UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION GREEN SECTION M i d - C o n t i n e nt T u r f l e t t er MID-WESTERN D I S T R I CT R O OM 2 4 1, L A S A L LE H O T EL C H I C A GO 2, I L L I N O IS T E L E P H O N E: S T A TE 2 - 7 4 85 SOUTHWESTERN D I S T R I CT T E X AS A 8c M C O L L E GE C O L L E GE S T A T I O N, T E X AS T E L E P H O N E: V I C T OR 6 - 5 2 10 N o. 3 June - 1962 DR. MARVIN H. FERGUSON M I D - C O N T I N E NT D I R E C T OR N A T I O N AL R E S E A R CH C O O R D I N A T OR JAMES L. HOLMES A G R O N O M I ST H O L M AN M. G R I F F IN A G R O N O M I ST * * * * * * * * * * * * WILLIAM C. CHAPIN M r. William C. Chap in , of Rochester, New York,, who has been chairman of the USGA Green Section Committee since 1957^ lost his life on M ay 22 in the crash of an airplane in Iowa. A ll M r. Chapin1s friends in golf will "be saddened by his passing, b ut those of us associated with the Green Section feel especially stricken by our loss. He did much to help the cause of better turf in golf. His interest and encouragement helped to make the cause seem more important and the work more pleasant. * * * * * * * * * * * * DALLAS GOLF COURSES KEEP RECORDS Some of our readers may be interested in a letter written by M r. Grover Keeton in which he describes the value of records in the Dallas municipal golf course operations. His letter is reproduced here: City of Dallas Texas April 2k, 1962 Dear D r. Ferguson: I read with interest your article in the USGA Journal, April 1962 issue, on golf course maintenance as result of the recent study you conducted. Reading this article, reminded me of the continued value as a result of participating in this study. In this connection, you might be interested in glancing at the attached copy of labor distribution the City of Dallas Park Department experienced i960 on its four golf courses during the past fiscal year - October 1, to October 1. 1961. The results are quite interesting in our particular situation due to having the privilege of comparing labor distribution on the individual courses. You might realize, it causes interesting discussion at golf course meetings. In addition, it causes all of us to be conscious of number of hours required to do a certain job. For example, you will notice it required 780 hours to change cups at the Cedar Crest course, etc. For your information, the attached form is used by each golf course in submitting its monthly labor distribution report. Briefly, total labor distribution report on the four courses was as follows: 3 of time devoted to greens 1 k$> of time devoted to service buildings 1256 fairways 1 0$ vacation and illness 9$ woodland 5$ tees 5$ rough 3$ equipment 7$ miscellaneous, bunkers, service road, etc. Very truly yours, s/ Grover C. Keeton Superintendent of Special Activities AFTER EFFECTS OF WINTER Prolonged cold weather and ice cover on greens was responsible for a great deal of damage throughout the Midwest, Winterkill (or perhaps "spring kill") was prevalent. After such a season, it is rather difficult to think that there was anything good about it. Superintendents m ay gain some small amount of comfort, however, from the fact that such trials often teach some lessons. This year, the severity of the difficulties appeared to be associated to some extent with a lack of drainage and aeration. Well drained greens apparently suffered less damage. there appeared to be some value in breaking the ice cover to permit air to get into the turf and the soil. Good drainage naturally implies good aeration, b ut more than this, The B u ll Sheet, published by the Midwest Association of Golf Course Superin- tendents, carried a very fine discussion of these matters in the M ay 1962 issue. This article also noted that some strains of grass were more susceptible than others to ice sheet damage. NEW BERMUDAGRASS PESTS A recent article in California Turfgrass Culture describes two pests that have damaged bermudagrass turf in the Southwest. Aceria neocynodonis Keifer, and the frit f l y, Oscinella frit (Linn.). The frit fly was described in the USGA Journal, July 1958. They are the bermudagrass mite, The following paragraphs are reprinted from California Turfgrass Culture: The bermudagrass mite is in the family Eriophyidae and is related to the b ud mites and the rust mites. These mites are microscopic in size and have only two pairs of legs instead of the usual four pairs. The bermudagrass mite lives in the terminal leaf sheaths and its feeding causes stunting, a witches-broom effect (many shoots from the same node), general decline, and eventual death of the stolon. It was first observed and recorded from Phoenix, Arizona, in 1 9 5 9 a nd subsequently in Yuma and several locations in Southern California in i960. . .. The frit fly is a very small, b l a c k, fly. The tiny maggots, or larvae, tunnel in the stems near the surface of the soil causing the upper portion of the plant to turn brown and die. Symptoms of damage on golf greens are quite characteristic. Damage appears first on the collars and moves in toward the center of the green. The high or upper sections are usually the first to show injury, and observations indicate that greens with a high organic matter content m ay be more susceptible. BULK RATE U.S. POSTAGE P A ID College Station, Texas Permit No. 80 USGA GREEN SECTION dr. A# M* Radko USGA Green Section 814 Haritan Avenue Highland Park, N.J.