TIMELY TURF TOPICS

Issued By The

UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION GREEN SECTION

ROOM 307, SOUTH BUILDING 

PLANT INDUSTRY STATION 

BELTSVILLE, MD.

PLAYING CONDITIONS REFLECT SKILL IN TURF MANAGEMENT

STANDARDS OF MAINTENANCE SUGGESTED FOR BEST PLAYING CONDITIONS: Better Turf for Better 
Golf is the goal of all pest control programs (weeds, diseases, insects, and small ani­
mals), but the development of the most desirable types of turf for golf depends also 
upon skill in management. The characteristics of turf affecting the ball in play are 
highly important. Close cutting, maximum density, and firmness with resiliency are 
three terms most applicable to turf of tournament quality on all but the roughs. These 
guides to maintenance are suggested:

Turf on Tees should be firm to give confidence in the stance and be resil­
ient to permit ready insertion of the peg tee. Turf should be cut sufficiently 
close to allow the ball to stand clear of uncut grass (1/2 to 3/4-inch). Large 
flattened tees permit cutting with power units (fairway mowers) and frequent 
rotation of markers. Creeping or spreading grasses largely are self-healing. 
Generous fertilization, improved soil texture, and minimum irrigation consist­
ent with good turf are guides to better turf on teeing grounds.

Turf on Fairways should be firm to provide a "short roll" for the ball, re­

silient to facilitate walking, and of maximum density to hold the ball up so 
that it does not sink down into the grass. Long blades of grass which partially 
hide the ball destroy the player’s confidence and tend to affect the shot. Thin, 
open turf requires closer cutting than dense, firm turf, to produce the desired 
lie, which is provided by choice of adapted species, generous balanced feeding, 
minimum irrigation, and mechanical treatments to promote deep penetration of 
moisture, nutrients and roots, and to avoid "fluffiness," "sponginess," and 
"matting." Top-flight golfers have stated their preference for the playing quali­
ties exemplified by well-kept (1) Bermuda turf, (2) fescue turf, and (3) bentgrass 
turf. The worst enemy of good shots on the fairway is deep, soft, lush, over­
watered turf. A small divot usually indicates better playing conditions than a 
large divot.

Putting surfaces should be firm to avoid footprinting and should be resil­
ient so that a properly-played shot will hold, but should be sufficiently solid 
so that a poorly-played shot will roll over. The surface should be smooth and 
true as a billiard table. Density of the turf should be so great that individ­
ual grass blades are crowded to a true vertical position. "Graininess," 
"sponge" or "mat" destroy accuracy and the Fun in golf. Governing factors in­
clude: choice of grass, soil texture, drainage and aeration, fertility level, 
and watering practices.

Grass in Roughs usually have, as Topsy, "just growed." Class of players 
may dictate policy, but standards suggested by leading golf professionals in­
clude: (1) open turf where ball may be found readily (weeds eliminated) to 
speed play and reduce irritations; (2) minimum penalty of one-half stroke 
(more if desired for tournaments and special occasions). Mowing practices 
and choice of grasses largely govern results.
These suggested standards admittedly are general. Subsequent discussions and results 

of research, planned and in progress, will render them more specific. The golfing super­
intendent or greenkeeper quickly can detect imperfections in golf turf as they affect the 
grass.

May, 1947

Timely Turf Topics, 1.

THE ELIMINATION OF RYEGRASS AND 
THE CARE OF BERMUDA GRASS ON GREENS IN THE SOUTH

0. J. Noer*

The turf on greens in the deep South is Bermuda grass for summer play and 

ryegrass for the winter season. The transition periods from ryegrass to Bermuda 
grass in the spring and from Bermuda grass to ryegrass in the fall are bad ones. 
Some clubs have difficulty ridding greens of ryegrass, and others have a hard time 
obtaining a stand of it in the fall.

Ryegrass disappears gradually when left to itself. It dies in patches so 

that greens are poor for putting for a month or two. The use of ryegrass retards re­
covery of the Bermuda grass. Ryegrass can be made to disappear in seven to ten days, 
and the recovery,of the Bermuda grass can be hastened.

The secret of ridding greens of ryegrass is to apply nitrogen fertilizer 

generously and water copiously to make the ryegrass succulent. Then by stopping 
watering the ryegrass will die quickly. This should be done about the time the Ber­
muda grass starts growth in the spring.

Ammonium sulfate or ammonium nitrate should be applied at 10 pounds to 

1,000 square feet. The green should be watered generously every day for a week, or 
until the ryegrass becomes tender. Then stop watering for about a week, or until the 
ryegrass turns brown and dies.

Ryegrass is a heavy feeder and draws heavily on the soil supply of nitrogen. 
A deficiency of nitrogen is one reason but not the only one for slow growth of Bermuda 
grass in the spring. An application of cottonseed meal, soybean meal, or Milorganite 
applied at 40 to 50 pounds to 1,000 square feet, in addition to the ammonium sulfate, 
or ammonium nitrate, will hasten recovery of the Bermuda grass.

A light seeding with hulled Bermuda grass seed (Atlanta strain) is desirable 
right after the ryegrass disappears. From one to five pounds of seed to the green are 
ample. Bermuda grass from seed is finer textured than is native Bermuda grass and 
stays that way for a season or two. The use of a little seed thickens the turf and im­
proves the texture.

An application of 0-14-14 at 10 to 15 pounds to 1,000 square feet is advisable 
before greens are seeded with Bermuda grass seed. The phosphate will stimulate root for­
mation and growth of the seedling grass. It will provide plenty of phosphoric acid and 
potash for the season's growth of Bermuda grass.

Bermuda greens are bad for play when the turf is coarse and stubbly. The 

character of the turf can be improved by fertilization and topdressing. The Bermuda 
grass should stay vegetative and leafy all season and should be topdressed regularly to 
keep the stems buried.

Nitrogen is the element responsible for leafiness and vegetativeness. Phos­
phoric acid and potash have the opposite effect and should be used sparingly at rates 
which furnish minimum requirements. The amount of nitrogen needed to 1,000 square feet 
each month is from 2 to 3 pounds of actual nitrogen, or from 10 to 15 pounds of 
ammonium sulfate, or from 7 to 10 pounds of ammonium nitrate, or from 35 to 50 pounds of 
cottonseed meal, soybean meal, or Milorganite. The ammonlim sulfate or ammonium nitrate 
should be split into two or three equal amounts and applied two or three times during 
the month. The organics can be applied in a single application once a month. The spring 
application of 0-14-14 recommended above will furnish ample phosphoric acid and potash.
The topdressing used on Bermuda greens should be applied at approximately one 

yard to an average green of 5,000 square feet. Greens should be topdressed every four to 
six weeks, or whenever the turf shows signs of steminess. The topdressing should be a 
medium to coarse sandy loam containing 20 to 30 percent of organic matter. The organic 
matter increases the water-holding capacity of the soil and gives a slight resilience 
so that the green will hold a pitched ball without the necessity of over-watering.

♦Agronomist, Sewerage Commission, Cloy of Milwaukee

May, 1947

Timely Turf Topics, 2.

MINOR ELEMENTS STIMULATE GRASSES IN FLORIDA 

Roy A. Bair*

The use of copper, manganese, zinc and iron in the fertilizer gives promise of 

completely upsetting our ideas as to which species and strains of grass are adapted to 
Florida conditions, and which are not.

Experiments with pasture grasses at the Everglades Experiment Station first fo­

cused. our attention on this situation. Certain strains of St. Augustine, Bermuda and 
Digitaria grasses simply failed to become established unless copper sulfate (bluestone) 
was added to the soil. Moreover, one coarse strain of Bermuda grass grew vigorously with­
out copper, but a better type, coastal Bermuda, "drove out" the undesirable strain if 15 
to 25 pounds of copper sulfate were used to the acre. Without copper, the coastal strain 
quickly went to pieces no matter how much ordinary fertilizer had been used. We have 
since decided that many turf grasses have failed in Florida, not because they did not 
"like" the climate, but because they require more copper than our "adapted" grasses.

Manganese, zinc, and iron, which, like copper, are needed by all plants in very 
small amounts, often are locked up in the "sweet" sand along our Lower East Coast so that 
they ere not available to the grass plants. Startling recovery has been observed on 
greens and fairways' sprayed with no more than four pounds of manganese sulfate to the 
acre. When turf lacks iron or zinc, a spray containing one pound of copperas (ferrous 
iron sulfate) or one pound of zinc sulfate to the acre will sometimes rejuvenate the grass 
in ten days" time.

When grass is in an unthrifty condition due to deficiencies of any of these so- 

called minor elements, fungi or insect pests may move in and administer the knock-out 
blow. At one private club where an excellent fertilizer program has been followed for 
years, scale was killing the Bermuda grass of one entire fairway. Two pounds of mp-ngR-nasa 
sulfate spray to the acre resulted in complete recovery from scale injury in two weeks 
after application. The grass simply grew fast enough to keep ahead of the scale.

Many grasses which most people believe are not adapted to the southern mate 

have been growing vigorously for the last 15 months in this sub-tropical area. Among 
these strains are 50 bluegrasses and a dozen bents. We suspect that, for soils of proper 
structure and fertility, the addition of copper, manganese, zinc, and iron will allow 
these grasses to thrive anywhere in Florida.

^Agronomist, Everglades Experiment Station, Belle Glade, Florida

May, 1947

Timely Turf Topics, 3.

TOFDRESSING VS. NO TOPDRESSING: In the light of recent discussions on the problem of Top- 
dressing vs. No Topdressing. we would like to have you fill out the questionnaire below 
and mail it directly to USGA Green Section, Beltsville, Md. The results of this survey 
will be published in a later issue of TIMELY TURF TOPICS.

1. Is it your practice to apply topdressing? Yes______ ; No_________ .
2. If you do topdress

A. What is your normal rate of application? ________________________
B. How many times a year do you topdress? ________________________
C. What proportion by volume of each of the following ingredients 

do you use in your topdressing? Soil______ ; Sand_;
Organic matter________ .

D. Type of organic matter: Peat___ ; Mushroom soil___ ; Manure___ }

Other

Name and address of your Club

Signature and Title