Ed Tucker pilots the tractor that pulls the large gang mower that mows the rough to 1 & 1/2 inches in height at the Northfield Country Club last week. The twice a week mowing of the rough is but one step in the successful maintenance of the 9 hole course with an 18 hole attitude. Photo by Bill Croney, The Northfield News When people drive by the Northfield Country Club on Route 12A they no doubt notice how lush and green and well groomed it looks. Very few people probably ever take into consideration just how it gets that way.

It takes a lot of time and work and a lot of unseen effort by the course superintendant and his crew to keep the course in top shape.Denny Barney is the course superintendant. He makes sure that when golfers take to the course they have a top shelf course on which to play.

In order to do that, he has to deal with problems from the ground up – literally. “The soils here make it hard to keep everything green because it drains so well. We have a sand and gravel base so some years it seems that all we do is water. This year has been good, but in past years we had to water every day from 4 a.m. to 8 a.m. and again from 8 p.m. to about 12:30 p.m.

We have an irrigation system but it’s 18 years old so we are constantly fixing breaks. Last year we replaced the pump.” Mr. Barney said.

One constant sound on the course is the sound of a lawnmower somewhere on the 28 mowed acres of the Northfield Country Club.The fairways are cut to a height of 5/8 of an inch twice a week by reel mowers mounted on small lawn tractors and the rough gets cut twice a week as well. The large reel “gang mower that cuts the rough is pulled by a small farm tractor is set at 1 and ? inches.

Twice a week all the tee Boxes and approaches ("collars" around the green) are cut to 1/2 and 3/8 of an inch respectively. The nine greens at The Northfield Country Club are cut to their 3/16inch height by special push reel mowers and are cut 6 times a week. “The mowers for the greens work very well,” said Mr. Barney.

All that mowing and all those mowers just cry out for maintenance and almost constant sharpening from April to November. “Something gets mowed every day,” said Mr. Barney. In the winter I do the heavy sharpening and in the season, in my “spare” time, I do the sharpening and maintenance on our 15 mowers.”

It’s not just equipment and soil that Denny has to manage. “ It’s difficult to find people that are willing to work the long hours required. Fortunately, I have two full timers, Justin Potter and Jeremy Hedges, and two part timers, Ed Tucker and Sam Dyer, who are excellent workers. They’re not afraid of hard work. The full timers work from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. seven days a week,” Denny Barney said.

Most people who drive by or even the golfers who play the course probably don’t give any thought to what they are walking on but to Denny Barney and his crew the types of grass that make up the course are very important. “We deal with two types of grass,” Denny Said. We have mostly Bentgrass and Poa. The ideal situation is 75% Bentgrass and 25% Poa. Right now it’s about 60% Bentgrass and 40% Poa but by using what are called reseeding techniques we should be at a 75-25 ratio in about two more years. Once Bentgrass gets established you don’t have to reseed. That’s why they call it “Creeping Bentgrass,” superintendant Barney said.

As might be expected the Vermont weather is always a concern. “ In the summer it can change from hot to cold very quickly and then back to hot just as fast. That can put a lot of stress on the grass so we have to watch it carefully. In the winter we can get snow and ice damage so we cover the greens and use fungicides to prevent damage,” Mr. Barney said.

The use of chemicals is not taken lightly by the course superintendant.

“ The State monitors the use of chemicals pretty well. “There’s a lot of regulations out there that you have to follow. You have to fill out your reports. There are heavy fines for non-compliance. Also, chemicals are very expensive. For example growth regulators cost $700 a gallon. Fortunately it doesn’t take much. We only use about a half- gallon a year. Another example of high cost chemicals is fertilizer for the greens. That costs $45 for a 50 pound bag,” said the course superintendant.

When he was asked just what he thought was the biggest problem that he had to deal with, Mr. Barney didn’t hesitate. “ My biggest problem is the age of much of the equipment. It’s getting to the point where you are working on it all the time. Of course I think that has to do with the present economy. Sometimes we can buy used equipment from a well-to-do country club that is upgrading and that helps us. Our gang mowers are probably 35 years old. They should be replaced every five years,” he said.

There are a lot of things that the retired granite worker and eight year veteran of golf course supervision likes about his job. “I like the members. I like to socialize with them. They appreciate the job that we do. That makes it nice. I also like to stay in contact with other Vermont course superintendants. We’re a very tight group. We help each other out with things like product information (good and bad) and problem solving. It works out really well,” he said.

Mr. Barney is rightly proud of his work and that pride came through a couple of years ago. “This is the only 9 hole course that has ever held a qualifier for the Vermont Amateur,” he said.

So probably the next time you drive by the Northfield Country Club all you will think about is how nice the course looks and not all the effort that it takes to keep it that way. The course superintendant and his crew make it look easy. The good ones always do.