t f T H E >

NEWSLETTER
Golf Course S u p e r i n t e n d e n t s

Association

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

-NEXT

MEETING-

Member-Member Championship
Monday, September 12, 1988
Belmont C.C.
9:30 a.m.
Directors meeting
10:30 a.m.
Regular meeting
11:30 a.m.
Lunch
Reservations Required-(617) 484-5360
Host superintendent, Art Silva.
Directions: 128 to Rte. 2 east take Winter
St. exit. Bear right off exit, club is 1/4 mile
on left.
Monday, September 26,1988
Vesper C.C.
11:30 a.m.
Buffet
12:30 p.m.
Shotgun
Reservations Required-(SOS) 453-1231
Host superintendent, Bert Frederick.

V

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's question: In light of the
fact this could be the hottest and most
stressful summer on record in the Northeast, how did the dreadful conditions
affect you and your course?
Tom Schofield,
Wellesley Country
Club: "Me? I got
H
j i n clobbered.
"There's no other
way to describe it.
And, if you want numbers, try thirty-five
Continued on page 2

OF NEW E N G L A N D , INC.

September 1988

Paul Miller Pulls Right Switches
Paul Miller has the
date circled.
"I don't know,
maybe we should call it
'Black Saturday'," the
mm ff
if man under the Digital
Senior Classic gun mused. "July 30th. It
had to be the hottest day we've ever had
on the golf course."
Miller, of course, did a double-sweat
on that infamous day as golf course superintendent of the Nashawtuc Country
Club. That's where the big action was that
day, that week. And here was Paul coming
in cold turkey, coming into that big heat.
It was, indeed, a day of decision.
Miller, attempting to retain triple-A playing conditions on a golf course he'd taken
over only a few months before, wrestled
with the possibilities.
Nashawtuc had been drenched by
seven inches of rain earlier in the week.
Yet, Miller pondered over his dilemma.
Clutching heat had settled into the area,
sat right down in the middle of a class act
Senior PGA Tour event and refused to
move.
"I had to decide whether or not to
water my greens that Saturday morning,"
Paul disclosed. "We had 100 per cent
humidity and over 60 per cent stress on
the grass. But we had gotten all that rain."
Actually, that was the biggest moment
of the tournament—maybe bigger than
Chi Chi Rodriguez holing out his winning
putt the next day.
Miller's decision was to water.
"We gave each one five to eight minutes of water," he continued. "It did the
trick. The greens were still in good shape
when the field finished Saturday's round

and the same when the boys teed it up for
the final round Sunday."
So went Paul Miller's first national
PGA event. The Digital Senior Classic
had become a war of nerves for the contestants and the golf course superintendent. All held up rather well.
Endorsements?
"These are the best greens we've
played on the tour," chimed veteran Charles Owens.
"It was just a remarkable job of producing marvelous playing conditions for a
tournament," added the usually tight-lipped Bruce Crampton.
The golf course superintendent's latter
day reaction?
"I loved it," Miller beamed. "Even
under the worse possible weather conditions. There never was a time when I felt
pressure. Sure, the heat was on but it was
coming from another direction. The key
was the decision to water when we had the
broiler going full tilt. It saved the course."
Seems decision-making came with the
Digital Classic menu.
"I was making them all during tournament week," Miller told. "One joint decision with the PGA came on Wednesday,
pro-am day. When it rained cats and dogs,
we called in the field and waited out a 90minute suspension of play period. I like
the way the PGA people recognized my
expertise. I was a part of every decision
under those trying conditions."
Except for the "worst weather conditions imaginable" during tournament
week, the assignment was almost a cakewalk for Miller, a 13-year super who
moved from Tedesco to Nachawtuc over
Continued on page 2

page 2
PAUL MILLER Cont.from p. 1

THE SUPER Cont.from p. 1

the winter.
"We had great rapport, a very gratifying relationship," Paul described his dealings with Senior Tour officials. "They
(PGA) were primarily involved with setting up the course. After that, they pretty
much left things to me and my crew.
"Everything was consistent with the
way I maintain the course for the members. The 'Stimp' reading was worked to
9 1/2 and the fairway cut set at 7/16.
That's just about the kind of playing
conditions we have here day-in and dayout."
Miller, in fact, is already looking forward to the 1989 Digital - popped on the
senior board for the first week in July and
headed for broader involvement allaround as the tournament continues to
grow.
"I'll be working on streamlining the
overall operation," Paul revealed.
"There'll be concentration on things I
don't deal with every day - things like
parking lots and power hookups. This
first year will go a long way preparing me
for the next tournament. And it looks like
it's going to be another winner."
Speaking of winners at the Digital,
Miller made it clear that the input of his
crew had as much to do with the success
of the tournament as any person or factor.
"They were just great," he said. "They
were asked to put in long hours, log a
heavy work load and they rallied to the
cause. I like to think of the crew and
myself as family here. Certainly, they
made an immeasurable contribution and
should be recognized for it."
Finally, Paul admitted he welcomed
the challenge of giving the best golfers in
the world top-notch playing conditions.
"It's the most gratifying thing I've
ever been involved in," he concluded.
"Even Black Saturday couldn't keep me
from loving every moment of it."

percent. That's just about the amount of
turf I lost on the fairways. And, from what
I've seen and heard, I might be one of the
lucky ones in the Boston area. Boy, did we
ever get it.
"This is the kind of weather that makes
you humble. It does, in fact, prove that
there's always the possibility weather
conditions will be so severe that even the
best of superintendents, the top of the line
guys, have to pull in their horns and take
it.
. "I've been around for a wtiile and I
don't think I've ever seen such a long
stretch of foul maintenance weather.
Boston really got hit hard. We had saturation levels of rain and unending periods of
temperatures that ranged from 85 to 100.
When the sun came out, it smelied like my
wife cooking spinach.
"Remember, too, as we're talking
about conditions, it's still August and
there's still no relief in sight. That's the
most disheartening part of the picture.
Things could get worse before they get
better.
"Stress has been working both sides of
the street. It's been hard on the golf course
superintendent. Not only have we been
putting in long hours on the course, most
of us have been thinking of this thing 24
hours a day. No one escaped, I mean no
one. We'll never forget this one."
Roy Mackintosh, Twin Hills Country Club: "I'd call this a textbook season
for diseases. I mean, if you were teaching
a class and wanted to demonstrate a disease, it's out there on your golf course.
"We're holding up pretty well here but
it's been a struggle. Don't forget, this
entire season has been a drain on normal
conditions.
"It started off cool, then got hot and
dry. There were 50 straight days when we
irrigated at Twin Hills. Then, all of a
sudden, we recorded 12 inches of rain in
12 days. Uh, that happened in the middle
of our four-ball tournament. Good timing,

GERRY FINN

PRESIDENT

Richard Zepp, CGCS
27 Fowler Rd.
Northbridge, MA 01534
Home Phone 234-8490
Office Phone 234-2533
Club A f f i l i a t i o n
Whitinsville G.C.

VICE

PRESIDENT

Paul Miller, CGCS
1 Leicester Rd.
Marblehead, MA 01945
Home Phone 631-7910
Office Phone 369-5704
Club A f f i l i a t i o n
Nashawtuc C.C.

SECRETARY

Stephen A. Chiavaroli, CGCS
100 A i r p o r t Dr.
Worcester, MA 01602
Home Phone 752-0031
Office Phone 791-5373
Club A f f i l i a t i o n
Tatnuck C.C.

TREASURER

Thomas Schofield, CGCS
290 North Rd.
Sudbury, MA 01776
Home Phone 443-3712
Office Phone 235-2487
Club A f f i l i a t i o n
Wellesley C.C.

TRUSTEE

Kip Tyler
P.O. Box 671
Peabody, MA 01960
Home Phone 745-8089
Office Phone 532-2236
Club A f f i l i a t i o n
Salem C.C.

huh?
"One of our godsends during all of this
stress has been an ultra-light mowing
system. As a matter of fact, I think the
ability to get into areas where heavy
equipment couldn't probably was the
difference between saving and losing the
golf course.
"Certainly, this has made longer days
for supers. The grass has been under stress
and some wilt has lasted as many as 12
hours. It has to be one of the worst periods
ever in New England. I've been in the
business 25 years and I can't remember
anything- worse than this.
"Disposition, Jhallenge. You name it.
It's all out there this lime around. I can't
wait to go ice fishing."
Dave Clement, Woodstock Country
Club: "You know the one about us being
in the mountains where it's cool all the
time?
"Well, that's one you can forget.
We've had the same weather in Vermont
that the rest of New England has been
fighting off.
"But this is unusual for us. Usually, we
can count on temperatures in the 40s in the
evening and a gradual pull into the 70s
during the day.
"Not anymore!"
"Picture this: The first week of June
Continued on next page

COMMERCIAL
CLIPPINGS
Remember-Open House
Wednesday, September 14, 1988
Turf Products Corp.
7 Coppage Drive
Worcester, MA 01603
508-791-2091 for reservation
Registration
10 a.m.
Product display
10 a.m. to noon
Lunch
noon to 1 p.m.
Product display
1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Prizes and refreshments

TRUSTEE

Charles T. Passios CGCS
218 Camelback Rd.
Marston Mills, MA 02648
Home Phone 420-3210
Office Phone 775-5116
Club A f f i l i a t i o n
Hyannisport Club

TRUSTEE

Edward L. Brearly
189 Matfield St.
W. Bridgewater, MA 02379
Home Phone 584-6568
Office Phone 588-8439
Club A f f i l i a t i o n
B r o c k t o n C.C.

Page 3
THE SUPER Continued from page 2
we had three frosts. The following week
we had 65 degrees at night and 85 during
the day. And it's been that way ever since.
"This is all new to me and my grass. It
hasn't had a chance to take a break. It's
used to cooling off at night and not having
to be under stress all the time. No question, this is the worst weather ever.
"And it's had disastrous effects all
around us. There's a course down the road
(36-holer) that closed one day last week to
spray for pythium blight. We've had it
this year. We've had everything. Even the
insects are having a ball. Best summer
they've enjoyed in some time.
"Really, if you can find me a superintendent who hasn't lost grass this year, I'd
like to shake his hand. Know what? Bet
you can't. It's been that bad. And the
year's not over. I thought I'd seen it all
until this year. Wow!"
GERRY FINN

Divot Drift
X h e endless Miami weather has taken its
toll on golf courses in the northeast. Day
after day of excessive heat, oppressive
high humidity and monsoon rains have
made life miserable for the golf course
superintendent. As we enter the second
week of August, the suburbs, north, south
and west of Boston have experienced over
thirty days of above ninety degree temperatures.
On July thirtieth, for many clubs, the
turf began to deteriorate. Some courses
suffered from severe infestation of Pythium on the greens. With such an excess of
humid weather and upwards of a foot of
rain in some areas, the fairways appeared
to be blanketed by slime.
The following week the battle was
lost, the Poa-Annua and other grasses
went into remission. Some superintendents said their fairways and tees were

FINANCE

CHAIRMAN

Douglas W. Johnson CGCS
50 Newton St.
Weston, MA 02193
Home Phone 894-7377
Office Phone 899-7913
Club A f f i l i a t i o n
Pine Brook C.C.

GOLF CHAIRMAN

James O'Kelly
201 Indian Rock Rd.
Merrimack, N.H. 03054
Home Phone 603-429-2453
Office Phone 244-0680
Club A f f i l i a t i o n
Brae Burn C.C.

lost because of Pythium. Fusarium, Summer Patch and an overabundance of moisture. A few insist that their fairways were
damaged by a strange looking Brown
Patch. It appears more blight materialized
in the areas which received the higher
amounts of rain. Some superintendents
report lesser injury on fairways where
clippings are removed. Others don't mind
the dormancy of the grass because they
can aerify and slice-seed permanent
grasses with less competition from the
existing turf in the fairways.
With all the destruction to golf
courses,»what better time than now to
contact our Educational Chairman, Ron
Milenski, and have a general educational
session at our meetings on"What Happened" and what were your practises
before, during and after the devastation.
Some courses received only minor injury
and it would be interesting to find out how
they came through almost unscathed.
The final round of the club championship was held at Thorny Lea C.C. Approximately 75 people were present and
64 played golf. It was nice to see our
esteem colleague, Manny Francis Sr.
once again.
Congratulations to Bob Garrity, Heritage Hill G.C. our new Association champion. Bob shot 73 - 75 - Doug Jonhson,
Pine Brook C.C. came in second with 77
- 74. Third was Jack Hasset, Mt. Pleasant
G.C. (Lowell) 76 - 77. The net champion
is Mike Hermanson, Gardner Muni G.C.
In the class A gross division, Mike Nagle,
Worcester C.C. won 1st. by shooting 84 81. Don Levangie, Norfolk G.C. won net.
In the seniors division, Mel O'Kelly,
(retired) won low gross - 86 - 77. Net was
won by Jim Beane, Mt. Pleasant C.C.
(Boylston). Mike Cornicelli, from Turf
Products won the commercial division
with a smooth 8 4 - 8 1 . The net champ is
Steve Buder from Larchmont Eng. Now
the important stuff - Doug Johnson had
almost 50 golfers enter the skins game and
the winners were - Jim O'Kelly, Brae

EDUCATIONAL CHAIRMAN

Ronald E. Milenski CGCS
65 Rocky Pond Rd.
Princeton, MA 01541
Home Phone 464-5312
Office Phone 779-6911
Club A f f i l i a t i o n
International G.C.

NEWSLETTER

CHAIRMAN

Ronald Kirkman
25 Green St.
Needham, MA 02192
Home Phone 444-8412
Office Phone 444-5548
Club A f f i l i a t i o n
Needham C.C.

PAST PRESIDENT

David Barber, CGCS
145 Dedham St.
Canton, MA 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.

President ofNEGCSA, Dick Zepp presented
a Captains Chair to Bill Spence,
superintendent of The Country Club in
recognition of the fine job Bill did at the
U.S. Open.
(L to R) Mike Hermanson, Supt. of Gardner
Municipal G.C., Buster Crafts, Chmn. of
Gardner Golf Commission, Ron Kirwood,
V.P. of Nichols and Stone Co., Dick Zepp,
President ofGCSA ofNE., Seated: Bill
Spence of The Country Club

Burn C.C. - Ron Kirkman, Needham G.C,
Bob Garrity, Heritage G.C. - Tom
Flaherty, Woods Hole C.C. and Cameron
Quinn, Turf Products Inc. $$$$

POSITION

OPENINGS-

Assistant Superintendent
Tatnuck C.C.
Contact

Steve Chiavaroli, Supt.
Home 508-752-0031
Office 508-791-5373

Assistant Superintendent
Brae Burn C.C.
Contact
Jim O'Kelly, Supt.
Office 617-244-0680

- N E W MEMBERSWelcome and congratulations to
Leo Waters
Milton-Hoosic Club

Albert Free
Holden Hills C.C.

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
800-225-CROP (MA) 617-422-7614
Baker Golf Cars
2283 Gar Highway
Swansea, MA 02777
Yamaha Golf Cars
617-678-5693
T h e 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'Donnell
The Clapper Company
1121 Washington Street
Newton, MA 617-244-7900
•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
Greenway 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
The 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
T o m Irwin, Inc.
11 B A St., Burlington, MA
Jack Peterson
Dennis Friel Phone: 617-938-1751
Wayne Ripley
Larchmont Eng. & Irrig. Co.
Larch mont Lane
Lexington, MA 02173
617-862-2550
"Lesco Inc.
20005 Lake Road
Rocky River, OH 44116
Ron Tumiski, Rep., Mike Donahue, Rep.
800-321-5325
"Loft's Seed
20 Beck Road
Arlington, MA 02174
Victoria Wallace, Rep.

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

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.
George Wise, Rep.
"Nardone Sand & Gravel Co. Inc.
37 Power Road
Westford, MA 01886
617-692-8221
Specializing in Topdressing Sand
Nor-Am Chemical Co.
Wilmington, 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 617-853-6654
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
T u r f Products Corp.
7 Coppage Drive
Worcester, MA 01602
617-791-2091
T u r f 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

"Contributors to the Troll-Dickinson
Scholarship Fund

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