Vol. 11, No. 6 Published monthly by the Metropolitan G olf Course Superintendents Association Date: Place: Golf: Business Meeting: Cocktails: Dinner : Program: Host: Directions: MEETING NOTICE August 19, 1971 Burning Tree C. C. 12 noon on 6 PM 6:30 7 PM Reservations must be made for dinner. Please call 203-869-5579 office or club 203-869-9004. To be announced Bob Alonzi Coming North on the Merrit Parkway, take Exit 31 (North Street). Make a left turn onto North Street, South 1 mile, make a left turn on to Taconic Road, 3/4 of a mile turn right on to Interlaken Road which will lead to Burning Tree C.C. Coming by Conn. Thruway, take Exit 3 (Arch Street) to Route One (Post Road). Make a left turn onto North Street about 3 1/2 miles on North Street make a right turn on to Taconic Road then on to Interlaken to Club. Coming Events: Aug. 15-19 Aug. 24 Aug. 25 Aug. 31 Sept. 14 Oct. 7 Oct. 20 Nov: Dec. 17 American Society of Agronomy NYC MGCSA Field Day, Fenway Golf Club Golf Course Superintendents Field Day University of Rhode Island, 9-4 PM Hudson Valley Picnic (previous date Aug. 24 changed) Tickets available at Aug. 19th meeting and Field Day Waccabuc C.C. NJGCSA Field Day (Please note change) Superintendents Invitational Elmwood C.C. Annual Meeting Date and place to be announced Christmas Party, Hampshire C.C. Membership: The following candidate has been approved for membership by the executive board, Dominic DeMarzo, Chairman. Angelo Calafore Knollwood C .C. Class B MGCSA News: We had an excellent turnout of golfers for the Superintendents Championship at Winged Foot Golf Club. Ninety-six golfers played the West course. Some of the fellows were having their problems putting on fast greens and, of course, number ten is very easy to three putt anytime. President Vaughan gave some high lights of Winged Foot tradition and Mr. Cochran told some interesting stories of golf throughout the world. Guido Cribari August 1971 related the story of the superintendent from Rome, Italy. It was certainly an enjoyable day, and our host Ted Horton not only had the course in excellent shape, but took home some of the bacon with a net 68. Those who went to the Classic I am sure noticed the work that Bob DePencier has been doing. The course was in excellent playing condition and the rains held off just long enough. The water supplies have been replenished about ten times in the last week. The rainfall was from 8% inches up. The week prior some areas in Fairfield, Conn., had 6 inches, so everybody has been pumping and trying to cut if possible. I am sure that some flooded areas will have to be cut with an air cushion rotary. I just have to look over at Willow Ridge and see Fisher’s Lake and know that clubs should take some positive action about areas which are always under water when rainy periods come. They are water holes now, why not make them water holes by digging a lake and using the fill to raise the area around it? In some cases the golf course is already built on a swamp and there isn’t much you can do. It certainly shows one where drainage is still needed and those on Tri Calcium Arsonate I am sure can spot these areas in a hurry. MGCSA FIELD DAY The Field Day Committee has been working very hard planning for the up and coming Turfgrass Supplies, Irrigation and Equipment Field Day. We expect each member to support it by being there. We will have several new commercial firms represented — among them Homelite, Skaggs, Vandermolen and Shemins. ‘ We understand Stanley Clarke is bringing his new trap Rake and that Ted Smith will have his new spiker. There also will be some trenchers there which many of you will be needing for ’ drainage and for others making improvements on irrigation or putting a new automatic. Hope to see you all there on the 24th. Garry & Harry Co-Chairmen, Field Day Positions Available: Shackamaxon Golf and Country Club Scotch Plains, New Jersey Manual irrigagion —Equipment good —Salary open Contact: Mr. Plouhar 201-233-1300 Playboy Club Hotel McAfee, New Jersey Contact: Mr. Philip Lombardi 919 N. Michigan Avenue Chicago, Illinois Call collect 312-642-1000 Ext. 481 Editorial Staff Garry N. Crothers Edward Horton Pat Lucas Ron Boydston Editor in Chief Editorial Staff Editorial Staff Advertizing Manager OFFICERS President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Everett Wood, Scarsdale G. C. Office 914-723-2840, Home 914-472-0174 Harry H. Nichol, Elmwood C.C. Office 914-592-6608, Home 914-354-4582 Edward C. Horton, Winged Foot G. C. Office 914-698-2827, Home 914-835-1181 Garry N. Crothers, The Apawamis Club Office 914-967-2100, Home 914-666-7126 BOARD OF DIRECTORS Ronald Boydston, Rockland C. C. Office 914-359-5346 Home 914-359-2910 Dominick DiMarzo, Bonnie Briar C. C. Office 914-834-3042 Home 914-273-8955 Office 914-273-3755 Charles Martineau, Whippoorwill Club Home 914428-3826 Anthony Savone, Innis Arden C. C. Office 203-637-3210 Home 203-637-4475 Past President John Madden, Engineers C. C. Office 516-621-5350 N ot copyrighted. I f there is good here, we want to share it with all chapters - unless author states otherwise. Superintendents Golf Championship: On a beautiful day at Winged Foot Golf Club the MGCSA had their annual championship. Host Ted Horton had the course in great shape. Chuck Fatum did his thing and again won the championship easily with a fine 73. This was an excellent round considering he only had his drive on the fairway on four different occasions. The longest drive of the day went to Bernie Kowalski and nearest to pin to Vinnie Pentenaro. The results are as follows: Championship 1st Gross 2nd Gross 1st Net 2nd Net Chuck Fatum Frank Lamphier Bernie Kowalski Vinnie Pentenaro 73 82 70 75 Class A 1st Gross 2nd Gross 1st Net 2nd Net Dan Verrille John Traynor Ted Horton Skip Cameron 86 88 68 71 Class B 1st Gross 2nd Gross 1st Net 2nd Net Pete Bass Ron Demkovich Sal Ciancio John Corsi 76 86 73 76 Class C 1st Gross 1st Net Len Mailloux Dan Cancelliari 82 69 Honorary Members 1st Gross 1st Net Dr. Virtuoso Andy Androsko TRIPLEX EVALUATION REPORT This past spring has afforded us here at Morefar the opportunity of using and evaluating the three triplex mowers which are on the market today. The following comments are not made to represent some sort of expert analysis, but are a composite of views of myself, our operators and mechanic. I purchased a Hahn in April and at the same time kept our 1970 model Jake Greensking. When we started cutting greens in April at Va inch the Hahn did a beautiful job. As the warmer weather approached, we lowered the height down to 7/32 and developed a streaking problem. We had the people from the Powerhouse and the West Point Factory Rep. up to the club to try to correct the problem. During this period of adjusting and checking of the Hahn we were given a Toro to use. Later all Hahns were returned to the factory. We then returned the Toro demo back to Powerhouse and received a refund on the Hahn. At the present time we are using our older Jake Greensking for greens and our small Jake and Toro hand mowers on tees and collars. It was unfortunate that the Hahn developed a cutting problem below Va inch because neither the Jake or Toro could cut as well. With its hydrastatic transmission you have an infinite number of ground speeds and the highest frequency of cut. (This May we had three days of rain and we couldn’t get out on our back nine holes. When we finally did, the grass was quite high. We set the reel speed for 3,000’s on our tach and mowed at a creep. The Penncross greens came out very well and I believe this feature to be a valuable asset.) Also the ability to control each reel independently will aid in many cutting situations. I like the cable drive instead of hydraulic because of the leakage problem. The Hahn is easy to manouver and although some say that the front tires mark I did not encounter this. When climbing a grade all weight shifts to the rear driving wheels and makes it a better climbing unit than the Jake or Toro. All controls are easy to operate and you have good vision on the unit. When parking, except on a steep grade, no brake is needed. The adjustment for the collar roller is somewhat awkward to change. The transport speed is much too slow. Hahn says that this is a asset in keeping the operator from speeding but it is much too slow. The transmission is smooth in its operation but very noisy. Using the Jake this year gave us a good cut. We did run into hydraulic problems and had to replace many hoses and fittings. I guess the 1971 models have a tighter hydraulic system. The Jake has the poorest tight turning ability of the three units. Jacobsen’s quick height of cut change for collars and tees is quite different from Toro and Hahn. Jake has a bracket type affair which raises the front roller off the ground and the mowing unit rides at an angle on the rear roller. Both Toro and Hahn ride on two rollers in the raised or “ collar” position which I believe is much better. •Some of the problems which we encountered with our Jake have been ironed out on the 1971 models. New items such as automatic reel shut-off when lifted, better throttle control, etc. ‘have made the newer Greensking a better unit than our older model. Using the Toro for about a month gave us a good cut. The turning radius is much shorter than the Jake or Hahn. This may develop a bruising problem if the operator turns too sharp. We found that the rear basket lifts well without the continuous petal use as required with our Greensking. We thought the Toro transports best of the three. The baskets seem hard to empty. The steering arrangement cuts down vision on both the perimeter cut and for petal use. Most adjustments on the Toro are easy to get to. At this point I’ve decided to finish the season with what I have. Hopefully Hahn will solve the streaking problem and I can buy another next spring. Pat Lucas 3 DAY CLINIC PLANNED Park Maintenance is sponsoring a 3 day clinic at the Holiday Inn in Newark. September 13 — Turf; September 14 — Facility and Area Maintenance; September 15 — Tree Maintenance and Care. For further information contact G. Crothers 967-2100. Information will also be available at Field Day, August 24th. M etropolitan O olf Course Superintendents Association present ANNUAL TURFGRASS SUPPLIES IRRIGATION and EQUIPMENT FIELD DAY TUESDAY, AUGUST 24,1971 1:30 RM .- 5:30 RM. FENWAY GOLF CLUB OLD MAMARONECK ROAD WHITE PLAINS, NEW YORK FREE BEER FREE DOOR PRIZES FREE ADMISSION FREE PARKING A L L I N T E R E S T E D P ER S O N S A R E W E L C O M E T O V IEW D IS P L A Y S A N D D E M O N S T R A T I O N S U N D E R A C T U A L F I E L D C O N D IT IO N S RAIN DATE W ILL BE AUGUST 25th, 1971, WEDNESDAY PLEASE POST Edward C. Horton, Secretary First Class 145 Crotona Avenue Harrison, New York 10528 M E L V I N B L U C A S , ,JR GARDEN C ? TV G O L F CLU B 315 STEWART AVE CARDEN CI TV, ALLIS-CHALMERS 1X530 W heel Horse C.V. Pierce Co. Inc. Half a Century of Dependable Service Opaa 8*5 duly; Sot. till 12 or by App’t C a ll R O 9 - 6 4 0 0 21 Bedford Read, HaasaatviUa, N.Y. n ROTAVATOR Rem ington. AD SPACE AVAILABLE Contact the Editor