RECOVERY FROM WINTER INJURY This is the first green at The Country Club, Brookline, Mass. The top picture was made on April 24, the bottom one made on June 19, the day before the Open Championship began. (See Page 8). 0§®a S3 90m333 Published by the United States Golf Association (C) 1963 by United States Golf Association. Permission to reprint articles or material in THE USGA GREEN SECTION RECORD is granted to publishers of newspapers, periodicals and books (unless speci­ fically noted otherwise), provided credit is given USGA and copyright protection is afforded. Neither articles nor other material may be copied or used for any advertising, promotion or commercial purpose. VOL. 1, No. 3 September 1963 Winter Injury of Turfgrasses............................................... By James B. Beard 1 “Instant Scoreboard”.......................................................... By W. H. Bengeyfield 4 Golf Course Maintenance Cost Survey.................. By Charles H. Fatum, Jr. 6 A Double Victory Over Winter-Spring Injury..........................By A. M. Radko 8 Eighteen Alternate Greens.........................................................By A. M. Radko 10 Experience with Maleic Hydrazide.......................................... By Jimmy Dudley 12 Published six times a year in January, March, May, July, September and November by the UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION, 40 EAST 38th ST., NEW YORK, 16, N. Y. Subscription: $2 a year. Single copies: 30<. Subscriptions and address changes should be sent to the above address. Articles, photo­ graphs, and correspondence relevant to published material should be addressed to: United States Golf Association Green Section, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas. Second-class permit pending at Rutherford, N. J. Office of Publication: 315 Railroad Avenue, East Rutherford, N. J. Editor: Dr. Marvin H. Ferguson Managing Editor: Eddie L. Ervin, Jr. THE GREEN SECTION OF THE UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION Green Section Committee CHAIRMAN: Henry H. Russell, P.O. Box 57-697, Miami 57, Fla. DISTRICT CHAIRMEN: Northeastern: Edwin Hoyt, New Canaan, Conn., Mid-Atlantic: Martin F. McCarthy, Chevy Chase, Md. : Southeastern: El­ bert S. Jemison, Jr., Birmingham, Ala. ; Mid­ Western: Charks N. Eckstein, Chicago, Ill.; South­ western: L. A. Stemmons, Jr., Dallas, Texas: Pacific Northwest: Edward A. Dunn, Seattle, Wash.; California: Edward K. Zuckerman, Beverly Hills, Calif.; Rocky Mountain: J. W. Richardson, Magna, Utah. Green Section Agronomists and Offices EASTERN REGION Northeastern Office: 814 Raritan Ave., Highland Park, N. J. Alexander M. Radko, Director, Eastern Region Holman M. Griffin, Northeastern Agronomist Raymond E. Harman, Northeastern Agronomist Lee Record, Northeastern Agronomist Southeastern Office: P.O. Box 4213, Campus Station, Athens, Ga. James B. Moncrief, Southeastern Agronomist USGA OFFICERS AND PRESIDENT: John M. Winters, Jr., Tulsa, Okla. VICE-PRESIDENTS: Clarence W. Benedict, White Plains. N. Y. Wm. Ward Foshay, New York, N.Y. SECRETARY: Bernard H. Ridder, Jr., St. Paul, Minn. TREASURER: Hord W. Hardin, St. Louis, Mo. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE: The above officers and: Fred Brand, Jr., Pittsburgh, Pa.; William C. Campbell, Huntington, W. Va. ; Robert F. MID-CONTINENT REGION Southwestern Office: Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas Dr. Marvin H. Ferguson, Director, Mid-Continent Region and National Research Coordinator Mid-Western Office: Room 241, LaSalle Hotel, Chicago 2, Ill. James L. Holmes, Mid-Western Agronomist WESTERN REGION Western Office: P.O. Box 567, Garden Grove, Calif. William H. Bengeyfield, Director, Western Region EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Dwyer, Portland, Ore.: Edward L. Emerson, Boston, Mass. ; Edwin R. Foley, San Francisco, Calif.; Robert K. Howse, Wichita, Kans.; Eugene S. Pulliam, Indianapolis, Ind.; Henry H. Rus­ sell, Miami, Fla. ; Charles P. Stevenson, Buffalo, N. Y. : Morrison Waud, Chicago, Ill. GENERAL COUNSEL: Philip H. Strubing, Phil­ adelphia, Pa. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR: Joseph C. Dey, Jr. ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: P. J. Boatwright, Jr. USGA HEADQUARTERS: “Golf House”, 40 East 38th Street, New York 16, N. Y. Winter Injury of Turfgrasses Associated with Ice Sheets* By JAMES B. BEARD, Department of Farm Crops, Michigan State University Introduction inter injury to turfgrasses has been an extensive problem in portions of the northern United States and Canada,particularly grasses main­ tained under fairway, tee, or putting green conditions. Much has been writ­ ten regarding possible causes of this injury with practically no experi­ mental evidence to support these theo­ ries. Before effective practices can be developed to reduce winter injury, the actual cause or causes must be determined. Winterkill is a term encompassing a large number of types and causes of injury. It is used loosely to include any type of injury that occurs during the fall, winter, or spring period, in­ cluding desiccation, heaving, flooding, disease (snow mold), and direct low temperature injury. This paper will be limited to winter injury associated with ice coverings. Winterkill asso­ ciated with ice coverings is common in areas where sleet storms pre­ dominate and in poorly drained loca­ tions. Survey of Literature A review of the literature reveals only one paper which involves the study of winterkill on turfgrasses. In 1939, Carroll and Welton found that common Kentucky Bluegrass was more susceptible to winter injury when heavy, late fall nitrogen applications were made. Several individuals have published theories as to the causes of winter injury. One of the current theories is suffocation beneath ice sheets. A more recent theory is the accumula­ tion of toxic substances such as car­ bon dioxide under ice sheets. Another theory which has been suggested is the outward diffusion of water from the plant during ice incasement re­ sulting in desiccation. Types of Injury In 1962, Beard divided winter in­ jury into two major types. Type I was grass which was dead at the time of spring thaws. Type II was grass which appeared alive and healthy at the time of spring thaws but which sub­ sequently died. Type I injury kill may occur in five ways: 1. Deficient supply of oxygen under the ice sheet. The respiring plant re­ quires oxygen for maintenance of plant tissue even at extremely low temperatures. The ice sheet could im­ pair oxygen diffusion to the extent that, in time, it might become limiting. 2. Accumulation of toxic levels of carbon dioxide under the ice sheet. Carbon dioxide is a by-product of plant respiration processes. Even at below-freezing temperatures a mini­ mum respiration rate exists. Thus, it is possible, in time, for killing con­ centrations of carbon dioxide to ac­ cumulate or for some similar toxic breakdown product to accumulate. In­ jury of this type has been reported in alfalfa. 3. Severe hydration of the plant tis­ sue causing leaching of cell contents from the protoplasm. On sunshiny days light rays will pass through the ice and be absorbed by the opaque grass surface. It is possible that these absorbed light rays could heat the grass sufficiently to melt the ice sur­ rounding them. This would result in a condition in which the leaves are incased in water with a heavy ice sheet still existing around them. This condition would be favorable for se- *This article taken from Michigan Turfgrass Research Report, Spring 1963, Volume 1-Number 1. SEPTEMBER, 1963 1 vere leaching to occur, and has been observed in small grains. 4. Outward diffusion of water from leaves incased in ice. When leaves are incased in ice the relative concentra­ tions of solutes is higher outside the leaf than internally, due to water ex­ isting in the solid phase. This could result in outward diffusion in water from the leaf in an attempt to attain equilibrium. If sufficient water is re­ moved from the leaf, desiccation could occur. However, when the vapor pres­ sures of water and ice are compared it appears that at equilibrium, suf­ ficient water would not be removed to cause plant desiccation. 5. Total destruction of the proto­ plasm within the hydrated growing tissue of the plant due to severe ice formation at low temperatures. This is a mechanical injury to the brittle protoplasm caused by the formation of large ice crystals. This type of in­ jury will be less in plants that are permitted to properly harden through dehydration or reduction in water content. If plants are improperly man­ aged through over-watering, fertiliza­ tion or any process which stimulates growth in the late fall, then the chance of direct kill by low temper­ ature is much greater. Type II injury could occur in two primary ways. 6. Total destruction of cellular pro­ toplasm within the hydrated growing tissue of plants which have pre­ maturely initiated spring growth. The grass may survive the winter in ex­ cellent condition. Subsequently, the weather may turn extremely warm for three or four days, resulting in a pre­ mature loss of hardiness due to an increase in hydration within the plant. If this is followed immediately by a severe drop to below-freezing temperatures, direct low temperature injury may occur. The chance of this type injury occurring can be reduced by avoiding any practices which en­ courage premature early spring growth. 7. The mechanical injury of the low­ er crown tissue and root. The original cause of injury is destruction of the cellular protoplasm in the lower crown tissue due to ice crystal form­ ation. This in turn results in death of the root system and lower crown while the above-ground leaves and shoots appear normal. Cross-sections of the grass crown show a browning of the lower crown and roots. With the advent of spring thaws the grass plant will appear on the surface to be normal. However, warmer tempera­ tures will result in growth and trans­ piration of the above ground tissue. Plants with severely injured crowns may not be capable of producing a new root system fast enough to meet the water uptake requirements of transpiration. Under these conditions the plant will die of desiccation re­ sulting from the severe crown injury. Progress Report of Findings In the fall of 1962 studies were initi­ ated to determine the actual cause or causes of winterkill. Three species were utilized in the experiment: Com­ mon Kentucky bluegrass, Toronto creeping bentgrass, and Poa annua. All vegetative materials were allowed to harden naturally in the field. On November 26, 1962 (soil temperature 34°F.) four-inch plugs were taken for use in the experiment. The following treatments were applied: (1) flooding then freezing, (2) freezing, then ap­ plying thin ice layers, (3) freezing, then applying a snow layer followed by an ice layer, (4) placing in a sealed container and freezing, (5) balk pres­ sure freezing, (6) no treatment, and (7) submerging in water at 35°F. All treatments were held at 25°F. except for number 7. At fifteen-day intervals, replicated samples from each variety and treatment were removed from the low temperature chamber, thawed, and placed in a 70° growth chamber. The total length of the experiment was ninety days. Observations made included percent top survival, mois­ ture content of leaves, microscopic 2 USGA GREEN SECTION RECORD crown examination, and top yield. Re­ sults of this study showed that during the 90-day period, winter injury by oxygen suffocation, toxic accumula­ tions, cellular leaching, or outward water diffusion in ice were of no sig­ nificant importance. No injury oc­ curred in bentgrass, while a small de­ gree of injury was observed in Ken­ tucky bluegrass. Annual bluegrass was intermediate between the two. These results cast doubt on the im­ portance of suffocation, toxic accum­ ulations, or leaching in the winter in­ jury of these three grasses when as­ sociated with ice covers. None of these treatments produced symptoms of lower crown injury of the type which was observed in the spring of 1962 in the Detroit area. Evaluating Injury in the Field The conditions under which each of these six types of injury occur are quite different. The turf specialist must be capable of recognizing both the type of winter injury and the causal conditions. This involves ob­ servations of types of ice and snow cover; duration of coverage; time of occurrence, degree, and duration of low temperature; occurrence of water incasement in ice; and physiological condition of the grass plant at the time of low temperature occurrence. Samples of grass should be taken at key times in the winter and placed under higher growing temperatures to observe if injury has occurred. Cross­ sections of the grass crown can be taken with a knife to check for lower crown injury which will typically ap­ pear as a browning of the lower crown and root. By this means, the turfman can ascertain if and when winterkill has occurred. In time, the turfman will become experienced with the conditions under which injury occurs, as well as in what locations injury is most likely. With this knowledge proper precau­ tionary measures can be taken. Hasty evaluations regarding winterkill causes based on superficial informa­ SEPTEMBER, 1963 tion can lead to erronous conclusions. On-the-spot, detailed observations are needed to arrive at the correct causal factors. NEW SUBSCRIBERS TO THE USGA GREEN SECTION VISITING SERVICE EASTERN REGION Ala. Country Club of Tuscaloosa, Tuscaloosa Conn. Green Hills Country Club, Greenwich Oak Lane Country Club, Woodbridge Shorehaven Golf Club, South Norwalk Fla. Palma Ceia Golf & Country Club, Tampa Pinetree Country Club, Kennesaw Ga. Bainbridge Golf Club, Bainbridge Md. Blue Hill Country Club, Canton Mass. Runaway Brook Golf Club, Bolton Old Town Club, Winston-Salem N. C. N. J. Tavistock Country Club, Haddonfield N. Y. Bethlehem Management Club, Hamburg Binghamton Country Club, Johnson City Chestnut Meadows Golf Club, Lockport En-Joie Golf Course, Endicott I.B.M. Country Club, Johnson City Midvale Golf & Country Club, Penfield Twin Ponds Golf & Country Club, New York Mills Woodstock Country Club, Woodstock Pa. Montgomeryville Golf & Country Club, Shawnee Inn & Country Club, Shawnee Montgomeryville on Delaware S. C. Green Valley Country Club, Greenville Sea Pines Plantation Golf Course, Hilton Head Island Va. Oakwood Country Club, Lynchburg Pinecrest Women's Golf Ass'n., Alexandria South Wales Golf & Ranch Club, Jef- fersonton MID-CONTINENT REGION Colo. Kissing Camels Golf Course, Colorado III. Kans. Mich. Ohio Springs Valley Country Club, Denver Morris Country Club, Morris Soangetaha Country Club, Galesburg Salina Country Club, Salina Gull Lake Country Club, Kalamazoo Avalon Golf Course, Warren Kirtland Country Club, Willoughby Winding Hollow Country Club, Columbus Texas Hill Crest Country Club, Vernon Shady Valley Golf Club, Arlington Wis. Blue Mound Golf & Country Club, Wau­ watosa Butte Des Morts Golf Club, Appleton Hillmoor Golf Club, Lake Geneva WESTERN REGION Calif. El Caballero Country Club, Tarzana Garden Air Golf Association, Calimesa Merced Golf & Country Club, Merced 3 "'Instant Scoreboard” By W. H. BENGEYFIELD, Western Director, Green Section of the United States Golf Association f?Tve got ten men on this golf course: JLone called in sick this morning, another didn’t show up at all and the night irrigator just quit. Now this happens!” These were the first sputtering words of the superintendent. On the other end of the conversation was the club man­ ager—merely relaying a message: “It seems the Tournament Chairman just called and requests installation of the big scoreboard for tomorrow’s tourna­ ment.”—And so, that entire afternoon, five men from the already depleted crew labored to put the scoreboard in place. Their normal duties went un­ attended. Now this may never happen to you; but don’t count on it. “Putting up the scoreboard” is one of those traditional tasks most superintendents must face three or four times a year. It usually comes on suddenly and unexpectedly. You can count on it taking time, man­ power, and money. Clifford Everhart of Manito Golf and Country Club, Spokane, Wash., has an answer. With two men and two hours, Cliff can install an 8' x 24' board com­ plete with walkway and roof cover! That’s about as close as anyone will ever get to an “Instant Scoreboard.” Prefabrication is, of course, the an­ swer, but Cliff’s is deluxe prefabrica­ tion. First, four “sleeves” are cemented in the ground on exactly eight-foot centers. Each sleeve is three feet long and of BVk-inch pipe (threaded on one end). A 3^-inch pipe coupling is placed on the threaded end. When the score­ board is not in place, a 3y2-inch pipe plug is used as a cap for each sleeve. Sleeves must be plumb and on the same grade or elevation if you are to have a square scoreboard. The four uprights or posts for the scoreboard are made of 3-inch pipe and each is 12 feet long. Welded to each upright is a brace for the walkway. This is composed of two pieces of angle iron l/8th-inch x 2-inch x 2-inch. The first piece of angle iron is 30 inches long and welded perpendicular to the upright exactly 3 feet from its base. The second angle iron is welded exact­ ly 2 feet from the base and angled to join the perpendicular one. Thus the walkway brace is formed. The upright will slide easily into the cemented ground sleeve until the angled walk­ way brace fits tightly against the top of the sleeve. Cliff Everhart and his scoreboard. A rear view of the board. 4 USGA GREEN SECTION RECORD The board is mounted upright in this sleeve. Backs'de of scoreboard shewing post and steel plates holding weatherproof plywood. The two center uprights or posts of the scoreboard need a slight modifica­ tion for the walkway brace. Here, each brace should be made of two pieces of angle iron welded together—back to back—making a “T”. The walkway boards (2-inch x 10-inch x 8-feet plank­ ing) butt together and are bolted to the “T”. Also welded to the “front” of each upright are 1/4-inch x 6-inch x 12-inch steel plates. These are used as a facing and point of attachment for securing the plywood itself to the frame work (see diagram). The plywood used is 3/4-inch all weather material. Six ply­ wood panels (3/4-inchx4-feetx8-feet) are needed for the scoreboard. The roof or canopy plywood can be 1/4-inch and attached to suitable angle iron braces. Mr. Everhart reports the entire cost of materials for his project was less than $300.00. Used pipe is just as sat­ isfactory as new pipe and considerably less expensive. He recommends the project as a good one for rainy day work. Furthermore, we think it repre­ sents a professional approach in solv­ ing a chronic golf course management problem. SEPTEMBER, 1963 Golf Course Mainte Compiled by CHARLES H. FATl Hampshire Country ( In 1962 a survey was initiated because of the lack of available, accurate data on golf course maintenance costs, particularly in Westchester County, N. Y. In this survey, variables of any nature were eliminated if possible in an effort to achieve the greatest accuracy. Superintendents’ salaries, new equipment, construction and improvements, trees, shrubs, and flowers, and clubhouse area maintenance costs are categories which vary from year to year and from club to club. Therefore, these items were not included in the Maintenance Cost section. These categories, with the exception of Su­ perintendents’ salaries, were included in the survey, however, because this information is desirable. All the categories, with the exception of irrigation and electricity, have been totaled and an average cost for each item is listed to the right of Col- CLUB: A B C D E F G H 1962 Golf Course Maintenance Cost S Labor Cost Supplies Repairs & Parts Gas, Oil, Grease Irrigation Chemicals Fertilizer, Lime Soil, Topdressing Seed Sand For Traps Electricity $31056 2365 3403 1350 2628 1590 2200 1226 1576 1900 51 $47000 5000 — 1500 1150 2500 5100 600 600 — — $37489 1821 4090 1416 2461 2787 2101 518 985 671 661 $26044 1438 3341 819 — 1500 3000 1200 800 1545 2108 $29000 800 1900 1700 4800 1900 5600 400 800 800 — $36000 2000 3500 1400 540 4000 5400 1000 1500 450 1500 $36647 500 375 824 — 1378 3930 400 216 245 — Total $49348 $63450 $55000 $41795 $47700 $57290 $44515 New Equipment Construction Trees, Shrubs Club Grounds 10035 3000 1000 2300 7400 4841 — 11820 2998 2923 2100 1500 2236 7251 1250 4354 5600 — 1000 — 4000 2000 2500 2000 2259 — 250 — $33601 1202 3901 1479 7143 1976 2188 707 372 4&6 12q5 $543^0 5772 — 1000 6759 Total Club Acreage $16335 110 $11000 170 $22582 370 $15091 135 $ 6600 420 $10500 120 $ 2509 117 $13531 170 6 USGA GREEN SECTION RECORD enance Cost Survey kTUM, JR., Golf Course Superintendent, y Club, Mamaroneck, N. Y. umn Q in the chart. An average for irrigation and electricity costs could not be made fairly because some clubs have their own water supply or their electricity is recorded on one common club meter. This survey is based on a private course of 18 holes with all except Ridgeway Country Club having watered fairways. Winged Foot Golf Club Sleepy Hollow Country Club, and Old Oaks Country Club have more than 18 holes but their costs have been interpolated to that of a regulation 18 hole course. Fifteen of the 16 participating clubs have unionized workers. The union wages for a greensman were $1.71 per hour prior to June 1, 1962 and $1.86 per hour after June 1, 1962. Club acreage is listed at the bottom of the chart and shows great variation. Survey for Westchester County, N. Il . J K L M N O P Q Average DI D2 DI 79 13 76 38 D7 72 ¥ i? 72 — DO 59 31 70 $39404 1821 2189 1672 2540 1340 3554 1072 950 830 462 $43005 200 3000 2500 7546 1000 4000 800 500 500 1275 $32964 — 5419 1318 5221 1869 2874 716 1468 464 466 $38490 5030 933 1339 3850 1800 3700 500 800 550 — $41000 3842 4000 2555 120 2673 3782 900 600 600 1726 $35709 775 2805 1725 1200 2484 3048 1750 500 507 — $45000 350 1600 2000 4000 2000 5000 1000 1500 400 — $35000 500 2500 2200 — 3200 5800 1600 585 — $36714 1843 2864 1612 — 2125 3830 853 923 702 — $55834 $64326 $52779 $56992 $61798 $50503 $62850 $51385 $51466 7277 3282 600 5154 4000 — — 1720 8519 5626 139 — 5900 — 3000 3000 3700 — 2700 5200 3649 10749 3600 3640 2000 2000 2500 5000 9243 23000 2300 4000 5402 7636 1796 3657 $16313 135 $ 5720 165 $14284 120 $11900 150 $11600 270 $21638 120 $11500 176 $38543 150 $18491 — SEPTEMBER, 1963 7 A Double Victory Over Winter-Spring Injury By A. M. RADKO, Eastern Director, Green Section of the United States Golf Association There was a time when the arrival of winter signalled relief from further worry about the condition of the golf course until spring of the following year, but things change constantly and the golf course is no exception. In the dynamic field of turf­ grass management, static perfection is not possible and turf managers now fear winter-spring problems as much or more than summer problems. In the northernmost areas, superinten­ dents are becoming more apprehensive about winter injury because of its suddenness, its finality, and the lack of any sure-fire defense against weather- wrought injury. The winter-spring season of 1963 was one that scared the wits out of many a seasoned superintendent. None have really gotten over it yet; in fact, most will be working for several years to recoup the permanent turfgrass losses of the past winter season. Most courses have been seriously afflicted with permanent turf loss, serious weed invasion, disease, insect, and wilt prob­ lems as a result of uncooperative weather. The article on winter-spring injury which appeared in the July issue of the USGA GREEN SECTION RECORD detailed observations and findings of the staff members of the Eastern Region Green Section Office. This article deals mainly with the program initiated by two outstanding superintendents entertaining major tournaments who found themselves faced with heartbreaking turf restor­ ation problems. Superintendent Doug Rankin of the Westchester Country Club, Rye, N. Y., had the Thunderbird Classic to contend with, and Superin­ tendent John Realty of The Country Club, Brookline, Mass., was preparing 8 for the USGA Open Championship. Each course was in superb condition as the ’62 season closed. When the ice disappeared in 1963 not a green was left totally unaffected and several ap­ peared to be dead. The top picture on the front cover shows the extent of injury to the approach and green area on No. 1 hole at The Country Club. The bottom one was taken on the final day of practice for Open Champion­ ship competitors, and shows the almost unbelievable progress made in seven weeks against the worst spring weath­ er odds ever encountered in the North­ eastern Region. There was no artificial coloring or dye on this green at the time this photo was taken. Some greens were dyed later that evening to erase marks of vandalism and to reduce the sharp contrast in greens on newly seeded areas. Weather conditions were extremely unfavorable. Snow fell in upper Mass­ achusetts during the first week of May; USGA Green Section staff mem­ bers wore winter overcoats during each early May visit ... the weather hovered around the freezing point ... high winds blew incessantly, and a record­ breaking drought was begun. If we could have listed all the factors that we felt most seriously hamper recovery, the three mentioned would have headed the list. Everyone who saw either course first in spring and again in June agreed that a miraculous recovery was made. Mr. Rankin and Mr. Realty accomplished nearly impossible tasks against staggering odds. Although we of the Green Section staff were in close contact with each superintendent at all times, we constantly heard rumors that each course had embarked upon a complete re-sodding program for all USGA GREEN SECTION RECORD greens. To set the record straight, NOT ONE SQUARE FOOT OF SOD WAS LAID ON EITHER COURSE PRIOR TO THE Championship date. The successful formula used in each case was as follows: All greens were topdressed with sterilized soil at the rate of approxi­ mately IV2 cubic yards per 5,000 square feet. Organic nitrogen fertilizers were applied, too. Each of these treatments was designed to attract warmth to greens from the sun in the hope of promoting a more desirable climatic soil environment for grass growth. Our observation this year was that the top­ dressing soil seemed to be more bene­ ficial than the organic nitrogen for early growth; the spring was too cold for nitrogen breakdown. Later the or­ ganic nitrogen helped. Then every type of cultivation tool available for greens (without plowing them under) was used to establish a seed bed in the seemingly dead turf. The plan was to introduce new seed while attempting to encourage as much recovery of the old injured turf as was possible. Aeration tools, spikers, and vertical mowers were brought into action at both courses, and additionally Mr. Realty used a thatching machine. After greens were worked over with each of the tools mentioned, and doing as thorough a job as was permissible without tearing the turf out entirely, greens were seeded to a mixture of Seaside bent and redtop (equal parts). Aeration tools were used one to three times over the greens area depending on the type of machine used. Spikers made four to six passes over each green prior to seeding. Each time a pass was made over the green with any cultivating tool, the direction of travel was different from the last. After each such operation, the green almost looked as though it had been plowed. Greens then received 3 pounds of superphosphate (0-20-0) per 1,000 square feet, a nutrient element which encourages rooting of seedling plants. They were then fertilized with a “complete” fertilizer and topdressed with soil several times thereafter in the attempt to promote and sustain life during the desperate but delicate battle for survival - when every little seedling plant that survived added immensely to the hope and prospect for good turf cover. Greens were then syringed four to five times daily, including week ends. Unfortunately grass knows no holidays, and so can wilt and die just as fast on Saturday or Sunday as on any week­ day. Capriciously, Mother Nature seemed determined to retard progress and did not take any holidays herself. Every ten to fourteen days, greens were spiked or thatched and reseeded. In using the thatching machine, Mr. Realty’s technique was to set it shallow (y2 inch or so) so that the discs merely slit through the thatched turf. Using this technique, the weak sod was not uprooted, and enough soil was exposed so that seed was able to make good contact with the soil. The use of any cultivation equipment when turf is weak and roots are shallow is a very touchy operation. If set too deep at such times, the turf is uprooted and the surface is marred almost beyond repair. It then becomes an additional problem to piece uprooted clods of the turf to­ gether like a jig-saw puzzle. After the seedling grasses emerged, there was the barest minimum time left to encourage some growth. Still the weather through early June was most uncooperative and soils remained cold, and the only chance remaining was to apply minute quantities of soluble fertilizer in solution so that grasses would absorb nutrients through the leaves and make some top growth. Soils were too cold to have the roots take up nutrients as quickly and efficiently as they would in a normal May-June period. Yet there was some apprehen­ sion as seedling plants were extremely young and tender, and it was feared that even the slightest excess of nu­ trients applied might burn the turf or possibly incite “damping off”. The rates of liquid feeding on normal healthy turf must never exceed the rate SEPTEMBER, 1963 9 of 14 lb. nitrogen per 1,000 sq. ft. The rate of application decided upon for the seedling grasses was 1/16 lb. nitrogen per 1,000 sq. ft., which is somewhat comparable to “eye-dropper” feeding. Two applications were applied at weekly intervals just prior to each tournament. The turf seemed to respond just in time for each contest. During visits to the many courses affected by winter-spring injury, the question was often asked, “How about sodding greens?” Most turf specialists do not object seriously to the sodding of greens; in fact, some of them en­ courage it because replacing the brown turf with some green turf makes sense to them. However, the Green Section’s Northeastern staff members have always opposed sodding except as a last resort, because it usually takes the remainder of the season to bring sodded greens around to be fairly good putting surfaces. It is extremely difficult to sod smoothly and to keep sod level and true in cupping areas when heavy play is immediately imposed. We have known it to be successfully done, but this has been the exception, not the rule. Not one square foot of sod was used at Westchester Country Club or at The Country Club, and each was as sever­ ely injured as any we had inspected. In fact, as fate would have it, they were more seriously injured than most clubs visited, when it meant so much to them to come out of the winter relatively trouble-free. Going into the winter, each course was in superb condition, and a normal winter-spring season would have kept the turf in superb condition. Until we can do something about weather, winter-spring injury is one of the more serious hazards we face in the management of golf turf in the Northern areas. Eighteen Alternate Greens By A. M. RADKO, Eastern Director, Green Section of the United States Golf Association The increased use of the golf course makes maintenance more diffi­ cult, costly, and time-consuming. Since labor is the major budget item, idle time is costly time lost. Maintaining a course “in between foursomes” not only adds to the total cost but also reflects in over-all maintenance. Re­ quired work on greens is the most time­ consuming and costly item. Greens re­ quire more care than other parts of the course. More interruption to work takes place on greens also because this is the focal point of all play on each hole as half the game of par golf is played on greens. When golfers tee off from early morn and play until sunset, re­ quired major tasks are often deferred or left undone. Maintenance then be­ comes geared to play, and not to the best interests of turf itself. The Belle Haven Country Club in Arlington, Va., was faced with this very problem—more and more play, and less and less time to maintain, let alone do anything to improve the turf. At that time, Jack Wilson, Chairman of the Green Committee; George Campbell, Superintendent, and John Howard, Club President, got together to see if they could do anything about it. Their decision was to build small greens in close proximity to every one of the regular greens on the course. The small greens measure 300 to 400 sq. ft. in size so they are not a real costly item to manage. (See Photo 1) They are mowed and treated like the regular greens, except for irrigation. They are watered infrequently but deeply, as most would like to water regular greens. Each alternate green is only slightly elevated. Mr. Campbell used only one load of topsoil to build them. He graded each so as to provide surface drainage and they contain no contours. Each green is level or as nearly so as possible except for a slight pitch to the front. The alternate greens are used for 10 USGA GREEN SECTION RECORD Photo 1. George Campbell stands on alternate No. J1 green. It is seven clubs wide and approximately the same length. Photo 2. The regular No. 11 green is in the fore­ ground while Mr. Campbell stands on the alter­ nate; note the relative sizes. winter play, or when regular greens are closed because of inclement weather (thundershowers or thawing of the soil or overly wet soil or frozen turf, etc.), or when regular greens are being aerated, topdressed, seeded or under­ going some other major treatment. Mr. Campbell normally aerates three regular greens in one day and so he will take these three out of play and place the pin on the alternate greens. Everyone plays them so the course will be the same test for all, 15 regular and 3 alternate greens. The regular and the alternate greens for the eleventh hole are shown in Photo 2, indicating their relative sizes. These alternate greens provide excellent putting surfaces and members don’t complain, possibly be­ cause they can try their putting skill as they do on regular greens. Public Course Interest Heavily played county municipal courses also have been experimenting with the alternate green system. Su­ perintendent Ken Morrison and Su­ perintendent Ed Brittain of the Union County courses, and Jerry DeRosa and Superintendent Harold Loescher of the Passaic County Course in New Jersey are experimenting with a few alter­ SEPTEMBER, 1963 nate greens. Because of extremely heavy play during the entire year, it appears that the alternate green sys­ tem has considerable merit for them. They, however, build their alternates closer to 1,500 sq. ft. due to the ex­ tremely heavy play on their courses. If accepted by their players, they hope to provide a few more each year until there is one regular and one alter­ nate green for each hole. COMING EVENTS September 25-27 Northwest Turfgrass Conference Thunderbird Motel Portland, Oregon September 30-October 1 Annual Rocky Mountain Regional Turfgrass Conference Colorado State University Campus Fort Collins, Colorado October 16-18 Central Plains Turfgrass Conference Kansas State University Manhattan, Kansas November 18-22 American Society of Agronomy Annual Meeting Denver, Colorado December 2-4 Oklahoma Turfgrass Conference Oklahoma State University Stillwater, Oklahoma December 9-11 Turfgrass Conference Texas A&M University College Station, Texas 11 Experience with Maleic Hydrazide By JIMMY DUDLEY, Athens, Go.; Member USGA Green Section Committee Maleic hydrazide (MH-30) has shown much promise as a growth retardant. It effectively reduces the competition offered by bermudagrass when the turf is sprayed one week before overseeding with cool season grasses. Reduction of the Poa annua population has been noticed in asso­ ciation with certain seeding dates. Procedures followed at the Athens Country Club: 1. Aerate and vertical mow 3 to 4 weeks before you plan to overseed. 2. Allow the grass to recover to normal putting condition and spray with 1/2 to 3/4 ounce actual material per 1000 square feet in a minimum of 2 gallons of water per 1000 square feet. It would be best to spray in the morning while it is still cool. The fol­ lowing morning, the amount of clip­ pings will be reduced greatly and about the third morning, you should receive very little, if any, clippings. 3. Drench the greens with fungi­ cide. 4. Overseed the greens and work the seed thoroughly into the bermuda­ grass turf. 5. Topdress lightly. 6. Continue with normal practice for getting your overseeding estab­ lished, such as keeping the seed moist­ ened so sprouting takes place faster. This may call for 4 to 5 syringings and weekly use of fungicides to pre­ vent loss of seedlings from damping off diseases. Also, the use of phos­ phate and potash before overseeding will aid the small seedlings. Toxicity has been experienced if the overseeding follows the spraying date too closely. The Athens Country Club has always practiced overseeding a week after spraying and has not ex­ perienced a loss of seedlings. It would be advisable that anyone planning to use this method try a small area or one or two greens a year before spray­ ing all greens. The greens will become fast after spraying, but as soon as the over­ seeded grasses begin to grow the put­ ting surface becomes slower. The ber- muda is not very active for 3 to 4 weeks, which gives sufficient time for the cool season grasses to become es­ tablished. Even distribution of the chemical is very necessary, and if you do not have this a portion of the ber- muda will grow and could crowd out the overseeding. Overdoses may cause loss of grass. This past year, the winter greens were the best the Athens Country Club has had. The question has been raised whether MH-30 was a factor in our winterkill. The following facts are established for consideration: 1. Winterkill was general through­ out the south as observed by Green Section personnel, regardless of the use of MH-30. 2. Our winterkill was serious on only 4 greens. All of these have less than 4,000 square feet. Traffic was the heaviest for winter play on record. 3. No loss was observed on collars and fringes which were sprayed at the same rate as the putting surface. It is felt this was influenced by height of cut and traffic. The plans are to use MH-30 before overseeding on September 25, 1963. CHEESMAN JOINS STAFF Jerry H. Cheesman will join the USGA Green Section staff at College Station, Texas, on October 1. Mr. Cheesman holds a B.S. Degree from Colorado State University and is com­ pleting his M.S. studies at Iowa State University. He has been the recipient of scholarships provided by the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America. 12 USGA GREEN SECTION RECORD Turf Lost in Upper South By JAMES B. MONCRIEF, Southeastern Agronomist, Green Section of the United States Golf Association The year of 1962-63 will long be remembered in the Upper South. There has been more bermuda lost in this area during the last year than at any one time during the past 50 years, according to the old-timers. The Upper South is an area where many courses have bent and bermuda. Trouble may often be expected with either one on the greens. You can have trouble in the summer with bent and a miserable transition period with bermuda in the spring. The area sur­ rounds and lies north of Birmingham, Ala., Atlanta, Ga., Greenville, S.C., and Charlotte, N.C. Most bermuda greens were handled in the same order, that is by aerating, vertical mowing, and overseeding. In many cases, the bermuda made a part­ ial recovery from the severe removal of thatch before the early deep freeze of -3°F in Atlanta. The ryegrass in most cases was lost at this time, but those courses that had good stands of Poa trivialis, Penn- lawn fescue and bent rye came through the overseeding very well. In except­ ional cases, ryegrass survived. In March, there was a suspicion of the loss of bermuda by many super­ intendents. In April, there was no doubt. The black, limp rhizomes and stems and soft nodes were the key symptoms of dead bermuda. Greens that slope to the south and southeast in most cases made faster recovery than greens sloped north. In some cases, regardless of the slope, the bermuda was lost. One of the most noticeable effects on greens is the traffic pattern. The areas where the pin settings have been used most often are invariably the areas where bermuda was lost. Also, where trees partially shade the greens, bermuda was lost or SEPTEMBER, 1963 was very slow in making re-growth. If there was appreciable traffic on the shady areas, the bermuda was dead. This was one winter where large greens with plenty of cupping space paid off. The scattering of the traffic and good drainage were key factors. Aerators and disk spikers have been valuable equipment. The aerators aided the deeper rhizomes and underground stems to come through faster while the disk spiker helped the shallow rhizomes and stems. TURF MANAGEMENT COURSE A cooperative agreement has re­ cently been worked out between the Southern California Golf Course Superintendents Association, the Pub­ lic Links Golf Association of Southern California, The Southern California Golf Association, and Mt. San Antonio College to train course superinten­ dents. This will be a two-year program. Students who qualify will be placed on various golf courses during the summer as trainees. Summer employ­ ment will be primarily for experience but will be paid work. At the successful conclusion of the program students who qualify will be placed on courses as assistant super­ intendent trainees until such time as they find regular employment or are terminated for some reason. The program will go into effect in the fall of 1964 but students may start taking courses in preparation for the program. Interested students should contact: G.A. Sherman, Dean of Agriculture, Mt. San Antonio College, 1100 North Grand Avenue, Walnut, California. 13 USGA GREEN SECTION RECORD 40 East 38th Street, New York 16, N. Y TURF TWISTERS Question: What is your recommendation for a mowing height on bermudagrass fairways? Answer: We believe that bermudagrass should be cut short. One- half to three-fourths inch is desirable. There are circumstances which might cause this recommenda­ tion to be changed. Rough ground underlying fairway turf may cause scalping. Thus the mower may have to be raised to get away from this condition. It is also true that close mowing and frequent mowing go to­ gether. If you find it impossible to mow as much as three times a week, then it may be necessary to mow a little higher. You may also have to alter irrigation and fertilization practices so that not too great a proportion of the turf’s leaf surface is removed at one time. Question: Our Conference Planning Committee would like to have an agronomist from the USGA Green Section discuss putting green maintenance. Do you also have a Fairway Section from which we could get a man to talk about fairway maintenance? Answer: Our Green Section agronomists will be capable of discussing both subjects. The Green Section of the United States Golf Associa­ tion is concerned with the entire golf course. The name comes from the fact that the entire playing area of the golf course is “the green.” According to Definition 34 in The Rules Of Golf, “through the green” is the whole area of the course except: a. Teeing ground and putting green of the hole being played; b. All hazards on the course. Question: We have not been able to control sod webworms with chlordane. It was applied at the rate of 5 pounds per acre and watered in. Are the webworms becoming resistant? Answer: It is possible that the sod webworms are becoming resistant to chlordane. However, it is much more likely that they escaped its effect because of their habits and your method of application. Webworms live in tunnels constructed of a silk-like material and it is almost impossible to get insecticide materials in contact with the worm while he is in his burrow. He comes up at night, however, and feeds on the surface of the turf. We have found that worms can be controlled quite effectively by a light application of insecticide in late afternoon, provided the material is left on the foliage overnight. Because of his feeding habits, he comes in con­ tact with the insecticide and if he feeds, he may ingest some of it. When insecticides are used in this way, very light rates are ef­ fective. One pound per acre of chlordane, or like amounts of toxa­ phene, dieldrin, malathion, aldrin, heptachlor, or other similar ma­ terial is sufficient.