UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION GREEN SECTION EASTERN REGION 814 RARITAN AVENUE + HIGHLAND PARK, NEW JERSEY Telephone CHarter 9-0225 EASTERN DIRECTOR A L E X A N D ER M. R A D KO E A S T E RN T U R F L E T T ER AGRONOMISTS C H A R L ES E. C R O L EY R A Y M O ND E. H A R M AN L EE R E C O RD H o. 1 February 1963 0. J. RECEIVES USGA GREEN SECTION AWARD FOR 1963 Few people are so well known in their field that they could be quickly identified by initials alone, as the inimitable 0. J. Noer, recipient of this year's USGA Green Section Award. 0. J. is one of the best known and the most widely travelled of all the turfgrass agronomists in the business today. 0. J. became interested in soils and turfgrass research in early 1900 ... he graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1912 ... then after employment by the Great Northern Railroad, and service in the Armed Forces during World War I ... he returned to do some graduate work at the University of Wisconsin ... then he served for 35 years as agronomist for the Milwaukee Sewerage Commission. In this time, 0. J. saw more golf courses and travelled more miles to spread the fine turf word than any other specialist in the field. His aim was to help with any grass problem and no area was too remote ... his suitcase was always packed counsel with research, education, extension and management ... and though re- tired from the Sewerage Commission he is still active in turfgrass work ... he is on several advisory boards ... he is a member of many committees con- nected with golf and turf ... he is an honorary life member of many golf course superintendent associations. The award was most popular with his many friends in turf and in golf. . 0. J. is always sought out for his advice and 1 The Green Section - Its Mission 1 . * * * * * * ** The Green Section of the United States Golf Association is a scientific agency whose mission is to assist the USGA Member Clubs in the upkeep of their golf courses. Like all USGA agencies, it operates for service, not for profit. The Green Section's work is in two main parts: 1. Direct service visits by Green Section scientists to subscribing USGA Member clubs and their golf course superintendents. 2. Sponsorship of research in turf. The USGA spent approximately two million dollars on the Green Section from its start in 1920 through 1962. It is the one scientific agency constantly at work solely in the interest of golf courses. The Green Section was created because USGA Member Clubs needed a turf re- search and advisory agency, impartial and authoritative. The need was first recognized by E. J. Marshall, a Toledo attorney. As Green Committee Chairman of the Inverness Club, he was in charge of preparing his course for the 1920 USGA Open Championship. He brought together the USGA and the United States Department of Agriculture, which agreed to collaborate. The Green Section was born November 30, 1920 in the following action by the USGA Executive Committee: "RESOLVED, That a Green Section of the United States Golf Association be and is hereby created for the purpose of collecting and distributing ... information of value re- specting the proper maintenance and upkeep of golf courses." The Visiting Service is available to USGA Member Clubs at an annual fee. Every club subscribing to the Visiting Service receives the following benefits yearly: 1. Several direct conferences with a Green Section agronomist, in this manner: (a) A scheduled half-day on-the-course consultation, followed by a written report from the agronomist to the course superintendent and the green committee chairman. A second visit will be made if necessary, upon request. (b) Consultation with the agronomist at local group meetings and turfgrass conferences. 2. Assistance by correspondence and telephone. 3. Two subscriptions to a USGA Regional Turfletter, dealing with golf turf affairs of the particular Region, six times a year. k. One subscription to the USGA JOURNAL AND TURF MANAGEMENT, published seven times a year. Subscription fees cover all services and expenses; there are no extra charges for travel. The annual fees are: Less than 18 holes 18 to 27 holes More than 27 holes: (a) 36 holes (b) Per regulation course in addition to 36 holes $100 125 150 kO In short, the Green Section sponsors scientific studies, interprets the results of many forms of research, correlates those results, and then takes them directly to the golf courses of the USGA Clubs which subscribe for the Visiting Service. Today golf course conditions bear little resemblance to those of 1920, just before the Green Section was born. Plainly, the Green Section has worked for better turf for better golf. That is its continuing mission on into the future. DOES YOUR CLUB SUPPORT THE GREEN SECTION? - 3 - "H QUOTES - FROM THE CONFERENCES Mid-Atlantic M r. Charles P. Merrick of the University of Maryland on Pond Care and Construction. (1) To determine the amount of water in a pond ... multiply the surface area "by .k, and this result "by l/2 the depth of the deepest part of the pond. Your answer here will give you cubic feet ... and this you multiply by 7*5 and this will give you the number of gallons of water in the pond. (2) TO CLEAR UP MUDDY PONDS apply ikOO lbs. gypsum per acre of pond surface. (3) To insure that adequate food is available for fish, spread 100 to 200 lbs. of a 10-10-5 fertilizer per surface acre per year to ponds• Rutgers M r. Harry Meusel, Supt. of Yale Golf Club, New Haven, Conn., like many a superintendent, is interested in turf grass research as well as the practical aspects of management ... Harry, however, has one advantage ... he has access to advisors and facilities at Yale University which enables him to carry some work in the off season toward completion of a graduate degree ... working on a problem that is of interest to all ... WILT OF TURFGRASSESill Harry's findings are that a combination of 1-quart of 10$ FMA (phenyl mer- curic acetate) and 1-quart wetting agent In 300 gallons of water ... applied to fairways at the rate of 5 gallons per 1000 sq. ft. ... every 10 to 15 days greatly reduces or prevents wilt ... why?? •.. because this combination of chemicals con- stricts stomata on the leaf ... and so water loss through transpiration is greatly reduced. Stomata are breathing pores of grasses. Harry in conducting his tests varied his water applications and found that grasses like people are creatures of habit ... if you water grasses more, they will expect more, and adapt themselves to "that type of living." Harry says, "You grow your own wilt by your watering practices!" To which we all chorus a resounding AMEN!!! V.P.I. Dr. Roy Blaser, Professor of Agronomy at V.P.I, says If you want to grow Kentucky 31 fescue ... don't hold back with the lime ... great response in density and turf vigor was obtained with lime as opposed to a no lime check ... "a pH of 5.8 to 6.8 is the proper range for K-31 fescue," says Rqy. * * * * * * ** COMING EVENTS Perm State University Cornell University University of Massachusetts Ontario Agricultural College Guelph, Ontario, Canada February 1 8 - 21 February 25 - 28 March 7 -8 March 2 7 - 29 Eastern Turfletter USGA GREEN SECTION BULK RATE U. S. POSTAGE P A ID PERMIT No. 366 NEW BRUNSWICK, N. J. MR. WILLIAM EENGEYFIELD U. S. GOLF A S S N. GREEN S E C T. 13267 VERANO S T. GARDEN GROVE, C A L I F.