SUMMARY OF PROCEEDINGS
ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF THE
MID-ATLANTIC ASSOCIATION OF GOLF COURSE SUPERINTENDENTS

Under the Auspices
of the
Extension Service
University of liferyland

Lord Baltimore Hotel
Baltiinore, Maryland
January 6 and 7, 1964

INDEX
The Conference Opens
page
Bermuda Grass for the Mid-Atlantic Area - A. M. Radko
1
Winterkill on Bermuda Grasses - Holman M. Griffin
3
Bermuda on our Course - Ho?; it Survived the Winter - Frank J. Haske
4
Bermuda at the Woodmont Country Club - L. R. Shields
6
Soils and Their Relationship to Better Grasses - J. F. Shoulders
7
Fertilizers and Soils - Their Relationships - Dr. James R. Miller
11
Fungicides for Better Turf - Robert T. Miller
12
The Club Manager, The Pro, and the Golf Course Superintendent Their Relationship to Each Other - Thos. A, Doerer^ pg. 14 « Jacques Aimi 28
The Day's Topics - Dr. Fred V. Grau
"
"
16
Labor Management Relationship - James E. Thomas
17
Turf Research at Beltsville - Felix V. Juslca
19
Golf Course Maintenance and Traffic Problems - Lee C. Dieter
21
23
Considerations in the Landscaping of Golf Courses - Carl N. Johnson
Hov; to Buy Seed - Joseph L. Newcomer
24
Our Public Relations - Dr. Edward X.7. Aiton
27
SUMMARY OF PROCEEDINGS
The annual conference of the Md-Atlantic Association of Golf Course
Superintendents with 143 in attendance was called to order by Dr. George S.
Langford, State Entomologist, University of Maryland, College Park, Md. This
was followed by an address of Welcome by Dean Gordon M. Cairns of the University,
and the Presidential Message of James E. Thomas, President of the Association.
The first day was climaxed with a social hour and an evening banquet.
Speakers at the banquet were: Dr. Wilson H. Elkins, President of the University
of dryland, and Roy W. Nelson, President, Golf Course Superintendents Association
of America. Sponsoring the social hour were F. W. Bolgiano and Company, Washingto n , D. C., G. L. Cornell Company, Bethesda; Custin's Baltimore Toro, Inc.,
Baltimore and National Capital Toro, Inc., Silver Spring, Maryland.
Aside from the talks mentioned, and the summaries of the addresses indexed,
was a closing discussion on MLd-west Methods with information about some of the
activities of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, by
Roy 17. Nelson, President of the Association.
The program committee consisted of Sheldon R. Betterly, Frank J. Haske,
George S. Langford and Thomas A. Doerer, Jr., Chairman.

PROS AND CONS FOR BERIvUDAGRASS IN THE MD-ATIANTIC REGION
A. M. Radko
Eastern Director, USGA Green Section
Changes take place slowly in turfgrass management and the use of Bermudagrass
in the Mid-Atlantic area is a good case in point. Question of its use has been debated for some time and certainly it will be debated for some time to come. Early
usage was limited to seeded varieties, but it was not until some of the finer bladed
strains were found to be winter hardy that Bermudagrass gained in popularity. U-3
became the most widely used strain, while coarser-bladed common types also found limited usage. Later other select strains followed. Year after year more and more golf
course superintendents converted their programs to include more and more Bermudagrass
for fairway and tee turf. A few began "all-out" propagation on the basis of excellent
year to year performance...until 1963.when for the first time significant winterkill
occurred. The debate looms even larger now. This is why this grass has been a topic
of controversy these many years — what are its strong ... and what are its weak
points for use in tJie Mid-Atlantic area.
IVoak Points
(1) Poor cool-season color ... in normal year Bermudagrass is dormant from
approximately October 15 through April 15 ... though play is possible and good lies
are afforded, the turf looks poor in comparison with the vibrant green color of the
cool-season grasses in spring and fall.
(2) The golf season is stretching each year and heavy play on dormant Bermudagrass weakens or even kills the Bermuda in areas of heavy traffic. V/eeds encroach or
take over...Poa annua especially...and offers severe competition to the Bermudagrasses
in certain years.
(3) Bermudagrass encroachment into green, traps, flower beds, etc., is always
an unpleasant possibility.
(4) Finer bladed Bermuda strains grow so dense and tight that it becomes difficult to introduce cool-season grasses into them.
(5) It is not easy to convert cool-season turf to Bermudagrass on unwatered
fairways. Normally summers are dry and soils become extremely hard. Summer planting
requires irrigation to insure rooting of the Bermudagrass, and to keep it growing.
(6) Management during the conversion period is touchy ... you want the
conversion to take place gradually.
(7) Extra labor is required to propagate Bermudagrass vegetatively. Normal
maintenance must go on uninterrupted during the establishment period. Not all
^lubs are v/illing to purchase a planting machine for this task.
(8) Bermudagrass is a heavy nitrogen feeder, and
maintenance is required.

an accelerated program of

(9) Bermudagrass forms a thatchy turf, and this is always a possibility in the
Mid-Atlantic though to date thatch formation has not been the severe problem it has
been further South.
(10) Fine Bermudagrass strains for fairways are reportedly hard on the wrists
of some golfers.

(11) Berraudgrasss must be cut close frequently for best performance. When it
is cut close more winter weeds encroach though not severe/ they are pesky.
(12) The fire hazard question always comes up and is a more psychological
rather than a real disadvantage. V/e have not found it to be a problem in this area.
(13) Bermudagrass will not stand wet feet.
(14) Bermudagrass will not tolerate conditions of shade.
(15) YJinterlri.ll of even the hardiest strains will always be a question in the
minds of many since the 1963 season was such a tough one on Bermudagrass.
Strong Points
(1) Bermudagrass provides excellent turf for golf during the summer and most
of the golfing season.
(2) Bermudagrass competes favorably and crowds-out crabgrass and other serious
summer weeds.
(3) Bermudagrass takes traffic better than cool-season turf during the summer
months. A stronger factor with the increasing use of electric, gas and hand carts.
(4) Bermudagrass vail persist on banks, mounds, on steep slopes v/here other
grasses normally would not do well.
(5) Bermudagrass will provide better cover on small tees than cool-season grass
(6) Bermudagrass can be mowed without injury as close as terrain permits.
(7) Bermudagrass will grow under a variety of soil conditions...in sand, clay
or silt...though it will spread fastest in sand.
(8) Once established a good yearly increase can be expected under normal
conditions.
(9) Bermudagrass is highly resistant to herbicides...and so can be sprayed
when noxious weeds are present without fear of weakening the Bermuda.
(10) Once a turf is established, Bermudagrass does not require irrigation
in the Fid-Atlantic area. It is highly drought tolerant.
(11) Bermudagrass is seldom troubled by disease in the Mid-<Atlantic area.
(12) With a good Bermudagrass base, cool-season grasses can be introduced to
provide a combination turf.

WINTERKILL ON BERMUDA GRASSES
Holman M. Griffin
Northeastern Agronomist, USGA Green Section
The most winterhardy of the Bermudas yet released and the one most commonly
used at present is U-3. Since 1938, U-3 Bermudagrass has found increasing favor
and has been used more and more in the Mid-Atlantic as a tee and fairway grass, U-3
is adapted to the northern Bermudagrass region where it is normally too cold for
common Bermuda and also to the southern bentgrass-bluegrass-fescue region where it
is too warm for the cool season grasses in summer. Climatic factors gave Bermudagrass a big setback this year all through the eastern United States but U-3 still
remains a good answer for what to grow in the transition zone where it is difficult
to grow any type of grass0
There is no reason to suspect that cold weather alone killed the Bermudagrass
this year since U-3 has survived freezing tests to 28° below zero. Also hothouse
tests were made by individual superintendents which proved the grass was still
alive after the worst of this winter had passed. More likely, what happened was
that the spring temperatures were just high enough to break dormancy and not high
enough to produce growth and the roots and rhizomes rotted in the ground. Normally
U-3 begins to grov/ at 50° F, and will continue to grow at even cooler night time
temperatures if the next day*s temperatures are 70° or above.
Bermudagrass also has a tendency to brown off and become dormant when the photo
period or intensity of daylight is decreased and little if any food is manufactured
by the plant under these conditions.
Should the grass experience some cloudy days along with a lack of moisture and
extended periods of temperature between 45° and 55° F. in the early spring when it
is trying to initiate growth, I feel it is very damaging and these were precisely
the conditions which prevailed over much of the country this spring.
Of course these were not the only damaging factors as I will try to show later
with slides. Traffic was also to be* considered as a major factor contributing to
the winterkill of Bermudagrass through compaction of the soil and exclusion of soil
air and moisture.
Other important factors discussed at the Rutgers Field Day v/ere height of cut
and fertility level. The fact that too much nitrogen can cause damage in cold
weather has been known for some time. If the plants go into the winter in a lush
condition, the cells are much more easily damaged by ice formation.
We cannot tell exactly how height of cut influences winter hardiness, but it
was noticed that the higher cut grasses survived much better. This was all brought
home by the fact that the fringes of the Rutgers1 test plots and many golf course
roughs which v/ere higher in cut and lower in fertility survived the v/inter much
better.
Although Bermudagrass has been grown in the Mid-Atlantic for the past 25 years
there is still relatively little positive knowledge about its management and
certainly not enough to bring us through a year such as the one just past. We can
only hope that the next 25 years will bring us some improved Bermuda strains and
some technical answers so badly needed.

BERMUDA ON OUR COURSE - HOW IT SURVIVED WINTER KILL
J. Frank. Haske, Superintendent
Washingtonian Country Club, Gaithersburg, Mi.
This could be the shortest talk of the Conference by saying it dicta* t. But
this wouldnH be fair to Bob Shields who follows me as he would have to talk for an
hour. It certainly is a pleasure to be back on the program again and especially to
talk about Bermuda grass at our course. Only this time under different circumstances.
Last January I spoke on how we managed U-3* This past season I wish we had had it.
So, in the next few minutes, I would like to share my experience and observations
with you and try to determine what may have been the real cause of heavy loss of U-3«
As a fair estimate I would say our losses exceeded 60% on cur fairways and 80%
on our tees. Our loss followed no particular pattern, which seems rather unusual.
As a matter of fact we had any combination you could some up with. High and low
areas, northern and southern exposures, there was no difference. One area that came
back reasonably well was our 16th fairway. Our loss here was about 50% though we
were protected on the entire north side by heavy trees. Our 3rd fairway faces north
and it is wide open to the winds. This fairway came in about the time as No. 16 and
the kill was about tie same. This particular fairway I would have given up as a
total loss. Another example - our 6th tee was one of the finest we had as far as
coverage. It is elevated at least 30f above the fairway running north and south.
Our loss on this tee was about 20% v/here our fairway 301 lower was a complete loss.
Here again there was no consistent pattern. I would have thought the tee would have
gone first due to its location. It is quite obvious that Mr. Winter Kill plays no
favorites in any particular location. Some of our best fairy/ays v/here coverage was
excellent and facing south were hit as badly as those facing any other direction.
I am sure none of us need to be reminded of the winter we experienced last year.
I think we can truly say that this was the worst we have witnessed in 25 years or
better. Not only were the Bermuda*s affected, but other species of grass, deciduous
trees, evergreens and a variety of plants and shrubs were raped out. Our course was
no exception. I can recall on numerous occasions when the temperatures were -8°
as v/e 11 as one period of 28 days or better that it never exceeded 30°, By normal
standards, it really doesn!t get this cold until after January but last year it
started early in mid-November. Our fairways and tees were frozen to a depth of 18".
I know because we tried to plant some trees in March. Then you must remember how
warm it got in March for a brief spell, then it turned real cold up until April.
Under these circumstances, how could we expect anything short of a miracle that any
of the U<~3 would survive.
As the weather started to break v/e began our vigil.. .April, May, June and still
no sign of Bermuda. By this time panic set in and we had to make a quick move in
order to have something to show the members - who v/ere beginning to press us. The
case of the missing Bermuda became the topic of the day at the Club...and I v/as running out of ansv/ers. At this point I began to wish I had tee to green carpeting,
which Mr. Eig had once suggested in concern over the cost of growing grass. I
would have welcomed crab grass]
So without delay v/e proceeded with our program to overseed the fairways and tees
with Arizona Hulled Bermuda. In preparation, v/e started thatching just as deep as we
could v/ith tv/o Roger's Aero Blades. We literally removed tons of dead material. By
running two machines v/e v/ere able to complete the job in one week. Much to my amazement the fairways looked much better after removing the thatch though we had very
little grass left. As soon as the fairv/ays v/ere swept clean, v/e began seeding at the
rate of 60 lbs. per acre v/ith a Brillion seeder. V/e watered day and night until v/e
v/ere assured of a catch, which took several weeks. And, incidentally, this is v/here
a fairway system really comes into play. Without it v/e would have been dead.

Our first application of fertilizer was made in late June. We used a 16-8-8 at
the rate of 500 # per acre. In July we used 100 # Nu Green per acre and in August v/e
followed up v/ith the same application as we made in June. Our tees were fertilized
every two weeks from June thru August. Though they received their usual amount I know
we fell short on the fairways compared to what we have applied in the past. After v/e
got a reasonably good stand v/ith the Arizona I felt what we applied was adequate.
This coming season v/e are planning to increase our quantities considerably.
During August and September v/e thatched the fairv/ays and tees and swept them
immediately. I v/hole heartedly recommend this operation for those who have Bermuda.
I feel it not only stimulates the growth but aids in its overall general appearance.
By mid-July some sign of the U-3 began to appear. It came in in splotchy pat^
terns throughout the course. At this point v/e v/ere most happy that we had seeded the
Arizona when we did because v/e were beginning to get coverage and the pressures from
the membership were easing considerably. As we scanned the fairv/ays, tees and roughs
to see what v/e had going for us, v/e observed that v/here the U-3 was cut at 2ff or
better v/e had no appreciable loss. Berms of the tees and roughs came in v/ith exceptional vigor, but where v/e maintained our close mowing it v/as evident at this time
that we had severe kill. We had to maintain a regular mowing schedule up through
late October because of our Washingtonian Invitational. This year the tourney v/as set
up in September so after October 1st, we let the fairways grow. We are anxious to
see what effect this v/ill have on the survival of the Bermuda. I believe there may
be some merit to this if you can get away v/ith it. I also observed that v/here we
built additional tees, the Bermuda came back 100$. I used at least 30 - 40 tors of
?harp sand in a 3000 1 tee area. Can it be that we must consider using more sand during construction? This has given me something to think about because generally our
soils are extremely heavy. On any future renovation or construction of tees, I v/ill
continue to use high amounts of sand because I think this might be a key to holding
DUT Bermudas.
As if the severe freeze and cold weather v/ere not enough, v/e v/ere also faced
•/ith another climatic disaster. I refer of course to the drought. From May to October v/e had only 20.75" of moisture. Over 12tT of this came v/ith tv/o intense storms
i.nd we lost most of it with runoff. We cannot say these stcrms were a total loss,
it least they kept our ponds full and assured us of adequate v/ater for the season.
We hope the U-3 that came back made some progress. Ify chairman and the membership are still enthusiastic about it. So, as it stands now, v/e are willing to give
.t another try and start replanting as soon as v/e have something to plant. This past
eason we didnH take the time to plant the first sprig because v/e just didn*t have
my. When v/e did, it v/as getting too late and we thought it best to postpone it until
his year. V/e feel v/e are due a v/inter like this every so often, but because we got
lobbered once, we are not ready to throw in the tov/el. We feel the U-3 is a good,
ardy Bermuda and I know personally that it has survived well in this area since 1948.
)f course, if these problems should persist year after year, then v/e would have to
onsider making a change. So, to summarize our situation, I feel that the actual loss
)f our U-3 Bermuda v/as caused by a combination of several unusual conditions, such as;
The extended cold spell v/hich started early in November and continued until April,
Sub-freezing temperatures and the deep frost line.
Lack of moisture due to the drought in the summer and fall.
Soils too heavy - not enough sand in our tees.
Mowing too close too late in the season.
Fertilizing too late in the season.
Nov/ v/hat precautions could v/e have taken that were overlooked? Could v/e have
voided the v/inter kill? Would this have been one of those instances v/here over-aeed-

ing with rye would have been a help? We would have at least had coverage in the
spring. As you know, over-seeding with Rye has not been too popular in this area because it tends to hold back the progress of the Bermuda. It seems to me our hands
were tied - it was a killing winter and let*s hope we don*t have another like it.
Experience is after all I guess, the best teacher. What text book would have imagined the set of circumstances that brought about our dilemma? We have learned that
some precautions may be taken, but what mother nature can get us into is just part
of the business of being a golf course superintendent. And how you rise above it is
in part ingenuity, part luck and hope that the good Lord is with you.
BERMUDA GRASS AT WOODMONT
L. R. Shields, Superintendent
Woodmont Country Club, Rockville, Maryland
The weather caused considerable damage to U-3 Bermuda grass at Woodmont during
the winter of 1962-63. There was damage on high ground and low ground, on northern
and southern exposures and on protected areas as well as on exposed areas. The most
severe damage occurred on low wet areas (proving again that Bermuda grass does not
like wet feet) and on areas shaded by trees on the south. The least amount of damage
was on high ground that sloped to the south and was exposed to the sun.
One notable fact v/as that there was no loss of turf in any of our three U-3 nurseries although they are exposed to the same management practices such as mowing, fertilizing and aerating. They do not receive artificial irrigation, as do regular fairways, and are not subject to player traffic.
We have had U-3 growing on several tees for over 15 years and had never experienced v/inter kill until 1962,ft?anytimes during this 15 years the temperature has
dropped as low cr lower than it did in 1962, so we believe other factors v/ere involved. One was the unusually warm spring which shot the temperatures to over 90° in
April and stayed there for several days, then dropped down to below freezing again.
Perhaps the grass started to grow and was caught by the late freeze. Another factor
could have been the open winter with high wind and not much snow cover.
To counter the damage done we spiked, fertilized and watered in order to get as
imich early growth as possible, then followed a regular program of these operations
all summer. We also cut the grass higher and sprayed to keep out the competitive
crab grass. On large areas where grass was siow to fill in we replanted using our
planting machine and stolons from the undamaged nurseries.
On the tees a section large enough to meet the requirements of play was resoded
and was soon back in service. The surrounding area v/as sprigged, topdressed and kept
/atered until the U-3 started to grow, then put back on routine tee maintenance.
Some tees were planted to new strains of Bermuda grass to test for more hardy varieties. Other tees were mulched in late fall in an effortto get them through the winter
Very late in the year all tees were sprayed with mercury as a disease preventative, then later on they were top-dressed heavy to add new soil bacterial and perhaps
'xeep the surface a little warmer. As a further test we over-seeded some areas with
rye grass, but we doubt if results will prove worthwhile because the seeding v/as done
too late in the season.
We hope that the U-3 Bermuda grass that did survive the severe winter will be
}ven more winter hardy then before and m will continue our planting and replanting
.uring the coming season.

SOILS AND THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO BETTER GRASSES
J. F. Shoulders
Associate Extension Agronomist, V.P.I.
We have said many times that the soil is basic and fundamental in the successful growth of plants on a field basis. This statement is certainly true when
applied to the successful growing of turfgrass. When the soil at hand does not possess the characteristics necessary for growing quality turf we then modify the soil
so that it will grow the turfgrass satisfactorily. An appropriate example is the
preparation of a topsoil mixture for golf greens.
Before discussing the soil let us consider some factors that are essential for
plant growth and see how closely they are related to the soil in which the plant
grows. I will limit these to factors outside of the plant which are necessary for
plant growth. These are: (l) light, (2) mechanical support, (3) heat, (4) air,
(5) water, and (6) nutrients. The soil functions in making 5 of the 6 conditions
available to the plant; the exception is light.
The first step in plant grovrth is "the germination of the seed. The mature seec
contains a small living quiescent plant. When factors such as moisture, temperature, and air are right, the seed begins the germination process. The first stg.^e
is the adsorption of water. When planted in soil, the rate at which water is
adsorbed depends on the availability of water in the soil, the compactness of the
soil around the seed, temperature, and, of course, the nature of the seed coat.
Too little water or loose soil around the seed may retard or prevent germination.
Excessive compaction of a moist soil may limit the supply of oxygen and therefore
also prevent germination. Conditions must be favorable for successful germination
and the soil is the regulator which either maintains satisfactory conditions or
fails to do so.
As the seedling develops and the plant continues groY/th, it requires a constant supply of water, nutrients, air, especially oxygen. The soil, through the
soil solution and soil air is an important agent in making these available to the
plant. Roots must grow and enlarge if top growth is sustained. Thus the physical
condition of the soil is a factor. Hard, compact soil restricts root development
as well as failing to provide good soil air and moisture relationships.
What is soil? Soil may be defined as the link between the rock core of the
earth and the plants which grow on the surface. Soils vary widely. We think of
good soil as a living dynamic body, in which plants, bacteria, and even small
animals live. It is a physical, chemical, and biological system in which each
factor is closely related to all others. Mineral soil consists of 4 substances
(l) mineral matter or decayed rock fragments, (2) organic matter or decaying plant
and animal matter, (3) air, and (4) water.
The mineral substance consists of rock fragments classified into the follow-*
ing: small gravel, sand, silt, and clay based on the size of the particle. The
amount of each of these constituents present determines the texture of a given soil.
We are particularly interested in textures because of the relationship of soil
texture to resistance or susceptibility to compaction.
Let's look at these mineral separates of soil briefly:

Soil Separate*
Very coarse sand
Coarse sand
Medium sand
Fine sand
Very fine sand
Silt
Clay

Diameter*
limits
mm
2.00 to
1.00 to
0.50 to
0.25 to
0.10 to
0.05 to
Smaller

1.00
0.50
0.25
0.10
0.05
0.002
than 0.002

Screen or Sieve Size
Standard No.
Will Pass
Held on
10

18
35

60

140

18
35
60
140
330

*U.S.D.A. Classification
None of these separates by themselves make a desirable soil although each contributes desirable characteristics. Sand (and fine gravel) resist compaction, increase aeration and drainage (by maintaining large pore space) and tend to keep a
soil loose and friable* The cfci©;? disadvantages are the small nutrient and waterholding capacities. Clay has a much higher nutrient holding capacity, higher water
holding capacity and is adhesive. Its adsorptive capacity.fcr w t c g a s e s , and
soluble salts is high. However, clay compacts easily when wet. It is subject to
such severe compaction that it can prevent air and water movement as well as
penetration by roots.
Silt has some plasticity, cohesion, and adsorption characteristics but to a
much smaller degree than clay. From the standpoint of turf, large amounts of silt
are generally undesirable.
Organic matter is important in the physical condition of soil. It promotes
granulation, increases water holding capacity, and is the main source of energy for
soil micro organisms.
The soil water or soil solution contains at least traces of every element present in the soil, and is the medium from which plant roots take in water and nutrients. The soil soluticti should not be considered as simply a water culture because it is continuously renewed and constantly changing. It is greatly dispersed
and exists at least in part in minute sub-division, some of which may move rather
freely while some may be held tightly with little movement. It is subject to
intense adsorption by the soil and varies markedly in concentration, and position
within the soil. It is influenced by the addition of water as well as from the
lack of water. A desirable balance between the mineral components, organic matter,
soil air, and the soil solution is essential for desirable plant growth.
The soil air is also dynamic and subject to constant changes. Any fluctuation
in soil water automatically increases or decreases the amount of air present. It
differs from the air above ground in that it contains a much higher concentration
of carbon dioxide from decaying organic matter, and less oxygen and nitrogen. It
is not continuous, but highly dispersed and adsorbed by the soil colloids and in the
soil solution. Normally, the relative humidity of soil air approaches the 100%
level, creating a condition favorable to the growth of soil organisms. Because of
its dynamic nature, the soil air presents to roots and micro organisms an atmosphere
favorable to almost any type of biochemical activity.
As producers of high quality turf, we are much concerned with the arrangement
of the soil particles or structure of the soil. In general there are two basic
kinds of soil structure: (l) single grained - as with gravel or loose sand, and
(2) massive - in which single particles are held together to form granules. These,
granules may be large or small and its stability weak or strong, depending on

circumstances. The soil particles are interspersed with humus which acts as an adhesive to hold them together into granulesp For many areas such as fairways, lawns,
etc., we must use the natural topsoil and manage it in such a way as to maintain
satisfactory physical condition. In doing this, we talce advantage of the qualities
that nature has built into good topsoil and which make it an ideal medium for growth.
The difficulty of maintaining satisfactory structure under heavy traffic when
the soil is wet is the chief reason that modification of a topsoil, otherwise satisfactory for plant growth, is necessary for golf greens. The breaking down of granulation results in compaction and eventually leads to a soil condition in which the
grass plant cannot survive. Therefore, we modify topsoil by adding large particles
such as sand which vdll not break down and organic matter to maintain as much as possible of the desirable features provided by the clay in an unmodified topsoil.
The practice of soil modification for golf greens, athletic fields, and other
turf areas subject to heavy traffic has caused much concern and searching for a satis
factory solution for many years. Recently, there has been a great deal of differences of opinion among those concerned with this problem as to the most satisfactory
materials and amounts to use for long-lasting and satisfactory results. Certainly
many of the difficulties which plague superintendents can be traced to the physical
condition of the soil mixture and related areas in the construction of his greens.
One of the factors ?/hich adds greatly to the problem of soil modification is the
amount of variation found in the topsoil to be used, both in the amounts of the sand,
silt, and clay present and in the kind of clay contained,, Some clays expand and
shrink immensely under varying levels of moisture, while others are little affected*
Fortunately, in Virginia, for example, there are not too many instances in which the
kind of clay causes a problem. V/e are faced, however, with a large variation in the
content of sand of the various sizes, silt, and clay. We at V.P.I, are convinced
that a mechanical analysis of the topsoil considered for use either in construction
cr as topdressing is essential before attempting modification.
Consider for a moment the basic soil conditions necessary for satisfactory
turfgrass growth: (l) a soil conducive to adequate root penetration and growth, (2)
good aeration, (3) good moisture-holding properties, (4) satisfactory internal drainage, (5) favorable conditions for the activity of desirable soil organisms, (6)
ade^t.ate nutrient holding capacity, (7) freedom from conditions which cause toxic or
unded&rable chemical activity. The first 5, and to some degree the last, factor are
closely related to the physical condition or structure of the soil.
For Virginia soils, we believe at present that we can most nearly satisfy the
above conditions by using a topsoil mixture for greens that contains from 50 to 60$
of the coarse and medium grades of sand (this can include a small percentage of fine
gravel), 10 to 15$ clay and approximately 10 to 15$ organic matter.
The sand used should be at least 80$ coarse and medium sand. The amount of sand
used should be based on a mechanical analysis of the topsoil. Look for a moment at
the mechanical analysis of fine grrseiis in Virginia which have performed very well. •
Mechanical Analysis of Fine Putting Green Soils in Virginia ($ of Each Separate)

Green

Gravel

V0C.

A
B
C
D
E

n/a
n/a
9
7
8

10
10
4
13
10

Sand
C
18
19
13
19
16

Total
Acceptable Coarse
M
Material

a
22
11

12

48
50

46

Sand
F W
11
16
9
16
6
3
5
?
7

Silt
10
11
21
27
29

Clay
16
14
9
15
13

These greens all approach the percentages given earlier for coarse sand and clay
I will be the first to admit that many greens which do not meet these specifica~
tions are also performing quite well. However, a very large number of problems on
greens with which I have assisted over the past several years have been caused by
the physical condition of the mixture. R. E. Schmidt and I have worked with a number of courses over the state in determining the topsoil mixture to use for greens
and so far as I know where the specifications were followed and the components uniformly mixed, the greens have functioned satisfactorily insofar as the soil is
concerned,
In recent years several studies of interest concerning soil modification have
been made. (See references at end of this article).
After you have determined the soil mixtures which is best for your situation,
these are other important conditions which must be satisfied to assure proper functioning of the mixture on the green* Drainage, including (l) a drainage system
under the mixture and (2).surface drainage; uniform and thorough mixing of the soil,
sand, and organic matter, and using at least a 12 inch depth of the mixture after
settling are among the most important of these factors and merit careful consideration* It also follows that once you have used a satisfactory soil mixture in construction you should continue to use the same mixture for topdressing to minimize
layering.
In conclusion, soils are the medium in ?;hich grass grows. Grass requires air
and water in the correct proportion, satisfactory physical condition for root penetration and growth, and a balanced supply of nutrients to make the growth desired
for high quality turf regardless of where you grow it. By understanding the basic
requirements for grass growth and how the soil functions to provide them and having
a knowledge of your specific soil, you can better manage your soil to maintain
high turfgrass quality.
References
Dunning, R«, Basic Concepts of Green Construction. Golf Course Re-porter.
Vol. 30, No. 4, April 1962.
Musser, H, B., Let*s Consider Standardized Greens. Golf Course Re-porter.
Vol. 30, No. 4, April 1962.1
Smalley, R. R., and Pritchett, V/. L., Soil Amendments for Putting Greens.
Golf Course Reporter. Vol. 30, No. 4, April 1962.
Staff, USGA Greens Section, A Method of Putting Green Construction.
USGA Journal, Vol. XIII, No. 5, September I960.
Swartz,
E., and Kardos, L. T., Effects of Compaction on Physical Properties
of Sand-Soil-Peat Mixtures at Various Moisture Contents.
Agronomy Journal, Vol. 55, January-February 1963.

TURF: SOILS AND FERTILIZER RELATIONSHIPS
Dr. J. R. Miller, Head
Department of Agronomy, University of Maryland
The amount of turf grown in the Mid-Atlantic States for golf courses, home
lawns, roadsides, athletic fields, cemeteries, airports, and other areas is increasing at a very rapid rate. For example, in Maryland alone there are 91 golf courses
and 8 new courses are under construction. The number of home lawns has also been increasing rapidly in recent years. During the period 1950 to 1959, approximately
• ^30,000 homes v/ere built in Maryland v/hereas in 1930 to 1939, only 89,000 homes v/ere
erected. At the present time it is estimated that Maryland has more than 1 million
home lawns and approximately 33 million dollars are spent annually for their maintenance.. Sod production is becoming a very important agricultural enterprise. A recent
survey showed that almost 7,000 acres of sod with a total value of approximately 2
million dollars are sold annually from Maryland farms.
The use
important in
ials to best
fundamentals

of the proper amounts of lime, fertilizer, and organic matter are very
the development of a good turf on the above areas. To use these materadvantage in growing turf grasses, one must consider some of the basic
regarding soils.

Soils are composed of air, water, minerals, and organic matter. The mineral
fraction of the soil consists of various size particles (gravel, stones, sand, silt,
and clay) and through the action of weathering many of these particles release p3a nt
food for use by the growing crop. Hov/ever, the quantity of plant food supplied in
this matter is not sufficient to meet the needs of turf grasses and additional nutrients must be supplied from commercial fertilizers or other sources.
The nutrients added to soils and those released in the weathering process are
held primarily by the clay particles and the fine organic matter in the soil. The
clay particles are very small in size (less than 0.0008 of an inch) and have a negative charge. As a result of this negative charge, the clay has the ability to
attract plant nutrients that have a positive charge (such as calcium and magnesium in
lime, and the potassium found in turf fertilizers) thus reducing their loss by leaching. On the other hand, plant food elements which possess a negative charge such as
nitrate nitrogen are not strongly attracted by the soil and can be easily leached.
Since nitrogen in this form is easily leached from soils and relatively large quantities of nitrogen are contained in grasses, this plant food element is usually
recommended for turf grasses at higher rates of application than phosphate or potash*
In addition to nitrate nitrogen, the phosphates also have a negative charge. Hov/ever
this plant food element does not react like nitrate nitrogen in that it forms insoluble chemical compounds when added to the soil. As a result, very little phosphorus
is lost by leaching and there can be buildup of this nutrient in the soil v/hen large
amounts of phosphate fertilizers are used.
The organic matter portion of the soil is also very important because of the
many useful effects it produces. Some of these are as follows:
1. Increases water-holding capacity
2. Improves aeration (especially heavy clay soils).
3. Promotes good tilth.
Helps to hold plant food in soil.

PROPER USE OF TURF FUNGICIDES
Robert T. Miller
E. I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Wilmington, Del.
My subject, "Proper Use of Turf Fungicides," is a broad one. Many of you now
practice a form of preventive maintenance by applying fungicide regularly. Is that
all that is necessary, or is there something more that can be done to make fungicides
more effective? Every manufacturer would like to think his product is the complete
answer. But no one chemical or piece of equipment is a complete program in itself.
Even a greens mower is useless if you have no fertilizer to grow the grass. When
you have the grass, you have one of the essentials for disease — the host. With the
host present, the parasite — if it hasn't already arrived
will be there shortly,
and disease control must include more than the regular application of a good fungicide
Our place as a manufacturer of turf fungicides and nitrogen products is to supply you with the best products possible and to experiment in an effort to improve
these products. We should suggest management practices, to make our products and
others that you use perform more effectively and give greater satisfaction in terms
of high quality turf.
The best products when used improperly often fail. I know of no product in the
turf field that cannot be reduced to ineffectiveness unless it is applied under
sound management practices. There is no product that can take the man out of
management. We have said, and will emphasize, that anything you do on your greens
will either accelerate or reduce disease incidence. Normally, we consider three
possible ways to control turf diseases:
1. Use of resistant strains
This would be the ideal way, but to date
there is no strain of grass, as far as I know, that is resistant to all organisms
known to attack turf.
2. Employ f^ood cultural practices that will encourage strong, healthy, vigorous plant growth and in that way discourage disease.
a. Good soil structure to allow soil drainage and encourage healthy, deeprooted plants.
b. Proper pH is important because soil nutrients are most available to the
plant bet?/een 6.0 and 7.0.
c. Provide adequate available phosphorus and potash for the soil.
d. Frovide good air circulation and water surface drainage and more than one
direction.
e. For control of mat and compaction, there are several good tools available,
such as the spilcer, vertical mower, hollow tyne fork, or aerification machines.
These machines can be of great assistance in maintaining a golf course. Use them to
your advantage. Top dressing and the use of lime also will be helpful in reducing a
mat or puffy condition.
f. Use iron as a spray to maintain better color. There is probably plenty of
iron in the soil, but as the pH gets near the neutral point, iron is tied up and additional applications become necessary.
g. An adequate amount of nitrogen fertilizer is needed for good color, turf den.
3±ty and texture. There are three types — soluble, organic, and ureaforms.

The soluble materials are the least expensive per unit of nitrogen. Their feeding period is short and strict observance to application rates is needed as they may
burn. Their use is most expensive from a labor standpoint.
The organics last a little longer, are safer to use, and do not require the
strict measurement of application rates. Labor costs are less than with soluble
types. Hov/ever, usually they are quite low in nutrient value, and therefore, larger
quantities are needed per application. Also, they are more expensive per unit of
nitrogen than the soluble forms.
The ureaforms are safe to use and will release nitrogen at a desirable rate
throughout the growing season. Usually two applications are sufficient to feed bent
:p?ass for a year. This means, of course, that relatively high rates of nitrogen are
required per application to provide the total nitrogen needs for the entire growing
season. The nitrogen cost, like organics, is more than solubles, but the product is
concentrated, and application labor cost is the least of any nitrogen form.
Uith all of these products, it helps to know how they work effectively. YJe be.
lieve the superintendent using any form of nitrogen should adapt his program to
conform with the nitrogen he uses rather than to try to adapt the material to his
program. Finally, the amount of nitrogen used should be kept in balance with the
phosphorous and potash.
There are other cultural practices, such as use of insecticides, weed killers,
nematocides, etc.
3. The final control of turf diseases is through the use of chemicals. \7e
believe the best use of chemicals for disease control is in a complete program —
the resistant strains of grass, the best management or cultural practices, a good
fertilization program, and the regular application of a safe effective, preventive
fungicide.
It is our belief that the best chance of controlling disease is to prevent it.
YJe recommend the use of a fungicide on a regular program, usually every seven to ten
days, in an effort to set up a preventive barrier so that the organism or fungi cannot get to the. plant. There may be times when the interval between sprays will have
to be reduced nnd the rate of spray increased.
Your job of growing grass on a golf green is entirely against the rules of
Mother Nature — you cut too short, you are pushing the grass during what is mainly
a dormant or slow growing period, and if it is still alive, it is being trampled by
the golfer. There is more pressure per square inch exerted on the turf by the average golfer than any piece of equipment. Multiply this by the play per day
In conclusion, the growing of a good turf on a golf course is not easy. Nor is
it an insurmountable task. The more we study disease, the more we become aware of
the inter-relationship between environmental factors and cultural practices. Cultural practices alone vail not control disease. But good cultural plactices, coupled
with regular preventive fungicide applications, will keep disease under control, It
may be necessary to change these applications and practices as environmental factors
dictate. You, as golf superintendents, are in as competitive a field as any manufacturer. Practically all of your members, or in the case of a public course, those
playing greens fees, are constantly comparing the condition of your course with
other courses they have played, and there is no average over a season. The golfer
always pictures your course in the condition it is in when he plays it. It behooves
you as a superintendent to have your course in the best possible condition every day
of the playing season.

THE CLUB IMAGER, THE PRO, AND THE GOLF COURSE SUPERINTENDENT
THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO EACH OTHER
Thomas A# Doerer, Superintendent
Fort Belvoir Golf Club, Fort Belvoir, Va.
Superintendents, Club Iv!anagers, Golf Professionals and Guests, hty subject
relationship is a very broad one, also a very complex one, so I consulted the dictionary and these are my findings.
Relationship is only a twelve letter word, but it certainly contains a lot of
meaning in our everyday association v/ith our Golf Professional, Club Manager, and
memberships at our respective courses. The word relationship as Mr. Webster describes it carries this meaning - The state of being related."
Certainly then the above message is the purpose of this wonderful group being
assembled here today.
As President of the Middle Atlantic Golf Course Superintendents Association, I
would like to make a few comments as to our position or feelings relative to club
management, golf professional, greens chairman and others who may directly or indirectly affect the progress of his club and its membership.
According to national statistics the game of golf is now a multimillion
dollar business, not just a game as it v/as some 15 to 20 years ago. A great deal of
this money is invested in real estate necessary to the construction of the course.
During construction and in most cases after construction this valuable property is
entrusted to a qualified Superintendent. This of course makes the Superintendent a
valuable executive to his club, The Superintendent has the responsibility of spending anywhere from $50,000 to upwards of $150,000 of the members money for labor,
machinery, construction, and long range planning. With the responsibility of the
above expenditures, the Superintendent is thrown automatically in close association
with his manager, golf pro, greens chairman and club president* If your Superintendent is not part of this departmental operation, he has not in our opinion, fulfilled
his duties completely; assuming that he has been invited to attend board meetings.
Greens Chairman
We feel the greens chairman of our respective clubs to be our best friend and
booster, also liason man between us and the board of directors, if he is not, then
the club in some manner should bring about an understanding in this area. This
relationship is a must.
We also feel that the greens chairman is one of the most valuable representatives on the board of directors. His v/isdom and guidance can either retard or
advance the development of the course. The greens chairmanship at a club in our
opinion should be one of continuity from three to five years, for continuity in this
area can save a club from a great deal of built in expensive headaches.
The greens chairman should meet at least twice a month with the Superintendent
to discuss the course and its problems — Labor — Machinery — Maintenance and
Construction. This in our opinion, is close relationship at its best.
Club Manager
Next we consider the club manager1s relationship to be one of administration.
V/e feel that it is necessary to the best interest of the club to work closely v/ith
the manager in this area of administration in order that we can be better informed as

to expenditures relative to our budget. This should be done on a monthly basis.
This way we know where we have been and v/here we can go dollar vase.
The manager is in very close contact with the membership and he hears the
complaints or suggestions v/hich ever the case may be. If v/e superintendents keep
him informed as to our operations and problems he can then pass this information on
to the respective members, thus eliminating a problem v/hich could be handled as a
misunderstanding rather than a complaint.
The Superintendent should keep the manager informed as to his whereabouts at
all times. Since v/e spend 90$ of our time on the course and not near the phone it
would be wise to keep the manager and the pro informed as an emergency could arise,
personal or business, etc.
Most club managers have a tremendous task to perform in keeping the members informed on all matters pertaining to club operations - these include questions and
answers pertaining to the course itself, the golf shop, swimming pool, etc. — keeping him informed will certainly help in bettering relationships.
The Golf Pro
Next in order and most important is the Golf Professional. To most Superintendents he is the shov/case of the golf atmosphere of any club. He represents the
glamour in this great game by the way he displays himself attire wise, conversation
wise, shop wise, etc.
The pro contacts at one time or another during the season the entire golf membership, therefore, v/hat he has to say is of extreme importance to the other department'heads, namely; Manager, Superintendent, Chairman and President. He should at
no time try to suggest or set policy of any department. He should work very closely
with his Superintendent in all matters pertaining to the course, and not intentionally nor accidentally embarrass the Superintendent; for without a good course all
phases of a club*s operations would suffer. If your Superintendent should by any
chance be difficult to understand, call him in and talk to him. If this does not
v/ork, talk to the greens chairman, then if still no results ask for a hearing at
the board, bring the problem out in the open. Hov/ever, when going before the board,
have a suggestion or better still - have a plan to follow, I am certain if v/orkable,
it will be accepted. Fortunately, the above is the exception rather than the rule.
Over the past 25 years I have personally found the golf professionals as a
group to be very congenial and understanding of golf problems. I refer particularly
to course playing conditions, rather than turf problems. I would like, in closing,
to give a composite meaning to each letter in this twelve letter word - Relationship,
R - Respect for each others position ixt'a club at all times.
E - Eager to assist rather than to criticize.
L - Leave policy matters to the department heads and Board of Directors.
A - Alv/ays hear out the Manager, Pro, or Superintendent, side of the story.
T - Take time out to discuss programming tournaments - etc.
I - Invite your Superintendent to play a round once in awhile.
0 - Offer constructive criticism rather than just opinions.
il - Never embarrass your Superintendent, Manager, or Pro, in front of a member.
S - Select the proper time and place for discussion.
H ~ Help each other to educate the golfer in his use of the course.
1 - Insist on closer relationship betv/een the Board and department heads.
P - Performance in the above suggestions will add a little more flavor to the
meaning of this word
RELATIONSHIP.

THE DAY'S TOPICS - QUESTIONS AND ANS\7ERS
Fred V. Grau, Agronomist
Hercules Powder Company, College Park, Md.
The concept of CHANGE loomed large in the presentation of every topic. Dr.
Cairns pointed out how rapidly we are converting cow acres to play acres, how much
more time we have for recreation and how much we need continuing education just to
keep pace with the CHANGE all about us.
James Thomas indicated hov/ CHANGE has altered the faces in the crowd, bringing
in new ones to replace those who have preceded us to greener fairv/ays.
A1 Radko pointed up the CHANGE that has taken place (slowly, to be sure) in grasj
for fairways, The discussion of pros and cons of Bermudagrass indicates just how
drastic the change has been since we stopped trying to grow close-cut bluegrass
fairv/ays.
Holman Griffin showed clearly how turf populations CHANGE when growth conditions
are unfavorable. Sadly, v/e do not know all v/e need to know about hov/ to control
those growth conditions. Once we have a good turf, CHANGE is the last thing v/e v/ant.
The experiences cited by Frank Haske and Bob Shields also indicate that CHANGE
is a built-in factor in golf turf. They demonstrated the value of being prepared,
flexible, and studious. 'Experience has been their best teacher.
John Shoulders pointed up several factors. "Soil is the regulator for germination and growth.11 One might add that soil organisms aid in these regulatory functions. The microclimate deserves understanding; it is so different from "people
climaten 4 to 6 feet above the soil. A good putting green soil in Virginia contains
50-60% coarse to medium sands, 10-15 clay and 10-15$ organic matter with some silt in
addition. Each soil type has its own characteristics. Nothing takes the place of
uniform, off-site mixing. Topdressing should be identical.to soil in the green.
Dr. James Miller's Figures on housing, sod growing and turf growth in general
were impressive. They speak eloquently of the CHANGE that is in progress. His
review of lime and fertilizer left little to be desired. Intriguing v/ere the explanation of magnetic "love affairs" in the soil. The explanation of "burning" was
helpful, also to be reminded that some materials such as natural organics and ureaforms do not burn, dryland is rich in limestones, a valuable ally in growing turf.
Dr. Miller's pictures of soil testing at the University of Maryland create further
confidence in this department of the University.
Bob Miller pointed out how reputable companies constantly strive to improve a
"technically-perfect" product but, "the product is not made that cannot be ruined by
mismanagement." The review of fungicides and management programs v/as most helpful,
filled in v/ith philosophical side notes.
Tom Doerer's approach to Relationships v/as down-to-earth commonsense. His message deserves to be read by the many who were not at the meeting. Jacques Aim
delivered a stirring message in his own inimitable manner. His approach to understanding and cooperation is the "people-to-people" touch. He sees the successful
club employee as one v/ho creates beauty in nature and in his personal dealings, and
who thinks of the entire organization. Humor and integrity v/ill save many a situation v/ith your fellow man.
In being permitted to distil the thinking of the several speakers who appeared
on Monday, I must say that I am impressed by the clarity of thought and the perfect-

ion of delivery of each and every speaker. The CHANGE that has taken place in the
35 years of the University of Maryland*s Turfgrass Conferences constantly has been
in the direction of higher standards and higher quality. Increased effort will be
required to maintain the peace.
*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

LABOR RELATIONS
James E. Thomas
Army-Navy Country Club, Arlington, Va.
This paper is directed at Labor Relationships as they effect our distribution
of work, and as to how we can use employees to the best advantage. Also, we might
add to this subject the planning and scheduling of our daily duties, and how management practices can have a direct bearing in our public relations with those whom we
strive to please.
Additional free leisure time as provided by extended daylight savings and newly
developed high speed freev/ays, has paved the way for more recreational time. Swimming, baseball, golf, tennis, etc. have all benefited from these extra moments of
relaxation. Golf has particularly been helped by the television coverage of both
national and sectional tournaments and events. The enthusiasm for the pastime by
prominent citizens who are in the public eye has played its part--a typical example
is ex-President Eisenhower. All of these contributions have brought about a new and
very marked interest to golf.
This greater participation by the public, along with its added activity has
greatly increased the responsibilities of the golf course superintendent. He is not
only faced with the problem of keeping his members happy and contented, but, also the
golf course must be kept in tip-top shape, as the membership expect it to be in the
pink of condition at all times - regardless of the weather or season of the year. So
many of the chores necessary for the development, establishment, and maintenance of
a satisfactory turf interfers somewhat with play. This holds true in the grooming of
trees, putting greens, and sand traps.
Such being the case, our dyed in the wool golfer asks us this question - "Why
interfere v/ith our golf?" We in turn ask ourselves - Why does he interfere with our
work, or why are we not provided withttie needed time to accomplish our tasks? However, this is the wrong attitude for us to take, .as golfers are our employers and we
look to them for our bread and butter. Yet, proper upkeep must take place or there
will be no golf course to play on. This brings up the question of "How and When?"
V/e have here an ever growing problem, one that becomes more complex each season, and
is .a puzzling sixty-four dollar question for many of us to try and solve.
Mr, James L. Holmes of the USGA Green Section has this to say: "It is becoming
increasingly more apparent that the Club must allow its superintendent more uninterrupted time in order to complete his work if they expect him to give them a presentable course. This increase in traffic is reaching alarming proportions. Many Clubs
are now closing the course to all play on Mondays, as an example."
Here and there v/e hear of night maintenance being tried as a solution to the
problem. All operations such as the mowing of tees, fairways, and greens; and the
irrigation of those areas, along with the application of fungicides and insecticides
are all done after dark. However, this has its drawbacks and presents obstacles for
the greensmaster to hurdle, as a-night crew of workmen will be needed, and they must
be organized and provided with adequate and trained supervision.
The satisfactory accomplishment of after dark work v/ould call for the provision
of artificial lighting. Heavy dews would bring about wet grass and when it was

mewed the clippings ^culd bunch up in unsightly piles, and would have to be removed
or scattered. A major objection to night maintenance would be increased costs, an
added drain on the club's pocketbook. Yet, as play increases the price tag of upkeep
becomes greater. It may be hidden, but never the less, it is there.
/mother answer, an old one, but practiced at many places, is the starting of all
work at daybreak during the peak of the heavy playing season. This could be from
4 a. m. until about 1 p. m. And if clubs could be encouraged to withhold the starting of play until 8:30 a. m. of a weekday morning many of our important chores around
the putting greens like: mowing, watering, changing of cups, repairing of ball holes,
and the raking of sand traps could be accomplished and out of the way before play
gets too heavy. The closing of courses to play on Mondays Mould also be a big help,
as it would allow the uninterrupted aerifying, spiking, top dressing, and weeding.
For any of the previously mentioned procedures to work to the best advantage suf*
ficient equipment in good working order must be provided. The more we can streamline
our work comparable to a mass production basis, the greater our efficiency becomes.
Today's labor market is a difficult and tight one; good help is scarce and hard
to hire. The continued boom in construction and building has caused workers to be in
short supply. YJhen our helpers are satisfactory to us, we need to do everything in
our power to keep them happy, contented, and employed. A few of the ways to do this
are: the providing of a satisfactory wage scale, year around employment for as many
of our workmen as is possible; the establishment of fringe benefits like, group
hospitalization, sick leave, paid vacations, retirement annuities, and life insurance.
Remember, we are competing with employers who provide such rewards, and experience
has shown that these extras help to keep a working crew intact and secure.
No two courses present the same maintenance problems, each one is a case in
itself. There are differences in soils, terrain, maintenance requirements, and possibly the most important, the type of course demanded by the membership. A study of
the information obtainable from available surveys leads one to make several observations: 1. Labor is one of the major items of expense in golf course maintenance.
2. Labor costs are gradually rising. 3. The management of manpower for its most
effective use is assuming increasing importance.
So, how do we increase our efficiency? Someone has said: Labor management miglt
be properly grouped with work planning and business management. That the most
logical place to control golf course costs is by increasing the efficiency of labor
utilization. Here normal business principles, plus good management, along with the
proper handling of technical problems can be used to good advantage with still plenty
of room left for improvement.
So - with the cost of golf course operations continually spiraling upwards and.
the golf public expecting and demanding the ultimate in course grooming, and this
being confirmed by every reliable source of available information. We cannot help
but assume that labor is the largest appearing cost item in the operating budget,
that it exceeds in most cases the sum total of all the other budget catagories. Then
obviously the mark of a top superintendent is one who can accomplish maximum results
with a minimum work force.
The use of golf course labor to the best advantage requires yearly, seasonal,
monthly, weekly, and daily planning of work schedules. Yearly planning calls for
the arranging and timing of all of the season's activities; the proper correlation
of the year*s performances. This means doing the right job at the proper time. A
good illustration is not to undertake construction jobs when regular and routine
maintenance should be the order of the day. Seasonal planning is secondary to annual
planning, and means the keeping of winter, spring, summer, and autumn work in its

respective place. Mbnthly and weekly planning is more or less governed by the
season of the year we are in. Daily planning covers the actual maintenance that
must take place, quite often it can be an unknown quantity governed by the number
of workmen on hand, variations in the weather, the amount of play, ladies days,
and unforseen situations.
How can we train workers to do the job we desire to have accomplished? As an
answer to this question, I am going to quote from a talk made by a former Army Navy
Country Club Green Committee Chairman, Admiral John S. Phillips. He is known to
most of those present. Quote, "It is incumbent on superintendents to give rigorous
technical and, in a way, moral training to crewmen. In your position as superintend
ent, always feel that it is much better to train a man to be reliable, honest, and
trustworthy than it is to fire him. Firing a man does not require much know how.
A well rounded crew is the mark of a good superintendent, because most of the training comes from the superintendent. Oftentimes, a good man is fired because his
training has been neglected by the man who oversees him. One thought to consider
is that if you spend five hours telling a man how to do a job and one hour telling
him why he is doing it, you will make a better workman out of him than if you devote
six hours telling him only what do do.n
Y/e need to study our helpers, analyze them, find out their best qualitications
and aptitudes.
By doing this we can place them on jobs best suited to
their qualifications, work they will take an interest in, and pride in doing to the
best of their ability. In short, letJs place square pegs in square holes, and round
pegs in round holes, taking care not to mix them up. Our management policies should
be patterns of assistance, rather than those of dominance. We need to fully understand the meaning of proper guidance, along v/ith reasonable toleration and understanding. Yet, we should be firm in our instructions and requirements; but, not
overbearing and too demanding. Do not fail to give credit for a job well done wher
it is due. All of us appreciate an occasional word of praise and a commendation of
appreciation when it is sincere and has been honestly earned.
As a closing summary: Let!s study ourselves, our positions, our assistants,
and our clubs with the thought uppermost in our minds of creating a higher standard
of efficiency. Let's encourage and help our crew members to be worthy of their
hire, and train them to become better employees. And, above all things letrs
practice and Golden Rule - "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
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TTJRFGRASS RESEARCH AT BELTSVILLE
Felix V. Juska
Agricultural Research Service, U.S.D.A., Beltsville, Md.
The Mid-Atlantic area including Beltsville, is located in the so called "transition zone" of grass adaptation. Neither cold season grasses or warm season grasses
perform entirely satisfactory. The cool season grasses are more susceptible to
diseases and are not well adapted to our hot, humid summers. Your experiences with
these grasses I am sure will bear me out. The Y/arm season grasses, Bermuda and
zoysia grasses on the other hand, perform satisfactory during the summer months,
but become green late in the spring and become dormant too early in the fall. The
Bermuda grasses such as U-3 also lack the winter hardiness we would like to have
in this species.
From the standpoint of turfgrass research, I feel Beltsville is ideally located. In general, grasses which perform well to the north or south of the MidAtlantic region are not well adapted. It is necessary for the individual to use

his own ingenuity gained from experience and research to grow and maintain a
satisfactory turf. Perhaps our greatest need in this area is for new varieties
of three or four species which will thrive under our weather conditions.
Research at Beltsville may be conveniently divided into four categories:
1. Grass breeding:
a) Bluegrass - resistance to Helminthosporium leafspot disease and other
turf desirable characteristics.
b) Red fescue - disease resistance and rate of underground spread.
c) Tall fescue - rhizomatous habit of growth
d) Zoysia - Retention of fall color and early spring greenup.
e>) Bermudagrasses - more winter hardiness.
f) Evaluation of blue, bent, zoysia, fescue and bermudagrasses.
2. Management studies:
a) Nitrogen fertility - rate and time of application.
b) Evaluation of foreign seed lots.
c) Bluegrass variety and height of cutting studies.
d) Shade tolerance of bent and red fescue.
e) Management of tall fescue.
f) Phosphorus studies.
g) Calcine clay as a soil amendment.
3. Fungicide trials:
a) Use of several fungicides vath and without latex for disease control.
b) Use of latex and fungicides to control bentgrass wilt.
4. Weed control:
a) Cratgrass preemergence studies.
b) Toxicity of preemergence herbicides to grass seedlings.
c) Control of other weeds - dicamba (Bonvel D).
Perhaps, I can best illustrate the work we are doing with the use of the
following slides.
(Slides)

GOLF COURSE MAINTENANCE AND TRAFFIC PROBLEMS
Lee C. Dieter
Washingtonian Golf and Country Club,

Arlington, Va.

To give a fairly accurate picture of how the golf boom of the 60fs has affected
the golf activity in the Washington area, I conducted a survey of 19 of the private '
clubs in the metropolitan area. The clubs concerned are all strictly private. The
number of private clubs has increased from approximately twenty 10 years ago to
approximately 35 at the present time. These figures include 9 and 18 hole additions
to present facilities. The average club in this area reports an increase in play of
10% to 20% in the past 5 years. This is the average. The figures show increases of
as much as 50%. What does this represent in terms of actual rounds of golf, and how
do these figures compare with the rest of the country? In the October issue of
Golfdom the following figures were reported. They are on private clubs throughout
the nation. Compare these to the figures from my survey. Mid-Atlantic 5 years ago
29,090, Mid-Atlantic today 33,766; New England and the East 21,200; Midwest 23,850;
South and Southwest 29,622; West 23,900.
New golf carts have entered into the turf picture. How do they enter into the
traffic picture? Actually they do little to speed up play unless, of course, everyone is required to take a cart. Play still moves around the course little faster
than the slowest foursome. On the 19 courses included in the survey there are 293 >
golf carts, an average of 15.5 per course. They account for an average of 4,328
rounds of golf. The number of golf courses that have zero carts is 2; the number
that have 1 to 10 is four. Four clubs have 11 to 15 golf carts. Six have 16 to 20,
two have 20 to 30 and one has over 30.
On these courses cart damage is becoming an increasing problem. All courses
that have carts realize that there are places Y/here they must have paths. Those
that donH already have cart paths have plans for them in the near future. Cart
facilities, buildings, paths, etc. are needed at the beginning. With the carts
comes the need for increased maintenance, sodding, seeding aerification, etc.
In considering the large capital outlays for paths and housing facilities, most
clubs in this area have, in setting up their cart program, included an amount set
aside from the golf cart income to finance the increased operating costs. These
amounts range from $100.00 per cart per year or about 10%, to 25$ of the gross cart
income. The trend in the survey seemed to be toward professionally owned carts with
the club getting 10% of the gross to be applied toward the increased maintenance and
the cost of paths ana cart facilities.
Several years before I started at the club, a major construction program was undertaken to rid the course of some of its bottlenecks. The program served its purpose and got rid of several areas that helped Washington Golf & Country Club earn
its nickname of the ngoat path golf course." With the planned introduction of golf
carts three years ago, we realized that before we could even have carts several
bridges and paths would have to be built. That certain hills and creeks would be
impassable unless corrective measures were taken. The first six paths were built
and carts were introduced; we knew more paths would be needed, but we decided to
construct them as traffic made the wear evident. In the past two years 12 more
paths have been added.
We realized that our poa annua fairways were not ideally suited for foot traffic
in our area, and that our thinning turf would suffer even more with the increased
traffic of golf carts. We decided to go into a program of establishment of highbred
Bermuda grass fairways. Nurseries of 328 and U3 Bermuda were established. We
bought a machine and adapted it to plant the stolons. The first year, 1961, over

1/3 of the fairway area was sprigged. We planted half the fairways to U3 and half to
328. The early summer of 1962 raised our enthusiasm, the Bermuda was coming in
wonderfully, responding to frequent applications of ammonium nitrate. In fact, each
strip across the fairway was one solid unbroken line from 4 to 8 inches wide by
mid-summer. We went forward with enthusiasm on our sprigging program in 1962, introducing the Bermuda to another 30% of our fairway area. By late summer of 62 over
2/3 of our fairways were planted to Bermuda, primarily 328. Then came the winter of
62-63 with its weeks of sub-freezing temperatures.
Came the spring and we all waited for the first glimpse of growth. Several of
the native strains on the course greened up slightly, but where was the 328 and U3?
It was the first of July before the hi;'hbr£d strains started to show much growth.
Cur fears were confirmed, the material planted the previous summer was virtually
wiped out while the areas that had two growing seasons did not fare so badly, We
were discouraged by this severe desiccation but were not ready, by any means, to
give up on our program.
The nursery has been established with selections of native Bermuda grasses from
our course, several outstanding Kansas selections, and our oxm area!s Burning Tree
Bermuda.
To help diminish the effects of the increased traffic on our course we have step,
ped up our maintenance program considerably. We have increased our fertilization
rates. The mechanical soil conditioning of our turf areas has been increased. All
greens, tees, aprons and fairways receive at least two aerifications during the growing season and as many as 6 or 7 on some greens and concentrated traffic areas. We
prefer the cultivating action of the spoon type aerifier to the action of the puncher
type.
At Washington Golf we have the narrowest fairways and the smallest greens and
tees of anyone in the metropolitan area. Yet, in the past five years, we have experienced an increase in rounds of golf of almost 20%. The figures seem to be leveling
off at about 36,000 rounds. The cart rounds have increased at the rate of lj% per
year since their introduction three years ago.
Our paths and bridges have helped to route this increased traffic and have taken
some of the burden off our areas of concentrated traffic. We found, however, that it
was necessary to go even further in traffic directions. A non-alkaline dry marking
material is used to mark all aprons and other areas where cart traffic is not allowed
We have found this very effective in controlling traffic.
We try to keep golfers, and especially the golf carts off the course when conditions are exceptionally wet. We also try to be careful with our equipment traffic.
In areas where our equipment can use the paths as well as the golf carts, they have
been made 9 feet wide to accommodate them.
Operations are combined as much as possible to reduce vehicle traffic. The
size of the load is regulated to soil moisture conditions to eliminate the compaction and tracks as much as possible.
I would like to say in closing, gentlemen, that we can only take advantage of
the tools and knowledge presently available to us to help ease the effects of this
increased traffic problem. There is little we can do to stop it. The number and
the interest of these golfers shows no limits.

CONSIDERATIONS IN THE LANDSCAPING OF GOLF COURSES
Extension

Carl N, Johnson
Landscape Specialist - University of Maryland

The importance of golf courses, both private and public, for recreational purposes is taken for granted. We can hope that in the near and continuous future, more
and more land will be set aside for this purpose, as a balance against ever-encroaching housing developments. Aside from their recreational importance, golf courses are
important as open land masses which afford man a relief from the monotony of traffic
arteries and uninspiring rows of houses in typical suburbia. Studying the landscaping of golf courses from this standpoint then, it would seem imperative that the landscape would have to be as natural as possible, as park-like as possible. This would
preclude such "unnatural" forms as severely clipped or sheared hedges, upright evergreens or any forms that might be labeled "stylized". Planting distances should be
maintained that will allow specimen material to grow to mature size without crowding
and without the necessity of future pruning.
Many things in Nature please us because of their inherent characteristics. We
may be pleased by color, especially the contrast and blending of many shades of green.
We may also be pleased by contrasts in texture, by shapes and masses. In adapting
these characteristics for landscape use, we may group them into simple categories,
analyzing their qualities and how we may use them effectively. The following paragraphs will consider eight categories that we are most concerned with.
lawn Areas
We are concerned here, not so much with the condition of greens, tees and fairways but of the lawn areas immediately adjacent to the club house. It is sometimes
difficult to maintain this area unless adequate walks and paths are provided to dir*
ect foot and cart traffic. Walks should be wide enough to accommodate two people
walking abreast, either carrying bags or using a cart. If possible, all walks should
be hard-topped. Generous areas of paving may also be desirable at places where
people tend to congregate.
Tree Masses
Tree masses are used, of course, to enclose and to divide fairv/ays. Upright
branching habits are preferable to horizontal, low branching species. Natural grouping is important since straight-line plantings would appear artificial. Some openness is also important to allow for filtered sunlight. The effect of a "glade"
should be attempted, rather than a dense forest.
Shrub Masses
These would be used mainly around the club house to provide colorful bloom in
spring and also for fall coloring. Hardy species are preferable, especially in exposed locations and those species should be chosen that will require the least
amount of maintenance.
Evergreen Masses
Especially valuable for color in early Spring and late Fall -tfhen most deciduous
trees are without leaves. Pine species are probably more adaptc t>le for golf course
use than Spruce or Fir, since lower branches can be trimmed up without adverse
effect on the shape of the tree.

Upright Types
Strictly pyramidal types of evergreens are useful as accents, either singly or
in informal groupings. They may be used as boundary plantings or to crown a hilltop
and as a backstop for a green. They also add variety to the landscape since they
contrast to the more rounded forms of other plant materials. Since, however, they
are highly individulastic in character, they should be used sparingly. Cur native
Cedar is an excellent example of the pyramidal form.
Weeping Types
This is a form Y/hich is pleasing to the eye because of the graceful cascading of
branches. Again it is useful as a contrast to upright branching forms of most of our
deciduous trees. And again, since it is as highly individualistic in character as
the upright type, it should be used sparingly, and only where it can be used most
effectively. The Weeping Willow and the Weeping Birch are the most common examples*
Color
Color is most obvious in Spring when most of our flowering trees come into
bloom, but color can be worked into the landscape at other seasons as well. In very
early Spring, the light green of the Willow and the red catkins of the Swamp Maple
give the first promise of color. Red, orange, yellow and bronze are predominant in
the Fall. The brilliance of these, used in masses especially mixed with or set
against evergreens, can create a spectacular effect.
Features
The introduction of landscape features, especially around the club house area,
can create special interest. These might consist of earth mounds in very flat areas,
paved areas on which flower planters can be spaced, unusual plant material, outdoor
eating facilities, water (other than that used for hazards), or areas of ground
covers to relieve the monotony of grass.
Conclusion: Though superintendents of private golf courses, you may also consider
yourselves superintendents of public assets, a point of considerable importance for
the present and especially for the future.
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HOW TO BUY SEED
Joseph L. Newcomer
Department of Agronomy, University of Maryland
The quality of grass seed is extremely variable. Today1s golf course superintendent must be aware of these variations in quality and must know how to buy the
best possible turf grass seed. He must demand that extra high quality seed at almost
any cost since the cost of seed is one of the smallest items in his overall budget. I
am passing around two sets of samples of Kentucky Bluegrass. One is marked A and the
second B. Take a look at these samples. Decide which one you would buy and pass
them on.
Seed offered for sale in dryland or in any of the Mid-Atlantic States comes
under the regulation of the State and Federal Seed Laws. Neither can be any better
than the state enforcement Agency. Seed moving Yd^fc/tfie State comes under the jurisdiction of the State Seed Law, whereas seed moving in interstate is covered by the
Federal seed law. However, the state officials locate lots of seed in violation of
the Federal Seed Act. The important item concerned is the labeling.

What is required by most states and the Federal Seed Lav; in the labeling?
Let us look at this economy size tag. First we have the kind of crop and the
variety names.- Merion Kentucky bluegrass and Pennlawn Red Fescue. Second, we
must have somewhere on the label a lot dumber to identify the seed, Third, we
must have an analysis which shows:
Pure Seed
Other Crop Seed
Inert Matter
Weed Seed
Origin if known
Germination - 9 months for most state laws
5 months for the Federal seed law.
Name and number of noxious weed per ounce in the case of most grass and
legume seed but per pound in some grain.
To you as golf course superintendents some crop seed may be as objectionable
as noxious weed. Take annual bluegrass timothy, or orchardgrass in Kentucky Bluegrass. Don?t all of you want some of this on your course?
One other item on the tags is the tagger.
Most people will go to the seed store or you might even call them on the phone
and tell them to deliver so many pounds of Bluegrass seed. You are relying on the
reputation of your supplier,, Let me show you the analysis tags found less than a
year ago on seed being handled by a reputable seed dealer in Maryland.
Show two tags, (note origin and germination. Also crop and inert and weed in
Poa Trivialia). This seed was accurately labeled and as far as either seed law was
concerned they could not legally touch it. You as a buyer were responsible to read
the label and decide whether this is what you wanted. Here is my first point:—
READ THE IABEL.
To help you avoid a situation wherein you would order seed and have such seed
as the above delivered you should buy seed on specification. These need not be
complicated like Government Contracts, but in general they should spell out what
you desire. Let's take an example. If you want 1000 lbs. of Kentucky Bluegrass
specify 1000 lbs. of Kentucky Bluegrass and not 10 bags which you hope will have
100 lis. each.
Minimum
Maximum
Maximum
Minimum

pure seed
other crop seed
weed seed
Germination

No Noxious Weed
Free of Poa Annua, Orchardgrass, Chickweed, etc.
U.S.A. Origin

This is the second point I would like to make with you. Buy your seed on
specification. You write these out or at least have them definitely in mind if you
want to buy fertilizer, truck or a tractor. YJhy not do it with your seed for these
should outlast any of the above items and your business is really dependent upon
the grass. Personally, I would like to see you buying seed on the pure line seed
basis. Let us look at the analysis of seed tested for a few crops in 1962-63.
Kentucky Bluegrass
Merion Ky. Bluegrass
Red Fescue

Pure Seed
98.68 - 73.12
97.71 - 84.25
99.90 - 94.54

Cron
Inert
Weed
7.08 - 0.0 26.88 - 1.10 2.21
4.37 - 0.0 11.08 - 1.56
.87
1.52 - 0.0
5.29 - 0.00 1.73

Germination
98.GO - 61.00
86.00 - 59.00
98.00 - 59.00

Let us loolc at a fey examples of the Kentucky Bluegrass. Now would you rather
buy the 98.68 Pure Seed with germination of 98% or the 73.12 Pure seed with 61%
germination?
98.68

73.12
'0

78944
88812
96.7064
(cost equals .537^ per lb.

7312
43872
44.6032
(cost equals $1.03 per lb.

Next do you realize a testing facility is available to test seeds for you? The
State Seed Laboratory at College Park is happy to test any seed for you. It is a
good practice to draw a small sample of the seed when it arrives and submit it to
the Seed Laboratory for purity analysis, germination and noxious weed examination.
This is a safeguard. You test your soil to tell how much fertilizer you should add.
The Seed Laboratory officials are happy to aid in this quality control program. You
may want to pay for the seed on the basis of such a test. Spell this out in the
purchase order.
Lets look at a few reports on grass seed tested in 1963 at the State
Laboratory.
Some of you will be using vegetative material for planting the greens or even
the fairways and tees. Here I wish to advise you to buy certified sprigs when possible and to buy from a reputable supplier. Through certified seed you are assured
of getting seed stocks true to variety and usually of superior quality.
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OUR PUBLIC RELATIONS
Dr. Edward W. Aiton, Dir.
Extension Service, University of Maryland
Because my approach to the subject of f,public relations11 is a little unorthodox,
permit me to give a definition of public relations as I believe we should look at
them. Good public relations is "having a good program (a good golf course, a good
annual meeting, a good church service, a good automobile or a good anything else)
and getting credit for it."
This concept rejects such notions as "how to win friends and influence people"
(whether or not they want to be won and influenced.) It denies that obsolescence of
one*d-.-product is a worthy objective of an engineering design or a merchandising plane
It even resists the use of gimmicks or hidden pursuaders, exploitative tactics and
taking advantage of customers for personal gain. In my opinion, such manipulation of
human dignity is neither desirable nor productive in the long run. I believe with
President Lincoln that "you can fool some of the people some of the time, and you car
fool all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all
of the time."
Taking the two parts of this definition—having a good program and getting
credit for it—let*s look at your first responsibility. For a golf course superintendent, having a good program means a good golf course; it means creating and maintaining that golf course from the viewpoint of customer or your clientele, not necessarily from the way you or I would approach the subject. Your customer will be
happy if your golf course provides him with open space, beautiful surroundings, a
course that is challenging and one which has all of the earmarks of good craftsmanship, good design and architectural acumen. He will enjoy a course where his good
talents will be rewarded with a good score; and if he doesn!t have a good talent, he
may still enjoy the atmosphere, the surroundings and the original purpose of golf.
Even in such a setting he may not become a successful golfer, but he can be a satisfied customer and a happy American.
Your conference program this week is jewel-studied with suggestions for having
a good golf course. It is obvious that you men are serious about your business.
You wish to do a professional and a scientific job of landscape gardening. The list
of topics on your program is mute testimony of this, so I shall not belabor that
aspect of your task in this talk.
What about the second aspect of the subject? How do you get credit for a good
golf course? Well first of all, your customers will be appreciative, your pro will
be appreciative, your Board of Directors will be appreciative and your staff will be
appreciative of the opportunity of sharing with you the satisfaction of belonging to
a:good association. Everybody wants to be proud of his own outfit! This, in itself,
is perhaps credit enough, but there is more. You can encourage and stimulate an
appreciation of your good golf course v/ith several little devices.
What are your customers doing while they are waiting to tee off, or to let that
rain shower pass over? Do you provide them with a little fact sheet—a little bulletin of some kind v/hich gives them more information about the marvels of your beauti.
ful course? Recently I picked up a copy of "Table Talk" the chatter-box type of news
letter v/hich is put out by the Hot Shoppes1 organization. It is chock-full of tidbit*
of human interest value to their customers. Another example of this is the "C# & P.
Call." It is a small booklet v/hich describes our telephone system, its services to
the public, some of their problems of operation; but most of all, it tells the story
about how the telephone is serving its customers.
You have marvelous opportunities for a little publication like nTee Talk".

Can't you just visualize a paragraph or two on each of the following topics:
"\7hat You Don!t See on a Golf Course! (besides girls in shorts)
"\7hat!s Holding You Up? (miracles of soil biology and structure)
"Rough Talk" (jokes)
"Bill and Coo" (birds you may see at
)
^About Our Par 78
" or "Is #1 Trap Too Deep?"
Give your patrons some knowledge or thunder and they will spread the good word
about your business faster than you could ever get them to read it in the sport
pages. And remember, Durante was right—"Everybody v/ants to get into the act"—
even your act.
Finally, if you would have your efforts appreciated, you must first appreciate
your own staff, your own boss, your own customers and see their side of whatever
picture you're trying to sell. "Love thy neighbor as thyself" is more than a good
scripture lesson for Sunday mornings. It applies in the hard, cold world of
economics too. And remember that Bobby Burns said, "see yourself as others see you.
Get close to your customers and your bosses by finding out their interests and
catering to these* Public relations is human relations, and good inter-personal
human relations depend more on you than they do on the other guy.
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THE CLUB MANAGER AND THE GOLF COURSE SUPERINTENDENT
THEIR RELATIONSHIP TO EACH OTHER
Jaojues Aimi, Manager
\7oodmont Country Club, Rockville, Md.
Last October at the Golf Course Superintendents1 meeting at Y/oodmont Country
Club, your distinguished President, Mr. James Thomas, asked me if I would like to
speak to your organization,, Boldly, I said, 1Tes, I will be very happy and honored
to do so," but deep in my heart I was scared, V/hat could I talk about? However,
Mr. Thomas assured me there is much that can be said regarding good relationship between Golf Course Superintendents and Club Managers, and he is certainly right in
more ways than one.
A club manager is constantly in the eyes of the members and is subject to most
of the complaints. These complaints may not have been made to anyone else and unless
the manager does something about them, they remain just complaints. For instance,
last summer we had a bad time for fairways. Many members came to my office and said,
"Mr. Aimi, when are we going to do something about our fairv/ays? Look at other clubs
in this area. Their fairways are in much better shape and yet we spend so very much
money to improve ours."
It was the old story....the grass always looking greener
behind the other fellow *s fence. I went to our very capable Golf Course Superintendent, Bob Shields, who is your well-known Vice President, and Bob graciously took me
around ,the Y/oodmont Golf Course....and explained the problem. Bob said, "Mr. Aimi,
all that you see on these fairways is alive but it takes time to grow. With every
step we take we are walking on something that is living and breathing. You can help
Nature, but you cannot speed it up as much as you want. Growing takes time."
From then on when a member complained about the fairways I could give him a
reasonable and satisfactory answer, thanks to Bob!s explanation, and the complaint
was not repeated. Every manager owes it to the Golf Course Superintendent and to the
members to try to understand reasons and give the right answers....and the golf Cours
Superintendent owes it to the manager to anticipate complaints and explain the causes
Being a jump ahead makes for a more pleasant relationship for all concerned.

A Golf Course Superintendent in any Country Club holds a very important position . It is the duty of the Club Ifenager to uphold that importance to the members.
The manager should be familiar with any real problems on the golf course and take
the time to consult with the Golf Course Superintendent and get the facts. It never
hurts to ask questions for in this day and age there is no such thing as Superman.
Nobody has all the answers and to get even a few it takes consideration and understanding. I repeat, to always think of the other person and his problems...to try
to understand them and help him understand yours. It makes for a far better relationship between all departments.
I make it my business to see that I know all the names of persons working on
the greens as well as something about their families. When I talk with the workers,
it pleases them to think I have taken the extra interest and add the personal touch.
V.re all like to feel that someone cares and speaks with kindness and understanding.
It is amazing what far-reaching results this can have. When talking to a member of
the 1/aintenance Crew, it doesnU hurt to ask, especially on a very cold day, "Are
you comfortable in your home? Is there anything I can do? Are your children warm?
In doing such a simple thing as that it helps to make the work of the Golf Course
Superintendent easier, for their is a greater loyalty established between head and
crew.
Every club manager should have lunch occasionally with the Superintendent and
keep up-to-date with the progress being made on the golf course...for after all,
who can be a better spokesman for him than the manager. There is so much to be said
in every direction, now that I ! m started, I could go on for hours...but I wonTt.
Each December at V/oodmont Country Club we have a Christmas party for the staff..,
to honor them and their v/ives or husbands, We have a lovely buffet and an open bar.
Every employee of the Club is invited and I act as host. The Club President and the
various chairmen attend...the President talks and thanks everyone for his part in mak
ing the club operation successful. For some of the employees this is the one and
only time in the year that they come inside the club house and it means a lot to
them. I*d like to tell you of one thing that happened at one of our Christmas parties. I was at the front door to greet the maintenance crew members and their wives.
One lady, the wife of one of the key employees on the greens, said to me, "Mr. Aimi,
this is wonderful! My husband has worked at this club for 12 years and this is the
first time I have ever been in the clubhouse." Gentlemen, I felt about
THIS highe
l
I looked at myself in the mirror and couldn t even see myself. This mere VISIT to
the clubhouse meant so much to this lady!.*.and yet, in twelve years no one had been
considerate enough to even think of it. This proves that we can all make mistakes...
and that goodv/ill can be created through what might seem to some - very little things
Now let*s take a look in another direction. One very big phase of any Golf
Course Superintendents work is to create beauty when landscaping the Golf Course...
the Club entrancec,.the grounds around the clubhouse. Whether anyone realizes it or
not, beauty of surroundings adds much to anyone's personal happiness. It is the
constant job of both the Manager and the Golf Course Superintendent to do everything
possible toward that end. After all, the motto of every club should be one to please
the members and make them happy. Every Golf Course Superintendent is an artist
in his own way and to create beauty is his privilege.

- 30 It is so extremely important...and so many, many times completely forgotten,..
that everyone connected with a club should at all times FEEL AND KNOW that the
interest of the club as a WHOLE SHOULD COME FIRST. You remember the wonderful words
of our late beloved Resident, John F. Kennedy,. .ASK NOT WHAT YOUR COUNTRY CAN DO
FCR YOU BUT WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR YOUR COUNTRY. The same idea applies to all phases
cf club life. It is not what your club can do for you, but what you can do for your
club. A Golf Course Superintendent is like a king in his own department and if he
is a wise king, he thinks in terms of the welfare of his men...and also, if he can
instill in his men by words and example that the CLUB COMES FIRST, I guarantee you,
my friends, he can hold his head very high and be assured of success;
Between the Golf Course Superintendent and the Club Manager there must be
mutual respect. Sometimes a Golf Course Superintendent has held his position for
many years when a new club manager arrived...or it might be the other way around.
Regardless of any difference in age or time of service, in this world every man has
something to give to every other man. Everyone can learn something from everyone
else. Mutual respect goes a long way toward harmony and success. Remember what
Will Rogers used to say - !,I never met a man I didn't like". If we had Will1s
philosophy, maybe all of our jobs would be easier.
No club manager worth his salt ever wants to take any authority away from a
Golf Course Superintendent, or interfere with any policy established, providing
that some authority is wisely used and the policy in operation benefits the club
as a whole. We must keep in mind that we are living in an age of speed and what
might have been good last year, today may be completely out of date. We all have to
be on our toes constantly, whether v/e like it or not.
I am European born. I have worked in France, Italy, Spain, Belgium, England,
South America„..and I have observed that no matter where in this world one works,
the person v/ho succeeds thinks in terms of the entire organization and not in just
a particular department. The person who is not willing to help wherever and
whenever possible.,or has the attitude, "I was not hired to do this or that....or,
n
Who cares? It!s not skin off of my back"....never goes to the top of the ladder.
The relationship between the Club Manager and the Golf Course Superintendent...,,
as well as the relationship between the Golf Course Superintendent and the maintenance crew, should at all times be one of fairness and justice with the final goal....
the happiness of the members v/hich means the success of the club... .always in mind.
And believe me, a sense of human helps. How many times you must have seen a grin or
a friendly pat on the back...or a joke...or a kidding remark break the worst tension/
If I v/ere a doctor, I would recommend a sense of humor as the best cure for all
ills.
This crazy world slowly but surely is beginning to realize that v/e all need
each other and that v/e MUST work together. I leave you with one thought....
INTEGRITY IN OUR EVERY DAY WORK....INTEGRITY IN OUR EVERY DAY RELATIONSHIP WITH OUR
FELLOW MAN....it is the greatest asset any man can have....now or ever.
Thank you very much for the privilege of speaking with you.