Vol. Il, No. 24

Published monthly by the Metropolitan Golf Course Superintendents Association

MGCSA MEETING NOTICE
Annual Meeting

Date:
Place:
Golf:
Cocktails:
Dinner:
Program:
Host:

Thursday, November 15th
Burning Tree Country Club
Weather permitting
5 PM
6 PM
7 PM Annual Meeting
Bob Alonzi

October, 1973

Turfgrass Program at Cornell University, Dr. John Kaufman
along with Dr. H. Tashiro (Entomology Research), Dr.
Richard Straub from Hudson Valley Experimental Station
who has worked with Dr. Tashiro on Hyperodes, and Dr.
Richard Smiley who will be working at Farmingdale and
setting up a program on turf diseases. They all told of their
plans for the future to develop the turf program. It was just too
bad we had so much competition from Billie Jean King and
Bobby Riggs.

Coming Events:

Oct. 24-25

8th Annual Wisconsin Golf Turf Symposium
Milwaukee, Wise. — Topic Thatch
Dec. 8th
Christmas Party — Rockland Country Club
Jan. 30-Feb. 1 Rutgers 3 Day Course
Membership:

The following candidates have been approved by the
Executive Board for membership in MGCSA.
Mill River C.C.
Betram Furgess
Class A
Fred Dobson
Bruce Golf Course
Class B
Agrico
Daniel Brogan
Class C
Richard Calhoun
Toro Irrigation
Class C
Tom Irwin Ine.
John Callahan
Class C
Class C
Frank Paladino
Cloro-Spray
Hal Weitz
Cleary Corp.
Class C

fll?
MGCSA Invitational at Metropolis Country Club, (left to
right) MGCSA President, Harry Nichol, Host Superintendent
Bruno Vadala.

MGCSA News:

September was a very busy month for MGCSA. First we had
our annual Turf Equipment and Supplies Field Day on
September 10th at Fenway Golf Club. Chairman A1 Tretera
and his committee did a great job. The weather was perfect
and we had the commercial firms well represented but our
attendance was down. Really there was no excuse for not sup­
porting this annual event. The Field Day Committee would
appreciate any suggestions on how we can improve attendance
at this event.
On September 20th we had our Superintendents’ Champi­
onship at Bonnie Briar. Big D had the course in great shape.
There were some beautiful natural plantings around tees and
rock ledges. Chuck Fatum repeated as Champion for the
umptnth time. Frank Lamphier was second as usual. Fred
Scheyhing took the second flight with a booming 87.
The evening’s program consisted of the new head of the

Westchester Hills Country Club wins MGCSA Invitational
Tournament. President Harry Nichol (left) presents trophy to
Londy Casterella.

Editorial Staff
Garry Crothers
Ted Horton
President:
First Vice
President:
Second Vice
President:
Secretary:
Treasurer:
Sergeant at
Arms:

Co-Editor
Co-Editor
OFFICERS
Harry H. Nichol, Elmwood C.C.
Office 914-592-6608, Home 914-268-9370
Garry N. Crothers, Apawamis Club
Office 914-967-2100, Home 914-234-3770
Edward C. Horton, Winged Foot Golf Club
Office 914-698-2827, Home 914-937-3613
Richard Allen, Sunningdale C.C.
Office 914-723-3200, Home 914-723-8097
Robert Alonzi, Burning Tree C.C.
Office 203-869-5779, Home 914-937-1527
Anthony Altamaro, Greenwich C.C.
Office 203-869-1000, Home 203-661-7019

One o f the many fin e displays featured at the MGCSA 1973
Field Day.

Not copyrighted. I f there is good here, we want to share it with
all chapters - unless author states otherwise.
Then we moved into early October and had our Annual
Invitational Tournament at Metropolis Country Club. It was a
real treat. Bruno and his staff did everything possible to make
everything run smoothly. We had 36 teams play this very
challenging golf course. It was in great condition knowing
what kind of summer we all had. The new clubhouse was
beautiful and certainly the club and the manager went all out
to make it a very enjoyable day for everybody.
Londy Casteralli and the Westchester Hills Country Club
took the first prize. Chuck Fatum came in second for a change
from Wee Burn, Tony Savone and Northern Hills came third
and Bob Bruce (Golf Chairman) from North Salem took 4th
place. Bob and his committee did a great job as this Invita­
tional takes a lot of planning and work.
The evening’s program was started by A1 Radko who gave us
a little review of the 1973 season and then the evening was
highlighted by Jay Jackson, a comedian who has appeared on
many TV programs including Tit-Tat-Doe, Voice of Philco
Playhouse. Jay’s many funny golf jokes concluded another very
enjoyable Invitational. Thanks to everybody who helped work
on the various committees.
The Nominating Committee (Chairman, Everett Wood;
Bruno Vadala, Sherwood Moore and James Fulwider have
presented the following slate of officers:
President—Harry Nichol
1st Vice President—Garry Crothers
2nd Vice President—Edward Horton
Secretary—Richard Allen
Treasurer—Robert Alonzi
Sergeant at Arms — Orlando Casterella
Directors—Terry Mulligan, Alfred Caravella, Robert
DePencier

Equipment Demonstrations were a big part o f the day at
Fenway Country Club.

MGCSA Field Day Chairman, A l Tretera {center) pauses in
front o f refreshment wagon capably driven by Bill Caputi. ATs
junior aid is Bob Tosh's son.

SUPERINTENDENTS PLAY “AT” GOLF
by Scott Benty—Winged Foot Golf Club

Bonnie Briar was the location of the monthly MGCSA
meeting, and a day which many will remember. It was the day
for the superintendents to dry out their shoes and clubs and
attempt to break par. The weather was beautiful—a great day
not to have to report to work, for the half day anyway.
A Superintendent, as all of us knows, does not have a great
deal of time to devote to the practicing of the game of golf.
Well, this day has proved that good golf is only played or
expected by those who practice regularly. I am the perfect
example of an intermittent golfer, and my score shows my true
colors. But I did have fun, and that made up for the bad
shots—“ I had to really work at having fun, let me tell you
that.,,

After a fantastic meal, which was enhanced by the splendid
company of Mr. Andy Androsko, our County Agent, the whole
day came to a climax. The guest speakers were introduced and
what a great list it was. I feel that the program chairman
deserves congratulations from the members for doing an
outstanding job in getting us four guests. It seems that the
individuals who do the work never get enough credit so I would
like to thank Garry Crothers for making this meeting and all
that I have attended very enjoyable. Thank you, Garry.
Dr. John Kaufmann was the first speaker. I was surprised at
the Dr.’s youth, but his intelligence matches his degree. Dr.
Kaufmann is the new Chief of Staff at Cornell, and his job
involves teaching and directing new students in extension work
of turfgrass management. Field work and research are another
of his fields and one he feels should be broadened. Dr.
Kaufmann feels that research in particular is the “backbone”
of the program. Dr. Kaufmann’s youth and vitality will hope­
fully be directed to the Superintendent’s cry for assistance.
The second guest was Dr. Tashiro, an entomologist and
researcher who is located in Geneva, New York. This station
has assumed the majority of the work load from Ithaca. His
work carries him all over the area and he has volunteered his
time to us for any assistance we desire. His research deals with
agricultural insects also, but the newest turf results show that
the Japanese Beetle has developed a resistance to chlorinated
hydrocarbons.

Dr Richard Straub, who is Dr. Tashiro’s assistant was also
on hand. He is concerned mostly with vegatable research, but
does some turf work. He has done some experimenting with
Dursban and Primothes Ethol, both of which give weevil con­
trol. Diazinom does not seem to be working as desired.
Our fourth guest was Dr. Richard Smiley, representing
Farmingdale and our Long Island Agents. He received his
degree at Washington State working with wheat and barley
and has some netv ideas for turf which are always interesting to
the Superintendent. Dr. Smiley hopes to work more with the
County Agents and thus keep himself and his progress known
to all.
I hope we will be seeing more of these fine men and hearing
more about their work. This is possible only when we have a
good representative as Program Chairman.

Golf Chairman, Bob Bruce {left) presents MGCSA 1973
Champion Chuck Fatum with award.

"The Winningest Table" from left to right: Londy Casterella,
John Corsi, Sal Ciencio, Ron Demkovich and Tony Costa.

Left to right: Dr. Tashiro, Geneva Research Station; Dr.
Richard Straub, Geneva Research Station; Garry Crothers,
MGCSA Program Chairman; Dr. Richard Smiley, Farmingdale, Long Island; Dr. John Kaufmann, Assistant Professor o f
Turfgrass Management, Cornell

Bonnie Briar Host Superintendent Dommmick I. Marzo {left)
and MGCSA President Harry Nicholfield audience questions.

Management Consultant Leonard Agostino agrees to help
MGCSA to better serve its Members.
Len Agostino, our Management Consultant for the past
four months, summarizes his goals for MGCSA with the
following statement.
“ I hope to help make the MGCSA a more effective associ­
ation with every member having a fair share in both voice and
responsibility. I would also like to see greater cooperation and
exchange with the other area associations. The results of the
recently completed survey, show a strong interest in the future
development of the Association and properly guided, I believe
that the MGCSA can be the model association which others
will want to follow.”
Len’s career spans eleven years since he received a B.B.A.
degree in Marketing from Fairfield University. During that
period, Len has been employed in the insurance, banking and
communication fields, as well as two years with NASA in Cape
Kennedy, Florida, where he was a part of the Saturn-Apollo
project team. Currently, Len serves as a Systems Consultant
for the CIBA-Geigy Corporation where he has functional re­
sponsibility for groups in New York and North Carolina. Len is
also completing courses at Iona College which will lead to his
receiving a M.B.A. degree in Management Systems this June.
Len and his wife Elizabeth are presently in the process of
selling their home in Quarry Acres, Peekskill, and are
planning to start construction on a new home this spring on
their 10 acre parcel of land in Putnam Valley. This should give
them and their “family” of three St. Bernards sufficient room
to grow and enjoy one another.

THE YEAR OF EXTREMES— 1973
by Sherwood A. Moore— Woodway Country Club

No one connected with the turf industry in the Metropolitan
New York area—or in fact the whole Northeast—will ever
forget the 1973 season. We did not have a little of everything,
we had a lot of everything. Mother Nature threw the book at us
this year in the form of adverse weather (excessive cloudy days,
excessive rainfall, and excessive heat), every disease imagin­
able, insects galore, and then to tap all, the summer ended off

with a blistering heat wave.
After a very mild winter, Spring broke early and March had
some very nice workable days, so all turfmen thought what a
wonderful season was ahead for us. That was short-lived—for
the rains came and continued. Cloudy rainy weather can make
the grass look green, if you ignore the diseases, but when the
sun breaks out that little grass plant just fades away. This is
what happened near the end of June and the first part of July—
grasses started to die like mosquitoes at a Dursban cocktail
party.
Those areas that did survive this period met a new onslaught
in early August by another downpouring rain (oh, what ever
happened to those half inch and one inch rainfalls) followed by
warm, muggy weather. Diseases were working on diseases—
they had no grass left to devour.
Ah, we thought in mid-August when we had a breathing
spell of cool nights, we are “over the hump” and “Poa annua”
weather is back with us. So we started to aerify and rip the turf
areas apart for reseeding, when Mother Nature let go with an­
other block buster in the form of two weeks of hot weather—
nine days of which the temperatures were over ninety degrees.
So there went some more grass—yes, even new seedlings to the
ravages of heat and disease. Those who had difficulty in
identifying Pythium diseases previously had no trouble during
this period.
In fact, the grasses have been infested with every disease in
the book this year—the plant pathologists are grinning from
ear to ear. In spring and early summer, Red Thread or Pink
Patch (Corticium fuciforme) and the Leafspots (Helminthosporium) walked thru the fescues and bluegrass turf areas.
Many beautiful bluegrass lawns were brown from leafspot
diseases.
Fusarium Blight or Frog Eye Disease (Fusarium roseum)
was more prevalent this year than many of us have ever
witnessed. This disease caused considerable loss of turf on
lawns, fairways and roughs this season. And naturally Dollar
Spot (Sclerotinia homoeocarpa) and Large Brown Patch
(Rhizoctonia solani) did not take a back seat. They were ever
present. Mention has already been made of the severity of
Pythium Blight or Cottony Blight (Pythium). Fairy Ring
(Basidicmycetes) was present in all its glory, plus no doubt
numerous other diseases that we did not even want to think
about.
Oh yes, don’t forget our friends the turfgrass weevils. They
took their share of turf in May and June, and then, not being
satisfied with that, produced a second active brook in August.
The Japanese Beetle is making its presence known this year
after being sort of forgotten about for years. Even some
resistant strains are being reported, so from now on do not
include them out. The chinch bugs took a back seat this year—
probably got drowned out—but the sod webworm and cut­
worms made up for them. If you witness numerous birds
working ravenously on your lawn, you had better investigate
before the above mentioned critters wipe it out.
So it really has been a year of extremes—with rainfall,
temperatures, humidity, diseases, insects, wilt, and what-haveyou. Even though it is best not to think about it and try as we
may to forget, I think that 1973 will be a topic of conversation
among turf men for some time to come. I only hope my golfing
members do forget and forgive.

PROPOSED AMENDMENTS TO THE BY-LAWS
Article II, Section 1, Paragraph 1
Class A Golf Course Superintendent or past Class A Superintendent
whose responsibilities have been reclassified. Any person of good
character who has served as a Golf Course Superintendent for one full
year, including managerial responsibilities and is presently employed
as such, shall be eligible to become a Class A or regular member of
this association. A superintendent can be defined as a person whose
primary responsibility is management of golf turf.
Article II, Section 1, Paragraph 4
Any Class B member in applying for Class A membership must be
voted on again by the general membership. A Class B member may
not vote nor hold office, unless otherwise provided for by the by-laws.
Each maticulating Class B member and candidate for Class A mem­
bership is required to serve on a committee during the year. The com­
mittee chairman shall make a written report at the completion of the
year to the Board of Directors as to the performance of the candidate.
Article II, Section 1, Paragraph 5
Any Superintendent who is a Class B Member and does not apply for
Class A membership within 18 months of becoming a Superintendent,
shall be expelled from the association.
Article II, Section 1, Paragraph 9
Class D Associate Members. Any person or student sufficiently inter­
ested in our profession to desire membership. He will hold a member­
ship card. The dues shall be determined by the Board of Directors. He
shall have all the privileges of this association except those of voice,
vote, holding elected office and guest privileges.
Article VIII, Section 1, Paragraph 2
There shall likewise be elected a Board of Directors which shall be
composed of eight persons, members of this Association, seven of
whom shall be elected by ballot by a majority vote of the membership
present.
Article IX, Section 1, Paragraph 1 (from middle of paragraph)
Said Nominating Committee shall prepare a nominating list of two
nominees, who have been notified prior to nomination, for each office
to be filled at the annual meeting. No member shall be given consider­
ation for a position on the Board of Directors if he has turned down a
request to serve on a committee for five (5) consecutive years.
Article IX, Section 1, Paragraph 2
The Class B Member on the Board will be selected in the following
manner; two names of possible candidates for the position should be
selected by the Class B Membership in a private meeting, and the two
names be given to the nominating committee to be presented to the
Class B Membership at the time of the general election. It will be the
responsibility of this Director to be the liaison between the Class B
Membership and the Board of Directors.
Article IX, Section 3
Will become Section 4.
Article IX, Section 3
The Board of Directors will have the authority to expell any Class A
member who has refused to serve on a committee for a period of five

(5) consecutive years. Prior to expulsion, said member must receive a
certified letter from the Board stating his right to be heard in his
defense.
Article XI, Section 4
Each member will be required to attend one (1) business meeting per
year or face expulsion by two-thirds vote of the Board of Directors,
after having been given notice by certified mail of the charge, and an
opportunity to be heard.

EXPERIMENTS IN RHODE ISLAND: A Report
by Scott Benty, Winged Foot Golf Club

At Rhode Island, the Experimental Station is one of a
minority in this country which deals with turfgrass research.
The station has gradually expanded its staff and facilities so
that now it has become a leader in research. There are four
full time researchers doing a majority of the work in turf. Sup­
port is supplied from several other staff members who devote
long hours to turfgrass research.
The research at the Rhode Island Experiment Station covers
a broad spectrum of projects and planning, ranging from slow
release fertilizers to industrial organic wastes as soil amend­
ments, to growth retardents on roadside turfs, concluding with
preemergent chemical crabgrass control, impacts of fertiliza­
tion practices, and commercial fungicide evaluation. This was
more than enough to keep a student in a state of “suspended
concentration” for the entire day.
The herbicide program is represented with Dacthal as the
best preemergence, tri-calcuim has proved most positively in
retarding Poa annua. Broadleaf weeds are controlled by exist­
ing chemicals. A combination of two chemicals is best,
however, they do not recommend three. 2, 4-D and Banvel D
together control dandelion.
The recommended rates for fertilizing consist of applica­
tions in spring and autumn. The fall is the best time to apply a
heavier rate of fertilizer to prolong the growth and help with a
quicker spring green up. At springtime apply the remainder to
boost growth and prepare for the coming season.
Through research we can learn more about chemicals, rates
of application, and even personnel management. I feel that our
efforts should be directed towards supporting these research
stations as much as possible, the benefactor will someday be
you and I.

METRO MILORGANITE INC.
P.O. Box 267
Hawthorne, N.Y. 10532
Tel. (914) 769-7600

the supernatural
organic fertilizer!
What do we add to M Morgan ite?
Nothing!
Everything's already there — naturally!

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