July 1980

Published monthly by the Metropolitan Golf Course Superintendents Association

JULY MEETING NOTICE

Date:

Thursday, July 31st—1st Round
Superintendent’s Championship
Bedford Golf & Tennis Club
Route 22, Bedford, N.Y.

Location:
Host Club
Superintendent:
Manager:
Greens Chairman:
President:
Telephones
Superintendent:
Clubhouse:
Golf Shop
Golf:
Lunch:
Social Hour:
Dinner:
Program:
Directions:

Special Note:

Terry Boles
Pat Federico
Peter Foot
William Norris
914-234-3779
914-234-7275
914-234-3325
12:00 Carts: $16. Caddies: $9./bag
Available
6:00 p.m. with hors d’oeuvres
7:00 p.m., $20
Dr. Ralph Engel
684 to Exit 4 (Route 172). Right on­
to 172. Take 172 to Route 22 North
(left off 172). Remain on 22 through
Bedford Village. Golf Course is 3/4
mile on left.
Limited # of carts. Call ahead for a
reservation if a cart is desired. Only
5-6 carts available.

Lunch:
Social Hour:
Dinner:
Directions:

July 31
August 4
August 12
August 14
August 14-17
September 15
September 30
November
December 12

Vol. X, No. 6

11:00 a.m. on
Pool also available from 11:00 a.m.
5 to 6 p.m. with hors d’oeuvres
7:00 p.m., $15
From Meritt Parkway Exit 51 Route
108 North to Hunington Center
(Shelton). Club is on the left.
COMING EVENTS
MGCSA Meeting, Bedford Golf & Tennis
First Round—
Superintendents’ Championship
Dr. Andrew Virtuoso Memorial
Tournament, Whippoorwill Club
Joint CAGCS AND MGCSA Meeting
H.B. Brownson C.C.
MGCSA Family Picnic—Woodway C.C.
Westchester Classic, Westchester C.C.
MGCSA Meeting, Spook Rock G.C.—
Second Round—
Superintendents’ Championship
MGCSA Invitational, Fenway G.C.
MGCSA Annual Meeting
MGCSA Christmas Party—
Westchester Country Club

AUGUST MEETING NOTICE

Date:
Location:

Host Club
Superintendent:
Manager:
Golf Professional:
Greens Chairman:
Club President:
Telephones
Superintendent:
Clubhouse:
Golf Shop:
Golf:

Tuesday, August 12th
Joint Meeting—CAGCS & MGCSA
H.B. Brownson C.C.
15 Soundview Avenue
Shelton, Connecticut
James Medeiros
Jim Mandes
Terry Crawford
Eugene Beach
H. Tom Nickse
203-929-5220—Call for reservations
212-929-0555
212-929-0050
11:00 a.m. Carts $13 No Caddies

Host Superintendent Dennis Flynn, right, addressing MGCSA
meeting at Wykagl Golf Club as MGCSA Tee to Green editor
Pat Lucas, left, looks on.

EDITORIAL STAFF
Pat Lucas, Co-Editor

Office 203-637-3210
Home 203-637-3939
Office 914-967-6000
Home 914-937-3613

Ted H orton, Co-Editor

received permission from Harvest Publishing Co. to reprint
one of the finest articles on this subject I have ever seen.
Good & Cheap! by Elmer Mott is elsewhere in this issue.
August 12th we have a joint meeting with CAGCS at Jim
Medeiros’ H.B. Brownson C.C. in Shelton, Connecticut. The
meeting notice for this date is in this issue. Please call Jim for
reservations.
August 14th will be our Annual MGCSA Family Picnic at
Dick Allen’s Woodway Golf Club.
The Dr. Andrew Virtuoso Memorial Tournament will be
held on August 4th at Chuck Martineau’s Whippoorwill
Club.

OFFICERS
P resident ..................................Robert Alonzi, Fairview Country Club
Office 203-531-8910; Home 203-531-1930

Vice-President.............Michael Maffei, Back of Beyond G olf Course
Office 914-279-7179; Home 914-279-7895

Secretary ................................. Paul Caswell, Greenwich Country Club
Office 203-869-1000; Home 203-661-8949

Treasurer........................... Sherwood Moore, Winged Foot G olf Club
Office 914-698-2827; Home 914-234-9469

Reprint permission is hereby authorized providing credit is
given to Tee to Green . . . unless author states otherwise.
Publication deadline for Tee to Green is 21 days before the
regular meeting.

SPECIAL EVENT

Dr. Andrew Virtuoso Memorial Tournament
August 4th
Whippoorwill Club
Chuck Martineau, Host Superintendent
More information to follow.

MGCAS NEWS

Dennis Flynn was our host for the June 10th meeting held
at Wykagyl Country Club. A total of 37 golfers played the
finely conditioned course. Low gross was captured by Mark
Millet and S. Barry, both with 75’s. Low net was a three way
tie with Dennis Desantis, Paul Veshi and W. Belton with 70’s.
By the way, did you pick up the wrong golf shoes? If so,
contact Chuck Martineau for an exchange.
Our speaker for the evening was Dr. Noel Jackson of
Rhode Island University. Dr. Jackson gave us a very inter­
esting and informative presentation of Turf Disease. Scott
Niven, Superintendent of St. Andrews Golf Club has
provided us with a report on Dr. Jackson’s presentation.
Scott’s indepth report is contained in this newsletter.
John Hunt has resigned as Superintendent of Spook Rock
Golf Club. John has joined the O.M. Scotts Pro Turf staff as
a tech rep.
Equipment Budgets
About this time, many club are considering new equip­
ment purchases for fall projects. In line with this, we have

Dr. Noel Jackson of the University of Rhode Island
speaking on the subject of Turf Diseases at our June
meeting at Wykagyl Golf Club.

GCSAA NEWS
McLoughlin Named Executive Director

The appointment of James E. McLoughlin, Executive
Director of the Metropolitan Golf Association, to the posi­
tion of GCSAA Executive Director was announced this week
by Melvin B. Lucas Jr., CGCS, GCSAA president.
“ The Executive Committee has deliberated at great length
over the selection of a person to head GCSAA. We evaluated
our history and looked toward our future. We are pleased and
confident that the choice is one that will bring a new dimen­
sion to GCSAA and the golf world,” Lucas said in making
the announcement.
GCSAA Fore Front
WELFARE: Please contact Bob Alonzi, 203-531-8910 (of­

fice), or 203-531-1930 (home) regarding any hospitalizations,
etc. of members of the MGCSA.
FOR SALE

SnoCo 3 wheel cart —lights, bed for sprinklers. $125.00.
Red Rider w/electric start. $150.00.
Contact: Pat Lucas, Innis Arden Golf Club, 203-637-3210.

TURF DISEASES UPDATE
By Scott Niven, Saint Andrews G.C.

During the June MGCSAA meeting at Wykagyl Golf Club,
plant pathologist Dr. Noel Jackson from the University of
Rhode Island presented a fine up to date discussion of virtual­
ly all the turf diseases that infect our Northeastern grasses.
Dr. Jackson began by mentioning that the dry snowless
winter we just experienced brought few problems in the way
of diseases, but did provide some dessication of turf in many
areas, as well as frost heaving. It was noted that frost heaves
should be not be rolled flat with a heavy roller, instead they
should be allowed to correct themselves by thawing, after this
occurs a light roller could be used to correct slight
imperfections.
Snow Molds
A. Gray Snowmold This is caused by the fungi Typhula
incarnata and Typhula ishikariensis and can occur with snow
cover or without, during a cool wet spring or fall. Symptoms
of this disease are small circular dead patches of turf with
visible black fruiting bodies called sclerotia present on the
leaves of the infected plants. Reproduction occurs vegetatively from the sclerotia or by germinating spores and will
subsequently occur in the same areas every year.
B. Pink Snowmold Caused by the fungus Fusarium
nivale also occurs with or without snowcover during cool wet
periods in spring and fall. This disease is characterized by
small dead patches of turf with an orange or pinkish cast.
Visible on the leaf blades are orange drops which are spores
that can be dispersed by footprints, equipment, or water. This
is the number one disease in England and on the Northwest
coast of the United States.
The best way to control snow molds is with a preventative
fungicide application in the fall. Mercury will give good
control of both gray and pink snowmold, if this can not be
used, Cadmium will control gray snowmold but not pink, and
Tersan 1991 or Cleary’s 3336 will control pink snowmold but
not the gray, so the fungicides must be combined to get com­
plete control. It was also noted that Chipco 26019 and PCNB
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Terrachlor do not give reliable protection and that pink snow­
mold has possibly developed resistance to the 26019.
Brown Patch
A new low temperature brown patch caused by Serata
basidium is exhibiting identical symptoms to the common
high temperature brown patch fungus Rhizoctonia solani.
Control of this new disease has not been exactly determined
yet, but Daconil 2787, Thiram, 26019 and Mercury will
probably work. The high temperature brown patch occurs in
July and August during periods of high humidity and night
temperatures above 65 °F. Good control can be obtained with
Daconil 2787 or Thiram, on the other hand Dyrene and Actidione are not too effective.
Ophiobolus Patch
This disease was identified in Holland in the 1930’s, in Eng­
land in the 50’s, in Washington State during the 60’s, and
finally on the east coast of the U.S. three years ago. Dr.
Jackson asks the question, why was this disease not seen here
until now? He then noted that the Pilgrims had probably
brought it over with them and it subsequently was a common
root disease on cereal crops grown here. In light of this, his
answer to the question is that Ophilbolus patch has probably
been there for quite some time, but until now has been
misdiagnosed. This disease will occur in the same spots every
year from late spring through the summer in areas with high
moisture levels and a pH greater than 5.5, consequently it will
often show up after liming. The top Vi" of soil is the critical
zone where favorable conditions are created for development
of this disease. It attacks primarily bent grasses entering via
roots and stems, the end results is a dead patch 3 feet or larger
in diameter leaving other grasses and weeds to fill in.
Ophioblous will often resemble a small fairy ring with an
orangish brown perimeter. Currently there is not any
fungicide available to effectively control this disease, so the
only hope is to adjust the pH to a level below 5.5 by either
using flowable sulfur or ammonium sulfate. As a final note
Dr. Jackson asks that should anyone find some turf
exhibiting Ophiobolus patch symptoms to please send him a
sample.

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Stripe Smut

Rust

Merion K. Bluegrass is very susceptible to this disease. The
fungus is systemic and will infect an entire turfgrass plant
including all of its new tillers. Infected plants may appear
healthy until either May, September, or October, when black
streaks will appear which are germinating teliospores that will
enter and infect more plants. Another disease creating identi­
cal symptoms to stripe smut is flag smut which can only be
differentiated under a microscope. Teliospores from the flag
smut fungus will congregate in clusters, whereas the stripe
smut teliospores will appear singularly. PCNB Terrachlor will
provide some control of strip smut, but as a rule only the
systemic fungicides should be used. Tersan 1991 will give ex­
cellent control whereas Cleary’s 3336 and Fungo are not quite
as effective. Unfortunately though, the 1991 causes Merion
K. Bluegrass which is resistant to leaf spot, to suddenly
become susceptible to it. This problem can be solved by using
a combination of 6-8 oz./lOOO sq. ft. 1991 to control stripe
smut and 6-8 oz./lOOO PCNB to deter the leaf spot. Baleton is
also a very good control for stripe smut but it has not yet been
registered for use on turf.
Fusarium Blight
This fungus will also very readily attack Merion K. Blue­
grass. It occurs when night temperatures are greater than
70 °F and accompanied by high humidity. Typical symptoms
are small dead rings of turf with a green center, giving a frog
eye effect. Turf pathologist Dr. Houston Couch believes that
the disease is caused by the fungus Fusarium tricinctum and
F. trimora while on the other hand Dr. Smiley contends that
Fusarium blight is not caused by a fungus at all. This dispute
will hopefully be settled in the near future. Chipco 26019
gives good control of this disease in the field, but for some
unknown reason fails to contol it in the lab. Dr. Jackson
leaves us with the question, why?
Anthracnose
Caused by the fungus Colletotrichum graminicola which
will appear anytime through the year starting in June, and
according to Dr. Jackson this is a weak pathogen that will
attack only weak turf and cause a slow gradual decline. Excel­
lent control can be obtained from Tersan 1991 at 2 oz/1000 or
either Fungo or Cleary’s 3336 at 3/4 oz./lOOO. According to
Dr. Vargas and Dr. Couch there is still a question as to
whether this fungus is a saprophyte or a parasite. Dr. Vargus
adheres to the idea that the pathogen is a parasite which can
be effectively controled with systemics, whereas Dr. Couch
believes the fungus to be only saprophytic.
Dollar Spot
This pathogen can be easily identified by its snowy
mycelium abundant in the early morning. There are many
controls for dollar sport such as Daconil 2787, Acti-dione and
Dyrene. The systemics were a great control for this disease
until such wide spread use caused this very adaptable fungus
to develop a resistance to them. This event made us realize
that continual use of one fungicide was not a good practice
and instead to use a combination of different ones.

Is mostly a problem with sod growers. Its spores are easily
identified as rust colored pustules on the leaf blades. Baleton
gives good control.
Mildew
A fungus which will often occur in conjunction with Hel­
minthosporium in moist shady areas. The disease is not much
of a killer and is easily controlled with Terrethane or Tersan
1991. Other remedies are to eliminate the shade and cut back
on water and nitrogen applications.
Downy Mildew (Yellow Tuft)
This fungus lives within the turf grass plant and produces
hormones which induce excessive tillering creating more topgrowth than the root system can support. The infected plants
will appear yellow looking and will be accompanied by small
white spore masses visible in the early morning. A new chemi­
cal call Ridamil which is not on the market yet will give very
good control.
Fairy Ring
A disease caused by fungi growing on organic matter from
Vi" to 18" deep within the soil. Grade 2 fairy ring appears as
an irregular ring of stimulated turf caused by the release of
nitrogen from the fungi. Grade 3 has mushrooms within the
stimulated ring and Grade 1 fairy ring has a dead zone caused
by toxic hydrogen cyanide given off by the fungi, and lack of
water due to the needs of the growing mycelium. There aren’t
any chemical controls for fairy ring, although as a biological
control one might try spiking the turf, then watering heavily,
and praying that this will encourage other fungi in the soil
to attack the fairy ring fungi. A similar method is to apply a
wetting agent to the infected area and then water it heavily for
28 consecutive days. These fungi are mutually antagonistic to
one another, consequently one ring will not grow inside
another. Because of this phenemonon, rototilling the soil will
cure the fairy ring by causing the fungi to mix together and
eliminate one another. A final method is to strip the sod off
the infected area, excavate one foot of soil, replace with
sterilized soil, and reseed or sod.

Helminthosporium Leaf Spot

A very common disease on K. Bluegrass in the spring. It is
effectively controlled with Daconil 2787, Thiram, Dyrene,
Chipco 26019 or Maneb.

SUPPORT OUR ADVERTISERS

Editors Note: Our thanks to Bob Lippman o f Westchester
Turf Supply for sending us this clipping.
Pat Lucas
They Need Grasses
Officials of Butler National Golf Course in Oak Brook,
Illinois, in an attempt to solve the problems for golfers caused
by damaged greens, say they plan to switch types of grasses.
A new strain of greens developed by Dr. Joseph Dulch of
Penn State called Penneagle will be installed by this fall,
Butler officials have announced. The present C-15 Toronto
has been affected by a mysterious disease in early June which
caused the surfaces to become bumpy and erratic for the
Western Open this week.
Daily News, July 8, 1980

Good V Cheap!
Dedicated to Purchasing Agents Everywhere

by Elmer Mott, Vice President Marketing, Mott Corp.
Printed with permission o f Harvest Publishing Company from
Weeds Trees and Turf September 1975 issue.

It is not unusual for purchase orders received to specify
shipment via “ Fastest and cheapest way” . Great! We’d all
like that. The problem is, the fastest way would be by rocket
and the cheapest would be “ barge via Hong Kong, China’’.
As “ East is East and West is West” —the twain shall not
meet.
So it is with the purchase of equipment. You can’t buy a
Cadillac for the price of a Chevy, and if you consider price
only without regard to quality and performance specifications
you might even wind up with a pedal car.
Selling price (purchase price to you) can be considered to be
made up of three main factors:
1. Cost of Producing
2. Cost of Marketing
3. Profit of Producing and Marketing.
Competitive bidding exerts pressure to reduce the selling price
and this can be done only by achieving a reduction in these
factors.
The cost of producing is affected to some extent by
methods-used and volume produced but it is mostly affected
by the product design. As a consequence a good many manu­
facturers compromise the performance qualities of their

products by designing to meet a price goal.
An engineer working for a large equipment manufacturer
once commented, “ First they tell us to make it good—and we
do. Then they come around and start hollering at us that it
costs too much—get the cost out of it—make it cheaper. So
we go back to work redesigning and the first thing you know,
we got it good ’n’ cheap!”
The selling price of most equipment reflects a design com­
promise that has reduced potential performance quality.
The cost of marketing can’t really be cut too much. An
equipment producer couldn’t reach the purchaser without a
sales and service organization. At Mott we use various ways
to reach the purchaser—advertising, trade shows, mail and
direct contact. Whether such direct contact is by dealer, dis­
tributor, manufacturers agent or the factory itself, the cost is
about the same. Regardless of who or how paid, somebody
somewhere somehow has to make contact with the purchaser
and present the story of the product to the purchaser—other­
wise there would be no sales and no production.
Profit is the one factor that can be held in check by compet­
itive bidding—and it is! However, low price on competitive
bidding can be misleading. We have seen bids that were
obviously below actual costs. Why? Because it is a well
known fact that too often consideration is given to price alone
with no consideration being given to future operating and
maintenance costs. Knowing this, the selling price will be set
to cut or eliminate the profit on the whole product and added
back several fold on the price of the parts. As one competitor
was heard to comment, “ There’s one thing we don’t give

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away and that’s our parts.” A good measure of possible
future maintenance costs would be the total listed price of all
parts necessary to assemble a complete item from parts. We
have never seen this requirement on a bid request. It could be
quite revealing. Mott certainly would have no qualms about
furnishing such data.
Competitive bidding was developed to protect the public
interest from unscrupulous officials who, for personal rea­
sons, made it a practice of purchasing at scandalous prices.
Unfortunately, the pendulum has swung too far to the other
side. In a good many instances competitive bidding now
means purchasing at the lowest price offered regardless of
cost. That’s right—cost! But, you say, “ Price and cost are the
same!” Sorry, but that statement could not be farther from
the truth. Price and cost are NOT the same.
Price is the dollar amount for which a piece of equipment
can be purchased. It is only a small part of the cost. Before we
get confused, the cost we are now talking about is not the pro­
ducers cost or the sellers cost but rather the purchasers’ cost.
It is the TOTAL EXPENSE OF OWNING, OPERATING
AND MAINTAINING A PIECE OF EQUIPMENT OVER
THE TOTAL PERIOD OF ITS SERVICEABLE LIFE. It
should always be expressed as cost per unit of work done, In
the case of a mower, total cost is:
1. Price, plus
2. Cost of fuel, plus
3. Cost of operator, plus
4. Cost of repair parts, plus
5. Cost of labor to repair, plus

6. Cost of insurance, plus
7. Cost of interest on investment.
Add these, subtract the resale value at the end of the service
life and equate the rest against lifetime productivity. In other
words, what will be your total cost—“ Dollar per acre
mown” ?
When dealing with productivity, one must consider:
RELIABILITY—How much production and operator time
will be lost through breakdowns? If it is too much it might
become necessary to purchase additional mowers and hire
more operators. Now watch your costs soar!
VERSATILITY—Is the mower restricted in its perfor­
mance capabilities or can it be used on several different
applications? Can it mow fine lawn areas? Shred high grass
and weeds? Mulch leaves? Renovate—thin, dethatch or scalp
turf? Can it mow in rough trashy areas as well as in clean
smooth areas? Can it go out and mow in all conditions, wet or
dry, or will production time be lost waiting for the dew to
evaporate? Is it relatively safe to use when people are around
or should the area be cleared first?
CAPACITY—or mowing rate, acres/hour. The Mott In­
terstater, for instance, carrying (3) cutter units and cutting
practically a 19 foot swath has the capacity of (3) single
mower units on (3) tractors with (3) operators. Saving—(2)
tractors and (2) operators! Higher priced wide swath mowing
equipment can and will, where practical to use, pay for itself
in cost saving many times over.
DURABILITY—Will the mower be worn out in 5 to 7
years or will it have a serviceable life of 10, 15 or even 20

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years? Longevity not only has a great impact on total lifetime
productivity but also a direct impact on capital cost. Take for
example a $700 mower with a 7 year life expectancy versus a
$1000 mower with a 15 year life expectancy. For $300 more
(almost a 50% higher bid price) an extra 8 years of service life
can be purchased—at a capital cost of less than $40 per year
for the last 8 years!
John Ruskin said it, “ There is hardly anything in the world
that some man cannot make a little worse and sell a little
cheaper, and the people who consider price only are this
man’s lawful prey” .
Lawful perhaps, but not necessarily to the taxpayers or
shareholders best interest.

Something to Think About. . . .
A Failure Is Not Always A Failure

One of the skeptics talking to Thomas E. Edison asked
him. “ Now that you have tried 16 times to make a light bulb
and have failed, what have you gained?
And he replied, “ 1 know 16 ways it cannot be made.”
This brings to me this thought. It matters little if you try
and fail, and try and fail again. But what matters most if you
try and fail, but fail to try again.
John S. Goodrich, via Chert Chatter, Springfield, MO.

HOW TO TURN COMPLAINTS
TO YOUR ADVANTAGE

Left to right: At our June MGCSA meeting, Scott Niven, Dr.
Noel Jackson, Unviersity of Rhode Island, Tim O'Neil, Paul
Caswell, John Musto and John Lensing.

How do you handle complaints from golfers? Nobody
finds it easy to take criticism, especially when the gripes come
from someone whose only turfgrass experience is his dande­
lion free lawn. Unfortunately, golf courses were built and
superintendents hired for the benefit of golfers, a situation
which often necessitates a kid-glove approach to complaints.
Even if complaints are supposed to go to your green
chairman, chances are you’ll still have to field a few questions
and comments from golfers who catch you on the course.
Generally, they will be friendly, but there are always a few
who aren’t.
The first rule is keep your temper. Some people actually
enjoy harassing an employee, and others have to find
someone to blame for a bad round. However, if you stay
cool, he will soon realize he is out of line.
Hear him out. Many people who have honest complaints
only reveal portions of their grievances because they are
afraid you don’t have time to listen to them. When you’ve
heard the whole thing, try to give a thorough explanation.
Above all, don’t cut him off abruptly, even if you are in a
hurry. Try to set up a time when you can go into the problem
in detail if you think it necessary.

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Many years of research and testing by these leading universities have
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Don’t try to laugh it off. If he is serious about his com­
plaint, he probably won’t be very receptive to a joke about it.
After all, he may have a point.
Don’t try to cover up. Even if it’s your fault, he’ll be more
impressed with your forthrightness than with a slick, super­
ficial explanation which blames everything from the weather
to last month’s ladies tournament.
There are some positive steps you can take to head off com­
plaints. You can keep members informed of construction,
maintenance operations and other problem areas on the
course by posting signs in the pro shop. If your club as a
monthly newsletter, you can use it to keep members informed
of upcoming operations and explain why they are neces­
sary. Some superintendents have found it helpful to compile
regular reports of their operations so that everyone, including
club employees, know not only what and when but also why
an operation is taking place.
You also can train your crew to successfully deal with
problems on the course. Make sure they have enough
information to handle the problem and that they realize they
are representing you and the club when they handle a
complaint or answer a question.
—GCSAA Fore Front

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A GOLDMINE
OF TALENT...

MGCSA President Bob Alonzi at our June meeting,
Wykagyl Golf Club.

SAFE LIFTING PREVENTS BACK PROBLEMS
Maybe it’s happened to you. The box didn’t look that
heavy and it didn’t have to be moved that far, so you decided
to pick it up and carry it yourself instead of waiting for help
or using a dolly. As you lifted it, you felt a sharp pain in the
lower part of your back, a pain that stayed with you for
weeks. Maybe it still gives you trouble.
According to the National Safety Council, approximately
one out of every four occupational injuries and many more
home injuries occur during the manual handling of materials.
Many of these accidents result from improper lifting
methods. Here is the recommended procedure for lifting
heavy objects:
1. Part your feet so that one foot is alongside the object to
be lifted and the other is behind.
2. Crouch close to the object and keep your back straight,
as close to vertical as possible.
3. Tuck in your chin so that your spine remains straight
through your neck and head.
4. Grasp the object firmly with both hands, using the palms
as well as the fingers.
5. Tuck your arms and elbows close to your body as you
draw the object toward you.
6. Position your body so that its weight is centered over
your feet. Start the lift by pushing on your rear foot as you
straighten and stand by using your leg muscles instead of your
back.
Before you lift an object to move it, make sure your route is
clear. If there are obstacles, move them first. If you will need
help with doors, stairs or elevators, make sure someone will
be there to lend a hand. Avoid twisting your body as you
carry a heavy object, as this is a leading cause of back
injuries. And even though it might be a little quicker to carry
an object, a dolly or a rolling cart could save you time and
trouble, not to mention considerable pain, in the long run.
—GCSAA Fore Front

SIX STEPS TO BETTER COMMUNICATIONS
“ Communications is the lubricant for the work of an or­
ganization and fuel for the manager’s positive relationships
with an effective, satisfied crew,’’ Ronald C. Frame, an
Oklahoma City management consultant, states in Managing
Human Resources, a new GCSAA management manual
written especially for golf course superintendents. Frame
gives six suggestions for improving your communications
with your crew and others around you:
1. Think through what you wish to accomplish before you
start: This is tactical, it is preparation and it helps eliminate
surprises in the process. You know your ground before you
approach it.
2. Determine the ways you will communicate: This is a pro­
cess of selection. What will work best with the other party?
How do you get his complete understanding without over­
doing it? Will the telephone do? Do you need to see his face?
Should it be written?
3. Appeal to the interests of the recipient: You want his
attention, he wants to know how he will be affected. Get him
involved personally and he will listen more effectively.
4. Give feedback on what others communicate to you: That
is, “ Now let me make sure I’ve got it. You are asking if . . .
etc,’’ or “ If I understand you correctly, you are saying. . .
etc.’’ Feedback is a checking, confirming process.
5. Get feedback on what you are communicating: The
burden is on you to make yourself understood. Don’t ask
“ Do you understand?’’ Ask instead, “ play back my instruc­

tions so I will know that I was clear in giving them,” or “ Give
me your understanding of my instructions. I want to be sure I
was understood.”
6.
Test the effectiveness of important communications
before relying on them: If words go in one ear and out the
other, use them as back-up for written instructions. If memos
go into shirt pockets to be washed later, follow up with a tele­
phone call. Ineffective communication is no communication
at all and will tend to generate problems of attitudes, sorry
work, and more difficult communications later.
Managing Human Resources is available to GCSAA
members for $3.25 from GCSAA Headquarters, 1617 St.
Andrews Drive, Lawrence, Kansas 66044.
—GCSAA Fore Front

Westchester Country Club and the Westchester Classic
will be pleased to extend free daily passes to
the Classic August 11-17, 1980 for
G.C.S.A. members (and their wives).
Please present membership cards at the Will Call Tent.
—Ted Horton, C.G.C.S.
Golf Course Superintendent

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