was more of the same, but the
highlight of the whole day came when he started the
seventeenth hole using an orange ball, finished with a
white and said he didn't lose a ball... Finally our thanks to
Tony DeBettencourt and the staff at Andover C.C. for
hosting our September meeting.

NEW

E N G L A N D ,

INC.

Septemt
Meetlimg at
Andover
We had a fine turn out for gold and a warm day. The
tournament format was a team of four blind draw with full
handicap. The winning team consisted of Joe Rybka of
Thorny Lea, Neil Loomis of South Shore, Jim Fitzroy of
the Presidents and Dave Barber of Blue Hill.

Photo Quiz

THE WINNERS (1-r) Joe Rybka, Neil Loomis, Jim
and Dave Barber.

Fitzroy

JOB OPENINGS
WORCESTER COUNTRY CLUB
CONTACT - Mr. Stephen B. Ayres
43 Forest St.
Worcester, Ma. 01609

FOR SALE
1975 Toro super pro. Reconditioned and painted. Excellent condition. Asking $3,200. Contact Sandy, Juniper Hill
Golf Course. 393-3069.

Congratulations to the Following New
Members
Arthur Silva of Belmont C.C.
Gary Dulmaine of Westborough C.C.
Franklyn B. Chaffee of Wayland C.C.
GOLF CHAIRMAN
Stephen M. Murphy
75 Woodland Ave.
Lynn. Mass. 01904
Home Phone 592^2554
Office pnone 592-8238
Club Affiliation
The Cannon G.C.

EDUCATIONAL
CHAIRMAN
Antone DeBettencourt
7 Country Club Ln.
Merrimack, N.H. 03054
Home Phone 603-424-5380
Office Phone 475-6638
Club Affiliation
Andover C.C.

NEWSLETTER
CHAIRMAN
Douglas W. Johnson, CGCS
50 Newton St.
Weston, Mass 02193
Home Phone 894-7377
Office Phone 893-8264
Club Affiliation
Pine Brook C.C.

A HAPPY GROUP (1-r) Kip Tyler of Salem C.C., Rick Arzillo
ofBellevue, Mike Hannigan and Charlie Zeh of Sandy Burr.
PAST PRESIDENT
Ronald Kirkman
25 Green St.
Needham, Mass 02192
Home Phone 444-8412
Office Phone 444-5548
Club Affiliation
Needham Golf Club

I n f o r m a t i o n c o n t a i n e d i n t h i s p u b l i c a t i o n m a y b e used
f r e e l y , in w h o l e or in p a r t , w i t h o u t special p e r m i s s i o n as l o n g
as t h e t r u e c o n t e x t is m a i n t a i n e d . W e w o u l d a p p r e c i a t e a
credit line.

P t i x u e ^UfuxHc^e FRIENDS OF THE ASSOCIATION
Bacher C o r p o r a t i o n
876 Boston Road
Billerica, Mass. 01866
Tel. 617-273-0398
Turf a n d Snow Equipment

I it E Supply, Inc.
66 Erna Ave.
Box 9, Milford, C o n n . 06460
203-878-0658

Baker Tractor Corp., Ford Tractors
Harley Davidson Golf Cars
Swansea, Mass
Y a m a h a Golf Cars

Tom Irwin, Inc.
11B ASt., Burlington, Mass.
Jack Peterson
Dennis Frlel
Wayne Ripley

Bordens Spreader Service
M a y n a r d , Mass.
Tel. 617-897-2571
Sales Rep. Jack Borden
Bulk Limestone Dealer
C & J Lawnmower Service, Inc.
474 M a i n St., Wilmington, Mass 01887
Eric O m a n - Sales Representative
Tel. 617-658-2022
The C l a p p e r Co.
1121 W a s h i n g t o n St.
Newton, Mass.
617-244-7929
* Geoffrey S. Cornish & William G. Robinson
Golf Course Architects
Fiddlers Green, Amherst, Mass. 01002
*

Country C l u b Enterprises
C l u b Car Golf Cars
Tennis & Leisure Equipment
P.O. Box 400, W. Falmouth, Ma. 02574
617-563-2284
C.S. Curran
T.R.C. Products, Oils a n d Greases
7 Linden St., Framingham, Mass.
Chester Drake & Sons, Inc.
222 Walnut St.
F r a m i n g h a m , Mass. 01701
Golf Course Construction
617-875-7929
G o l d Star Sod Farms, Inc.
Sod & Pine Bark M u l c h
Canterbury, N.H. 603-783-4717
Weston, Mass. 617-894-5474
The Charles C. Hart Seed Co.
Weathersfield, C o n n .
Bob Kennedy, Rep.
Roy Sibley, Rep.
Holliston Sand Co., Inc.
Lowland Si., Hoiiision, Mass. 01746
Sand for topdressing a n d bunkers

Pro-Lawn Products Inc.
18 Legate Hill Road

Leominster, Mass. 01453

Sales Rep. Jerry Kolomick
Richey & C l a p p e r , Inc.
28 Rutledge Rd., Natick, Mass. 01760
Sawtelle Bros.
565 Humphrey St., Swampscott, Mass.
617-599-4856
Scott Associates, Inc.
60 Water Street, Clinton, Mass.
617-3636341
Pumps - Sales, service
Installation - Vertical
Turbine p u m p s specialists

Lakeshore Equipment 8i Supply C o .
Mike H a n n i g a n , Rep.
A b i n g t o n , Mass.
800-321-5325
Larchmont Engineering a n d Irrig. Co.
Larchmont Lane, Lexington, Mass.
617-862-2550

Scotts Pro-Turf Div.
Rep. Ed Wiacek 1-401-2534284
Rep. Kevin Lyons 1-617-366-4825

The M a g o v e r n C o . Inc.
27 Lawnacre Road
Windsor Locks, C o n n . 06096
Tel. 1-800-243-7718 or 1-203-6232508
Louis C. Rogers, V i c e Pres.

Tuckahoe Turf Farms, Inc.
Slocum, Rl/Litchfield, N.H./Suffleld, Conn.
1-800-556-6985

Largest Producer ot Penncross In New England
Alan Anderson, Sam Mitchell

D. L. Maher
Box 127, C o n c o r d St.
N. Reading, Mass. 01864
R. F. Morse & Son, Inc.
W. W a r e h a m , Mass. 02576
Tel. 617-2931553
J. Willen Roell, Rep.
Larry Bunn, Rep.

Tuco Products Corp.
Div. of the Upjohn C o
mazoo,
' A " TurfPri>ducts
AM36^dSt.
«, l 3 0 f Auburn, Mass.

N a r d o n e Sand a n d Gravel Co. Inc.
37 Power Rd.
Westford MA. 01886
Boston Area 648-6222,
Lowell Area 692-822-1
Robert D. N a r d o n e , Gen. Mgr.
N.E. Chapter Land I m p r o v e m e n t
Contractors of A m e r i c a
Professional Conservation of Soil
a n d Water. Contractor in your area,
c a l l Peter Whiting, Pres.
617-877-5323
New England S e a l c o a f i n g Co., Inc.
Tennis Court Const, a n d 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 Inc. Center
Hingham, Mass. 749-6800
O l d Fox C h e m i c a l Inc.
Fertilizers - Seeds - Turf C h e m i c a l s
66 Valley St.
E. Providence, R.I. 02944

Return to:
DOUGLAS JOHNSON
50 Newton St.
Weston, MA 02193

(Laurie Superintendents
DOUGLAS JOHNSON
Newsletter Chairman
50 Newton St.
Weston, MA 02193
Home Phone 894-7377
Office Phone 893-8264
Glub Affiliation
Pine Brook C.C.
PETE CGSTE'
Business Manager
GERRY FINN
Contributing Editor

dssotiatinn

FIRST CLASS

617-791-2091

Charles Allen, Sales Rep.
* Turf Specialty, Inc.
84 Merrimac St., Hooksett, N.H. 03106
Turf & O r n a m e n t a l Supplies
Ken Turner 617-2637526
Valley Farms Nursery & Supply, Inc.
133 H o p e m e a d o w St., Rt. 10
Simsbury, Ct. 06070
Putting Green Sod tor the Professional
J o e Bidwell Pres.
Bus: 203-651-8555, Res: 203-658-6886
White Turf Engineering
5 Summer Dr., W i n c h e n d o n , Mass. 01475
617-297-0941
Phillip W o g a n
Golf Course Architect
31 Budleigh Ave., Beverly, Mass.
i|c Contributors t o the Lawrence S. Dickinson
Scholarship Fund

First Class
U . S. Postage

PAID

Framingham, MA
Permit 209