Golf Course Superintendents LETTER Association OF NEW ENGLAND, INC. Sponsors and administrators of the Troll-Dickinson Scholarship Fund — Awarded yearly to deserving Turf Management Students. NEXT MEETING Tuesday, May 23, 1989 Heritage Hill G.C. 9:00 am 10:00 am 12:00 noon 1:00 pm Director's meeting Regular meeting & Educational Session Lunch Shotgun (blind draw) Host Superintendent—Charlie Dickow Reservations Required— Call by May 18,1989 (508) 947-3444 Charlie Dickow has been supt. at Heritage Hill Country Club for 8 years. Peviously Charlie had been general manager at Easton C.C. for 1 year, and manager-supt. at North Hill C.C. for 4 years. He was bom in Washington D.C. and currently lives in Lakeville, MA with his wifr Sue and 1 year old son Tyler. Charlie attended Boson College. Directions—From Boston: to route 24 south to 495 (Middleboro Cape Cod). Take exit 5 (Lakeville, New Bedford, Rte 18) bear right. Approx. 4 miles to yellow blinking light, take first right 1 mile from light (Highland Rd.) take next right (Heritage Hill Rd.) follow to clubhouse. -PROPOSED MEMBERSMark Gagne, Regular Walpole C.C. Robert Medeiros, Associate Maynard, C.C. Michael Stykowski, Associate Norwood, C.C. Richard Tworig, Assistant Halifax C.C. Andrew Langlois, Assistant - April 1989 Johnson Tries "Second Course H e already has it down to a science. "Ten minutes down and 12 back," Paul Johnson described the trip to and from the Colonial Country Club. Oops. Make that the Tara Colonial Country Club. And make Paul Johnson master of two courses instead of one. That's right. The longtime golf course superintendent at Tara Ferncroft, a layout drenched in superlatives when conditioning's the topic of conversation, has taken on the added duties of overseeing golf operations at Tara Colonial. And, as Paul explains, it's only 10 minutes down the road. Johnson doubled his responsibilities when the Tom Flatley Company, owner of 13 hotels and assorted surroundings, purchased Colonial from the Burton Page family in January. Tara Colonial is wide-spread, too. It has an 18-hole golf course, health club and restaurant. "There's great potential coming with all that," Johnson said. "My job is to see that the course and grounds come up to snuff. Tara Colonial's a good course, too. However, the golf course will be overseeded and new mowing machinery will be purchased. "There's a lot of work to do, starting with the maintenance building. It has a leaky roof. Then, we turn to the irrigation system. It has to be replaced and the overall program upgraded. Yes, I guess you could call what I have to do a major product." 55 One of the first moves Johnson made was to name Tom Piatt Tara Colonial's superintendent. Piatt has worked for Paul at Tara Ferncroft and fits nicely into the overall management restructuring plan. "It also means more responsibility for my two co-assistants, Wally Orechia and Scott Mulley," Paul disclosed. "In my new role I'm going to delegate responsibility. I have to have good people working with me and they have to carry some of the load." Johnson hasn't worked out a tim etable for his physical presence but figures he'll be spending between 15 and 20 percent of his time at Tara Colonial. It'll probably wind up with Paul putting a few more hours into his dual-position. "Where I'll find them, I don't know," he quipped. Of course, that's an assignment in itself since the activity at Tara Ferncroft, like so many operations of its stature, is on the rise. The golf course is taxed to the extent that Johnson finds himself plunked in the middle of another venture—the building of an additional nine holes at the flagship site. "It's going to be a nine-hole, par-three course," he revealed. "It's set up as a relief valve for our existing 18-hole course. We need it, too. Between membership play, hotel guests playing all those special functions, the regular course was a mob scene. This will relieve things, I hope." The Flatley folks took control of Tara Colonial January 1. That put Johnson's winter into a much faster pace than usual. It was, indeed, a whirlwind experience. . Continued on page 2 Golf Course Superintendents of New England INC. Association page 2 JOHNSON Cont.from page 1 "Easiest the busiest winter I've ever had," Johnson told. "There's a lot more to maintenance at Tara Ferncroft than meets the eye. We have the hotel, golf course, health club, professional buildings (where a new wing is to be set in place) and I'm responsible for everything to be maintained outside them. "When you think of it, then add practically the same input at Tara Colonial, you realize how fortunate I was to have someone like Tom Piatt to throw into the meat and potatoes part of the operation as superintendent. I have a lot of confidence in his ability." With all of this going for him, Johnson does concede that he has one edge over most of his contemporaries. "I don' t have to go through the red tape and heavy scrutinizing that's part of the country club committee's responsibility. I report to only one person, Gunther Zweimuller. He's the general manager. He's my boss. We have great rapport and respect for each other. That's my edge. I need it, though." Johnson certainly does. While all the expansion of duties and responsibilities goes on, Paul must set his sights on Tara Ferncroft's golfing gem— The Boston Five Classic. It just happens that this is the 10th anniversary presentation and Tara Ferncroft means to make it something special. So, from here on in, it's a double life for Paul Johnson. But he can handle it. Why? Because he's something special, too. GERRY FINN FUTURE MEETING DATES June 8 - Twin Hill C.C. Longmeadow, MA July 10 - Concord C.C. Concord, MA— Supt. Championship, one round only. August 7 - South Shore C.C.—Hingham, MA PRESIDENT Richard Zepp, CGCS 27 Fowler Rd. Northbridge, MA 01534 Home Phone 508-234-8490 Office Phone 508-234-2533 Club Affiliation Whitinsville G.C. VICE PRESIDENT Paul Miller, CGCS 1 Leicester Rd. Marblehêad, MA 01945 Home Phone 617-631-7910 Office Phone 508-369-5704 Club A f f i l i a t i o n Nashawtuc C.C. SECRETARY Pesticide Storage ft Following is a letter forwarded by the De\ I partment of Food & Agriculture of Massachusetts regarding "Pesticide Storage" in the work place. To date there are NO written specifics pertaining to this issue. It is important to note that there will be some regulations in the future that will most likely mandate compliance with specific regs. and changes of existing facilities will be in order. If you are contemplating an update of your storage facility consider this: 1. Meet the state's suggestions and more. 2. Absolutely review any local regulations with your local Fire and Health Inspectors. Do what they request within reason, it will only help. 3. Check with the company's insurance inspectors for their input. While there are no specific regulations, the storage issue is important for employee safety and may be cost efficient to look beyond the requirements of today. Charles T. Passios, CGCS f rom The Commonzueaith of Massachusetts iDepartment of food and ' Äßricufture In response to your inquiry concerning storage standards for pesticides, there are no specific regulations regarding the proper storage. However, the regulations require that no person store pesticides in a manner that may cause or which is likely to cause injury [333 CMR 10.03(9)]. The Department may be developing specific Stephen A. Chiavaroli, CGCS 100 A i r p o r t Dr. Worcester, MA 01602 Home Phone 508-752-0031 Office Phone 508-791-5373 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 508-443-3712 Office Phone 617-235-2487 Club A f f i l i a t i o n Weliesley C.C. TRUSTEE storage and disposal standards within a year or two. Until such time it is recommended that pesticide storage areas: a. be posted as a pesticide storage area; b. be securely locked from unwanted entry; c. the floor should be made of impervious material; d. the floor should angle to catch basin or some other area to trap pesticides in the event of a leak or spill; er the area should have adequate ventilation, especially if the storage area is in a building where people spend a considerable amount of time in the building; f. there should be adequate lighting; g. there should be adequate shelving. h. a log should be kept of who took what amount of a pesticide out of the storage area; i. an inventory list of the pesticides in storage should be kept in a different building in the event of a fire. This information may be important for the fire department. There is no recommendation for having a separate storage building for pesticides. However, if the storage is in a building where people spend a considerable amount of time, it is very important that the area is secured in some manner and that measures are taken to provide adequate ventilation. I hope this information and recommendations are of some assistance. If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to contact me at the Pesticide Bureau at 727-7712. Thank you. Sincerely, Paul F. Gosselin Pesticide Bureau Kip Tyler, CGCS P.O. Box 671 Peabody, MA 01960 Home Phone 508-745-8089 Office Phone 508-532-2236 Club Affiliation Salem C.C TRUSTEE Charles T. Passios, CGCS 218 Camelback Rd Marston Mills. MA 02648 Home Phone 508-420-3210 Office Phone 508-775-5116 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 508-584-6568 Office Phone 508-588-8439 Club A f f i l i a t i o n B r o c k t o n C.C. Golf Course Superintendents of New England INC. 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 possible drought conditions effecting maintenance of golf courses in New England this year what would the situation create for you in terms of irrigation problems and how would you cope with them? Doug Johnson, Pine Brook Country Club: "First of all, we are a club that has a water supply problem to begin with. We don't even need a drought to have things tighten up on us. "Presently, we depend on a small holding pond for the initial outlay of water from the irrigation system. Under normal conditions, it would give us enough water for three or four days of straight-out irrigation treatment. "When natural factors don't fill it up sufficiently, we have to turn to the town to do that job. Therefore, any kind of restriction on use of town water could affect the condition of our course. "This situation—the possibility the summer will bring unusually dry conditions across New England—comes up as a double-whammy from the weatherman. After all, we thought we had seen the worst last summer when many golf courses were turned into broilers and much of the turf took a beating. "Myself? I'll be looking for a wet spring to relieve what could develop into a severe water supply problem. However, I prefer it being dry rather than face the FINANCE CHAIRMAN Paul Jamrog Box 642, Silverwood Terrace S. Hadley, MA 01075 Home Phone 413-538-7567 Office Phone 413-536-4195 Club Affiliation The Orchards G.C GOLF CHAIRMAN Robert DiRico 185 Hemenway St. Marlboro, MA 01752 Home Phone 508-485-2605 Office Phone 617-244-0680 Club A f f i l i a t i o n Brae Burn C.C. EDUCATIONAL flash rains we had last summer during the prime time heating force of the sun. A lot of us had no chance then. At least, we can help control dryness with an irrigation system. "We draw about 20 percent of our water from town sources over the course of a summer, a summer without a drought. We've never had water restrictions. If it happened? Of course, it would be critical." John Kotoski, Berkshire Hills Country Club: "Right from the start, let's lay one fallacy to rest. That's the notion everyone has about the Berkshires, the one. saying we depend on excessive morning dew to take care of our watering needs. One word should cover that. Baloney! "We are fortunate in water supply sources here, though. At least in the past we've been able to get by with a pond (eight feet deep) that's fed by three deep wells. It's part of the solution along with a normal amount of rainfall which we've come to expect. "Actually, we don't irrigate our fairways, except for two that don't hold the water well. So, all I need is water supply for tees and greens. "Up until now (first week of March), this has been a dry winter in the Berkshires. However, there's always a chance for a late storm. It's nothing to see a foot of snow fall in April. "When I look out now my pond is full and there are two feet of frost in the ground just waiting to thaw and run off into my water supply. That's aplus, along with the good luck I've had praying for and getting enough rain. "What if I don't get it? That's when I start worrying." Steve Chiavaroli, Tatnuck Country Club: "We are well aware of the dry winter we've had and we're investigating remedies CHAIRMAN Ronald E Milenski. CGCS 65 Rocky Pond Rd Princeton, MA 01541 Home Phone 508-464-5312 Office Phone 508-779-6911 Club A f f i l i a t i o n The International NEWSLETTER CHAIRMAN Ronald Kirkman 25 Green St Needham. MA 02192 Home Phone 617-444-8412 Office Phone 617-444-5548 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 617-828-7266 Office Phone 617-828-6540 Club A f f i l i a t i o n Blue Hill C.C. Association Page 3 even before a drought comes—if it does. "We need a new pumping station which leads to another improvement, going to an automatic irrigation system instead of the manual kind which doesn't do an adequate job. "We're also investigating the possibility of drilling a well or two. I know. That's expensive. However, from all indications, it appears our membership is willing to spend money to bring conditioning of the golf course up to snuff. "Right now we have a pond that gives us about two-thirds of our water supply for irrigation. The other one-third comes from the city which means that a drought and possible water restriction program would affect our operation. "We definitely need rain to pick up our water supply. When we go over two weeks without it, we have to let up a little bit on the irrigation program and some dry spots occur. Frankly, under drought conditions, we'd have to discipline our use of water. "So, until we make the improvements our fingers are crossed. A drought wouldn't be total disaster but it would cause damage. Really, it's something we don't need." GERRY FINN -POSITION OPENING- Assistant Superintendent Poquoy Brook G.C. 18 Hole Lakeville, MA Applicants should have 3-5 years experience and be familiar with automatic irrigation systems. Position available immediately. Contact: Gregg Riggs (508) 947-6070, between 7 am-3 pm Assistant Superintendent Pleasant Valley C.C. Contact: Superintendent, Paul Veshi (508) 8654809 I n f o r m a t i o n c o n t a i n e d in this p u b l i c a t i o n m a y be u s e d freely, in w h o l e o r in part, w i t h o u t s p e c i a l per- m i s s i o n a s l o n g a s 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. Please patronize FRIENDS OF THE A S S O C I A T I O N Agway Inc. Greg Moore Rep. Box 507 Sterling, MA Fertilizer, Seed, Chemicals 8GO-225-CROP (MA) 617-422-7614 Elanco Products Company Stephen C. Dolinak 31 Old Town Trail Narragansett, Rl 02882 401-789-9017 Baker Golf Cars 40 Walker Street Swansea, MA 02777 508-379-0092 Sales Rep. Ray Chadwlck Sales Rep. George Asermely Gold Star Sod Farms, Inc. Sod ft Pine Bark Mulch Canterbury, N.H. 603-783-4717 Lexington, MA 617-861-1111 Bartlstt Tree Experts Tree Maintenance, Fertilization and Consulting 153 Rumford Avenue Newton, MA 02166 Carl DeSimone (617) 969-5990 Gresnway Irrigation Company Irrigation, Drainage, Wire Laying P.O. Box 8157 East Lynn, MA 01904 John Murphy 617-595-3010 Steve Murphy 617-598-6917 "The Bordon Company Maynard, MA Tel: 508-897-2571 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 ft J Equipment, Inc. 188 Main Street Wilmington, MA 01887 John Deere Golf S> Turf Equipment 508-658-2022 Eric Oman, Bill Kemp, Kevin O'Donnell •Geoffrey S. Cornish ft Brian Silva Golf Course Architects Fiddlers Green, Amherst, MA 01002 Country Club Enterprises, Inc. Club Car Golf Cars Carryalls/Utility Cars P.O. Box 400 W. Falmouth, MA 02574 508-563-2284 Chester Drake ft Sons, Ins. 222 Walnut Street Framingham, MA 01701 Golf Course Construction 508-875-7929 Hammond & Tilton, Inc. P.O. Box 30, Exit 35W off ¡95 Fairfield, ME 04937 Tel: (207) 453-7131 John Deere Golf & Turf Equipment 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 01748 Sand for Topdressing & Bunkers International Golf Const. Co. Antonios Paganis, Rep. 5 Puroell Rd„ Arlington, MA 02174 Golf Course Construction 617-648-2351 or 508-428-3022 "Torn Irwin, Inc. 11 B A St., Burlington, MA Jack Peterson Dennis Friei Phone: 617-938-1751 Wayne Ripley Larchmont Eng. ft Irrlg. Co. Larchmont Lane Lexington, MA 02173 617-862-2550 "Leseo Inc. 20005 Lake Road Rocky River, OH 44116 Ron Tumiski, Rep., Mike Donahue, Rep. 800-321-5325 Newkxetter m y THE i l l t v RONALD W. KIRKMAN Newsletter Editor KIP TYLER CGCS Associate Editor THOMAS SCHOFIELD CGCS Business Manager GERRY FINN Contributing Editor -Loft's Seed 20 Beck Road Arlington, MA 02174 Victoria Wallace, Rep. The Magovarn Co., Inc. 27 Lawnacre Road Windsor Locks, CT 06096 Tel.: 800-243-7718 or 203-623-2508 Lew Varga, Rep. -D.L Rtaher Box 127, Concord Street N. Reading, MA 01864 Mobay Chemical Co. Greg Ellis 87 Primrose Drive Warwick, Rl 02818 R.F. Morse & Sons Inc. W. Wareham, MA 02576 508-295-1553 Larry Anshswitz, Rep. Jack Cronin, Rep. -Nardone Sand ft Gravel Co. Inc. 37 Power Road Westford, MA 01886 508-692-8221 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 508-528-3120 Don Reynolds, Rep. Old Fox Chemical Ins. Fertilizers-Seeds-Turf-Chemicals 66 Valley Street E. Providence, R.I. 02914 Tru Green Golf Course Biv. Custom Applications, Spraying, Aeration, Top Dressing, Slice Seeding Full Line of Materials Weymouth, MA 02190 800-462-5990 Psrtae Golf Course Top Dressing Kelsey Park Great Meadows, N.J. 07838 Jim Kelsey, 1-800-247-2326 Greg Moore, 401-683-9496 Return to: RONALD W. KIRKMAN 25 GREEN STREET NEEDHAM, MA 02192 FIRST CLASS E.B. Rotondi ft Sons, Inc. 224 Forest Street Winchester, MA 018«) 617-729-3330 Tennis Courts, Cart paths, Parking lots. Sawtells Bros. 65 Glenn Street Lawrence, MA 01843 508-682-9298 Scot? Associates, Inc. 60 Water Street Clinton, MA 01510 508-365-6341 Pumps-Sales, Seryice installation, Vertical Turbine Pumps Specialists Scotts Pro-Turf Biv. Allan Gumps 413-253-5226, Regional Director Rep. Scott Brown 413-245-6038 Stormy Acres Putting green quality sod grown on a fumigated sand base West Haven, Vermont 05743 Kevin Gun, 802-265-3046 Tuckahoe Turf Farms inc. Exeter, R.l. Litchfield, N.H. West Suffieid, CT 800-556-6985 Largest Producer of Penncross in New England Owen Regan T u r f Products Corp. 7 Coppage Drive Worcester, MA 01603 508-791-2091 T u r f Specialty Inc. 60 Merrimac Street Hooksett, N.H. 03106 Turf & Ornamental Supplies 1-800-228-6656 Ken Turner, Kevin Lyons, Dave Schermerhorn, Ed Wiacek Philip Wogan Golf Course Architect 17 Walker Road Topsfield, MA 01983 'Contributors to the Troll-Dickinson Scholarship Fund First Class Mail U.S. POSTAGE PAID Boston, MA Permit No. 52848