March 2008

Homegrown Cassidy Thrilled To Be a Part of
the Revitalization of Ferncroft CC
By: Gary Trask
The road to becoming a head superintendent was hardly a smooth one
for Mike Cassidy. But he would be the
first to admit that he’s quite fortunate to
be where he is today.
Unlike a lot of people, Cassidy
gets out of bed every day and enjoys
going to work. He loves his profession,
has the respect of his crew, and
he’s a huge fan of the men who
sign his check each week.
“Not many people can say all of
that,” beams Cassidy, the head superintendent at the revived Ferncroft Country Club in Middleton,
Mass. “I feel fortunate to be someone who loves what they do because there was a time that I had
no idea what I’d end up doing for a
living.”
Like most sports-crazed boys
growing up in the Boston area,
Cassidy’s dream was to play professional baseball. And because of
his athleticism and sweet swing, he
took that fantasy much further than
most kids did. After graduating from
Swampscott High School in 1979,
Cassidy was signed by the Philadelphia Phillies. He reported to spring
training in Florida and spent two seasons with the organization’s Single A
club in Helena, Montana.
“I remember seeing Mike Schmidt
hit 10 home runs in a row during batting practice from the left side of the
plate in spring training one year; and
he was a right-handed hitter,” laughs
Cassidy, who switched from third base

to the outfield after high school. “That
was the kind of talent I was up against.
Eventually I realized that I just wasn’t
good enough to make it so I had to
move on and try something else.”
Cassidy spent the next few years
trying to figure out what direction he
wanted to go in. He moved back to the

Ferncroft Country Club’s 12th hole
Photo Source: Ferncroft CC

North Shore and worked a few years in
the advertising business and then
moved on for a stint at General Electric, where his father worked. But one
day a chance meeting with a new
neighbor changed everything for
Cassidy and put him on the path to the
job that he is so thankful for today.
The fateful day came in late August of 1988. He was living in Salem
when one day he got into a conversation with a man who had recently
moved into the apartment upstairs.
Cassidy’s new acquaintance just so

happened to be Peter Hasak, the esteemed head superintendent at
Tedesco Country Club, the course
where as a youngster Cassidy used to
sneak on at dusk from time to time and
play a few holes.
“We started talking and he told me
that if I wanted to work for him that
winter he had a spot for me,”
Cassidy remembers. “Golf has
always been in my blood. I was
born in Scotland and spent the first
five years of my life there. My father (Bob) was in the military and
was a real good golfer and I
played on the golf team in high
school.
“I never really thought of the
golf business as something I
would do as an occupation, but
once I got a taste of it that winter I
just fell in love with it.”
Cassidy became so passionate about the industry that in 1990
he decided to attend Essex Agricultural College to get his degree while
working part-time on Hasak’s crew. By
1993 he was Hasak’s first assistant.
He spent the next eight years at
Tedesco honing his skills before accepting his first head job at the Ferncroft in 2001.
But little did he know that the roller
-coaster ride of being a golf course
superintendent was just beginning. To
say the ownership at Ferncroft during
that time
Continued on page 2

PRESIDENT
Russell E. Heller, CGCS
41 Clifford Street, Melrose, MA. 02176-0140
617-983-2786 Fax: 617-983-2786
E-mail: Rheller@gcsane.org
Franklin Park Golf Club

VICE PRESIDENT
Patrick J. Daly, CGCS
P.O. Box 2284, Framingham, MA 01703-2284
508-872-9790 Fax: 508-872-5393
E-mail: Pat@framinghamcc.com
Framingham Country Club

SECRETARY
Jason S. Adams
28 Pecunit Street, Canton, MA 02021
781-828-6540
E-mail: jadams@bluehillcc.com
Blue Hill Country Club
TREASURER
Michael W. Stachowicz
68 Westfield Road, Westwood, MA 02090
781-326-7860 Fax: 781-326-0664
E-mail: Mstach@dedhamclub.org
Dedham Country & Polo Club
TRUSTEE
Scott Lagana, CGCS
22 Sherborne Circle, Ashland, MA 01721
978-342-6451 Fax: 978-342-0421
E-mail: Grounds@oakhillcc.org
Oak Hill Country Club
TRUSTEE
Peter Hasak
154 Tedesco Street, Marblehead, MA 01945
781-592-5764 Fax: 781-631-6530
E-mail: PHasak@tedescocc.org
Tedesco Country Club
TRUSTEE
Mark Gagne
233 Baker Street, Walpole, MA 02081
508-668-3859 Fax: 508-668-9969
E-mail:Mgagne@walpolecc.org
Walpole Country Club
FINANCE CHAIRMAN
Michael Luccini, CGCS
10 Griffin Road, Franklin, MA 02038
508-520-3615 Fax: 508-528-1885
E-mail: Mluccini@verizon.net
Franklin Country Club
GOLF CHAIRMAN
David Stowe, CGCS
30 Western Avenue, Natick, MA 01760
617-789-4631 Fax 617-789-4631
E-mail: Newtonmaint@aol.com
Newton Commonwealth Golf Club

Cassidy - continued from page 1

was unstable would be a vast understatement. In his first four years at the
club, Cassidy saw the ownership
change hands three times and each
new group promised the same things,
but never followed through. The No. 1
priority for the owners was always the
adjacent Sheraton hotel, with the golf
course near the bottom of the priority
list.
“It was frustrating on a lot of different levels,” Cassidy says. “Most of all it
was tough for my crew. The ownership
never gave us the resources that we
needed to keep the conditions up to
what people expect from a top-notch
private course.”
Cassidy got the break he was looking for in 2006 when Virginia-based
Affinity Management came in and took
over the reigns of the club. Affinity became the first owner of the golf course
to be completely independent from the
hotel in decades. And it made its commitment evident immediately.
Affinity began spending what
would total to be more than $2 million
in renovations to the course’s drainage
system, practice area and cart paths. It
also built a brand new fitness center
and refurbished the swimming pool
interior and deck, tennis courts and
restaurant. The stated goal was and

still is to get the course back to where
it was in the glory days of the 1970s
and 1980s, when it was highly regarding across New England and hosted
numerous LPGA events.
Another one of the decisions the
new management made was to retain
Cassidy – as well as PGA Director of
Golf Toby Ahern – as part of its staff.
“We were immediately comfortable
with Michael,” says David Swales, a
managing director for Affinity – along
with Damon DeVito – who is onsite at
the club for the majority of the golf season. “He had a great attitude and
seemed to be maintaining the golf
course reasonably well with no resources whatsoever. We believed that
with more resources and support he
could do a stellar job.”
That prediction has proven to be
correct and prospective members have
taken notice. Affinity began in February
of 2006 with zero members and to date
has more than 300 golf members and
an overall membership of 450 strong.
“It’s been an amazing transformation in both attitude and work ethic,”
says Cassidy, while noting that he and
his in-season crew of about 18 people
were the beneficiary of $150,000 in
new equipment within months of Affinity taking over. “I mean, we all worked
hard under the previous ownerships
and we made the effort to make things

EDUCATION CHAIRMAN
Timothy Hood
49 Green Street (Billing Box 214), Needham, MA 02492
781-444-5548 Fax 781-444-4258
E-mail: hood.timothyb@verizon.net
Needham Golf Club

Continued on page 4

CALENDAR

NEWSLETTER CHAIRMAN
Richard Gagnon
85 Gulliver Street
Taunton, MA 02780
508-823-0466 Fax 508-823-3915
E-mail: sccturf@hotmail.com
Segregansett Country Club
PAST PRESIDENT
Michael J. Hermanson
140 Ryan Street, Gardner, MA 01440-0145
978-632-2713 Fax: 978-632-2713
E-mail: herm068@hotmail.com
Gardner Municipal Golf Course
EXECUTIVE SECRETARY
Sharon K. Brownell
P.O. Box 566, Mattapoisett, MA 02739-0566
508-758-6474 Fax: 508-758-3688
E-mail: Sbrownell@verizon.net

April 23
*Please
note date
change

GCSANE Monthly Meeting
Joint meeting with GCMACC
Pinehills G.C.
Host: Joe Felicetti, CGCS

May 29

GCSANE Monthly Meeting
Easton Country Club
Host: Matt Ponte

June 16

GCSANE Monthly Meeting
Scholarship & Benevolence
Tournament
Tedesco C.C.
Host: Peter Hasak

GCSANE Headquarters
300 Arnold Palmer Blvd., Norton, MA 02766
Tel: (800) 833-4451 Fax: (508) 758-6474
Web Site: www.gcsane.org
Newsletter Committee
Rich Gagnon, Editor, Segregansett Country Club
John Eggleston, Kernwood Country Club
Andrew Eick, The Kittansett Club
Ethan Tease, Woodland Golf Club
Julie Heston, Business Manager
Phone: (401) 934-3677 Email: jheston@verizon.net
Any opinions expressed in this publication are those of the
author and/or person quoted, and may not represent the
position of GCSANE. 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.

2

2008 GCSAA Delegate Trip to BIGGA Conference:
What I learned about traditional links greenkeeping
By Michael Stachowicz
Every year Bernhard and Company, the makers of Dual Express
Grinders, sponsor a ten person delegation from the GCSAA to attend the
British and International Golf Greenkeeper’s Association’s Conference in
Harrogate, England. While they have
only been sponsoring this trip for two
years, they have been sponsoring a
like program for BIGGA members to go
to the Golf Industry Show for ten years.
I was fortunate enough to be chosen
for the 2008 delegation to England.
This is an opportunity I would encourage all to look out for. It wasn’t
just the trip overseas or to the trade
show (which isn’t much bigger than the
New England Regional Turf Conference) that made it worthwhile, it was
the itinerary that Bernhard and Company put together. We were able to
visit several golf courses and we were
scheduled for many meaningful events
that led to meeting some great people
and learning from those meetings.
The conference in England pulled
together some management questions
I have been having for some time. My
main goals were to learn as much as I
could about traditional greenkeeping,
get a sense of why American maintenance budgets can be three to four
times as much as some of the best
courses in the United Kingdom, and
see how the Royal and Ancient’s sustainability movement is being implemented and received.

The Greenkeepers I met were extremely knowledgeable and passionate
about their courses and the environment. However, they are not as highly
regarded as American Superintendents in their society...which I found
interesting. I thought Greenkeeping
was supposed to be one of the most

Royal Birkdale
Photo Credit: Michael Stachowicz

regarded and honorable professions in
any town over there. My sense is that
in the U.S. we have been very serious
about our image as being the key to
the success of the facility. We have
also been able to demonstrate that the
skill set of agronomy, finance, human
resources, communication, dealing
with government regulatory agencies,
plumbing, electrical, and mechanics is
unique and should be valued.

Traditional Greenkeeping
There are many who strongly believe in traditional greenkeeping. The
first and most important goal in this is
the promotion of the fine grasses
(bents and fescues) and the discouragement of poa annua (over there they
call it annual meadow grass). Poa annua requires the most money and effort to keep alive. Its normal life cycle
is an annual, it has a weak root system, and is prone to disease and all
these characteristics require chemicals, water, manpower, and fertilizer to
keep alive. Keeping poa out is not
only great traditional greenkeeping, but
also a money saver and the start of a
sustainable surface.
Traditional greenkeeping is doing
as little as possible to the turf. Their
fertilizer regimen is basically a couple
of ammonium and iron sulfate applications. Their big disease worry is fusarium in the winter months which many
only spray for once or twice. They
wear their lack of inputs like a badge of
honor, and they should.
We visited Royal Birkdale, the host
of the 2008 Open, the turf stand was
good, but not as good as at U.S.
courses. Our courses provide a turf
stand that is so tight and uniform it can
be mistaken for a carpet. Their stand
is mostly made up of fescues,
mowed at .175”, and the stand is
thin. This is a perfectly fine surface to
play off of, and some will argue that it
is a superior surface to play off of, but
it doesn't pass the American definition
“Traditional greenkeeping is doing
as little as possible to the turf.
Their fertilizer regimen is basically a
couple of ammonium and iron sulfate applications. Their big disease
worry is fusarium in the winter
months which many only spray for
once or twice. They wear their lack
of inputs like a badge of honor, and
they should.”
Michael Stachowicz
Continued on page 5

3

Cassidy - continued from page 2

as good as we could, but the commitment Damon and David have shown
since Day 1 has been something totally different. It’s been phenomenal.”
Cassidy lives about 10 minutes
from the Ferncroft. He doesn’t get to
golf as much as he would like, although he made sure to mention that
he beat Ferncroft Head Pro Phil Leiss
in a match last summer.
The little free time he does have is
spent with his family, which includes
his son Mike, 21, his wife, Kathleen,
and their 6-year-old daughter Megan,
as well as Kathleen’s three children –
Amy, 26, Courtney, 18, and Ashley,
12.
Cassidy’s son Mike is a spitting
image of his father and is a student at
the College of Charleston who works
on the Ferncroft grounds crew during
the summer. Megan also spends
plenty of hours at the club enjoying the
pool with her mother and walking the
course with her dad.
No, Cassidy isn’t roaming the outfield for a Major League baseball team
like he had always dreamed about, but
he certainly isn’t complaining about his

current lot in life.
“The staff at Ferncroft is like family
and that’s important because you
spend so much time there that it becomes a second home,” he says. “But
to be a part of the resurrection of a
club like this has really been an honor,
especially for a guy like me who grew
up in this area.
“The Ferncroft was once a gem
and it got turned into a piece of coal.
Now we’re working hard to build it back
up to diamond status. The idea is to
keep improving the golf course every
year. And thanks to the new ownership, that’s exactly what we’re doing.”

“I remember seeing Mike
Schmidt hit 10 home runs in a
row during batting practice from
the left side of the plate in spring
training one year; and he was a
right-handed hitter. That was the
kind of talent I was up against.”

Ferncroft Country Club’s 18th hole
Photo Source: Ferncroft CC

4

Mike Cassidy

BIGGA - continued from page 3

of "pretty". British Greenkeepers
would argue that our pretty surfaces
are not functional in some cases…or
functional like golf was intended to be
played. While the greenkeepers are
impressed with what they see their
American counterparts doing with turf
management, they do look at it as not
keeping with the traditions of the game
or in tune with the environment. The
American style of golf course management is really looked down upon by
many purists in the European Union.
They view our courses as wet, thatchy,
spongy, soft, courses with weak
grasses that are on life support consisting of fertilizer, chemicals, and water.
The greens over there do play
slower with the best courses stimping
out at 8.5'. The firmness due to the
semi dormant qualities of their greens
provide the challenge that is different
than what greenspeed offers in the
states. They will briefly lower heights
on greens to get speeds up to 10.5’for
the Open. They don't want them faster
than that because the wind would be
blowing the balls off the greens at that

point. It is felt that heights can be lowered for a short period of time without
damaging the fescue population.
An offshoot of traditional greenkeeping is the disturbance theory. This basically promotes the idea
that once thatch has been minimized,
aeration should be implemented rarely
and carefully. Aerating during poa germination time (April/May, September/
October) is just making a perfect seed
bed for poa infestation. Fescue and all
bents except for creeping bent, prefer
a non disturbed surface to hold its
dominance. So alot of brushing is implemented rather than verticutting,
spiking instead of solid tining,
etc. Less is more is the central tenant
to this program. Don't aerate or verticut just because it has always been
done, look at the plant and playing surface to determine what needs to be
done.
Another part of this theory suggests mowing high enough to allow the
promotion of fescues and browntop
bents. They raise the height of cut to
the .160 - .175 range to accommodate
the higher heights theses grasses require to survive. Even though this
would not be acceptable in many

cases here in the states, there are lessons for us with our creeping bents
and velvets. We could all take a lesson when it comes to the timing of
aeration, water inputs, and fertility.
Aerating when it is convenient to the
golf schedule (early and/or late in the
season) and applying fertilizer and water in the chase for green will only lead
to more poa coming in.
Budget
I believe the cause of budget differentiation between the two countries
is golfer (and our own) expectations. Golf is still a game over there,
not a business. This has allowed
courses to stay as informal playgrounds and they have not followed
the hotel management model that
Americans follow. It is the outdoors,
the land is rugged, the land is what
gives a course character, it isn’t meant
to be perfect, it is meant to be functional. In the U.S. we treat our courses
like four star hotels that are perfectly
maintained but that has forced them to
become homogenized and they have
lost their hominess. As a result of our
Continued on page 6

5

BIGGA - continued from Page 5

battle against nature and the character
of our land, budgets have exploded.
One of the main money savers for
them is the lack of chemicals and fertilizers that their courses require. This
saves labor as well. Irrigation is sparingly used, if at all, so all the labor,
parts, water costs, electricity, and repairs are saved. The surfaces do not
require as much care as a creeping
bent or poa surface (verticutting, topdressing, rolling, close and frequent
cuttings) which are more labor savers.
Their budgets are affordable and their
agromomics are very close to 100%
sustainable.
The Royal and Ancient’s
Sustainability Movement
The R&A's Best Course for Golf
movement is based on the idea of traditional greenkeeping and sustainability. This is a great program to offer
support to the greenkeeper who implements the traditional greenkeeping
techniques by selling the idea to the
golfer.

Here is a short video primer on the
program https://
www.bestcourseforgolf.org/video
The European Union is cutting
back on the amount of pesticides, water, and fertilizer that is allowed and
the R&A is trying to help clubs be proactive. There is a way for courses to
survive this cutback in inputs, but planning has to occur and golfers expectations need to managed.
All of the above has led me to believe that economical and sustainable
golf course management can be
achieved over here in varying degrees,
but golfer's expectations would need to
change. That change would have to
start at the top with the PGA Tour. If
they could showcase a facility that focused more on the playability of the
surfaces rather than the color of the
surfaces, golfer perceptions and expectations could change. It cannot
start with the superintendent, we are
hired to provide a specialized surface
with all the tools available to us that
the budget allows.

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Businessmen Buy
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A company owned by two local businessmen, David Southworth, president
and c.e.o. of Southworth Development,
and Joseph Deitch has purchased the
Renaissance Golf Club in Haverhill,
Mass., from Fairway Renaissance of
Milwaukee, Wis. The sale price was $9
million.
"Our plan is to begin building a fullservice clubhouse befitting the exceptional quality of this course as soon as
possible and to have the club remain
private," Southworth says.
There are currently about 100 members at the club. In addition to maintaining Renaissance as a private club,
both Southworth and Deitch expect the
facility to complement their existing
business.
"In business we have always focused
on delivering the highest level of service possible while at the same time
cultivating a community which supports
and nourishes everyone involved," Deitch says. "At the end of the day our
commitment to excellence and customer satisfaction is what makes us
proud. Renaissance is a perfect platform for such an endeavor."
Source:
Golf Course Industry Magazine
March 3,2008

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Bagged Products
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Ed Downing
Phone: 978978-466466-1844 Cell: 978978-230230-2300
E-mail: downing_ed@hotmail.com

6

Renaissance Golf Club
Photo Source: Renaissance GC

Hurtling a Language Barrier
By: Nick Welch
As an assistant superintendent, it
is my job to teach the art of mowing
tees, collars, and greens to newly hired
employees of the club. But how do
you approach this when dealing with
employees that do not speak English?
This past season at Oak Hill Country
Club we brought three men over from
Brazil through the H2B visa program,
and we ran into this problem. Going
into the season my one major concern
was conquering the language barrier in
a work environment where so many
things need to be done on a daily basis
and there is never enough time to get
everything done. One of them could
speak limited English and the other
two spoke hardly any. So there was
the problem, English on one side, Portuguese on the other, and a lot of
learning to be done. There were several things I learned about how to communicate with them so that they understood what I expected from them and I
felt comfortable that they understood
me.

The first big challenge was training
these workers. Rule number one, patience, patience, patience! As an assistant, training a worker that speaks
English is of course easier, because
you can get your point across with simple words and explain things with great
detail. When dealing with Portuguese
employees you need to speak slowly
and teach key English words as you
teach them to do the job. Start with

Nick Welch
Photo Source: Oak Hill CC

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words like choke, gas, tee, green, flag,
and eventually they will catch on. If
you show body language to an employee that indicates frustration, your
foreign worker may develop an attitude
that will cause him to say he understands when he doesn’t because he is
afraid of bringing out your frustration
and getting into trouble for not understanding. If this happens you are already heading in the wrong direction.
Another way to communicate is with
hand signals and body language, waving your hands to teach mowing directions on a tee for example. The person
mowing greens from afar may be
questioning your sanity, but it works.
Over the course of the season, it is
not only important for the workers to
learn English, but for you to learn their
language, in my case it was Portuguese. An example of this is I learned
how to say “a lot of water” in Portuguese and they learned “go shop” in
English. When we had downpours and
had to bring the crew to the shop due
to lightning concerns, I would combine
what I learned and what they learned
and make a half English/half Portuguese sentence that they understood
quickly. By both sides making a good
effort to learn as much of the opposite
language as possible, at the end of the
season we could have simple conversations. Another useful tip that can be
used in this situation is learning to
count to 18 in their language; this will
help you down the road to avoid the
situation that drives every assistant
nuts; employees going to the wrong
holes and you having to chase them.
We also tried to keep the Brazilians working together as much as possible. By teaming all five of them together on a task like mowing bunker
faces and bunker surrounds, they
would work more efficiently because
they could communicate with each
other. Establishing a team leader in
this situation was important, more of a
group foreman that would make sure
the job was done correctly. In our
case, we had a Brazilian who had
worked for us the previous year. He
acted like a middle man in the communication process and in the end save
Continued on page 8

Language Barrier - continued from page 7

us assistants a lot of time by our not
having to chase them around the
course because everyone was on the
wrong hole. In the end they were some
of the hardest and most loyal workers
that I have ever worked with. Last season was a great success at Oak Hill
but the first step was conquering the
language barrier, and if we had not
done that, the season would have
surely been different.

The Rhode Island Turf Foundation
(RITF) is being re-vitalized after several years of relative inactivity (the last
function hosted by the RITF was Noel
Jackson’s retirement dinner). The defined purpose of the Foundation is to
promote all aspects of the turfgrass
industry by supporting current and pertinent research.
A luncheon was hosted for about
90 URI alumni and friends on Tuesday
March 3rd at the NE Regional Turfgrass
Conference. The luncheon event
helped to re-introduce the group and
generate new interest in membership
participation within the foundation as
well as highlight upcoming fundraising
events. Two fundraising endeavors
already planned for this year include a
golf tournament at Stonington Country
Club on April 21, 2008 and a turf calendar/raffle program. Contact Mike

Marino, CGCS or John LeClair, CGCS
to sign up for or get further tournament
details. The calendar should be available in April and Mike Kroian is coordinating the calendar sales efforts. Any
other questions about the RITF can be
forwarded to Vickie Wallace
(vhwallace@ cox.net) We also hope to
host a post-URI field day gathering.
Details of that event will follow at a
later date.
Please help support the efforts of
this group as we move forward. As turf
professionals, we all benefit from
sound turf research. Hope to see you
at the Tournament!
Thank you,
Vickie Wallace

Oak Hill Country Club’s 17th hole
Photo Source: Oak Hill CC

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1/2 page (horizontal; 7.75" wide x 4.5" deep)

$300.00

$1140.00

$1620.00

$2160.00

$3000.00

Full Page (vertical; 7.75" wide x 9.25" deep)

$600.00

$2280.00

$3240.00

$4320.00

$6000.00

*DEADLINE for ads: The first of the month for that month’s issue.
Send all Newsletter ads to: Julie Heston, 36 Elisha Mathewson Road, N. Scituate, RI 02857
Phone: 401-934-3677 Email: jheston@verizon.net
8

April Meeting Date Changed to
Wednesday, April 23rd at
Pinehills Golf Club, Host: Joe Felicetti, CGCS
Joint Meeting with GCMACC
Schedule for the day:
10:30 am:
11:15 am:

Registration
Meeting/Speaker: Duane LaVangie, DEP, who will
address the new regulations, meter calibration, emergency
planning

12:00 pm:
12:45 pm:

Lunch
Shotgun Start

Format:
This is the 2nd BEAR CUP with 2 GCMACC players vs 2 GCSANE
players playing in a Ryder Cup format.
There will also be prizes for the best 2 man team scores as well as
closest to the pin and long drive.
Cost for the day: $80.00 Lunch and meeting only: $30.00
Checks payable to “GCMACC”
*Postcards will be mailed to the membership shortly.

For golf course
construction,
renovation and
repairs.
Bluegrass, Ryegrass, Fine Fescue
Blends, Short Cut avail.
Bentgrass & Bent Blends
Pallets/Big Rolls.
Sod handler Del.
Roll Out Service.
Over 35 years of
turf production.
Deliveries Monday through
Saturday
CALL TOLL FREE

1—800-556-6985
See our web site
www.tuckahoeturf.com

DIVOT DRIFT... announcements ... educational seminars ... job opportunities
...tournament results...and miscellaneous items of interest to the membership.
MEMBERSHIP
Welcome New Members:
Lawrence Cuoco, Assistant,
Marlborough C.C.
Matthew E. Narey, Assistant,
Salem C.C.
Richard P. McGovern, Assistant,
Sterling National G.C.
Nicholas J. Spokis, Superintendent,
Tatnuck C.C.
Mike Ford, Superintendent,
Mt. Hood G.C.
Melissa Gugliotti, Affiliate, Syngenta
Michael Tanner, Affiliate, DGM
Systems
Mayer Tree Service, Inc., Friend

ANNOUNCEMENTS
Congratulations to Brian Giblin as he
leaves TurfLinks Environmental Service to accept the sales representative
position with Bayer Environmental
Science.
Congratulations to Pat Lange as he
leaves the assistant position at The
Country Club to accept the superintendent position at Red Tail Golf Club.

Congratulations to Garrett and Kathy
Whitney on the birth of their son
Connor Liam who was born on March
18th.
Please help support the Patrick
Coulter Scholarship Fund by attending the Providence Bruins game on
Saturday, March 29th. For more information or to buy tickets, visit
www.providencebruins.com or call
401-273-5000.
Our condolences go out to the Morgan
family on the unexpected passing of
Doug Morgan of the Winding Brook
Turf Farm in late February.
Richard Benoit asked to inform members that he is no longer working for
Tuckahoe Turf. Richard has started
his own business.
Joe Farina is the new sales representative for Tuckahoe Turf covering the
southeastern Mass, Cape Cod, the
Islands and Rhode Island. He can be
reached at (401) 524-5280 or
jfarina@tuckahoeturf.com.

9

SAVE THE DATE
The RI Turfgrass Foundation is hosting
a golf tournament on April 21, 2008 at
Stonington CC. Please contact Mike
Marino (860) 535-9196 for more information.
The Univ. of Connecticut Field Day is
July 22, 2008 and for more information
please visit: www.turf.uconn.edu/
fieldday08.
The Univ. of Rhode Island Field Day is
scheduled for August 20, 2008 and
pre-registration is now open. For more
information, please Dr. Rebecca
Brown (401) 874-2791.
The 2008 Joseph Troll Classic is set
for Monday, September 29, 2008 at
Lyman Orchards Golf Club, honoring
George B. Thompson.
Additional details to follow and will
soon be on the web site www.alumniturfgroup.com

Please Patronize these FRIENDS of the ASSOCIATION
A.A. Will Materials Corp.

DGM Systems

Ken Jones Tire, Inc.

Southwest Putting Greens of Boston

198 Washington St., Stoughton, MA 02072-1748

71-73 Chandler St., Worcester, MA 01613
Distributor of tires for lawn & garden, trucks,
cars, industrial equipment, and golf cars.
Gerry Jones - (508) 755-5255

P.O. Box 827, Westford, MA 01886
Synthetic turf, tee lines, practice greens, outdoor
and indoor practice facilities.
Douglas Preston - (978) 250-5996

A.D. Makepeace Co.

1 Snagwood Rd., Foster, RI 02825
Your New England specialty products distributor: Reelcraft, POK, Allen, Kenyon, Echo,
Carhartt
Office - (401) 647-0550
Manny Mihailides - (401) 524-8999
David Mihailides - (401) 742-1177

Larchmont Engineering & Irrigation

Sports Club Management, Inc.

158 Tihonet Road, Wareham, MA 02571
(508) 322-4092

11 Larchmont Lane, Lexington, MA 02420-4483
Kevin Rudat - (781) 862-2550

DHT Golf Services

104 Wyman Rd., Braintree, MA 02184
OSHA and EPA compliance services & training.
Ron Smith - (781) 848-5978

Root zone mixes, divot mixes, topdressing blends,
bunker sands, cart path mixes, bridging stone, &
hardscape supplies. Charlie Downing,
Rob Fitzpatrick - (800) 4-AA-WILL

Agresource, Inc.
100 Main St., Amesbury, MA 01913
Tim Gould, Guy Travers
(800) 313-3320, (978) 388-5110

Allen’s Seed Store, Inc.
693 S. County Trail, Exeter, Rl 02822
Specializing in quality seed and related golf
course maintenance supplies.
Gregg Allen - (800) 527-3898
Michelle Maltais - (401) 835-0287

The Andersons Technologies, Inc.
26 Waite Ave., S. Hadley, MA 01075
Manufacturer of fertilizer & control products.
Rick Forni - (413) 534-8896

Atlantic Silica, Inc.
P.O. Box 10, Enfield N.S. B2T 1C6 Canada
(902) 883-3020

A-OK Turf Equipment Inc.
1357 Main St., Coventry, RI 02816-8435
Articulator, Terra Topper, Greens Groomer brush,
& used equipment.
Mike Cornicelli - (401) 826-2584

Barenbrug USA

8 Meadow Park Road, Plymouth, MA 02360
Your complete golf construction and irrigation
company serving the GCSANE for over 20
years. Planning to proposal to completion.
Golf construction and irrigation consulting.
Emergency irrigation repairs. 508-746-3222
Dahn Tibbett (20 year member), Jaime Tibbett

Lazaro’s Golf Course Supplies &
Accessories

D.L. Maher Co.

McNulty Construction Corp.

71 Concord St., P. O. Box 127, N. Reading, MA
01864

Water supply specialists; wells & pumping
equipment. (781) 933-3210

Michael Drake Construction, Inc.
240 Walnut St., Framingham, MA 01702
Golf course reconstruction; professional shaper.
Michael Drake - (508) 875-8247

Great in Grass
166 Juniper Drive, North Kingstown, RI 02852
Bruce Chapman, Territory Manager
(401) 578-2300

BASF Turf & Ornamental

Golf Cart Services, Inc.

47 Falmouth Rd., Longmeadow, MA 01106
Emerald, Insignia, Pendulum AquaCap, Curalan,
Drive, Basagran, Iprodione Pro, Propiconazole
Pro, Bifenthrin Pro, Plateau, Sahara.
John Bresnahan - (413) 374-4102

GPS New England Mapping

114 Summer St., Maynard, MA 01754
Bulk limestone dealer.
Jack Borden - (978) 897-2571

Boston Irrigation Supply Co. (BISCO)
60 Stergis Way, Dedham, MA 02026
Distributor, irrigation supplies & accessories,
featuring Rain Bird.
Andrew Langlois, Jay Anderson III, Dan Fuller,
Jeff Brown, Greg Hennessy, Chris Russo
(800) 225-8006

The Cardinals, Inc.
166 River Rd., PO Box 520, Unionville, CT 06085

Golf course and landscape supplies.
John Callahan, Dennis Friel - (800) 861-6256

P.O. Box 1008, Essex, MA 01929
Golf course construction & renovation.
Jonathon Miller - (978) 768-6600

NMP Golf Construction Corp.
25 Bishop Ave., Ste. A-2, Williston, VT 05495
Golf course construction.
Mario Poirier - (888) 707-0787

Norfolk Power Equipment, Inc.
5 Cushing Dr., Wrentham, MA 02093
Sales, service, rentals, leasing, Kubota tractors
(508) 384-0011

275 Wells St., Greenfield, MA 01301
Club Car golf, turf, transportation, & utility cars.
James Bernier - (800) 287-0955

Northeast Golf Company
Golf Course Architectural/Consultation Services
118 Beauchamp Drive, Saunderstown, RI 02874
Robert McNeil (401) 667-4994

39 Cedar St., Cohasset, MA 02025
Precise irrigation & drainage as-builts; wire
tracking & electrical repairs.
Greg Albanese - (781) 789-1166

North Shore Hydroseeding
20 Wenham St., Danvers, MA 01923
Hydroseeding, erosion control, & tree services.
Brian King - (978) 762-8737

Gustavo Preston Service Company
10 Kidder Road, Unit 8, Chelmsford, MA 01824
Flowtronex irrigation pumps - sales and service.
Spring start ups, winterization and 24 hour
emergency service for all irrigation pumps.
Ed Ceaser (978) 250-3333 or

On-Course Golf Inc., Design/Build
16 Maple Street, Acton, MA 01720
We serve all your remodeling and renovation
needs. You can trust your project with us!
We make you look good!
Sean Hanley (978) 337-6661

Harrell’s Turf Specialty LLC
15 Londonderry Rd., Londonderry, NH 03053
Turf & ornamental supplies.
Chuck Bramhall, Mike Kroian, Mike Nagle,
Jim Wierzbicki - (800) 228-6656

Partac Peat Corporation
Kelsey Park, Great Meadows, NJ 07838
Heat treated topdressing, golf hole targets, turf
blankets, other specialty golf supplies.
Jim Kelsey - (800) 247-2326

Hartney Greymont
Cavicchio Landscape Supply, Inc.
110 Codjer Lane, Sudbury, MA 01776
Annuals, perennials, garden mums, ground
covers, loam, & mulch.
Darren Young - (978) 443-7177

Charles C. Hart Seed Co., Inc.
304 Main St., Wethersfield, CT 06109
Authorized distributor for Bayer, Syngenta, Grigg
Bros., Foliar Fertilizer, & Aquatrols.
Roy Sibley, Dick Gurski, Robin Hayes (800) 326-HART

433 Chestnut St., Needham, MA 02492
Tree care, landscape construction, consulting.
Mark Tobin - (781) 444-1227

90 Elm St., Hopkinton, MA 01748
Underground water, sewer, & drain pipe and
fittings-Erosion and sediment control material. 24
-hour service.
David Putnam, Eli Potty - (508) 435-3090

P. O. Box 1168, Tifft Rd., Slatersville, RI 02876
USGA-recommended sands, root-zone mixes,
bunker & topdressing, agresoil compost, stonedust, & pea-stone
Bob Chalifour, CGCS (ret.) - (401) 766-5010

Read Custom Soils
125 Turnpike St., Canton, MA 02021
Custom soil blending, top dressing sands,
Root zone blends, “early green” black sand,
divot & cart path mixes.
Terry Driscoll, Garrett Whitney – (888) 475-5526

International Golf Construction Co.

207 N. Main St., Uxbridge, MA 01569
Golf course architects. (508) 278-3407

5 Purcell Rd., Arlington, MA 02474
Golf course construction.
Antonios Paganis - (781) 648-2351;
(508) 428-3022

Country Club Enterprises

Irrigation Management & Services

Mungeam Cornish Golf Design, Inc.

Putnam Pipe Corp.

Holliston Sand Co., Inc.

R.F. Morse & Son, Inc.

Club Car golf cars, Carryall utility vehicles.
Dave Farina, Darin Eddy, Keith Tortorella (800) 662-2585

21 Lakeview Ave., Natick, MA 01760
Irrigation consultation, design, and system
evaluation. Bob Healey, ASIC, CID (508) 653-0625

22 Cranberry Hwy., Wareham, MA 02576
Professional goods, services, & John Deere
equipment for the golf course industry.
Larry Anshewitz, Mike Hannigan, Tom Rowell,
Ren Wilkes, John Winskowicz - (508) 295-1553

DAF Services, Inc.

John Deere Golf
Offering our customers the most complete
line of products, service and expertise in the
industry.
Ron Tumiski 1-800-321-5325 ext. 6219

Sodco Inc.

20 Lawnacre Rd., Windsor Locks, CT 06096
Irrigation pumps - sales & service; northeast
warehouse/distributor for ISCO HDPE pipe &
fittings. Richard Young - (860) 623-5207

PO Box 670, 29 Tobey Rd.,W.Wareham, MA 02676

P. O. Box 2, Slocum, Rl 02877
Bluegrass/Fescue, Bluegrass/Rye, Bluegrass/
Fescue/Rye, Bentgrass.
Sean Moran, Pat Hogan - (800) 341-6900

10

87 Concord Street, North Reading, MA 01864
Rain Bird Golf irrigation distributor.

111 Craigemore Circle
Avon, CT 06001
Melissa Gugliotti (860) 221-5712

Miller Golf Construction

Gold Star Tree & Turf Farm, LLC

S.V. Moffett Co., Inc.

Mega Green

G. Fialkosky Lawn Sprinklers
91 Freeman St., Newton, MA 02466
Irrigation services to golf courses throughout
New England. Gary Fialkosky - (617) 293-8632

Manchester, NH
Professional stump chipping service.
Brendan McQuade - (603) 625-4165

Mark Casey (617) 990-2427 (Eastern MA & Boston);
Bob Hobbs (603) 833-0309 (NH & ME);
Chris Francis (413) 519-8585 (Western MA and VT)

EZGO golf and utility vehicles.
Doug Hopper - (800) 234-0474

E-Z-GO/Textron

Stumps Are Us Inc.

P. O. Box 3218, Framingham, MA 01705
Asphalt paving of cart paths, walkways, parking
areas; imprinted asphalt.
John McNulty - (508) 879-8875

38 Village Road, Unit 210, Middleton, MA 01949
Mega Green is a protein rich organic fertilizer
processed from farm raised catfish in Mississippi.
It is a foliar feed applied through a sprayer mixed
30 gal. water to one gal. Mega Green on Greens,
Fairways and Tees.
John Flynn - (978) 979-2471

250 West Rd., Canterbury, NH 03224-2127
Growers of turfgrass and ornamentals.
Malcolm McPhail - (800) 648-8873;
Canterbury Office - (603) 783-4717

The Borden Company

dba Hammond Paint and Chemical Co., Inc.
738 Main St., Suite 223, Waltham, MA 02154
Complete line of golf course accessories;
Standard, Par Aide, Eagle One.
Joe Lazaro - (781) 647-3361

Syngenta Professional Products

Tee & Green Sod
A Division of New England Turf
P. O. Box 777, West Kingston, RI 02892
Bentgrass, Blue/Fescue mixes, Bluegrass, Low
Cut Bluegrass and complete installation services
Dave Wallace, Scott McLeod, Ernie Ketchum (888) 638-4657

Tom Irwin Inc.
11 A St., Burlington, MA 01803
Turf management products.
Jack Petersen, Paul Skafas, Rob Larson, Chris
Petersen, Greg Misodoulakis, Mike DeForge
(800) 582-5959

Tree Tech, Inc.
6 Springbrook Rd., Foxbvoro, MA 02035
Foxboro, Wellesley, Fall River
Andy Felix - (508) 543-5644

Tuckahoe Turf Farms, Inc.
P. O. Box 167, Wood River Junction, Rl 02894
Chris Beasley - (800) 556-6985

Turf Enhancement Enterprises
6 Jessica J Dr., Millbury, MA 01527
Floratine products, Precision Small Engine Co.,
Douglas Rollers, Trion Lifts.
Tom Fox - (508) 865-9150

TurfLinks, Inc.
29 Gilmore Drive, Sutton, MA 01590
Distributor of quality fertilzer, grass seed, &
control products for the golf course industry.
Kevin Lyons, Scott Mackintosh, Jim Favreau,
Chris Cowan - (888) 398-TURF (8873)

TurfNet Associates, lnc.
21 Brandywine Rd., Skillman, NJ 08558
Cutting edge communication for the golf course
industry. Peter McCormick - (800) 314-7929

Turf Products Corp.
157 Moody Rd., Enfield, CT 06082
Distributors of Toro irrigation & maintenance
equipment and other golf-related products. Tim
Berge, Rick Moulton, Jeff Stouffer, Mike Turner (800) 243-4355

Valley Green
14 Copper Beech Drive, Kingston, MA 02364
Phone: 413-533-0726 Fax: 413-533-0792
"Wholesale distributor of turf products"

Varney Bros. Sand & Gravel
79 Hartford Ave., Bellingham, MA 02019
Concrete golf cart paths.
Kenneth Mooradian - (800) 441-7373

Winding Brook Turf Farm
Wethersfield, CT 06109
Scott Wheeler, Mike Krudwig, Sam Morgan (800) 243-0232

Philip Wogan & George F. Sargent, Jr.
17 Walker Rd., Topsfield, MA 01983
Golf course architects.
(978) 887-3672