Golf Course Superintendents

LETTER

Association OF NEW ENGLAND, INC.

December 1988

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

NEXT MEETING

Wednesday, December 14,1988
Monoosnock C.C.
9:00 am
Director's meeting
10:45 am Regular meeting
12:00 noon Lynch
1:00 pm
Educational session
Host Superintendent—
David Copeland
Directions: Rte. 2 to Rte. 13 exit, bear
right off exit. Go thru two sets of stop
lights, club entrance is 1/2 mile on right.

G

C

S A

A

•

89

International
Golf Course
Conference & Show
February 6-13, 1989
Anaheim Convention Center
Anaheim, California

• Trade Show
• Golf
Championships
a 33 Seminars
• Annual
Meeting
For c o n f e r e n c e , s e m i n a r
or e x h i b i t o r i n f o r m a t i o n , call
8 0 0 / 4 7 2 - 7 8 7 8 or 9 1 3 / 8 4 1 - 2 2 4 0
Qolf C o u r s e S u p e r i n t e n d e n t s
Association of America
1617 St. A n d r e w s Drive
Lawrence, KS 6 6 0 4 6 - 9 9 9 0

Bob Johnston's "Totally
Insane Year '
9

I t was that time of
summer when pythium stalked New
England and its broad
sweep of golf courses.
Bob Johnston,
aware of the turf disease's danger signs,
took the logical steps to combat it—steps
that eventually led to what he labels "a
totally insane year".
Johnston, the man who had nurtured
five new greens into "beautiful"
condition as part of his meticulous
maintenance program at the Wampanoag
country Club, reached for the Tereneb SP
and applied the fungicide to those greens
and 14 fairways.
It was early August, the humidity was
extremely high (as it always is in that
section of Connecticut) and Johnston
thought the move had brought things
under control.
Instead, his world caved in, along with
four of those five greens and two
fairways.
"They were wiped out," Bob recalled
his dilemma. "And I couldn't understand
it. I'd used 'SP' before and always got
favorable results. It was baffling."
Then, the word came down.
"I got a call from the Lesco Company
(distributor for the fungicide's
manufacturer, Kincaid Enterprises),"
Johnston told. "They advised that I stop
using SP, that there was a suspicion the
batch I purchased was contaminated.
"At first I thought we (Wampanoag)
were an isolated case. My members had

seen what happened and, naturally, I felt
the heat. However, as the explanation
from Lesco expanded, I learned that
around 100 courses all over the country
had been affected. Some, like Fairfield
and Norwich, were in our state."
Johnston remembers his turf was
spotless until he started spraying with SP.
Therefore, it didn' t take much deducing to
determine the source of his big problem.
"Some of my members were furious
when it appeared that the fungicide had
turned their course into a disaster area,"
Bob disclosed. "I'm not sure about the
overall process. However, that's when
there was talk of taking legal action and
anticipation of compensation for the
extensive course damage."
Eventually, that part of the nightmare
was settled out of court for a sum of money
Johnston prefers to remain in the club's
confidential files.
Before that, though, Bob still had a
golf course to deal with and an enormous
recovery assignment.
"An insurance adjusting company
called me in late August, maybe it was
early September," Johnston scratched for
dates. "I was invited to Baltimore for a
seminar on corrective measures. People
from the manufacturer were there, plus
another 70 golf course superintendents.
Our expenses were picked up, so that
pointed the finger of responsibility to
people other than the superintendents."
The manufacturer provided an
agronomist, Stewart Turner, for the
Continued on page 2

page 2
BOB JOHNSTON
Cont.from p. 1
seminar and a number of remedies was
proposed. Most of them had to do with
application of de-contaminates. But the
Wampanoag recovery program was more
thorough, more expensive—a re-sodding
venture under the direction of Alex
Rohoza.
"We started re-sodding Sept. 12,"
Johnston said. "And I have to say that the
recovery was incredible. It was so
successful, we were able to reopen the
damaged greens a little more than a month
later—on October 15.
"So, my members were playing
temporary greens for the shortest period
possible. They were frustrated, though.
After ail, we had been very patient putting
those new greens into playing condition
last year—myself and the members. That
triggered the frustration."
Johnston disclosed that he received a
lot of help from the Connecticut
Department of Environmental Protection
in the attempt to track down the source of
the problem and take measures to effect a
solution.
He also looked through the stormy
period and found a rainbow.
"You always learn something, even
when you're up to your eyeballs in
adversity," Bob remarked. "The sodding
job turned out so good we've decided that
from now on there'll be no seeding when
we need a new green. We're sold on
sodding."
Obviously, the contamination
experience was a first for Johnston.
"I still can't believe it," Bob added.
"That happening on top of a summer
when the weather conditions ganged up
on virtually every superintendent in the
Northeast. Like I said, it was totally
insane."
Crazy, huh?
GERRY FINN
PRESIDENT
Richard Zepp, C G C S
27 Fowler Rd.
Northbridge, MA 01534
Home Phone 234-8490
Office Phone 234-2533
Club Affiliation
Whitinsville G.C.

VICE
PRESIDENT
Paul Miller, C G C S
1 Leicester Rd.
Marblehead, MA 01945
Home Phone 631-7910.
Office Phone 369-5704
Club Affiliation
Nashawtuc C.C.

The Super
Speaks Out

Welcome to The Super Speaks Out—a
monthly feature which offers the golf
course superintendent a forum to
express his or her views on topics and
issues relating to their profession.
This month TSSO turns to the potential
profession-threatening practice of a golf
course or private clvb circumventing
hiring of an accredited superintendent
and using the "consultant" resvice of a
manufacturer or distributor instead. The
following comments have been gathered
after learning of such a plan involving the
Shaker Farms Country Club and Scotts
Pro-Turf Division.
^^^
Paul
Miller,
J p ^ f f e .., Nashawtuc Country
r * mm
"
what
we're talking about
here is a leaseeconsultant arrangement where someone leases a golf course
and tries to operate it as cheaply as
possible.
"This is something that has been
bugging me for quite a while, a problem
that our association must address. After
all, the situation could occur where a
superintendent leases a golf course and
decides he can do without a golf pro or
other department head.
"I can't quite put my finger on the
solution other than to explore the
possibility of making ourselves available
as a management team to new owners or
leasees who are looking for the best rather
than the most expensive way to operate a
golf course. This option may very well be
a form of job protection for the
superintendent.
"My feeling in this particular case is a
fear that its long-range effects will be
damaging to our profession and the game

SECRETARY
Stephen A. Chiavaroli, CGCS
100 Airport Dr.
Worcester, MA 01602
Home Phone 752-0031
Office Phone 791-5373
Club Affiliation
Tatnuck C.C.

:

C I u b :

l

TREASURER
Thomas Schofield, C G C S
290 North Rd.
Sudbury, MA 01776
Home Phone 443-3712
Office Phone 235-2487
Club Affiliation
Wellesley C . C .

t h i n k

of golf in general. Mind you, I'm not
making any accusations but it's possible
that a leasee could take everything out of
a course, put nothing back in and then, in
three or four years, walk away with a big
profit.
"Above all, this is a delicate situation
and maybe a dangerous one. I can't say
that the practice of eliminating an
established position for the sake of
economics is dishonest. However, I can't
say that it's proper, either.
"Regardless, the leasing method of
operating golf courses is on the increase.
First, we have to admit that it's there and
follow up with reaction that's positive to
the cause of our profession."
Dean Robertson,
Kernwood Country
Club: "This thing has
me stymied in a way
because I can see

|i

m

consultant service in our profession. But
I'm talking about 'bonafide' consultants,
not someone who's supposed to be selling
products without providing what I
suspect is an amount of advice based on
how much business it triggers.
"That possibility is the one thing that
really upsets me about this situation. And
it's the one thing that points the practice in
the direction of being unethical.
"Maybe whatl'm about to say may not
be what a lot of supers want to hear but,
remember, a situation could arise where a
Continued on page 3

TRUSTEE
Kip Tyler
P.O. Box 671
Peabody, MA 01960
Home Phone 745-8089
Office Phone 5 3 2 - 2 2 3 6
Club Affiliation
Salem C.C.

-POSITION

OPENINGS-

Rowley C.C. (9) Hole
Dodge Road
Rowley, MA 01969

New England C.C. (18) Hole
180 Paine Street
Bellingham, MA 02019
Send Resume to: Project Manager
Jeff Sousa, (508) 883-2300
TRUSTEE
Charles T, Passios C G C S
218 Camelback Rd.
Marston Mills, MA 02648
Home Phone 420-3210
Office Phone 775-5116
Club Affiliation
Hyannisport Club

TRUSTEE
Edward L. Brearly
189 Matfield St.
W. Bridgewater, MA 02379
Home Phone 584-6568
Office Phone 588-8439
Club Affiliation
Brockton C . C .

TOE SUPER Cont. from p. 2
super and a club manager get into leasing
and lean to a consulting service to operate
the pro shop.
"There are a lot of ramifications here.
However, I'm not worried too much that
this kind of operation will mushroom. For
one thing, I don't think it will work which
means it won't last.
"But the chemical company
involvement part of it still doesn' t set well
with me. What are they (Scotts) thinking
of?"
Leon St. Pierre, Loragmeadow
Country Club: "I have two 'd's' for you
in thinking about this leasee-chemical
company course maintenance connection. It's dangerous for our profession
and it's dumb for the guys who are doing
it.
"But this is an old hat thing. It
happened years ago when another
salesman went out on the road in the dual
role of peddling and putting his
maintenance ideas in his showroom. It
would up with some clubs loaded up with
products for getting a little 'free' advice.
"Just the thought of this practice
taking hold makes me offer some advice
to the Newsletter. Maybe you people
should look back at old issues and start
recyling the stories we did on ethics.

DATES TO REMEMBER
Annual Meeting
Monday, January 16,1989
International G.C.
Host Superintendent—
Ron Milenski
February
No Meeting
Thursday, March 16,1989
Blue Hill C.C.
Host Superintendent—
Dave Barber

FINANCE
CHAIRMAN
Douglas W. Johnson C G C S
50 Newton St.
Weston, MA 02193
Home Phone 894-7377
Office Phone 899-7913
Club Affiliation
Pine Brook C . C .

GOLF
CHAIRMAN
James O'Kelly
201 Indian Rock Rd.
Merrimack, N . H . 03054
Home Phone 6 0 3 - 4 2 9 - 2 4 5 3
Office Phone 244-0680
Club Affiliation
Brae Burn C . C .

Certainly, the practice being attempted
falls into the category.
"Let me emphasize that I see nothing
wrong with consulting as an aid to a
maintenance program. But when I bring
up consultants, I'm talking about bona
fide agronomists. Really, what can a
salesman tell somebody about
maintaining a golf course that will meet
high standards?
"It gets more ridiculous when you
have the complete picture. There has to be
a man on the scene in charge of the course.
Talk about absentee ownership! This
would be worse—like, 'call me up if you
have a pifbbleriT?
"Of course, this might also have a
boomerang effect on the company involved. I can see a lot of superintendents
burning when they find out about this.
"As I said earlier, there are only two
words to describe the situation—
dangerous and dumb. It's as simple as
that."
GERRY FINN

Divot Drift

O ur final outdoor meeting was held at
Whitinsville Golf Club. Dick Zepp, our
fearless leader had this Donald Ross
layout in excellent condition.
First gross went to the team of:
Mike Cornicelli, C&J Equipment
Dick Duggan, Concord C.C.
Art Miller, Nabnasset Lake C.C.
Jack Hassett, Mt. Pleasant (Lowell)
First net:
Dick Zepp, Whitinsville G.C.
Kevin Lyons, Turf Specialty Inc.
Jim Beane, Mt. Pleasant C.C. (Boylston)
Steve Chiavaroli, Tatnuck C.C.
Second net:
Len Blodgett, Kittansett Club
Charlie Dickow, Heritage Hill G.C.

EDUCATIONAL
CHAIRMAN
Ronald E. Milenski C G C S
65 Rocky Pond Rd.
Princeton, MA 01541
Home Phone 464-5312
Office Phone 779-6911
Club Affiliation
International G . C .

NEWSLETTER
CHAIRMAN
Ronald Kirkman
25 Green St.
Needham, MA 02192
Home Phone 444-8412
Office Phone 4 4 4 - 5 5 4 8
Club Affiliation
Needham C . C .

PAST
PRESIDENT
David Barber, C G C S
145 Dedham St.
Canton, MA 02021
Home Phone 828-7266
Office Phone 828-6540
Club Affiliation
Blue Hills C . C .

Joe Rybka, Thorny Lea G.C.
Don Levangie, Norfolk G.C.
Third net:
Jeff Carlson, Ocean Edge G.C.
Leroy Allen, Brookmeadow G.C.
Dave Robinson, The Captains G.C.

Page 3

There were only two winners in the skins
game. Larry Bunn, Sawtelle Brothers and
Paul Jamrog, The Orchards G.C. $$$ "A
TIDY SUM" $$$

-PROPOSED NEW
MEMBERWayne La Croix, Associate
Ipswich C.C.
REINSTATED
Phil BiRteo, Regular
Hampden C.C.

-1989 NOMINATING
COMMITTEEChairman

Dave Barber
Edward Brearly
Michael Nagle
Jim Fitzroy
Bob Ruszala

-FOR SALE-

9 Hole Golf Course
Lakes Region of New Hampshire

Executive Course occupying 35 acres of a total
140 acres. 5 bedroom home, seasonal clubhouse
which houses the pro shop, locker room, dining
area, as well as, the food and liquor concession.
Easy access to Rte. 93 and Lake Winnipesaukee,
$850,000.
Contact:

Vernal Drake
Lake & Mountain Realty Corp.
Box 663, Meredith, NH 03253
603-279-4293

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. We
would appreciate a credit line.

Please patronize FRIENDS OF THE ASSOCIATION
Agway Inc.
Greg Moore Rep.
Box 507 Sterling, MA
Fertilizer, Seed, Chemicals
8OO-225-CROP (MA) 617-422-7614
Baker Golf Cars
40 Walker Street
Swansea, MA 02777
508-379-0092
Sales Rep. Ray Chadwick
Sales Rep. George Asermely
"The Bordon Company
Maynard, MA
Tel: 617-897-2571
Sales Rep. Jack Borden
Bulk Limestone Dealer
Boston Irrigation Company
Dedham, MA
John Ramey - Paul Kenyon,
617-461-1560
Robin Hayes, 617-477-4423
Distributor of Irrigation Supplies
and Accessories
C & J Equipment, Inc.
188 Main Street
Wilmington, MA 01887
John Deere Golf & Turf Equipment
617-658-2022
Eric Oman, Bill Kemp, Kevin O'Donneil
•Geoffrey S. Cornish & Brian Siiva
Golf Course Architects
Fiddlers Green, Amherst, MA 01002
Country Club Enterprises
Club Car Golf Cars
Tennis & Leisure Equip.
P.O. Box 400 W. Falmouth, MA 02574
617-563-2284
Chester Drake & Sons, Ins.
222 Walnut Street
Framingham, MA 01701
Golf Course Construction
617-875-7929
Elanco Products Company
Stephen C. Dolinak
31 Old Town Trail
Narragansett, Rl 02882
401-789-9017

Gold Star Sod Farms, Inc.
Sod & Pine Bark Mulch
Canterbury, N.H.
603-783-4717
Lexington, MA
617-861-1111
Grsenway Irrigation Company
Irrigation, Drainage, Wire Laying
P.O. Box 8157
East Lynn, MA 01904
John Murphy 595-3010
Steve Murphy 598-6917
Hammond & Tilton, Inc.
P.O. Box 30, Exit 35 off I95
Tel: (207) 453-7131
Contact: Gary Hammond
Th® Charles C. Hart Seed Co.
Weathersfield. Conn.
Bob Kennedy, Rep., Roy Sibley, Rep.
Holliston Sand Co. Inc.
Lowland Street
Holliston. MA 01746
Sand for Topdressing & Bunkers ,
International Golf Const. Co.
Antonios Paganis, Rep.
5 Purcell Rd., Arlington, MA 02174
Golf Course Construction
617-648-2351 or 428-3022
*Tom Irwin, Inc.
11 B A St., Burlington, MA
Jack Peterson
Dennis Friel Phone: 617-938-1751
Wayne Ripley
Larchmont Eng. & Irrig. Co.
Larchmont Lane
Lexington, MA 02173
617-862-2550
•Lesco Inc.
20005 Lake Road
Rocky River, OH 44116
RonTumiski, Rep., Mike Donahue, Rep.
800-321-5325
•Loft's Seed
20 Beck Road
Arlington, MA 02174
Victoria Wallace, Rep.

The Magovern Co., Inc.
27 Lawnacre Road
Windsor Locks, CT 06096
Tel.: 800-243-7718 or 203-623-2508
•D.L. Maher
Box 127, Concord Street
N. Reading, MA 01864
Mobay Chemical Co.
Greg Ellis
67 Primrose Drive
Warwick, Rl 02818
R.F. Morse & Sons Inc.
W. Wareham, MA 02576
617-295-1553
Larry Anshewitz, Rep.
Jack Cronin, Rep.
•Nardone Sand & Gravel Co. Inc.
37 Power Road
Westford, MA 01886
617-692-8221
Specializing in Topdressing Sand
Nor-Am Chemical Co.
Wrl77ington, Delaware
David Sylvester, Rep.
203-828-8905
Norfolk Power Equip., Inc.
194 Main Street
Norfolk, MA 02056
617-528-3120
Don Reynolds, Rep.
Old Fox Chemical Inc.
Fertilizers-Seeds-Turf-Chemicals
66 Valley Street
E. Providence, R.I. 02914
Old Fox Golf Course Div.
Custom Applications, Spraying,
Aeration, Top Dressing, Slice Seeding
Full Line of Materials
Weymouth, MA 02190
800-462-5990

E.B. Rotondi & Sons, Inc.
224 Forest Street
Winchester, MA 01890
617-729-3330
Tennis Courts, Cart paths, Parking lots.
Sawtelle Bros.
65 Glenn Street
Lawrence, MA 01843
617-682-9296
Scott Associates, Inc.
60 Water Street
Clinton, MA 01510
617-365-6341
Pumps-Sales, Service installation,
Vertical Turbine Pumps Specialists
Scotts Pro-Turf Div.
Rep. Ed Wiacek 401-253-4284
Rep. Scott Brown 413-245-6038
Tuckahoe Turf Farms Inc.
Exeter, R.I. Litchfield, N.H.
West Suffield, CT
800-556-6985
Largest Producer of Penncross in
New England
Alan Anderson
•Turf Products Corp.
7 Coppage Drive
Worcester, MA 01602
617-791-2091
•Turf Specialty Inc.
60 Merrimac Street
Hooksett, N.H. 03106
Turf & Ornamental Supplies
603-485-7866 (collect)
Ken Turner, Kevin Lyons,
Dave Schermerhorn
Philip Wogan
Golf Course Architect
17 Walker Road
Topsfield, MA 01983

Partac Golf Course Top Dressing
Kelsey Park
Great Meadows, N.J. 07838
Jim Kelsey, 1-800-247-2326
Greg Moore, 401 -683-9496

' C o n t r i b u t o r s to the Troll-Dickinson
Scholarship F u n d

THE

NEWSLETTER
R O N A L D W. K I R K M A N
Newsletter Editor
DOUG JOHNSON CGCS
Associate Editor
THOMAS SCHOFIELD CGCS
Business Manager
GERRY FINN
Contributing Editor

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