J u n e 1983
ourde
OF

S u p e r i n ten dentd
NEW

E N G L A N D ,

\50ciali0n
INC.

Sponsors and administrators of the Lawrence S.
Dickinson Scholarship Fund — A w a r d e d yearly
to deserving Turf Management Students.

Rain Ruination of Spring
When the song asks, "what do you do on a rainy night in
Rio?", there's no problem. You hit the bright lights, live it
up, booze and laugh the troubled weather right out of
your mind.
But how about a rainy day at Charles River, Salem or
Quaboag? That's when your troubles just begin.
Sad story is, though, that this spring the troubles
wrought by an overabundance of rain across New England
have put golf up the creek without the proverbial paddle.
Midway through the month of May, the statistics on
rainfall were staggering. At that wet point in time, the figures showed that the area was running 10.6 inches above
normal. Not only is that staggering, it's sickening.
"Do you want a good barometer on the situation?" one
veteran golf course superintendent offered. "We (New
England) could go without a drop of rain until the first
week in August and reach that point when the total
amount of rainfall equals the norm. I haven't checked this
out, but we may be getting more precipitation than the
Rain Forest in Puerto Rico."
This too-much, too-soon syndrome clouding playing
and maintaining conditions has had a two-fold effect.
From a financial standpoint, it has been crippling for the
public and municipal golf course community.
Obviously, pay-as-you-play courses are more financially
dependent on weather than the private clubs which have a
fixed income because of dues-paying members. On those
layouts, it matters not how much a member plays even
though it can be trying on the mental and physical release
he gains knocking the little white ball out of sight.
The publinxers have suffered through a more unnatural
state of weather affairs because of Mother Nature's uncanny timing. Through the weekend of May 22, rain had
fallen on a Saturday and/or Sunday for 12 consecutive
weeks.
"The only way we can recoup our losses is another form
of dependence on Mother Nature," one public course
owner explained. "In order for me to bail out, we're going
to need one heck of an extended season. This means a
long fall and a later-arriving winter. So, the weather pattern in October, November and even December will have a
telling effect on my financial status. A couple of early
snowfalls and I'll be making tracks for the loan department at the nearest bank."
There's one more bitter pill that public course owners
may have to swallow. And, again, the quirks of nature
hold the key. This malady would hit those layouts without
irrigation facilities.
"What's happening now is that the turf and soil are
being spoiled by all this rain," a worried owner observed.
"Somewhere along the line, things even out. This could be
in the form of drought conditions. If we have long spells of
dry weather, fairways could be burned to a crisp. I realize
courses without irrigation are in the minority. However,

they're out there and they're praying that July and August don't turn out to be parched months."
And what of the superintendent's plight in what had
evolved into a weather crisis several weeks into spring?
"Regardless of having irrigation or not, incessant rain
sets my conditioning program back," a wary super told.
"Let's face it. The key periods in maintenance are spring
and fall. One you use to prepare the course for the damage
that's ahead. The other you utilize to undo the damage
that has occurred through the summer."
Therefore, unlike the public course owner who can
hope for prime weather in autumn, the superintendent has
no means of making up conditioning time lost because of
too much rain.
"I'm lucky in one respect," the same super advised. "I
won't have to knuckle under should we get some reverse
action when it never rains. My irrigation will take care of
that problem. However, I'm from the old school. I still be-,
lieve that natural irrigation is much better than the kind*
automation forces on the grasses."
So, weather conditions in the spring of 1983 have been a
disaster no matter how you slice them. The public course
continued on page 2

Upcoi

; Dates to Remember

June 22 UMASS. Turf Field Daycontact Joe Troll

July 11 GCSANE meeting, Marshfield
C.C.
Aug. 2

Host - Mel O'Kelly

GCSANE Meeting, Weston Golf
Club
Host - Don Hearn, CGCS

Sept. 12 GCSANE Meeting, Salem C.C.
Oct. 4
Oct. 11
Oct. 14
Nov. 1

Host - Kip Tyler

GCSANE Meeting, Kittansett
Golf Club

Host - Len Blodgett

GCSANE Member - 3 guest, Blue
Hill C.C.
Host - Dave Barber, CGCS

Pro-Supt. Tournament, Brae
Burn C.C.
Host - Bob Grant

GCSANE Meeting, Tatnuck Golf
Club
Host - Steve Chiavoroli

ourSe Superintendents

dissociation

'In One Ear and
Okay, golf course superintendent of New England,
brace yourselves.
For the next several weeks, you'll be under attack because the natives (your members) have returned from
their winter golf wars where the sun always shines and
playing conditions reflect that precious commodity.
Therefore, your ears could be buzzing while the complainers adjust to their regular golfing playgrounds and
the vagaries of an uncompromising weather thrust which
usually brings out the beast in them. So, roll with the
punches when you hear:
"Hey, I missed a four-inch putt today on account of that
little piece of grass clipping you forgot to remove after
mowing. You'll never see that happen at Doral. They
really give us clean carpets. I haven't missed anything
under three feet there in the last 10 years."
"All right, who set the cup on the 13th hole? You ever
been to Lost Tree? maybe we should send you down there
for a crash course in cup placement. If anybody sank a
putt on 13 today, I'll buy the house in the 19th hole a
drink. I've seen three-feet sidehill lies before but never on
greens. That hole cost me a buck and a-hal£!"
"Does that guy, who mowed the seventh fairway, actually get paid for what he does around here? What did he
use, a letter opener? If that ever happened at Pinehurst,
the superintendent would fire that jerk on the spot. Next
time tell him the fairway's that part of the hole where you
get a perfect lie. I took more divots than a well-digger
trying to get my ball out of that stuff."
"Here it is June and we're still playing winter rules.
What have you been doing all winter, reading Playboy?
And just think, two weeks ago I was playinbg at Dorado
Beach and never had to touch my ball. We were hitting
drives off the fairway. I don't know. Maybe we should hire
a bunch of sheep and get this place back in shape."
"Boy, isn't it nice to be back home. This place looks like
a cyclone hit it. No grass, greens bumpy, tees ragged.
What have you been doing, cultivating a depressed area?
How come they don't have this trouble at Boca Raton?
That's paradise compared to this bombed-out place. If I
hadn't paid my dues one month in advance to get that 10
percent discount, I'd resign right here and now."
"It sure beats the devil out of me why we should expect

R a i n . . .continued from page 1
owner is about to swim in red ink while the superintendent cools his heels while his work remains undone.
Sure, it's not nice to fool Mother Nature. But she's been
going overboard fooling the New England golf scene. For
that matter, maybe we should all take a tip from that
rainy night in Rio solution. Let it rain, put on our dancing
shoes and say, "the hell with it."
Gerry Finn

PRESIDENT
Brian Cowan CGCS
Robins Way
Harwich. Mass 02645
Home Phone 432-9041
Office Phone 945-9230
Club Affiliation
Eastward Ho

ir

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

S E C O N D VICE PRESIDENT
David Barber CGCS
145 Dedham St.
Canton. Mass 02021
Home Phone 828-7266
Office Phone 828-6540
Club Affiliation
Blue Hill C.C.

SECRETARY
Richard C. Zepp
21 Fowler Rd.
Northbridge, Mass 01534
Home Phone 234-8490
Office Phone 234-2533
Club Affiliation
Whitinsville G.C.

to move five yards back on that eighth tee just because
you're having a problem filling in the divot holes from last
year's play. Boy, I wish I never left Harbourtown. There's
not a bare spot in one of those tees. Make a divot and
there's a guy ready with seeds and a watering can to fill it
in. I thought our budget took care of those things. It's big
enough to hire a landscape outfit to follow every player
around the course."
"When are you going to cut down that rough behind the
17th? I lost a ball in that elephant grass today. Sure, I may
have overclubbed but what difference does that make?
Everything's supposed to be clear behind the greens. You
should see how they groom the rough at Ocean Reef. I aim
for it there. That's how perfect it is. Here, I'll give you their
superintendent's number. Give Eim a call sometime, so we
won't have to be buying balls all the time."
"What happened over the winter? Did somebody mistake our course for a bulldozer parking lot? I'm looking
for grass out there where I can at least see my ball before I
hit it. Soggy fairways are no excuse. Heck, there's plenty
of water at Myrtle Beach and they mow those fairways
twice a day. Weather's no excuse. We pay enough for that
fancy equipment you use. I can hardly wait until August
when you tell me the weather's too dry."
"Okay, where are those little plastic balls I saw on the
flagsticks when I was playing at Jeckyl's Island? You know
the ones. They tell you just where the pin is placed. I come
home and there's no way I can tell whether I have a threeiron or a two-wood to the green. I know I fought that dues
increase to take care of things like that, but times are
tough. I got only five weeks of golf in the South this year.
But I suppose you only get what you pay for."
How true. Only thing is, at the beginning of another New
England golfing season, the superintendent pays and pays
and pays for certain things over which he has no control.
But this is the griping season and he's learned to control
himself. Have heart, though, guys. Come July and Florida
will be burned to a crisp. New England golf courses?
They'll have a spit and shine to them that the natives will
be raving about and those words of spring they uttered
will have taken the normal direction - in one ear and out
the other.
Gerry Finn

DIVOT DRIFT

Members of the association
should support the Francis Ouimet Scholarship Fund as a
group. Buy a Ouimet bag tag for $15. Contact Brian Cowan
..... Golf chairman Steve Murphy should be congratulated
on getting handicap cards for all members. To the best of
my knowledge, this is the first time that we have had legitimate handicaps. Thanks also go to Dick Crosby and
Dick Haskell of the MGA ..... Speaking of the Murph, at the
May meeting he played with his younger brother Jack
(Pine Brook foreman). He told everyone that Jack was the
spittin image of himself when he had hair (many years ago)
Finally, our thanks to Joe Troll for his fine presentation at the meeting.

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
Wetlesley C.C.

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

TRUSTEE
Stephen A. Chiavaroli, Jr.
100 Airport Dr.
Worcester, Mass 01602
Home Phone 752-0031
Office Phone 791-5373
Club Affiliation
Tatnuck 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

NEW

E N G L A N D ,

INC.

May Meeting at Pine
Brook
We had a large turnout for the educational program and
golf. The tournament format was a blind draw team of
four, full handicap. The winners were:
L a n y Bunn
Art Wasbum
Dave Loker
Rick Arzillo

2nd place: Dave Adamonis
Jim Bean
Doug Johnson
Bob Brown

Our Thanks to the Staff at Pine Brook C.C. For hosting our
May meeting.

The Winners: Dave Loker, Rick Arzillo, Larry Bunn, Arthur Washburn.

9th Annual U Mass
Turf Field Bay
HEDULE OF ACTIVITIES
9:30-IQ:OU
10:00-10:15

10:15-12:00
Bob Connolly of Winchester CC putting, with John
Streeter of Alpine CC & Mike Hermanson of Gardner looking on.

Tee time: Getting set to tee off: (L-R) Tony Carand, Norm
Mucciarone, Tom SchoBeld, Paul Miller.

GOLF CHAIRMAN
Stephen M. Murphy
75 Woodland Ave
Lynn, Mass. 01904
Home Phone 592-2554
Office Phone 592-8238
Club Affiliation
The Gannon G.C.

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

N E W S L E T T E R 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.

P A S T PRESIDENT
Ronald Kirkman
25 Green SI.
Needham, Mass 02192
Home Phone 444-8412
Office Phone 444-5548
Club Affiliation
Needham Golf Club

12:00-1:30 p.m.
1:30-3:00

Registration
Welcome - Dr. Allen V. Barker, Head
Department of Plant and
Soil Sciences
Field Tour of Turfgrass Research
Plots
Box Luncheon on Mt. Sugarloaf
Guest Speaker - Mr. James Snow, Director - Northeastern Region, USGA
Green Section

Subjects

Speakers

Growth regulator Sustar 2S
New herbicides for crabrass control
Plant growth regulators
Results of 1982 insect field trial
Low nitrogen perennial ryegrass evaluation
Low nitrogen Kentucky bluegrass varietv evaluation
N:i£ effects on quality, growth and stress
tolerance of perennial ryegrass
Fairway grass management and succession
Helminthosportom control trial
Wet and dry fertilizers for lawn turf
Poa annua control studies
Fairway iron studies 6n Kentucky bluegrass
Iron studies on bentgrass
Growth regulator (carbohydrate and nitrogen) study

J. M. Zak
P. Bhowmik
P. Bhowmik
P. Vittum
J. Troll

Information
freely,
as

the

credit

contained

in

this

J. Troll
J. Troll
J. Troll
J. Troll
J. Troll
J. Troll
W. Torello
W. Torello
W. Torello

publication

may

be

used

in w h o l e o r in p a r t , w i t h o u t s p e c i a l p e r m i s s i o n as l o n g
true
line.

context

is m a i n t a i n e d .

We

would

appreciate

a

p(€*4e
B a c h e r Corporation
8 7 6 Boston Road
Billerica, Mass. 0 1 8 6 6
Tel. 61 7 - 2 7 3 - 0 3 9 8
Turf and S n o w Equipment
Baker Tractor Corp., Ford Tractors
Hariey Davidson Golf Cars
Swansea, Mass.
Y a m a h a Golf Cars

J Lawnmover Service, Inc.
Main Street., Wilmington, Mass. 0 1 8 8 7
O m a n - Sales Representative
617-658-2022

The Clapper Co.
1121 Washington St.
N e w t o n , Mass:
617-244-7929
*

*

I & E Supply, Inc.
6 6 Erna Ave.
Box 9, Milford, Conn. 0 6 4 6 0
203-878-0658

O l d Fox Chemical Inc.
Fertilizers-Seeds-Turf-Chemicals
66 Valley St.
E. Providence, R.I. 0 2 9 1 4

T o m Irwin, Inc.
11B A St., Burlington, Mass.
J a c k Peterson
Dennis Friel
W a y n e Ripley

P r o - L a w n Products Inc.
18 Legate Hill Road
Leominster, Mass. 0 1 4 5 3
Sales Rep. Jerry Kolomick
Richey & Clapper, Inc.
2 8 Rutledge Rd., Natick, Mass. 0 1 7 6 0

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

Bordens Spreader Service
Maynard, Mass.
Tel. 6 1 7 - 8 9 7 - 2 5 7 1
Sales Rep. Jack Borden
Bulk Limestone Dealer
C &
474
Eric
Tel.

FRIENDS OF THE ASSOCIATION

Sawtelle Bros.
5 6 5 Humphrey St., Swampscott, Mass,
617-599-4856

L a r c h m o n t Engineering and Irrig, Co.
L a r c h m o n t Lane, Lexington, Mass.
617-862-2550

Scott Associates, Inc.
60 Water Street, Clinton, Mass.
617-365-6341
Pumps-Sales, service
Installation-Vertical
T u r b i n e pumps specialists

David Loker
9 Crestview Drive
Millis, Mass. 0 2 0 5 4
The Magovern Co. Inc.
27 Lawnacre Road
Windsor Locks, C o n n . 0 6 0 9 6
Tel. 1 - 8 0 0 - 2 4 3 - 7 7 1 8 or 1 - 2 0 3 - 6 2 3 - 2 5 0 8
Louis C. Rogers, Vice Pres.

Geoffrey S. Cornish & Brian Silva^
Golf Course Architects
Fiddlers Green, Amherst, Mass. 0 1 0 0 2
C o u n t r y Club Enterprises
C l u b Car Golf Cars
Tennis & Leisure Equipment
P.O. Box 400, W. Falmouth, Mass. 0 2 5 7 4
617-563-2284
C.S. Curran
T.R.C. Products Oils and Greases
7 Linden St., Framingham, Mass.

T u c k a h o e Turf Farms, to
S i o c u m , Rl/Litchfield, N.H./Suffield, Conn.
1 -800-556-6985
Largest Producer of Penncross in New England
Alan Anderson, Sam Mitchell

D.L. Maher
Box 127, C o n c o r d St.
N. Reading,Mass, 0 1 8 6 4
R.F. Morse & Son, Inc.
W. Wareham, Mass. 0 2 5 7 6
Tel. 6 1 7 - 2 9 5 - 1 5 5 3
J. Willen Roell, Rep.
Larry Bunn, Rep.
N a r d o n e Sand and Gravel Co. Inc.
37 Power Rd.
Westford, Mass. 0 1 8 8 6
Boston Area 6 4 8 - 6 2 2 2 ,
Lowell Area 692-8221
Robert D. Nardone, Gen, Mgr.

Chester Drake & Sons, Inc.
2 2 2 Walnut St.
Framingham, Mass. 01701
Golf Course Construction
617-875-7929

Scotts Pro-Turf Div.
Rep. Ed Wiacek 1 - 4 0 1 - 2 5 3 - 4 2 8 4
Rep. Kevin Lyons 1 - 6 1 7 - 3 6 6 - 4 8 2 5

T u c o Products C o r p .
Div. of the Upjohn Co.
Kalamazoo, Mich.
David Sylvester, 2 0 3 - 8 2 8 - 3 7 9 0
Turf Products C o r p .
3 6 S w o r d St.
A u b u r n , Mass. 01501
617-791-2091
Charles Allen, Sales Rep.
*

N.E. Chapter Land Improvement
Contractors of A m e r i c a
Professional Conservation of Soil
a n d Water. Contractor in your area,
call Peter Whiting, Pres.
617-877-5323

Gold Star Sod Farms, Inc.
Sod & Pine Bark Mulch
Canterbury, N. H. 6 0 3 - 7 8 3 - 4 7 1 7
Weston, Mass. 6 1 7 - 8 9 4 - 5 4 7 4
The Charles C. Hart Seed Co.
Weathersfield, Conn.
B o b Kennedy, Rep.
Roy Sibley, Rep.

White Turf Engineering
5 Summer Dr., W i n c h e n d o n , Mass. 01475
61 7-297-0941
Philip W o g a n
Golf Course Architect
31 Budleigh Ave., Beverly, Mass.

N e w England Sealcoating Co., Inc.
Tennis Court Const, and Maintenance
Sealcoating Hingham Inc. Center
Hingham, Mass. 7 4 9 - 6 8 0 0

Holliston Sand Co., Inc.
L o w l a n d St., Holliston, Mass. 0 1 7 4 6
S a n d for topdressing and bunkers

Turf Specialty, Inc.
84 Merrimac St., Hooksett, N.H. 0 3 1 0 6
Turf & Ornamental Supplies
Ken Turner 6 1 7 - 2 6 3 - 7 5 2 6

*

Contributors to the Lawrence S. Dickinson
Scholarship Fund

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

FIRST CLASS
Cfoif

Courit

Superintendent*

-

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

daociation

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