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Issued By The

UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION GREEN SECTION
ROOM 307, SOUTH BUILDING
PLANT INDUSTRY STATION
BELTSVILLE, MD.

DEEP-ROOTED TURF PRESENTS FEWER MANAGEMENT DIFFICULTIES

TIMELY TURF TOPICS DISCONTINUED: TIMELY TURF TOPICS, which has brought you timely 
information on turf management for eight years, expires with this number. The first number of TTT appeared 
May 1940 as an economy measure. Since then the Green Section has published 48 numbers, containing 
198 pages of information.

The new "USGA JOURNAL, Combining Timely Turf Topics," will carry turf information, and informa­
tion and decisions on rules of golf, handicapping, tournament procedures, golf balls and clubs, USGA 
championships, and similar subjects of interest to club committees and individual golfers. The "JOURNAL" 
will serve to acquaint golfers with greenkeeping matters, and course superintendents with golf subjects. 
The "JOURNAL" will be published seven times a year. One copy will be sent gratis to every USGA 
member club and course, to each Green Section Subscriber, and to USGA Committee members. Additional 
subscriptions to the "JOURNAL" may be entered at $2 a year. Special reports from the Green Section 
will be issued when the importance of results of experimental work warrants their publication.

The present mailing list of TTT will be discarded unless the New York office is advised by means of 
special cards which are being sent to the clubs. The USGA office, 73 East 57th Street, New York 22, asks 
that representatives of member clubs immediately check with their clubs to see that the "JOURNAL" goes 
to the right person.

CONFERENCE DATES: Announcements of these conference dates were received too late for publication 
in the January number of TIMELY TURF TOPICS. They are

March 24-25 Michigan James Tyson, Michigan State College, East Lansing, Mich.
April 18-20 Florida O< S. Baker, Box 4043, Miami Beach, Florida.

Georgia Glenn W. Burton, Georgia Coastal Plain Experiment Station, Tifton, Ga.
The dates for the Georgia meeting are not definite at this time but will follow the Florida 
conference.

LOCAL NEWS SHEETS: It is gratifying to see that more local and regional news of greenkeeping 
activities and of turf management is being circulated by golf course superintendents' associations and other 
groups. "Turf News," a mimeographed periodical from The Heart of America Greenkeeping Association 
at Kansas City, Missouri, has been distributed since the fall of 1946. "The Bull Sheet," the official publication 
of the Midwest Association of Golf Course Superintendents, is now in its fourth number. "Midwest Turf," 
is the official publication of the Midwest Regional Turf Foundation. It is filling a real need on a regional 
basis. The Pocono Turf Association, in its reports of meetings, represents a close approach to a news 
sheet. The "Newsletter for Greenkeepers" is the organ of the Iowa Greenkeepers Association. "Turf News 
of Texas" is the official publication of the Texas Turf Association. "Tropical Turf Tips" comes to us from 
the Everglades Experiment Station, Belle Glade, Florida. An old-timer among publications of this kind 
is "Turf Topics," prepared at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, by the county agent and extension specialists 
from Pennsylvania State College. "Turf Topics" was started about ten years ago. "Turf News" is the 
publication of the Mid-Atlantic Association of Greenkeepers.

The information in these local publications is designed to meet the immediate needs of turf superin­
tendents. Through their columns, the importance of golf course superintendents in the turf world is empha­
sized and highlighted. These local news sheets can fill a real need in a truly decentralized national turf 
program.

March, 1948

Timely Turf Topics, 1

CONVERTING RYEGRASS GREENS TO BERMUDA GRASS: Ryegrass greens soon will need to 
be converted to Bermuda grass for the summer. The February 1948 number of "Golfdom" contained a 
summary of the paper presented by Charlie Danner at the Southern Turf Conference, Knoxville, Tenessee, 
on January 6, 1948. The paper was entitled, "Converting Bermuda Greens to Ryegrass and Vice Versa." 
The following quotation from "Golfdom" describes the spring management operations:

"Greens are topdressed in March and fertilized with 5-10-5 or Vigoro, followed by sulfate of 

ammonia at three-week intervals, using 10 pounds of sulfate to each 1,000 square feet.

"By April the greens are in beautiful shape. Everything done then until the ryegrass dies out 
is aimed to help bring the Bermuda back. Starting in April the greens are forked, using a three­
pronged fork. The fork is inserted into the soil every 4 to 5 inches. It is inserted to a depth of 5 io 
6 inches and the handle is moved back and forth, to loosen the soil. This operation gets air to the 
Bermuda roots and helps drainage. Greens that are imperfectly drained are forked twice if at all 
possible. From experience we have found that Bermuda comes through best on greens with good 
drainage.

"No attempt is made to kill the ryegrass. In fact efforts are made to keep it as long as 
possible and to make the transition from ryegrass to Bermuda grass a gradual one so play is not 
affected or interrupted. The ryegrass lasts through May and well into June. When it begins 
to die the greens are spiked and sowed with 30 to 50 pounds of hulled Bermuda grass seed to 
each green. They average 4,000 to 5,000 square feet. Then the greens are fertilized with Milorganite 
and sulfate of ammonia and topdressed. The transition period never lasts more than three weeks. 
Greens that have good drainage often have good Bermuda turf in ten days after disappearance 
of the ryegrass.

"The biggest problem connected with the transition period is crabgrass and crowfoot, or silver 
crabgrass. These weeds get started because the stand of Bermuda is thin. The use of ryegrass 
for winter play weakens the Bermuda and retards its initial growth in spring."

SUGGESTED READING: "Woman's Home Companion Garden Book," edited by John C. Wister, 
published by P. F. Collier & Son Corporation, 250 Park Avenue, New York 17, New York. This delightful 
book contains 1,024 pages crowded with garden information and is well illustrated. Chapters have been 
written by well-known specialists. The price is $6.00. The book is procurable only by mail from the publisher.

"The Principles of Poor Speaking," by Harold F. Harding. The Scientific Monthly, Vol. LXVI, No. 1, 

January 1948. An excellent exposition of what not to do on the speaker's platform.

"Down to Earth," copyrighted 1948 by the Dow Chemical Company, Midland, Michigan, is a current 
review of agricultural chemical progress. Vol. Ill, No. 4, for spring 1948 contains a summary of the North 
Central Weed Control Conference. Eugene Perrin is the editor. "Readers Weeders" is published by the 
Oregon State College, Corvallis, Oregon, and is designed primarily for use by county agents. It is an 
excellent current review of weed control. Rex Warren and Virgil Freed prepare the material.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Q. We have been advised that Bermuda grass may be a good grass to plant on our tees. Will it 

winterkill this far north? (Ohio)

A. Bermuda grass established from seed quite possibly will winterkill in northern Ohio and it may 
do so occasionally even in extreme southern Ohio. The seed is relatively cheap, however, and it is not 
difficult to re-establish. We consider it worth a trial, especially on tees of one-shot holes. Bermuda grass 
heals rapidly and resists weed invasion very well when it is fertilized adequately with nitrogen. Very 
little irrigation is required. If the turf from seed winterkills, why not try one of the winter-hardy vegetated 
strains? The U-3 strain has been sufficiently winter-hardy to withstand the cold at State College, Penn­
sylvania, since 1940. It must be planted vegetatively but this is a relatively simple and inexpensive process 
when the sprigs are planted in holes which are made by the Aerifier, or a similar tool. U-3 stolons for 
starting a nursery may be requested from the Green Section.

March, 1948

Timely Turf Topics, 2

SPRING CHECK LIST

Drainage

..... Are the tile drains operating?
..... Have you corrected surface drainage difficulties?
..... Staked out wet areas for draining later?
..... Planned to aerate heavy soils?

Supplies

..... Fertilizer on hand?
..... Grass seed on hand for patching?
..... Fungicides?
..... Insecticides?
..... Herbicides?

Maintenance Helps

..... Equipment ready to go?
..... Cleared brush and trees from around pocketed green?
..... Plenty of weed-free topdressing?
..... Plans to keep tree roots out of the green?
..... Tees enlarged, repaired, or renovated?
..... Tested soil on greens for acidity?
..... Spot-checked fairways for acidity?
..... Thickened turf on approaches and aprons by seeding, aerating, and liming?
..... Patched eroded spots on the banks of traps?
..... Planned to try at least one new practice on a small area?
..... Snowmold under control?

Nursery

..... Area ready to try out a new grass?
..... Sod nursery in good condition to renovate a green?
..... Stolon bed ready for increase of vegetative material (Zoysias, Bermudas, bents)?

Education

..... Attended at least one turf conference?
..... Reviewed back numbers of turf publications?
..... Added at least one new book to your library?
..... Dropped in for a chat with the county agent?
..... Discussed maintenance economy with the crew?

Public Relations

..... Commended someone on a good job well done?
..... Paid a friendly call to your dealer?
..... Consulted with the green committee chairman about plans for the season?
..... Consulted with the pro on desirable improvements?
..... Consulted with the architect on proposed changes in layout?
..... Planned a vegetable garden in the soil bed for the crew?
..... Cleaned out and checked springs used for drinking water?
..... Purity of water certified by state authorities?

NEW PHONE NUMBER: Our new phone number at the Green Section office. Plant Industry Station, 
Beltsville, Maryland, is TOwer 6400, extension 277.

March, 1948

Timely Turf Topics, 3