Sponsored by the

PROCEEDINGS OF THE
1969
MIDWEST REGIONAL TURF CONFERENCE

Midwest Turf Foundation Today
The Architect Views His Challenges
Water Movement and Evaporation
Infiltration and Pore Sizes

Page
3
3
5
8

W. H. Daniel
Ferdinand Garbin
Jerry V. Mannering
H. Kohnke

Clays and Their Actions
Peats in Process
Calcined Aggregates....
Sponge Rubber
Activated Charcoal

, Joe L. White
, .Gene Holder
,W. H. Daniel
,W. H. Daniel
,W. H. Daniel

10
11
13
14
1$

Root zone Observations
Use of Ion-Exchange Resins in Fertilization of Turfgrasses. ...Melvin Robey
Sand as a Growth Medium for Athletic Turf
Helmet Kohnke
.. .W. H. Daniel
Summary of Ten Ways to Construct, Purdue
System 9 - The Purr-Wick System
Principles for Any Green
Humus and Sand Greens - Western Style

15
17
18
20
21
22
24

Softening Hard Soil Areas
Turf - Basic Principles of Nutrition

..Robert Feindt

25
27
28

Gardening - 600 B. C. to Country Club Road
The Golf Course Landscape
Man and His Golf - A Need Fulfilled

.Warren Bidwell
.Warren Bidwell
.Warren Bidwell

31
33
35

The 56 talks includes in these Proceedings are condensations of talks by
speakers before sections and divisions of the 1969 M.R.T.F.Conference. We appreciated the willingness of the speakers to participate and prepare material for
your reading. Proceedings of each annual Conference since 1948 have been prepared.
A limited number of 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965 and 1966 Proceedings are available at
$ 1.00 per copy.
A copy of these Proceedings were mailed to:
The 770 attending the 1969 Midwest Turf Conference
One person of each member organization within the Midwest Regional
Turf Foundation not represented at the Conference
List of those in educational activities
Additional copies are available at $ 2.00 each from:

. ; _ • .

. .• < ,

W. H. Daniel, Executive Secretary
Midwest Regional Turf Foundation
Department of Agronomy, Purdue Univ.
Lafayette, Indiana 47907

Page
The Professional Approach
The Public Fee Golfer
Promoting Golf Nationally.
Promoting Turf and Promoting Golf
Promoting Golf at the Golden Tee
Promoting Public Golf Courses
Promoting Golf
Promoting Golf - My Ideas
The How and Why of Night Maintenance
Special and Night Maintenance..
An Effective Technique for Recognition
Ten Tears of Decisions
Dew is Not Dew
New Concepts in Irrigation
Automatic Irrigation
Quality Control by Automatics
Central Programming of Golf Course Irrigation
Industrial Landscape Irrigation

Howard R. Taylor
Harold W. Glissmsm
Peter Miller '
Keesling & Street
Jeffrey Mays
John Raber
W. E. Lyons, Sr.
Bill Duwe

39
42
43
45
46
48
49
51

W. E. Lyons, Sr.
Bill Duwe

52
54

Howard Gaskill
James W. Brandt
Tom Mas caro

55
57
60

C. K.
Walter J.
John
Austin J.
Austin J.

Watson
Wilkie
Dunlap
Miller
Miller

66
68
71
72
73

Production, Merchandising and Future Plans for Fylking
Kentucky Bluegrass
Doyle W. Jacklin
Windsor - The Pony Grass that Went to Town..
Paul Florence
Sodco Bluegrass
W. H. Daniel

75
79
81

Bluegrass Response to Close Cutting
Continuing Bluegrass Research 1968-69
Let1 s Talk Turf Improvement

J. A. Long
Terry Riordan
C. G. Wilson

82
84
85

W. H. Daniel
Wilbur F. Evans

86
91

Wayne Morgan

93

J. C. Sinninger
John R. Barrett, Jr.
Raymond Treeborg

95
97

Donald H. Scott
Malcolm C. Shurtleff

101
105

Controlling Poa annua
Herbicides for Turf
Is your Grass Safe?
Turf Management for Purdue University Football
Stadium and Practice Fields
Turf Heating in Action
Understanding Turf Diseases
What!s New with Bentgrass Diseases
Manpower on the Move...
Manpower on the Move
Irrigation Now and Then

For Lawns -

Tom Sams
Robert V. Mitchell
Thomas J. Kraier

first see articles starting on pages -

20, 27, 28, 73, 75, 79, 81, 82, 91, 101
For Sod Production - first see pages

5, 8, 10, 11, 28, 73, 75, 79, 81, 82, 84, 85, 86, 91, 101, 105
For Golf Courses - all including
Soils 3 - 28, promotion 31-51,

Management

52 - 109.

107
108
109

MIDWEST TURF FOUNDATION TODAY
W. H. Daniel^ Dept. of Agronomy; Purdue University;
Lafayette;Indiana

A statement
to critically hear
compliment to this
as a listener here
scheduled.

in your program welcomes the speakers"; challenges you as listeners
and repeatedly question the ideas they present. It is your best
Conference to listen intently; and to question for your reception
this is equally important to the presentation of the 53 speakers

Today Midwest Turf Foundation is going well - not real well. However; those
of you from other states knowing of your stateTs program and the progress they are
making; can appreciate total developments within this region. At least five years
ago interest in adjacent states and their individual programs boomed upward; and
this has wisely continued. As a regional membership in Midwest Turf we have just
held our own - around 365 members per year.
Now, this could be much more; and many of you as registered were given membership ribbons. Please wear them; please advertise; and please help share the information you can through this act. It is not a protest - it is a proposal for.
To those of you not wearing member tags we would invite you to join for the support
of research and the exchange of ideas. And; we would also encourage you to join
your own state organization so that maximum support is achieved and maximum advancements are made. lou are encouraged to join Midwest Turf while here; or to pick up
application forms and take them with you for your organizations action. Mrs. House
will be glad to help you at the Registration Desk.
As you registered many of you met Mrs. House who continues as secretary in
the turf office. Her long term association and conscientious work is most appreciated. At the greenhouse on special trips to see things many of you will meet Bob
Seager. His continued devotion to work makes for easy operations. We are fortunate
to have these dedicated people.
Excellent cooperation continues with the administration within the University.
The departmental and Experiment Station people have been most co-operative. Again
this makes the work more productive and more pleasant.
Do be alert to those things that may make Midwest Turf Foundation more productive; more efficient and of most value in Turf Management for all of us.

THE ARCHITECT VIEWS HIS CHALLENGES
Ferdinand Garbin; Golf Course Architect;
Export; Pennsylvania
The American Society of Golf Course Architects held its 23rd meeting in
Florida; February 14 - 17 > 1969. The membership; after several years of deliberation; has prepared for publication the following definition of a golf course architect:

n

A member of ASGCA is one who, by virtue of his knowledge of the game, training and experience, vision and inherent ability, is in all ways qualified to design
and prepare specifications for a golf course of functional and aesthetic perfection. He is further qualified to execute and oversee the implementation on the
ground of his plans and specifications to create an- enjoyable layout that challenges golfers of all abilities and exemplifies the highest standards and traditions
of golf. He will counsel in all phases of the work to protect the best interests of
the client. Each member of the ASGCA is engaged full time in golf course architecture. 11
Now that we have the definition we must decide its meaning. How do we expect
How will the puba definition to further golf course architecture or golf itself?
lication of a definition affect contractors and builders, superintendents, golfers
and golf course owners?
Our definition contains several carefully selected terms and words:
a. 'fVcwledge of the game! - There are many practicing designers who have
never hit a golf ball. Some do not have a thorough or even a slight knowledge of
the rules of the game, and many have no idea of shot placement or shot value.
Our game of golf is not merely hitting a ball. We have over 9,000 golf
courses in existence. The public will not participate on a poor layout, or on a
poorly maintained course. Steep slopes, severely undulating putting surfaces,
greens with too few cupping areas will appeal to few, if any, golfers. Why didn!t
you investigate the architects background before he was hired? His work should
have been checked by inspecting several courses he designed. Then his knowledge
of engineering principles necessary to produce plans and specifications and his
agronomic ability necessary for the production of fine turf and maintenance of the
finished product would have been apparent. Don't let an amateur practice with
your funds.
b. 'Training and experience' - Each applicant to the ASGCA must produce
evidence of six years experience in golf course design and supervision of construction, or at least six years association with a recognized golf course architect.
Why should you settle for less when you hire an architect to design your course?
c. 'Inherent ability' - The members of the ASGCA believe the ability to design a golf course with artistic interest, coupled with engineering principle, is
an inherited trait. It is generally agreed that the inherent ability, plus training and experience, are absolutely required to set oneself out as a professional
person.
d. 'Vision' - You cannot use guesswork in designing a golf course - neither
is it pure artistry nor engineering. It is a combination of all these things. The
architect must SEE the golf course in the forest long before the plans and specifications are completed. Vision is acquired from experience in the field.
The definition explains what the architect is. It tells you that he can
do his chosen task when the opportunity is presented. He can produce a fine product if conditions are optimum.
Let us suppose that the conditions are not optimum. Golf courses are owned
and paid for by people. People form clubs for social reasons, for profit-making
ventures, and to provide municipal recreation facilities. These same people divide
themselves into committees to speed the project. Now the fun begins.

First we purchase the cheapest, most run-down farm, or deep woods available
close to the population center. Then we gather all the literature available from
the universities, the golf magazines, the local green superintendent, the local
four handicap golfer, and fertilizer and seed salesmen. Then we shop around for a
golf course architect. Don!t look at his work - hire the lowest priced man. Can
you imagine what the course will look like?
This picture is not far-fetched, and is often close to the truth. The
greatest challenge we architects meet today is created under conditions such as
these. We seldom have the opportunity to select the land we will use. We meet
with groups who have pre-conceived ideas of how the course will be built, how much
it will cost per hole regardless of the condition of the site.
The greatest harm done to golf today is through half-education. The chairmen of the construction committees attend conferences, read literature disseminated
by golf organizations, and listen at length to professional people about installation and maintenance of golf courses. Mich of the information is quite technical
for their backgrounds, and the more important issues are discounted.
In plain English, there is too much general information passed on with good
intentions, but s8/fe£Peady out of date. I find clients reading about chemical
treatments and fertilizer techniques which were outmoded years ago. Once they have
formed ideas, the battle becomes intensified and the task becomes next to impossible. The architect enters this situation and has much to overcome before he can
get to the real issue. This means re-education, not only by me, but by the local
County Agent or the Extension Agronomist, or other agencies which may have the information required.
I have not discussed the individual challenges encountered in design or construction because it seemed important to publicly state the American Society of
Golf Course Architects1 definition of the golf course architect.

WATER MOVEMENT AND EVAPORATION
Jerry V. Mannering, Dept. of Agronomy, Purdue University,
Lafayette, Indiana
The soil consists of solids (inorganic and organic matter), water and air.
The relative amount of these three components affect both water movement and water
storage in soils. The inorganic fraction is composed of three principal particle
sizes, sand, silt and clay (texture), which are largely responsible for the rates
and amounts of water momvement and storage. In order to discuss how texture produces these effects, we need to definie some terms.
Saturation - condition when nearly all pores are filled with water. (Zero tension).
Field capacity - condition occurring after a thoroughly wetted soil has drained
for several days. (1/3 atm. or 50 cm. tension).
Available water - to plant - water held in the soil between 1/3 and 15 atm. tension.
Wilting point
- condition at which the ease of release of water to plant roots is
just barely too small to counter-balance transpiration loss (loss
of water through leaves). Represented in practice by 15 atm.
tension.

The influence of texture on available soil water can be illustrated by
thinking of soils as storage barrels. A coarse sand, for example, might be made
up of 65$ solid soil and 35% pore space. When fully saturated this pore space
might contain 25$ excess,or gravitational water, which is of little use to plants
because it percolates through the soil in a very short time, 5$ unavailable water
or the water content at the wilting point, and only 5$ (0.6 inch in 12" soil
depth) available water.
A finer texture soil, such as a sandy loam, might have 54$ solid soil,24.5$
excess water, 10.5$ unavailable water, and 11$ (l.3n of water in 12n of soil)
available water.
Table 1.
Texture

Volume
solids
pore space
7°

Coarse sand
Sandy loam
Silt loam

65
55
48

Water by weight
unavailable
gravitational
7°

/O

35
45
52

at

5
10
14

7°

available

Inches
Per
foot

/o

25
24
20

5
11
18

0.7
1.3
2.1

An even finer textured silt loam soil might have 48$ solid soil, 20$ excess
water, 14$ unavailable water, and 18$ (2.21' inches of water in 12l? of soil) of
available water.
Soils that are very fine textured, that is high in clay content, will
an even higher total water holding capacity, but the available water will be
than that of a silt loam soil. This is because the water content at wilting
increases more rapidly than the total water holding capacity. This effect is
in Table 1. Water holding capacities of soils greatly affect many managprient
cisions such as amount and frequency of irrigation, fertilizer.- application,
trafficability, etc.

have
less
point
shown
de-

Water used in plant growth moves primarily in the liquid state, although
there is appreciable movement in the gaseous state near the wilting point. Water
in the liquid state moves out of coarse-textured soils very rapidly because they
contain a preponderance of large pores, and the influence of tension in holding
water in large pores is quite low. This is why coarse-textured soils are ideal
for parks, playgrounds, etc.
Two major forces move liquid water through soil pores - gravity and adhesion (capillarity). Gravity is the most important in saturated soils. It causes
a downward force on water. When the large pores are filled, water moves rapidly
through. When a soil i. not saturated, the larger pores are empty and contribute
little to flow. Under these conditions adhesion and cohesion, which cause water
molecules to hang together and be attracted to the soil particles, makes water move
through the finer pores. This is the same force that causes water to rise in small
(hair size) capillary tubes.
Water moves until the forces balance, at which point water films on soil particles are uniform in thickness throughout a uniform soil. If the soil is not uniform, those portions of the soil with the finest pores retain water more strongly.
In stratified soils (soils with layers) the size of the pores in the strata
affect water flow. Layers with very fine pores restrict water movement, although
the water in the wetting front does continue to move. If the wetting front encounters coarse material, water movement stops until the soil becomes nearly saturated. Stratified soils also tend to hold more water for plant use than uniform

soils since the different layers slow movement of water, more remains in the root
zone. Organic materials, such as straw plowed under in a band, also form barriers
to water movement very similar to a layer of sand or coarse aggregates. In turf
work it may be beneficial to form layered systems in order to provide a better environment for plant growth.
Let us now briefly consider soil water loss. We have already suggested that
gravitational water percolated through the soil and was of little use to plants.
The loss of plant available water on the other hand occurs through (-1) evaporation
from the soil surface and transpiration from plant leaves. These two terms are
usually combined and referred to as évapotranspiration (ET).
Work in Illinois showed as much as 50% of the total available soil water loss
could occur through evaporation. This work was done on row crops, however, where
appreciable energy (sun) reached the soil surface and the soil surface was also very
wet. Iowa workers reported that 19 days after maximum leaf area development in corn,
evaporation accounted for 2l$> of the water loss. Kohnke reported that water loss
from a soil surface can actually exceed that from an open water surface if the surface is wet and exposed to bright sunlight. Usually, however, this condition lasts
only a brief time and evaporation from the soil surface is much below that of a
free water surface.
When working with turf, where full canopy cover is generally experienced, except during establishment, evaporation losses would be relatively low. Transpiration, therefore, under full canopy is largely responsible for atmospheric loss of
water. This is illustrated by the fact that in this latitude under similar atmospheric demand, much greater water loss occurs under a full canopy of corn than when
the corn is small and doesn*t have the soil covered.
Atmospheric demand greatly influences water use, and this demand changes with
the season and the weather as illustrated by the following table.

Table 2.

_
Dull cloudy
weather

April or September
May or August
June or July

0.07
.09
.13

Daily Evapotranspiration during
Normal
Bright, hot
weather
weather
0.11
.13
07.

g

0.14
.19
.23

When the plant1s plumbing system, the roots, cannot supply sufficient water
to meet the atmospheric demand, the plant wilts. This can occur even above the wilting point moisture percentage on high demand days since the capillary movement to
the root area is slow and cannot keep up with the demand. This is why it is important to have vigorous, well-distributed root systems so soil water has only a short
distance to move to get into the roots. Also, irrigation systems should be designed
to meet the requirements of a high demand day if it is essential that plants do not
suffer from inadequate water.

INFILTRATION AND PORE SIZES
H. Kohnke, Dept. of Agronomy, Purdue University
Lafaye11 e, Indiana
Infiltration is the entry of water into the soil. Continued infiltration is
possible only when the water percolates through the soil. More than this is runoff or ponded.
On a golf course a high rate of infiltration is desirable so that rain or
irrigation water is promptly removed. A continued infiltration rate of 13mm/hour
(1/2 inch/hour) is satisfactory.
Pore sizes can best be classified according to their equivalent hydraulic
diameter. Since every pore has irregular shapes, it is difficult to express its
size in an actual diameter. Therefore, the behavior of water in soil pores is
compared to that in cylindrical pores.
The total pore space in compacted soils varies between 25 percent in sands
mixed of several size fractions to 70 percent in a muck soil. In most cases it is
between 30 and 45 percent of the total volume.
The rate of infiltration depends not so much on the total pore space as on
the distribution of the pore space sizes. The larger the pores the faster is the
potential rate of infiltration. Pores of over 0.06 mm diameter take up water very
quickly. Pores between 0.01 and 0.06 mm diameter still allow water to enter at a
fair rate, but pores smaller than 0.01 mm diameter soak up water extremely slowly.
A classification of soil pores according to size and their hydraulic functions is
presented in Table 1.
Table 1.
Equivalent
Pore Diameter

j Pore Size
:
Dominant
! Designation i Pore Function
1
i
. Large pores
;
Infiltration
i
Drainage
Aeration
!
Capillary
Medium pores
Conduction
i
i
ii
| Fine
j Storage of
; pores
Plant avail!
able water
| Hygroscopic
Hygroscopic
j
water unavail- 1
j surfaces
able to plants \
«
I

Water
Movement

>

Larger
than
0.06
0.01
0.0002
arid
smaller

Rapid movement,
gravitational flow
predominant
Slow capillary rise,
of slow gravitational
flow downward
Attraction of water in
liquid and vapor
form
No liquid movement,
only vapor movement

Two forces are involved in causing infiltration of water into soil: gravity
and the attraction of the soil for water. Gravity is always active, but water may
not be able to follow gravity because of an impervious layer. The rate at which
water that fills the pores will move downward is proportional to the fourth power
of the radius of the pores. This means that doubling the radius of a pore causes
a sixteenfold increase in percolation rate.
The reason for this extraordinary difference is the so-called "Stationary
Boundary Layer." This is the very thin (0.0001 mm) layer of water nearest the soil

particle that is held so tightly that under ordinary circumstances it does not move.
Therefore; it restricts the flow area in the pores. Percentage-wise it restricts
the flow area of very small pores much more than larger pores. Pores of 0.0002 mm
diameter (twice the thickness of the Stationary Boundary Layer); therefore; do not
allow any movement of liquid water.
Table 2 shows the relation of pore diameter to the percentage of effective
flow area.
Table 2.

Pore Diameter
mm

.1

• 01

.001

Effective flow area
of total crosssectional area

%
99.9 large pores
96.0 medium

64.0

.0005

36.0

.0002

0.0

hygroscopic

In practically all cases infiltration rates are large at the beginning of a
rain or an irrigation; and then gradually decrease. The reason for this is that in
a dry soil both the large and the small pores are free of water and allow rapid
water intake. Once the pores at the surface are filled with water, the soil can
take up water only at the rate it percolates to make room for more water above.
Some of the soil crumbs break down and the sloughed-out particles settle in the
pores, decreasing their sizes and consequently their percolation rate. The same
slowdown of infiltration results from the swelling of the soil colloids.
Infiltration rate is also affected by the wettability of the soil. Some of
the organic compounds and hydr&cides of iron are difficult to wet once they have
been thoroughly dried out.
How to get large pores that permit water to infiltrate rapidly?
Nature has devised methods to enlarge
thawing, wetting and drying, and the opening
roots. All these methods are very effective
from above as it occurs when men or machines

the pores of a soil: freezing and
of the soil by animals and by plant
but are counteracted by compression
move over its surface.

Another method to have large pores is to select a sand of the proper size
(medium to fine sand) that contains no or practically no very fine sand, silt or
clay. Such sand, when compacted, has pores that are large enough to allow rapid
infiltration. Generally speaking the effective pore diameter in a very uniform
size of sand is about one-third the diameter of the sand particles. Thus, compacted fine sand above plastic to maintain uniform wetness being researched at
Purdue offers much in pore size.

CLAYS AND THEIR ACTIONS
Joe L. White, Dept. of Agronomy, Purdue University
Lafayette, Indiana
Soils are usually classified on the basis of texture as a sandy loam, a silt
loam, a clay loam or some similar designation. This classification simply has to
do with the size of particles and the proportion of the various sizes - it says
nothing about their composition. In general, as you go from coarse to fine particle
size the surface activity increases very greatly because the surface area of the
finely divided material becomes greater; thus, the properties that have to do with
adsorption, swelling, plasticity, etc., increase very markedly as particle size
decreases.
If one takes a chunk of soil and treats it in such a manner that it can be
sliced into sections sufficiently thin to permit examination in transmitted light
under a microscope, it can be seen that the soil is made up of particles cemented
together by organic matter and clay arranged in such a manner that there are many
openings or pores. These pores may be small or large, depending upon the proportion of different particle sizes in the soil. The pores may or may not be connected
in a continuous manner. The size and distribution of pores control the movement of
liquids and vapors in the soil.
If we take a sample of a well-aggregated soil and place it in a container of
water and agitate vigorously, we can break down the aggregates and cause the soil
to separate into individual particles. These particles range in size as sand
(2.0 to .05 mm), silt (.05 to .002), to clay (less than 0.002 mm). When we examine
the various particle-size fractions with an ordinary light microscope, we can
easily see the sand and silt particles, but the clay particles are too small to be
resolved by the light microscope.
In order to examine the nature of soil minerals in the clay fraction, the
particles must be magnified thousands of times. This can be readily done by the
use of the electron microscope. It can be shown by micrographs of minerals, such
as kaolinite, that minerals are well-crystallized and occur as thin platelets.
The organic fraction of the soil plays a very important role in determining
the physical and chemical properties exhibited by the soil, foil organic matter
is a very complex substance and relatively little is known about the detailed composition of the material. However, it appears that many of the groups, such as
carboxyl groups and amino groups, can react with nutrients as well as with pesticides and cause them to be adsorbed.
In the case of reactions in solution, the rate and extent of reaction is proportional to the concentration of the reactants. When a solid is involved in reactions with compounds in solution, the rate and extent of reaction is proportional
to the surface area of the solid. In addition to the amount of surface area, the
nature of the surface is also of considerable importance. Features affecting the
nature of the surface include:
1.
2.

The electrical field emanating from the surface, i.e., whether it is
charged or neutal, and
The kind of chemical groups which make up the surface, i.e., whether
it consists of oxygen atoms, hydroxyls, carboxyls, amino groups, etc.

The clay-size minerals exert a great deal of influence on the physical and
chemical properties of soils due to their large surface. The silicate minerals

consist primarily of two building tlo-J
namely, four oxygens at the corners of a
tetrahedron usually with a silicon atom in the center, and six oxygens and/or hydroxyls at the corners of an octahedron, often with an aluminum ion at the center.
Layers of tetrahedra and octahedra may be combined in several ways, but two
general groups are generally recognized. In the first, one tetrahedral layer is
fused with one octahedral layer, giving a tetrahedral-octahedral layer ratio of
1:1. This group is known at the KAOLINITE. Minerals of this group are normally
non-swelling.
In the second major group, the MONTMORILLONITE group, one octahedral layer is
fused between two tetrahedral layeio to form a mineral having a tetrahedraloctahedral layer ratio of 2:1. An unusual variation of the 2:1 gro&£/liRsthe mineral
attapulgite. Ribbons of the 2:1 tetrahedral-octahedral units alternate with voids
in such a manner that a cross-section of attapulgite resembles a checkerboard.
Water and organic compounds can occupy the channels bounded by the ribbons of the
2:1 units.
Let us first consider the amount of surface area. The surface area of a nonswelling clay, such as kaolinite, is about 15m?/g. In comparison, a swelling clay
such as montmorillonite may have surface area of as much as 800 rn^/g. Soil types
may have a surface from 2 up to 50m /g.
Clay minerals have surfaces consisting almost wholly of oxygens or hydroxyls.
These surfaces normally have a net negative charge. The magnitude of this negative
charge, often expressed as cation exchange capacity, varies from about 5 milliequivalents per 100 grams for kaolinite (a non-swelling clay), up to about 100 for
montmorillonite (a swelling clay). The broken edges of the clay platelets may have
a very small , umber of positive charges. The planar surfaces will tend to attract
positively charged ions and repel negatively charged ions.
The clay surfaces just described have, in addition to the cations associated
with the negative charges, water molecules strongly bound to them. Because of
the strong attraction between the water molecules and the clay surface, there may
be competition between molecules of compounds added as fertilizers or pesticides,
and water molecules for adsorption sites on the clay surface. In addition, water
molecules in the electrical field of the cations and the clay surface may be dissociated . to a much greater extent than ordinary water. Thus, the pH of the surface of a clay particle at low moisture contents may be 3 or 4 pH units lower than
that measured in the bulk of the soil by means of a pH meter equipped with a glass
electrode. This "surface acidity: may be very significant in the interactions between soil clays and fertilizers and pesticides.

PEATS IN PROCESS
Gene Holder, Millburn Peat Company, Inc.
Otterbein, Indiana
During 1968 there were 128 active peat producers in
operations vary in size from one acre to 3000 acres. Our
mately 200 acres in size. All are small compared to some
Last August I visited the Premier bog in Riviere Du Loup,
long and 2 miles wide. They employ 750 laborers. At the

the United States. These
operation is approxiof the Canadian producers.
Quebec. It was 7 miles
peak of our season we

employ approximately 50, and in 1968 we were third largest among the domestic peat
producers. Of these 128 producers the majority are supplying the 3 most common
types known to all of us - peat moss, reed sedge peat, and humus. All 3 types are
useful and none is completely superior.
Peat and peat moss, which terms shall be used only with respect to organic
matter of geological origin, principally originating from dead vegetative remains
through the agency of water in the absence of air and occurring in a bog, swampland or marsh, and containing an ash content not exceeding 25$ on a dry weight
basis.
MOSS PEAT is that type which has been
other mosses. This type is the least
light tan to brown in color, light in
has a high organic content and low in

formed principally from sphagnum, hypnum and
decomposed of the various peat types. It is
weight, high in moisture holding capactiy,
ash.

REED SEDGE peat. This type is formed principally from reeds, sedges, marsh grass,
cat tails and other swamp plants. Usually brown to reddish in color, more decomposed and heavier in weight than moss peat.
HUMUS js peat that is in a more decomposed state in which the original plant remains
are not identifiable —
usually black in color, the heaviest of all in weight, and
has the lowest moisture retention capacity.
When buying, the most important thing is the type of peat and not the place of
origin. Peat is often sold by weight, and often the moisture content will run as
high as 75$. Regardless of the type of peat you are buying, your best buy is in
volume - not weight. Though we are all striving for the same results, we all have
different methods. Some machines that are useful in some operations are worthless
in others.
Ditching is the one problem we all have in common. The better drainage you
have, the more efficient the operation. There are various ditching machines used
throughout the industry. In this New Jersey operation, they use a crane and drag
line, and ditches drain into a lake area. We are not so fortunate in Otterbein as
we are pumping from our main ditch into a dredge ditch, which tends to overflow
during the spring rainy season.
Clearing of brush, which is very shallow-rooted, is fairly easy to remove.
A bomardier Muskeg with a mounted winch is used for pulling. Clusters of swamp
mgpjss are removed by a backhoe to loosen the root system, then the Bombardier
Muskeg winches out the cluster and removes it to the outer edge of the bog, where
it will eventually be bulldozed into a pile and burned. After the area is eventually cleared, a drag line is used to clear off the topsoil and remaining roots.
This is all waste material and must be hauled away.
At the Anderson bog in Imlay City, Michigan, wood and roots are removed in a
screening process, then on into the bag plant for packaging. In Sandusky, Michigan a copy of the original in use at the Millburn bog with dual tractor tires for flotation purposes. As in most Michigan operations - at the Huber operation - sticks
must be removed.
At the Millburn bog we have drainage ditches every .150 feet. The bottom of
our ditches are constantly oozing up. To maintain our ditches with comparative
ease, a large machine with a scraper wheel spins in the ditch, throwing the sludge
and water out on the bank. It is then picked up in scraper wagons such as these.
We also use these wagons for clearing our bog. An ordinary rotary hoe is used for
flaking the top layer of fiber loose. After it is allowed to dry for a few hours,

an Irish harrow is used to turn the material over.
hours, it is then ready for harvest.

After lying in the sun for a few

Our harvesting machine was built in our workshop under the supervision of
Henry Frenzer at a cost of approximately $ 25,000. If you will note the huge flotation tires on the rear, they cost approximately $ 1300 each.
Our wagons haul between 12 and 15 cubic yards per load. No other machine is
used in stock piling. Th©3 wagons dump from the bottom. A heavy plank between the
rear wheels levels the load and the next wagon will pass over the same path. This
procedure is followed the entire summer. Each of our stock piles will contain
approximately 30,000 to 40,000 cubic yards. It takes approximately 5 minutes to
load each wagon. Only 3 wagons are needed to keep up with harvester.

CALCINED AGGREGATES
W. H. Daniel, Dept. of Agronomy, Purdue University
Lafayette, Indiana

In 1952 calcined aggregates were first used as a rootzone modification under
turf conditions at Purdue. Now, seventeen years later, we have a history of numerous products being observed. Of these five have come to the fore in the market
with four having major sales.
Basically any fine material, such as clays or shales, which has been crushed
to smaller aggregates, then run through furnaces that remove the bound water and
partially change their natural structure, could be fired. However, those that have
been called calcined usually are accurately treated; for example, twenty minutes at
18©0°F.so that the product is mechanically stable. By this the particles, being
composed of solids and very small pores created within each aggregate, are stabilized
and the weight is lessened so that materials may weigh 35 pounds per square foot.
Every material may differ in source, amount of heat, amount of crushing and
color. Also, some materials are calcined different than others. The attapulgite
clays may be different than the arcillite clays. Obviously the diatomaceous earth
is also different. More obviously the shales are again different.
Lu-Soil, Turface, Terra-green and Prep are well-known as is Dialoam. Companies making these make numerous fractions of specialty materials for insecticides,
herbicides, filters, etc. Incidentally they also make some soil amendments.
Prices are very competitive. Research has been limited in some cases, and the
explanation of the materials has limited their sales at times. We know of many golf
greens which, having been repeatedly topdressed with calcined clays along with repeated aerification, have greatly improved, and the results have been most favorable
under most conditions.
Our research program has maintained turf outside on pure calcined materials
under weather, wear and management since 1958. Plots now ten years old still show
the individual granular aggregate character evidenced by the original. Initially
some of the plots did absorb 1 inch of water per minute (not hour), and ten years
later still retained very high infiltration rates. Normally we do not recommend

pure calcined aggregates for although they work well in summer, their best benefit
seems to be as additives to sand, or additives to soil, thus giving faster infiltration, better aeration and better water management.
We can expect continued use of the calcined aggregates as especially prepared
rootzones are considered. Fortunately they are weed-free, easy to spread, easy to
use at light rates when used straight. In one experiment, by repeated application,
we could apply to putting green turf 25 pounds per 100 sq.ft. and build up 1 inch of
material within one year by repeated treatments.
Although the calcining destroys much of the normal base exchange capacity of
the clays, there is some storage of materials and ions in the small cavities and
broken bond edges. The storage capacity of the calcined clays as normally tested,
may equal that of some ordinary soils.
There is the problem that the available water fraction held by the calcined
material is low. What does not drain out (quickly) is rather tightly held so the
available fraction is small - minimal, less than most soils.
Percentages of 25 - 60$ in the upper 2 inches can often modify enough so the
SOIL effect no longer predominates. In sands the 10 - 30$ in upper 2 inches may improve minor element storage (along with peat or vermiculite).

SPONGE RUBBER
W. H. Daniel, Purdue University
In the Ten Ways to Build article (in Proceedings) we point out four ways to
build greens without soil. Now, without the fines so characteristic of soil, there
are many new possibilities. For example, how about using ground sponge rubber in
sand to improve resiliency? How much? What size particles? How deep? How long
will it last?
We know if the particle of sand or soil is smaller than the openings in the
rubber, this particle moves into the openings and the mass becomes near solid. So,
if sponge rubber is to be used it must be resilient, must keep the pores open, i.e.,
stay free of soil or fine sand.
Our biggest experiment so far is less than 1,000 sq.ft. - where we used 100
pounds of rubber per 1,000 sq.ft. mixed into the top inch. We assumed this was
approximately 10$ rubber by volume. There is another 10$ peat by volume in the
same plots. Between these two we hope to have improved resiliency. Time will tell.

*

ACTIVATED CHARCOAL
W. H. Daniel, Purdue University-

Activated charcoal offers the potential of holding organic compounds or certain ions which may modify tolerance, availability, or storage. Many industries use
activated charcoal, then discard it because it carries a certain amount of organic
matter. Such could be desirable for turf. What particle size? What percentage?
What fineness? How long will it last? Is it effective once it gets a full charge in
the soil?
In the greenhouse we took charcoal from a starch processing company, used 0 to
50% by volume, found it would grow excellent turf at all conditions when adequately
fertilized. We know that strawberries dipped in a slurry of charcoal can be planted
into areas already treated with herbicides and the charcoal will filter out herbicide
before it reaches the roots when used as a slurry covering at planting time.
Again, having given up on soil as a rootzone media, the question merely just
raised - can activated charcoal do something to improve rootzones?

ROOTZONE OBSERVATIONS
David Ralston, Graduate Res.,Assistant, Purdue University,
Lafayette, Indiana
The underlying theme for our rootzone research at Purdue is effective water
management. Various materials and methods for construction are under study to investigate ways to effectively remove excess water rapidly but still retain adequate
water for the turf needs. Rapid removal is desired so that standing water does not
interfere with play or weaken the turf. Porous materials, such as sand and calcined
aggregates, can be used to give the desired drainage so the problem then becomes one
of retaining enough water so that a drouthy condition is not created.
Two methods of retaining water in the rootzone are currently being studied on
the experimental green. One is to place a plastic sheet as an impermeable barrier to
stop the downward movement of water. Then, moisture stored above the plastic can become available to the plant through wick or capillary action.
The second method is to vary the depth of the rootzone material above the subsoil. A shallow rootzone will retain more water than will a deep one, thus more
water for the plants. The depth needed is entirely dependent on the material used.
Mixtures of sand, calcined aggregates and peat are being studied both in plastic lined and unlined plots. Soil was not included in the rootzone mixtures because
of its structural instability and great variability. Soil serves two main purposes
in a greens mi:*: 1. water holding capacity (fine pores retain water which can become available to plants), and 2. nutrient retention. The problem arises when the
soil mix is compacted and will not drain, creating a headache for both the superintendent and the golfer. We are studying ways of retaining water and nutrients without the use of soil.

Variable Rootzone
In the fall of 1967, plots were built on the south side of the experimental
green to study the effect of varying the depth of the material on moisture holding
capacity and root quality. Four inches by volume of 25$ peat, 25$ calcined aggregates and 50$ sand was mixed and compacted. Under this from 0 - 6 M of washed sand
was compacted over the subsoil, which varied k, 6, 8 and 10 inches below surface.
The overall depth of the drain line was varied 10, 13, 16 and 19 inches. Measurements taken during 1968 included root depth, moisture content (surface neutron
meter), wilt susceptibility and infiltration rate.
Root depth for the Penncross was measured at monthly intervals on all plots
from May to November. Roots were found in the subsoil for most of the 4 inch plots
and some of the 6 inch deep rootzones. Root depths tended to be deeper in the 8 and
10 inch plots with the majority of the roots within the top 5 inches,and the deepest
roots about 8 inches. The difference in root depth was not reflected in the vegetative part of the bentgrass. A shortening or die-back of the roots was not observed
for the bentgrass during the hot summer months for this first year of establishment.
Bentgrass rooting depth for the silt loam soil in the center of the green, ten year
old turf, had few roots below 2 inches throughout the summer.
Infiltration rate was measured using the standard double ring infiltrometer.
Rates varied from about 6 to 20 inches per hour with most of the plots between 12 and
15 inches per hour. The hydrophobic nature of the turf seemed to be the limiting factor for infiltration.
Moisture stress was measured using the surface neutron meter and wilt ratings.
Perceit moisture by volume ranged from 17 to 23 percent for most of the plots depending on the state of dryness. The easiest method to determine which plots were showing moisture stress was to watch the early morning dew pattern. Little or no dew is
a good indication that the turf will be under stress in the afternoon.
During the last two weeks in August, wilt ratings were made for both the plastic lined plots on the north side and the variable depth plots on the south side of
the green. The accumulative evapo-transpiration for the two week period was 2.3
inches of water, indicating a fairly hot and dry period. Plots were rated from 1 to
9 where a rating of 1 — 2 was normal growth, 3 — 5 showed footprinting, 6 — 8 was blue
wilt, and 9 was severe wilt and had to be watered.
The soil in the center of the green had to be watered on the fourth day after
the 2 inch rain which was used as the starting point for the study. Most of the
plots of the variable rootzone in the south side of the green showed signs of wilt
after 5 days and had to be watered on the 6th day. On the north side most of the
plastic lined plots made it through the two week period between rains without requiring additional water. Notable exceptions included the coarsest fraction of the
dune sand and the high percentage calcined clay plots - 100$ at 4 days, and 80$ and
20$ peat at 5 days. The Dialoam plots and some mixtures of sand, calcined clays and
peat did not require watering for the two week period.
In summary, results indicate that moisture can be retained to a limited extent
by using a shallower rootzone,but more effectively by placing an impermeable barrier
below the rootzone to store more water which, by wick action, serves evapotranspiration needs.

USE OF ION-EXCHANGE RESINS IN
FERTILIZATION OF TURFGRASSES
Melvin Robey, Graduate Research Assistant
Purdue University, Lafayette, Indiana
In the past few years an interest has developed in using artificial rootzones for putting greens. Artificial rootzones are usually composed of sand, peat
and calcined clay, with no soil added. Without soil the exchange capacity is lost
which presents the problem of maintaining a fertility level which will satisfy the
grass needs. Some base exchange capacity is added by the use of peat and calcined
clay. Another way could be the use of cation and anion exchange resins.
These exchange resins have an exchange capacity which is 5 to 10 times
greater than that of mineral soils in Indiana. The cation resins have an exchange
capacity of 1100 m.e./lOO grams, and the anion resins have an exchange capacity of
560 m.e./lOO grams. Since there are ways of adding cation exchange capacity by the
use of peat and calcined clays, the application of anion resins is of more significance. With the use of anion exchange resins in artificial rootzones, the loss of
nitrates by leaching can be reduced to a minimum.
The use of cation and anion exchange resins as a way of storing nutrients in
artificial rootzones is a new concept which is now being studied here at Purdue.
One test was run in which 5 different rates of anion resin loaded with nitrate was
applied to three (3) different artificial rootzone mixtures. The three (3) rootzone mixtures were (by volume):
1.
2.
3.

100$ sand
80$ sand - 20$ calcined clay
80$ sand - 20$ peat

The five levels of anion resin added (by volume) to each of these rootzones were:
0$, 0.1$, 0.5$, 1.0$, and 4.0$. The amount of actual nitrogen this is equivalent
to, in pounds of nitrogen per acre, is: 0, 29, 146, 292, and 1,168, respectively.
The pots were seeded with Oregon fine-leaf tall fescue, and upon germination
the grass was allowed to grow three (3) inches high. At this time, the grass was
mowed for the first time. From this point on the grass was mowed every week. The
clippings were saved each week, and at the end of 4 weeks time they were dried and
weighed. This procedure was continued for a period of nine months. The chart below shows the five rates of anion resins used, the nitrogen equivalent, and the dry
weight of the grass clippings for the third and ninth month.

% anion resin/pot
0$
0.1$
0.5$
1.0$
4.0$

Lbs.N/acre
0
29
146
292
1168

Yield/pot (mgms.)
3rd month
9th month
18
96
179
83
201
94
278
87
2167
321

At the end of the third and ninth month it can be seen that the most growth
was coming from that pot with the highest level of anion resin. At the end of the
third month there is a gradual increase in dry weight as the amount of anion resin
increases. This column then shows that the nitrate is still being released from

all of the resins at the end of three months.
At the end of the ninth month it can be seen that at the highest level of
anion resin the grass was still being supplied with an ample amount of nitrogen,
whereas in the other four levels the nitrate has been released and used up, and
all the pots were yielding about the same amount of dry weight. The indication is
that the anion resin can hold nitrate and release it for plant growth over a long
period of time. It also shows that the nitrogen concentration can be applied at
extremely high rates (1168 pounds of actual nitrogen per acre) without killing the
grass.
It was evident throughout the tests that one of the three rootzones was
superior as a growth medium over the other two rootzones. For the nine month
period the 80$ sand-20$ calcined clay yielded the most dry weight material. At the
end of each month there was approximately twice as much clippings from these pots
than from the other two mixtures. This was probably due to potassium, phosphorus,
calcium and minor elements which are trapped in the clay when it is baked. The calcined clays also have a base exchange capacity which would regulate the release of
the cations. It would appear that the addition of calcined clay to artificial rootzones is desirable.
Since the use of synthetic anion and cation exchange resins as a means of
supplying nutrients to grass is a relatively new idea, there are several points
which need to be studied. I have listed 6 of these points, which need to be
answered before these resins may be used:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Can the exchange resins be reloaded while in the rootzone without killing
the grass?
How long will the exchange resins last in the rootzone before disintegrating?
What particle size of exchange resins should be used?
What percent of the rootzone mixture should be exchange resins?
Which is the best exchange resin on the market for use in artificial rootzones
At what depth should the exchange resins be incorporated into the rootzone?

Just what use these ion exchange resins will have in the future in artificial
rootzones is not known, but with their high exchange capacity it seems obvious that
they offer an excellent way of storing and releasing nutrients.

SAND AS A GROWTH MEDIUM FOR ATHLETIC TURF
Condensation of a paper by
D. E. Bingaman and Helmut Kohnke
Purdue University, Lafayette,Indiana

Why not soil? When frequently watered and subjected to much traffic, soil
loses its large pores because its structure depends on maintenance of aggregates.
Compacted soil is poorly aerated.
The sizes of pores in compacted sand depend on the size and shape of the individual sand grains. Generally pores are one-third the diameter of particles
forming them. Sand is poor in its capacity to hold plant nutrients and water.
Frequent fertilization can take care of the one handicap. Impervious material (a
plastic sheet) placed below a shallow layer of sand can take care of the other.
-18-

Sand asat.growth medium can provide the right pore space and has these requirements :
Pore Space
1. Over 30% total pore space. This is needed to provide the desired amounts of
air and water for the plants. Range 2$ to 38 found in sands.
2.

Over 15% available water in the top 15cm. This will guarantee 2.25 cm water
in the immediate vicinity of the active roots, enough as a "cushion" for a dry
spell.

3.

Over 10% air-filled pores at 10 cm depth.
roots .

This provides enough oxygen for the

Water movement
4. Over 50 mm/hour saturated hydraulic conductivity.
heaviest rains to be absorbed as they fall.

This allows all but the

5.

Over 2.5 mm/hour capillary rise rate.
lost by évapotranspiration.

This is needed to replenish the water

6.

Range of 30 - 50 cm drainage depth. 30 cm is the minimum sand layer needed to
maintain a satisfactory amount of air. (See 3 & 4). More than 50 cm is not required for the purpose. Most sands/ftave the other desired properties would dry
out too soon if the water level is much deeper than 50 cm, and wick action (see 5)
would be inadequate.
How to Judge Sand?

The properties of compacted sand that affect amount and size distribution of the
pores are its finer particle sizes, its degree of mixing of finer and coarser particles, and - in a minor way - the shapes of the individual particles. The following parameters are used to express these properties:
1.

Mean Weighted Particle Diameter (WPD^q)
Dividing all the particles of a sample into two equal parts by weight into large
and small particles, the WPDc;q represents the diameter of the particles at the
boundary between the two groups. This can readily be obtained from a mechanical analysis curve.

2.

Gradation Index (Gl)
It is a dimensionless numerical value representing the degree of gradation or
sorting of the sand material. It is the quotient of the diameter corresponding
with the 95$ by weight value of the sand's cumulative mechanical analysis
curve, divided by the diameter corresponding with the 5%> by weight value of the
. .c same curve. A Gradation Index of 1 represents a sand of all the same size particles. Higher Gradation Indices represent sands of mixed sizes. Several
other parameters have been developed for the study of the behavior of water and
air in sands. However, these are not needed for the practical selection of the
sand. They include the "Weighted Volumetric Pore Diameter," the "Large Pore
Index" and the "Pore Size Index." These values are calculated from desorption
-urves. A carefully selected sieve analysis using all practical screen sizes
available is required as basic. The finer fraction predominates and coarse
particles just occupy space.
How to Select the Right Sand

This investigation has shown that washed fine and medium sand can serve well
as a growth medium for athletic turf. For complete success it is necessary to

specify the sand quantitatively so that it meets the requirements set out above.
The sand should have a "Mean Weighted Particle Diameter" between 0.2 and
0.4mm. Most of the particles should be fine sand size between 0.1 and 0.5 mm. Clay
and silt should be absent. Expressed quantitatively its "Gradation Index" should
be between 3 and 6. Whether the sand is rounded or sharp is of minor importance.
Field experiments have shown that on such sand a sturdy sod of bentgrass develops which will develop deep roots and can withstand normal traffic.

SUMMARY OF TEN WAYS TO CONSTRUCT
HIGH USE TURF AREAS EXPOSED TO COMPACTION. PURDUE
There1s ONLY one way to build a house! No! A well-built house does CERTAIN things handles excess water promptly, has ample storage, insulation and activity areas,etc.
Likewise, GOLF GREENS and COMPACTED AREAS when WELL-BUILT must do CERTAIN THINGS -Remove excess water promptly, have ample nutrient and moisture storage and availability
have resiliency for play, texture for firmness, etc. In varying degrees the ways below contribute to the desired uniform result.
1.
2.

3.
4.
5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Due to fines present SOIL PREDOMINATES
ANY SUBSOIL - mud in - shape to grade - and LEAVE as soon as paid!
TOPSOIL ONTO TOPSOIL - avoid any subsoil - avoid working when wet
- carefully conserving what!s good can save funds
- can do for sandier soils, a low budget installation
SUBSOIL UNDER TOPSOIL- plus deep tile DRAINAGE - pea gravel backfill over tiles
- more desirable where major fill is required
Above plus SAND (60%) and PEAT (20$?) mixed into top 2-3-6-10 inches in hopes of
better water movement and less compactability.
VERTICAL POROUS STRIPS-to remove excess surface water promptly (from any source)
Use as
-NARRCW TRENCHES - above tile - into pea gravel, in low
CORRECTIVE
spots,between tiles,across tiles,2-3" wide & 12-30" deep,
where better
Backfill with pea gravel.Cap with sand or calcined §§fggdrainage is needed -SLITS - surface and downward - 1/2" wide x 10" deep
GROOVES -8" apart,3" deep;fill with sand or cal.aggregates
INTIMATE TOP MIX mixed off-site - U.S.G.A. spec.
10" - 14" settle top mix over
Follow exact laboratory spec.
2" washed sand over
based on samples submitted
4" pea gravel over
This system gives low tension at gravel
4" field tile drainage
"dump action of excess water"
POROUS TEXTURES PREDOMINATE (no soil)
THIN R00TZ0NE - on any subgrade - into shallow narrow trenches (frequent)
Place small 1-2" plastic pipe with slits cut into pipe as drains
Backfill with coarse sand to overflow trench
Place sand layer 3 - 4" for fast lateral INTERNAL drainage
Have top 3-6" maximum surface storage mixture of peat, calcined aggreg. & sand
Compact and plant.
IMPERMEABLE LAYER - giving ZERO TENSION - plastic sheet follows contour
For drains use slitted plastic pipe laid onto plastic sheet
Depth (12-20") based on texture - porosity of stable materials used (SAND,
CALCINED AGGREGATES)
RESERVOIR POOLS - Use WICK ACTION - the PURR-WICK SYSTEM
Place plastic sheet FLAT, LEVEL with upturned edges to form shallow pools
Make tiers of pools as contour dictates. Keep surface UNIFORMLY MOIST.
Above, plus sub-irrigation by FLOAT valve for each tier. Adjust levMrYiP^wetness
Could add SOIL SENSING probes for dryness before recharging by float.

SYSTEM 9 - THE PURR-WICK SYSTEM
As used for an experimental green
As constructed at L & N Golf Club, Louisville, Kentucky
5000 sq.ft. 72 x 72 ft. practice green
Four tiers, 6 n each, plastic under compacted sand
3 ft. change in slope, 2 ft. E & W
2 ridges for 1 ft. N & S
4 topdressing plots replicated N & S
half stolons - half seed for observation
A.

Six cooperating superintendents spent 40 hours
W. H. Daniel and Dave Ralston spent 39 hours each
Superintendent of L & N spent 42 hours. These total 160 (no charge)

B. Equipment rentals - D-8 loader, tractors, ditcher
C. Laborers time - G.C. workers - shoveling, raking, rolling
D.

E.

F.

Materials 4 rolls 100» x 40' of .006 plastic
6 rolls 4 n x 401 corrugated edging
400 ft. 1-1/2" plastic pipe (slitted,drains)
200 ft. 1-1/2"
"
"
(water,irrig.)
Snap-on valve & fittings
Sand - 425 tons including hauling
Calcined aggregates - 2 tons
Peat - 10 cu. yds., bulk

$ 150.00
10.00
120.00
60.00
50.00
1410.00
120.00
) 40.00

Planting 1/2 seed - 5 lbs.
1/2 Evansville stolons, 25 bu.
16-3-9 & Milorganite fertilizer

32.00
105.00
6.00

Mulch - Famcomat 5000 sq.ft.

150.00

$

280.00
324.00

I960.00

293>00

TOTAL COST as constructed at Louisville prices
$ 2857.00
Some materials furnished by cooperators but listed regular price here.
Procedure Used
A.

Remove sod, shape 4 level tiers, dropping 6" between each. Place and compact
soil around edge of green to desired final grade. Confirm level subgrade
with transit to less than 1 inch variation. Place 4 n aluminum edging. Then
compact a 4" soil berm at interior edges of tier to provide reservoir. Trench
into berms for drains to extend out of edge and for water to come into center of green.

B.

Spread plastic double thickness. Insert 1 - 2 ft. fold of one sheet into
split of former sheet. Use trimming for additional sealing as needed
around pipes with mastic. Keep edges up to surface between sand and soil.

C.

Lay pipe with slits cut with coping saw (l/3 of diameter and 6 - 8 inches
apart on each side) in each tier.
Arrange outlets of dr^in lines in pits. Have each outlet level with its
tier. Use threaded tee as terminal with plug in end (for complete drainage when removed), and on upright add 2 inch nipple (for added pool reservoir when inserted).

D.

Bring irrigation through edge and above plastic to center valve.
valve outside green for use.

Also have

E.

Spread coarse sand over drain pipes (to make filter).
Dump,spread, compact and water-settle fine sand to final contour 13 - 19
inches deep.
Spread fertilizer.

F.

For 2 or 8 plots mix and spread calcined clay, peat, ground rubber and sand.
do
spread calcined clay and peat
do
spread peat and sand
do
add nothing to sand
Work moist, compact; plant and mulch

PRINCIPLES FOR ANY GREEN
Wayne Morgan, Kellogg Supply Company
Wilmington, California
"How do you build a golf green?" If this question were asked of Dr. W. H.
Daniel of Purdue University, he would probably first answer by in turn asking a
question, "How do you build a house?" Other questions to follow would be, "What
will be the condition of use?" "How much storage do you wish to build into the
house?" How much money is available to build thejiouse?"
These same questions can be related to building golf greens. Concerning
the last question pertaining to costs, there is usually one of two ways this is
done. The first and best approach is to determine what your requirements are, budget to meet these needs, and then build. Unfortunately, all too many turfgrass
superintendents are forced to try and maintain a golf course where specifications,
especially for greens and tees, are reduced to meet budget limitations. This is
being "penny-wise and dollar-foolish," for building a golf course is no place to
try and save money. In doing so, the conditions for use are usually much less
than desirable and INCREASED maintenance costs soon more than consume any savings
realized in COMPROMISED building costs.
Let us next consider each of the essential requirements that a soil must
provide: support —nutrients—air—-water.
Support. Not only must the soil provide a favorable medium for plant roots
to grow in, the soil must also be able to withstand abusive compaction inflicted
upon it, while retaining a playable surface with sufficient resistency to hold a
golf shot.
Nutrients. Plants require essential nutrients which they used to help produce food and energy for their growth. The soil must provide these nutrient elements in forms available for plant absorption and in quantities sufficient to meet
the plants needs. These nutrient elements must also be present in the proper
ratio, one to another for effectiveness.
Air. By air, for plant growth, what is principally referred to is the oxygen CONTENT of the soil atmosphere and the freedom of MOVEMENT of the oxygen
-22-

through the soil. More important than the actual quantity of oxygen present in the
soil is the speed with which it can diffuse to the roots when needed. Oxygen moves
QUICKLY through air, but extremely slow through water. The higher the temperature
rises, the more critical is the need for rapid movement of oxygen to plant roots.
Another consideration in soil air is the exchange of gases in the soil and
surface air. Carbon dioxide in the soil can become toxic to plant roots, so there
must be sufficient channels to allow oxygen to enter the soil and carbon dioxide
to escape.
Water. The role of water in plant growth can never be underestimated. Almost all plant nutrients enter the roots in solution with water. Water movement
through the plant and lost in transpiration serves as a means of cooling the plant.
Many parts of the plant consist primarily of water and the metabolic processes
within a plant require the presence of water. It is essential that the soil contains sufficient available water to satisfy the demand of the plant. It is also important to provide for adequate drainage of excess water from the soil.
Some information on how roots grow can next be added to aid in our understanding of the role soil plays in plant growth. Roots do not grow into soil particles they grow in the air spaces surrounding the soil particles. As we do not enter a
room through walls but by means of doors, there must be sufficient air channels in
the soil for roots to grow in. Research has shown how root growth can be restricted
by physical inpedance itself. It is these channel-ways that also serve for air and
water movement into and through soils.
Roots do not grow where it is too dry. Neither do roots grow where it is too
wet. Contrary to many popular beliefs, roots do not seek water. ROOTS ONLY GROW
where there is a FAVORABLE SOIL-NUTRIENT-AIR-MOISTURE relationship.
What happens to these volume relationships can be seen from the following
illustrations.

!

"Ideal" soil
*=organic matter

Soil compaction

HUMJS AND SAND GREENS - WESTERN STYLE
Wayne Morgan, Kellogg Supply Co.Ine
Wilmington, Calif.

BUILD SOILS TO MEET NEEDS!
A mixture of organic matters is being used with sand to build soils for
greens in Southern California. By building golf greens of sand and organic matters,
the requirements of providing what is necessary for a soil to supply is satisfied.
A good playing surface with the desired resiliency is also obtained. Contributions
of organic matter are numerous including:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

Added nutrient holding capacity
Added water holding capacity
Makes nutrients available
Favors natural chelation
Builds soil structure
Makes soils more resistant
Builds active micro-organism population

Organic matter is principally composed of Fractions
Carbohydrates
Crude proteins
Hemi-c ellulos e s
Celluloses
Lignin

Their rate of
decomposition
Fast

Slow

Manures, hardwoods, and many moss peats are mostly composed of the more readily decomposable fractions, whereas the soft woods, some peats and fir barks are largely
made up of the more slowly decomposable materials. Humus is defined as the more or
less stable part of well-decomposed organic matter.
In California the peat, fir bark and wood wastes are used for their longlasting physical effects in the soil. Since desirable peat mosses are difficult to
obtain in our area, there is a gradual turning to the graded fir barks. A gradual
shift away from wood wastes can be seen. This is because the wood wastes are byproducts from lumber mills, and when placed under a microscope have a flat surface.
Therefore, they can compact and layer easier. Fir barks on the other hand can
better resist compaction. This is because they are ov-products from shedding, and
when placed under magnification their structure appears more as cylinders.
Digested sludges are added for their significant contributions to the chemical and biological properties of the soils. Manures may be used if good digested
sludges are not available.
So far the western usage on several courses has been basically:
Tile drainage system
Under pea gravel blanket 4" deep
Under sand 2-611 variable
Under mix of 6 - 12n variable

Some used are
/O
Uniform medium or fine sands
Peat moss or birch bark or wood wastes
Digested sludge

&

/O
60
30
10

60
25
15

70
20
10

A final point of consideration that must be stressed is uniform mixing.
On-site mixing seldom provides uniform blending, so it usually pays rich dividends
to obtain off-site mixing. The materials i
cannot blend together well
when in a dry condition so it is recommended that some moisture be added before
mixing.

TOPDRESSING AND CULTIVATING FINE TURF
Lee Record, Mid-Continent Agronomist,
Chicago, Illinois

USGA Green Section

Topdressing during the 1920!s and 1930Ts was the hard and fast rule of its
day. The professional secrets of greenskeeping, as it was referred to during this
era, centered around topdressing. In the !40*s a general de-emphasis of topdressing with limited labor, budgets and availability of materials began a new and
different era of turf management which remained through the early 1950's. But,
during the late 50}s and early 60fs traffic and demands from memberships - to have
outstanding playing conditions at all times - stress the importance of a sound
topdressing program.
Topdressing intensively-managed turf areas (putting greens) is almost as
essential as watering or mowing. Topdressing is two-fold in that it not only improves and adds to the enjoyment of golf by playing on a smooth, resilient putting
surface - its true value is in respect to soil-plant relationships.
A complexity of life processes exist which are inter-dependent of each other
for continued life or death. Photosynthesis is carried out by green leaves which
are being walked on, sprayed and mowed. Plant responses are related to fungicides
for disease control, herbicides for weed control, nematicides for nematode control,
insecticides for insect control, fertilizers for growth and salt index accumulation, and a host of other chemicals. Decomposition of animal and plant tissue will
be determined by mirco-biological population, which increase or decrease as cultural programs and weather change. These, along with other life processes, must be
adequately maintained to insure healthy turfgrasses.
Topdressing contributes to these.soil-plant relationships for optimum response as follows:
1.
2.
3.

Added support of plant under compaction.
Buffering agents between plant and chemical being used.
Dilution of mat or thatch accumulation, improving passage of water, air,
nutrients, etc.
4. Improves soil friability and porosity
5. Builds up the soil reserves.
6. Adds micro-organisms which can decompose thatch. It may also be rich in
plant food with favorable acidity for thatch decomposition. An example:

if ground cyanamid is used as the soil sterilant, the amount of lime and
nitrogen added is significant. One quarter yard of topdressing per 1,000
sq.ft. with cyanamid will yield approximately I r pound of nitrogen and
3 pounds of limestone.
Frequency and amount of topdressing material to be applied at a given time
will depend upon time of season and type of turf. Penncross being more vigorous
requires more topdressing than Seaside or velvet bentgrass. Early spring topdressing should not take place until natural heaving of the soil from frost action
has taken place and settled. Spring and fall applications may be applied at heavier
(1/3 cu.yd./l,000) and more frequent rates than what you would apply during summer
months. Summer topdressing, if used intelligently, may help reduce-or recover-from
damage.
A light, uniform thickness of topdressing if applied correctly filters down
through the thatch providing more support for grass plants which will firm up the
sod for resiliency with speedier, truer putting. As low spots or depressions are
filled with soil mixtures, surface drainage is improved. When damage occurs topdressing every seven to ten days aids in healing turf. This is also true when a
new green has been stolonized, and you are bringing it into play.
Thatch, which is controlled by the process of topdressing, must have an optimum soil, water-air relationship for healthy turf. Thatch is not controlled by topdressing alone. Aeration, vertical mowing, brushing, fertilization programs,
liming, watering, etc., contribute within a sound balanced cultural program.
If the present soil in greens has been successful, continue to use the same
or similar composition of material. Topdressing following aeration of the soil is
one means of changing surface soil texture. (Complete reconstruction of a green
may be the real need). Changing soil texture by this means is a slow process which
will take several years to provide better growing conditions. If you find it necessary to alter the mix, a physical analysis should be made of those materials intended
to be used.
Before topdressing can be applied to a green, it should be sterilized and
composted. Several sterilization methods would be the use of Sapam, steam, methyl
bromide, calcium cyanamid, etc. Topdressing should be composed for preferably a
year before use, with a two year supply stored in a soil shed, kept dry to assure
free-flow of material. Topdressing and cultivating fine turf requires advanced
planning and organization. Begin or step up your topdressing program this season.
Your success may well be the strength of your topdressing program.
(Editor's notes by W. H. Daniel.
The above ideas embracing standard, repeated use of soil-peat-sand mixture
are well stated. There are some possible uses of equipment and calcined aggregates, peat, sand - for special reasons - unusual conditions.
For example, a heavy clay soil - with "slick" ball marks - can be Qreensaired, then spread straight from bag calcined aggregates; then break up cores. Repeat as playing conditions permit until ball marks and playability are as desired.
For example, a new sandy, hard green - Greens-aire and spread mix of 50$
peat and 50$ coarse (No.4) vermiculite, break up cores and mat. Repeat as playing
conditions permit. Thatch will soon do similar thing.
In other words, change the surface inch by repeated applications of needed
ingredient when combined with vertical cultivation. However, rebuilding to get the
desired base should be even better than just surface changes.)

SOFTENING HARD SOIL AREAS
Robert Feindt, Supt. Otter Creek Golf Club,
C olumbus, Indiana

a
When Otter Creek was built six years ago, there was the concern to retain a
good architect and follow his recommendations. Also, it was of concern that the
greens were built properly, and the United States Golf Association recommendations
were followed. We know it was important that tees be graded so they would have
surface drainage and made large enough to handle large crowds of golfers. Much
though was given to the irrigation system, both in design and installation. It
was made certain that when topsoil was removed from an area it was replaced. One
phase that I now realize six years later that is very important - that no one was
too concerned about during the time of initial construction - is soil types and
drainage of fairways.
During the spring and summer our course is often closed because of wet conditions. Last July we had 9.2 inches of rainfall for the month, along with high
temperatures and humidity. Our soil could not hold this much water nor could this
much excess water drain from the fairways or rough areas fast enough. Unfortunately
much turf was lost. I feel a major factor was the heavy soil and poor drainage.
When wells were drilled logs indicate heavy soils to a depth of 70 feet before
reaching any sand or gravel.
Climate

•

Rainfall ranges from 40 to 45 inches, with more than is needed in the spring.
During July and August there is usually less than the average monthly precipitation,
which combined with high temperatures and evaporation may result in a drouth condition. The golf course is swept by a prevailing southwest wind.
Otter Creek Golf Course has four soil types:
Eel silt loam
Fincastle silt loam
Genesee silt loam
Russell silt loam

- usually in low narrow swales poorly drained.
- also called clay land - our principal soil
- found along the poorly drained flooded valleys of
streams
- on moderately sloping land and along streams

These soils vary in organic matter content - in reaction from very strongly
acid to neutral, and in productivity from very low to very high. Some of these
soils, because of their
position make it almost impossible to obtain adequate fall for artificial drainage, and when wet all seem inadequately drained for
that day's golf.
Attempts to Correct Hard Soil Problems

*

Where water seeps from hillsides during the wet spring months, drain tiles are
installed and pea gravel is placed over the tile up to the surface; then sod
is placed over the gravel. In many areas we installed vertical trenches.
On small areas we just dig these trenches 36" deep by 3,! wide and have run them
into the rough. In other areas these trenches were connected with tiles or
run into a stream bank. We have tried the vertical trenches placed 12 feet
apart as a means to keep heavy traveled approach areas to a green loose and
pliable. So far most results have been encouraging.

Aerification of heavy soil areas, using the Ryan Monarch aerifier and the
Rogers $80 Aerator — during the spring (April, May and June) and again in
the fall (Sept., October and November) we open these areas quite severely,
but during the hot summer months we usually just spike.
Dethatching of fairways is practiced yearly. Of course, this does not open the
heavy soil to any depth - it is mainly to prevent a buildup of thatch and reduce other problems.
Use of Soil Conditioners
In some small hard areas calcined clays at 1 lb./sq.ft. have been disked into the soil to a depth of 3 to 6 inches, just to determine results. Costs will be
prohibitive in large areas.
Ground corncobs have been tried in a hard approach area to a green at the
rate of 3,000 lbs. per 10,000 sq.ft. area. These were disked into a depth of 3 to
6 inches; then new sod placed over the area.
Wetting agents have been tried on some high knolls, but at present we are
on no set program.
These are some of the methods we have tried to loosen hard soils. How
successful they will be we should know this coming season.

TURF - BASIC PRINCIPLES OF NUTRITION
J. H. Jordan, Chief Agronomist
Borden Inc., Chemical Division, Smith-Douglass
Norfolk, Virginia
The nation!s superintendents and professional turf managers have an increasingly important job in maintaining a durable turf. The influence of adequate recreation on mental health has been recognized for some time, and the need for recreation
increases as our population grows and as our society becomes more complex.
In order to maintain greens, fairways, and turf in good condition, many
essential elements are necessary. Water, CO2, N, P, K, Ca, Mg, S, B, Cu, Fe, Mn,
Mo, Zn, and even CI are necessary in proper amounts and balance.
Nitrogen is essential, primarily from the standpoint of stimulation of vegetative growth and it" association with chlorophyll production, protein levels, and
water use efficiency. Grasses can absorb N in the nitrate and ammoniacal forms,
and products formed from N are nucleic acids, amino acids, and many enzymes which
contain protein.
Phosphorus has been called the workhorse in plant nutrition, since it is
essential for cell division and growth, photosynthesis and most important, the
energy transferred from two compounds. These two compounds are ATP (Adenosine
Triphosphate) and ADP (Adenosine Diphosphate). ATP has three phosphate bonds, as
shown in the following sketch. The phosphorus (P) comes from fertilizers added
to the soil.

0
(i
R — P — 0 — P — C ^ P - OH
5
/
i
0
0
Q
H
H
H
The third phosphate bonder* P-0, represents a high-energy chemical bond.
This bond holds energy and releases it wherever necessary, to drive lifegiving energy reactions within the plant. If it were not for P and this high-energy bond,
all of the potential energy, when released from the breakdown of carbohydrates and
other bonds, would be released immediately in the form of heat. The phosphate bond
carries energy in small packets and transfers it to sites where needed.
A grass sod without this reaction can be compared to a car without someone
to depress the accelerator and turn on the ignition. There would be no movement or
no reaction tfo drive the wheels and start the car. In other words, P high-energy
bonds supply the driving force of chemical reactions within the plant.
During photosynthesis the green portion of the plant absorbs light energy
from the sun and transfers it to stored chemical energy (sugar) within the plant.
Also at the site of the transfer of energy are the chloroplasts, where the two
chemicals mentioned previously, ATP and ADP, are released as the sun*s energy is
transferred into stored carbohydrates. ATP is also produced from ADP during reactions between some organic compounds; Mg, K, and other elements are also necessary to drive, or catalyze, some of these reactions.
It can readily be seen then, if P is lacking or in low supply, slow growth
occurs, turf will be less vigorous and less resistant to diseases and traffic.
Visible evidence of a poor growth of turf can be seen where P is omitted. However, some greens are so high in P following the continuous application over the
years that if soil pH is high then Zn tieup and deficiency may well occur. Also,
in some locations, Poa annua is associated with high soil phosphorus.
Potassium influences over 41 enzymes in plants and animals, and this element has been called a chemical policeman and regulator, and activates or starts
many reactions within the plant cell. The reactions, which K either influences or
controls in the plant, are numerous. Among the reactions are some in which P is
also active, such as carbohydrate use, plant protein synthesis, chloroplast pigment content and many others, i.e., photosynthesis, translocation of sugar and
starch within the plant, drouth resistance, regulation of respiration, prevention
of energy loss, increase of root growth reserves, and retardation of diseases and
winter-hardiness.
In summary, K is a chemical regulator and is free to move within the plant.
Nitrogen is the building block of protein and as such is incorporated into plant
tissue. Phosphorus has an important role, and one of the most significant is the
conservation and transfer of energy.
Magnesium, Ca, and S are also used by grasses. Magnesium is the only metallic ion in chlorophyll. It is also necessary in many reactions occurring within
the plant. Calcium has a direct influence on the makeup of the cell walls which
govern the intake of nutrients and the availability of all other nutrients. Sulphur
is a constituent of the plant tissue and is contained in many essential amino acids
and proteins.
The micro-nutrients, B, Cu, Fe, Mh, Zn, and CI are also needed in small
amounts. They serve as "spark plugs11 and activators in many plant processes.

Whenever micro-nutrient deficiency symptoms indicate low levels of any nutrient, we
add the element in large amounts, however, if in the hidden hunger zone, smaller
amounts of the deficient element may be applied.
Manganese is used as a catalyst, or activator, and is also necessary in chlorophyll, formation, photosynthesis and other reactions.
Boron aids in sugar translocation and helps maintain correct water relationships within the plant, and is involved in other plant biochemical reactions.
Molybdenum is the only micro-nutrient which becomes more available if soil
pH is raised. Molybdenum is necessary for NO^-N use within the plant. Without Mb,
nitrate N taken up would not be acceptable by plant tissue. Molybdenum also seems
to assist in disease resistance of the plant, and is necessary in N fixation.
Iron is also necessary in chlorophyll formation, and is a constituent of
some plant enzymes. Iron is also used as a catalyst, along with Mo, in the reduction of nitrate for incorporation into plant tissue.
Zinc Isfnecessary part of several enzyme systems. It is essential for
auxin formation. Auxins are necessary for enlargement (growth) of plant cells.
Copper helps regulat the functions of several plant nutrients, and also may
be active in the intake of other nutrients. It is also necessary for catalyzing
reactions within the plant.
A proper balance of all these elements is necessary for proper plant growth
and function. Proper balance of cations in the soil can, to a degree, control uptake of the various ions or elements, such as Ca, Mg, and K. It has been shown
that a plant will take up only a certain quantity of nutrient elements. If the content of one nutrient in the soil is too high (out of balance) the plant will absorb
more of this element than needed, and too little of other elements. This is the
reason that balanced fertilization is so important, especially on greens where control of growing conditions and plant nutrition is maintained.
The availability of plant nutrients is influenced by the amount and balance
of other elements in the soil. However, physical and chemical conditions in soil
environment also affect nutrient uptake. Some factors which influence nutrient
availability are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

Soil aeration
Soil compaction
Soil moisture
Soil temperature
Soil pH, and
Balance of other nutrients (as previously mentioned).

Since nutrients are taken up through the plant roots, anything that restricts
root growth or activity will reduce nutrient uptake. Disease damage, root pruning,
soil compaction, insect damage, low soil temperature and low oxygen supply, often
induced by poor drainage, cause nutrient imbalance or deficiencies.
In studying the principles of plant nutrition, one important point which is
occasionally overlooked is the efficiency (percent recovery) obtained from the
addition of N-P-K fertilizer. For example, during the first year, only about 30 to
70$ of N, 5 to 30% P, and 30 to 70% K applied will become available. Even smaller
amounts of micro-nutrients applied, from .01 to 0.5$, will become available the
first year. This inefficiency is caused by several factors:

1. Leaching
2. Fixation within the clay lattice
3. Precipitation with other elements
4. Use by micro-organisms
There are three ways in which plants take up nutrients:
1. Roots intercept (grow towards) nutrients throughout the soil
2. Water soluble nutrients are brought to root surfaces by capillary action
and upward water movement
3. By diffusion
Diffusion is the movement of nutrients, such as P and K, from an area of
high concentration to an area of low concentration. The principle of diffusion
could be demonstrated by filling a balloon with smoke and permitting the smoke to
escape and fill a large room. After a period of time the smoke particles will
have diffused throughout the air in the room. Nutrients which move only slowly
and diffusion are P and K. For this reason, P and K have to be placed deeply (in
the rootzone). N and other soluble nutrients can be topdressed.
Roots may also attract nutrient ions to their surface by exchanging some of
the H-f and other cations on their root surfaces for nutrients on the surface of
clay particles. This mechanism is called ion exchange, or contact exchange.
In turf nutrition programs, soil testing should be used, but as a guide
only. The experience of the manager and history of the area should always modify
and complement soil test data. Plant analysis should accompany any complete soil
testing program in order to obtain information on actual uptake of fertilizer nutrients. Soil testing and plant analysis go hand-in-hand.
When basic principles of nutrition are followed and the experience of the
professional turf manager is coupled with experimental data and scientific information, a strong, healthy turf can be maintained.

GARDENING - 600 B.C. to COUNTRY CLUB ROAD
Warren Bidwell, Supt., Philadelphia Country Club,
Gladwynne, Pennsylvania
Psychologists tell us that man has, from the very beginning of time, given
his best performance when adequately motivated; that his greatest motivation has
been directed towards staying alive, as a matter of necessity, finds acceptance in
our time. Originally, everyone was a gatherer or hunter of food, both meat and
vegetable. This was a total effort that involved every member of the tribe or family, and often the entire community.
Ornamental gardening, as a motivation of desire, is rarely mentioned in
ancient writings until about the time of the Pharaohs. As man became more intelligent, and his belief in his various gods more pronounced in his dealings with his
fellowman, so did his power as absolute ruler, in many instances, to the extent
that the head of a tribe became prince or king. This gave him devine right to enslave others to do his every bidding. This directive power was used in the crea-

tion of the beautiful so that he zight enjoy and impress upon those who passed his
way of his total enjoyment of life.
World scientists provide us with tangible evidence that there was the age
of the dinosauers; that the land lifted and eroded into great oceans. As the land
dried and vegetation appeared, man made his entrance. Since man was the defender
from wild animals and his own species, the little woman is credited for deliberately planting the first food grains, berries and roots to avoid the daily search
out in the wilds for food for the family.

*

Since the dawn of civilization, when God expelled Adam and Eve from the
most famous of all gardens, man has multiplied his kind and wandered over the face
of the earth. Always in search of a better life, peace on earth, and one God for
his religbus belief, he has met with a multitude of frustrations.
Unfortunately, his desire for peace has been found only during brief
periods of history. His way of life is still in the so-called progressive stage,
and his religious beliefs are, even today, being revised by clergy and laymen
alike in an attempt to provide a more modern concept to his thinking of dissent
and social revolution in our age.
fturdening, as you and I have come to accept it, has come down this same
path called progress. It is exemplified in the life we know today at the country
club, the view from the terrace of a fashionable estate, or the small flower box
outside a window down in South Philadelphia. All of these humble beginnings had
origin back in the days of the Persians, Greeks or Babylonians. As his civilization rose from the dust of the plains and tribal living, so has mane's dependency
upon plant life increased. His spiritual values have been enhanced, for in the
flowering of this multitude of plant life, man has found a perpetual and living
expression of that mystery of all mysteries - the eternal.
Song of Solomen:
"For lo, the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone.
Flowers appear on the earth,
The time of singing is come,
And the voice of the turtledove
Is heard in our land."
Long before Jesus reminded his questioning disciples that the lillies of
the fid_d neither sowed nor reaped the harvest; yet, King Solomon in all his glory
was not arrayed like one of these. Man has tilled the soil to provide food, and
has raised beauteous things for his pleasure.
Thus, gardening has become one of the most ancient and honorable of all
professions, for it was in the Garden of Josephus that Mary mistook Jesus for the
gardener, not' knowing that He had risen, that man might live to enjoy many another
garden over the face of the earth.
And, Emma Lazarus1 writings on the Statue of Liberty stir me with these
words »

"Give me your tired, your poor
The huddled masses yearning to breathe free
Send these, the homeless, tempest tossed to me,
I life my lamp beside the golden door."

THE GOLF COURSE LANDSCAPE
Warren Bidwell
Allow me the privilege of delving into the abstract for a moment - a brief
look back - into history - and a visit into the so-called Outer Limits, there to
ponder a question with you based on the imagination.
The rise and fall of each civilization is a matter of record by one nature
or another. Man has recorded the events of his life on stone or the printed page
for some five thousands of years - a mere drop of water in the great ocean of
time. Much earlier evidence of manls progress toward becoming civilized has been
sifted from the ruins of the past.
With each civilization man has devised many means of recreation or amusement for himself and those about him. Some, as in the days of the Egyptians and
Greeks, were hard and downright cruel, wherein man was pitted against the wild
beast in the public arena. Others, as in the days of the Romans, were a combination of cruelty and what might be called sportsmanship.
In our civilization there are more particpating sports that combine sportsmanship and recreation for the, individual with little or no deliberate cruelty involved. It is generally accepted and my own personal belief that the game of golf
has a special place in our society - a society that is gradually turning from the
agrarian pursuits to a dominantly urban life wherein man works at a feverish pitch
for periods of time. Here he is surrounded by noises, thoughts and counterthoughts of his fellowman in which tensions can build up to a point where relief
is desirable or even necessary if he is to continue at his accelerated search for
better and faster ways of betterment for his community of man. The game of golf
offers the individual the opportunity to participate.,with the challenge of selfcontrol, turning tensions into pleasure, thereby using the game as his own personal relief valve.
Man*s progress has been a combination of the backward glance, whereby the
profits from the mistakes of the past and of his ability to look forward, wherein
he uses his imagination and projects his thoughts into the future. Thus, has it
been with the game of golf from the time of the hardy Scots to our own modern golf
course landscape where you and I have seen great technical advances during the
last forty years.
In America, the ruins of these three Indian civilizations in the four corners region of our southwest, described by present day Hopi and Navajo tribes as
having been the ancient ones dating back only 1400 years, left the European white
man, who pushed westward a little over a hundred years ago, no written records of
their having been there, their habits or games. However, when the archaeologist
excavated the regions they found one thing to have been common - the circular pit,
known today as the Kiva. Some students believe this feature of their civilization
to have been used for ceremonial purposes; others that perhaps it may have been
used for inter-tribal games; the reasoning behind this thought being based on the
finding of crude rubber balls within the circles.
Projecting our thinking into the so-called Outer Limites for a moment, what
will we, the descendants of the European white man, leave as evidence of our game
called golf? Perhaps in another 1400 years or so, will some light beam controlled
machine excavate a former golf course reservoir, exposing Wilson or Spaulding golf
balls? Or, will the set of Hogan irons that were noted being dumped into the reservoir on the Muny Course in Cincinnati eighteen years ago be brought to the surface,

there to be examined with as much curiosity and leaving unanswered the many questions as did the crude rubber balls.
Today we are concerned with the golf course landscape that provides recreation for the city businessman who seeks diversion from his five day week, and at
the same time keeps him in touch socially with his community. That it takes you
and me seven days of our efforts to provide him this specialized piece of real
estate for his pleasure is of little or no concern to him. In passing, I might
add that some of the younger generation of superintendents coming up the ladder
are beginning to question the wisdom of this long work week. From those of us
who have sparse hair that has turned from dark to ten shades lighter over the
years without the use of detergents - we can only say show us.
Aside from a few basic standards, the approach to maintaining the golf
course landscape is as varied as the men who practice the profession of golf
course supervision. This is recognizable since the climatic and geographic locale
dictates, to a certain degree, the different approaches or proceedures involved.
Likewise, the basic education or practical experience of the individual superintendent, his native horse-sense to do a golf course job well, and his degree of interest in his job and personal betterment are all a part of the overall picture in
making a success or failure of his responsibilities. This degree of interest, the
management of funds allocated, the supervision of labor and his ability to use to
full advantage the tools of the trade, including chemicals as well as machinery,
are usually reflected out on the course.
We expect to hear comments from our own members on course conditions.
Naturally, we much prefer to hear, f,Gee, you sure have things in great shape"
rather than, !,I see you didn't get the traps fixed from last Sundayrs downpour
yet, how come?" While some clubs are more tolerant of a labor shortage, bad
breaks, mismanagement or outright sloppiness on the part of their superintendent
than others, all seem to have their limitations. This statement is borne out of
the occasion wherein nine jobs were placed on the wanted list in a large metropolitan area last year between June 1 and December 1. Some of the occasions were done
under the table, but others were quite open about their procedures of securing a
superintendent whom they felt could do a better or a more efficient job. And, as
might be expected, there were cases where the chap on the job didn't know what
was underway until he was notified that his services were not needed in the future.
"How," you may ask "does this fit into the discussion at hand?" As a golf
course superintendent, I believe we should practice the principle that we are responsible for the BROAD SPECTRUM MANAGEMENT of everything outside the clubhouse
door; that we arB/f^uiding hand that keeps the golfers active; that it is our sole
responsibility to provide the membership with a golf course landscape from which
they can take pride and certain pleasure, one that is a credit to the community in
which it is located.
Before viewing some of the golf landscape scenes and their particular application for a specific area, let us think for a moment of some of the diverse and
interesting people who frequent these specialized areas called golf courses. Those
who make a study of the outdoor recreation industry forecast a tremendous expansion
for the game. All indications are that course building will continue at an accelerated rate and that by 1970 there will be 11,000 courses to accommodate the twelve
million players anticipated. While the headline players will continue to make the
big money from the game and occupy the limelight, it is the cross-section of our
society that will sustain the game, and many will inspire others to participate
and enjoy the fruits of being outdoors and keeping in touch with Nature.

Since golf is people and for each and every round played an individual is
represented, let us take a look at this cross-section. Some have done great
things for golf, while others have done great things for their fellowman, while
still others are lovers of the game as such. Eisenhower, a man of much fame and
great respect, after repeated surgery walked out of Walter Reed Hospital with a
promise that he expects to be back at his golf game. He has done much to encourage others to continue, or to take up the game in the late years of their life.
Once I had a Christmas card from Burt Musser, after his heart attack, with
a note attached saying that he will be back enjoying the game again. It is good
that a man who has contributed so much to the improvement of golfing turf will be
out walking on the course again. My good friend and past president of the GCSAA,
Roy Nelson, while in the hospital recently, hastened to assure me that golf will
ontinue to be a part of his way of life, and eventually his doctor wishes him to
walk about five miles a day. This prompted an immediate thought on my part Why so many golf carts on the American golfing scene?
A year ago this month we paid our final respects to a short, almost rotund
man of world renown - a man whose two stubby fingers held high in the form of a V
for victory, gave the people of his island and of the world courage during the
trying days of World War II; a man whose passing was reason enough for personal
pilgrimages of kings and ambassadors. Yes, Sir Winston Churchill and his darling
Clemintine were frequent players in his -¿earlier days on the links of England and
on the Scottish clubs along the North Sea.
In this final analysis of the people who form a cross-section of the participants in the game of golf, I was intrigued recently on hearing a doctor of the
ministry say, "Where else in! ;ffe can a man get eighteen fresh starts in a single
afternoon?" I think it fair to assume that those who play the gave have more
reason than just the physical exercise to be had. The way golfers are taking to
carts we must believe there are other,perhaps more compelling reasons; that there
is an aesthetic force that beckons them to come close to Nature wherein lies some
unlabeled factor that is good for the soul and worldly tensions that seemed mountains a few hours ago suddenly become the smallest of ant hills. Thus, my superintendent friends, I believe that your job and mine in dealing with the golf
course landscape is more than growing a few acres of grass, or maybe a few flowers.

MAN AND HIS GOLF - A NEED FULFILLED
Warren Bidwell
As far back into history as we can research, man has always used games to
develop his physical and mental skills, skills that have assisted him in adjusting to his ever-changing environment. In a broad sense, we of today call this
recreation - that intangible - somewhat likened to a bank account from which we
make an occasional withdrawal for the renewal of our own inner resources, forever making sure of our personal reserve from which we draw our strength. On
most occasions the games man has elected to play have been performed in the
spirit of competition - a rather true form of recreation.
At other times
these games have been in preparation for combat, as in the days of old, while
still others have served as a source of diversion - an escape from the ordinary - a change from the everyday events of one!s life.

One hundred million Americans use some form of outdoor recreation. The
fact that the game of golf has a following of eleven million participants on
nearly 10,000 courses in all of our fifty states, that the international scope of
the game is indicated by the exposure now being experienced on all continents of
the globe does not surprise us. The vital statistics of golf are indeed impressive, and quite sufficient to establish factual, economic soundness that reach
far beyond the luxury image, which once held forth in the late 20's - when I entered the caddy ranks in Cincinnati while golf was in its infancy.
Since 85% of all golfers use municipal or other public courses as their
"home" club, this provides the clue that golf is available to everyone for the
purpose of personal recreation, skill development and fellowship. In reality then,
golf as a game is a need fulfilled for man in the pressure environment he has
created for himself in our time — a time when, in the future, the proper planning
for the use of leisure will be of equal importance to the planning for education
and productive work.
To justify this statement I need your indulgence while you allow me the
privilege of delving into the past for a moment; a return for a brief look at history; a bit of evolution that began with pagan man himself - there to observe the
needs of man as he adjusts to his particular environment, and perhaps draw the conclusion that, indeed, golf has become a need fulfilled. The rise and fall in the
span of man's history is a matter of record by one means or another. He has recorded the events of his life on stone or the printed page for some five thousands
of years. Mich more evidence of his progress toward becoming civilized has been
sifted from the ruins of the past.
Private clubs are nothing new. With each civilization man has devised
many means of recreation for himself and those associated with him. The Assyrians
and Persians formed their own exclusive hunting clubs for the princes and military
in the eighth century B.C. When game on these private preserves became scarce they
simply moved farther away from their towns and turned the former locations over to
their slaves and peasants who used them as< a public park.
Horoditus, the Greek historian, set the date of the first Olympic Games as
beginning in the year 776 B.C. Such were the entry requirements that he had to
prove his own Greek birthright before he could participate in the foot races. King
Xerxes of Persia, who was about to go to war with Greece, was much impressed with
Greek sportsmanship when he learned that the first prize for any of the many games
being played was only an olive wreath. His captains had little respect for these
boys' games upon learning that there was no money at stake. (Indeed, these captains of Xerxes would be most pleased with our Westchester Open where the total
offering is a cool quarter of a million, wouldn't they?)
The games people played in the days of the ancients were not always within
the realm of our idea of sportsmanship or recreation. Some, as in the days of the
Egyptians and Roams, were a combination of cruelty and murder. When the Roman
Coliseum was inaugerated in the first century A.D. lasting for 108 days, over
5,000 wild beasts were killed to amuse the guests. Before the end of the second
century the first Roman citizens to embrace the christian faith were murdered in
this same arena as a public event and often to the amusement of the non-believer
pagans.
After the fall of the Roman Empire and the end of the dark ages, man set
out once again on the road called progress towards an even higher goal we experience today as civilization - a civilization where atom bombs and golf are seemingly quite compatible - where, on the one hand, one is quite capable of shattering all hope for mankind - on the other hand, the other, as a form of recreation,

is an instrument wherein man can be helped to continue as his own successor and
survive his greatest scientific discovery. With the limited stability man now
was experiencing in Europe at the close of the dark ages, he began to have leisure time at his disposal. It was during this period that a game was accidentally born on the sand dune, Seaside Country Club of Scotland.
Golf, as we know it today, eventually evolved from a game of crooked
s.ticks and a "ball" of bound feathers to have a purpose and objectiveness, and be
played as "regulation." This game became so popular with the hardy Scots that the
Scottish Parliament decreed its banishment thirty-five years before Columbus discovered our America, on the grounds that far too many of the archers were devoting
so much time to the improvement of this new fancy that their archery practice was
being neglected. Since archery was their chief defense weapon, their duty to the
Crown was being sorely neglected. Needless to say, the game survived and King
James VI became such an addict that he decreed that golf could be played on the
Sabbath. Thus, a new religion was formed with par and strokes being a new sort of
worship - where the money changers wait at ever tee and the collection is made
after the eighteenth hole is completed.
Golf was introduced to America by a man of Scottish descent, a Mr. James
Ried, in March of 1888 at Yonkers, N. Y. The most influential man in golfing circles in those early days was another Scotchman, Mr. Charles MacDonald. While being
educated in Scotland he played the game on the St. Andrews links and carried his
enthusiasm for golf back to Chicago where he designed the first 18-hole course in
America, the Chicago Golf Club.
American golf took its first giant step forward in the person of Francis
Ouimet, a caddy from the Country Club of Brookline, Mass., when he beat the famous
British pro in the 1913 Open. He was the first golfer in America to make national
headlines. This popular surge of interest in golf was repeated during the depression days of the 30's when Bobby Jones made his Grand Slam Tour of American
and British golf playing as an amateur.
But really, golf in America could not completely fulfill the need as a
recreation medium for men of all walks of life until after World War II, When the
worth and consideration of the working man was fully recognized by providing him
with leisure and an escalating income. Now he belonged to the total society of
mankind. This combination gave him every opportunity to seek regular outdoor recreation of his economic choosing with the assurance that the time was his to allocate
to his best interests. At this point T.V. became the greatest medium any sport has
ever experienced in the acceleration of its importance as a way of life. To adopt
a popular phrase - from this point on, "anyone could play," the boom in golf we are
experiencing today was launched.
Golf will never appeal to everyone. We, who are closely related to the business, should not expect this. There are those who have a warm interest but remain on
the sidelines with the inevitable question. Why golf? Golf is hardly a religion,
although some use it as such. It might be looked upon as a doctor of the ministry
once did when he quipped, "Where else in life can a man get eighteen fresh starts in
a single afternoon?"'
Psychologists take a bit different view from that of the minister. Man, as
a being, was a hunter first and a tiller of the soil for eons of time before he became a city-dweller with non-agrarian occupations. Even in our day of depleted forests and diminishing game supplies, seventeen million Americans pay a round figure of
$ 5 for a hunting license that is good for about a week so that their heritage of
long ago can be satisfied. This is but one of man's inherent characteristics that

prompts him to continue his interest in the out-of-doors.
It is generally accepted, and happens to be my own personal belief, that
the game of golf has a special place in our society - a society that is rapidly
turning from the Agrarian pursuits of our forefathers to a domiantly urban life
wherein man works at a feverish pitch. Here he is surrounded by noises, air pollution and traffic jams. These are but a few of the frustrations that contribute to
his tensions. Each year he tries to out-perform his accomplishments of the previous year by producing more consumer goods, at a lower cost, with less time and
manpower.

*

Add to this the competition that may possibly produce a similar or better
product at even lower cost and you come to realize that man is forever in competition with himself. This is the technological corner that man is painting himself
into. Ironically enough is the sign that is posted way back in the depths of this
corner that reads in small but clear print, "Hurry up and wait." Hurry up and get
the job done, then wait until the nerves calm down; then give it another try, only
this time do a better job.
This accelerated, merry-go-round world of"Hurry up and wait"is being
brought into focus for many thousands of business and working men and women who use
the game of golf as an intermediary to keep them in touch with Nature while enjoying their sport. In this world of community effort to exert pressure for desired
objectives it was interesting to learn recently that the public golfers of '
Cleveland have organized to present their wishes to any and all who deal with public golf facilities.
I like to believe there is that certain necessary aesthetic value to be
found on every golf course that has an interest for all far beyond the par value of
a hole, the hazards that must be overcome or the species of grass being crown.
Man, as a being and as a species, needs constant reminding that there are far more
important things in life than the gross national product, the latest Parisian styles
for the jet-set, or who is going to succeed Joe as shop steward at the plant when
he retires next fall.

*

I was especially interested in the carefully chosen words of the minister
who delivered the funeral eulogy of the late Marshall Farnham, a past president of
GCSA. He acknowledged that Marshall understood the resurrection of life because,
as a golf course superintendent at Philadelphia Country Club he experienced it
every spring with the greening of the grass, the flowering of our dogwood, and the
leafing of the trees. This, he said, was a reminder of life eternal. Thus, with
golf acknowledged as a true instrument of man in our society and its role in Nature,
do I believe the game is, indeed, a need fulfilled.
As a supervisor of this estate called a golf course, you and I serve a kind
of stewardship in providing this particular need fulfilled for our fellowman. In so
doing we must overcome our own frustrations when man and Nature are seemingly
against us at times. Should the occasion arise when you feel that you have lost
your perspective, renew your own strength, that inner-self, and reflect on the part
you play in this need fulfilled, and walk in dignity as you remember Him who said "Let the earth be covered with grass."

*

THE PROFESSIONAL APPROACH
Howard R. Taylor, Jr., Taylor & Associates,
Cleveland, Ohio
Let's profile the present day golfer in the United States.
Golfer No. 1. He is a taler in a steel mill in Warren, Ohio, making
$ 11,000 a year plus bonus. He works the night shift; he is 55 years old, a bachelor, playing to a 6 handicap. He plays a minimum of 4 times a week, has participated in five public links1 tournaments, including the State Championship. His
"home course" is 36-hole public complex owned and operated by the Chamber of Commerce. Green fees for 18 holes are $ 4.00, with season pass of $ 125.00 if purchased before January 15. Right now profile No. 1 is in Pinehurst, staying at the
Holly Inn and playing 36 holes a day on the famous No. 2. His golfing partners at
this golfing mecca are 19 other golf nuts from Warren, half of whom belong to the
city's only private jlub. He is playing Pinehurst with a new set of aluminum clubs
purchased for $ 375l.CO from his home pro in Warren.
Golfer No. 2 is a dock supervisor for a Pacific Northwest trucking company in
Tacoma, Washington. Like the steel worker from Warren, he has a high school education, his salary $ 18,000 a year. He is 48 years old, married,with four children.
He belongs to a private country club with annual dues of $ 400.00. He has a 12 handicap, plays four 18-hole rounds a week. His irons and woods are from Sears, Roebuck, and his Atlantic golf bag was purchased at the neighborhood discount house.
He puis his own cart. His wife doesn't play, but his kids are just taking up the
game in the club's junior program. Because of the moderate climate and recreational
facilities in the Pacific Northwest, his family sports include: skiing (both water
and snow), fishing, boating and tennis, and he is beginning to devote more and more
time to these other sports.
Golfer No. 3. He is a black doctor from Chicago with a practice which produces a personal income of over $ 150,000 a year. He is looking forward to his
second season of golf, having started last June. He has never played the game before, but felt he should take up the game to improve his social image, not so much
to others but to himself. Wanting tcj avoid any problems ir embarrassment by trying to play at a private or semi-private course in the immediate Chicago area, he
went to a new public, but expensive resort about 60 miles north of Chicago. After
a $600 outfitting by the resort pro, he signed up for a series of lessons and
started to work himself down to a 25 handicap. On his fourth trip to the resort,
he was accompanied by his wife who, after a $600 outfitting, went out to play her
first round which ended abruptly at the seventh hole when the doctor and his wife
drove their golf cart into a lake in front of the green. Her $600 outfit is still
in a closet at theirrfighlandPark home. However, the doctor continued to play
every week with a foursome of professional friends from Chicago, and next week will
be leaving for a golf junket to Florida where he hopes to get his handicap down to
22 before the season opens in the north.
Profile No. 4 is really a twosome, a husband and wife, who represent the traditional golfers of the U.S., but who, perhaps, are now in the minority as far as
numbers are concerned - the country club husband and wife. The husband, with an
annual salary in excess of $ 50,000, plays every Saturday with his foursome, every
Wednesday afternoon with customers, and Sunday with his wife..and another couple.
His wife plays every Tuesday - Ladies day, again on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday
with the gals, and on Sunday with her husband. They take a golfing vacation every
spring or fall, playing every day for 10 days at the finest golf resorts whether it

be in the Carolinas, California, the Carribean, or now Spain. At this moment they
are looking forward to this spring!s trip to include a two-day stop at Pinehurst to
play the same No. 2 where this week the steel bailer from Warren is playing.
Our four golfers have two things in common: first, they are a statistic; and
second, and most important, they are people. They are a statistic 1, 2, 3 and 4 of
the ten million who pay 15 or more rounds a year on over 9,000 golf courses. They
are a statistic that the golf equipment manufacturers total up in their annual sales
reports of golf equipment. But, they are people when sharing the apprehension about
whether to buy steel or aluminum, or wait for titanium; and they're people when
eager to buy a ball with the advertising claim that it won't cut, lose its shape,
and last a full season of play. They are people desirous of facing the challenges
of exctic golf courses designed by the most publicized golf architects, courses
noted for the most treacherous hazards and impossible shots. They are people, not
statistics, when they spend up to five hours on a course, engaged in mental torture, trying to emulate the pros they see on television. And, they are people,
when following their round, they rush through a quick beer or gin and tonic while
settling their dollar Nassau bets before rushing home for a tardy family picnic, or
gulping down a chicken sandwich and a glass of iced tea to make the garden club
tour at 1:00.
Golfers are people, people who many of us - whether we are golf course superintendents, club managers, golf course owners, or country club trustees, have filed
as statistics. And, if golf as a business is to continue to reap the rewards, financial and otherwise, we have to look at golfers - those males and females of all
ages whose deovtion to hitting, chasing after and finding that little white ball is
now a billion dollar business - we have to look at golfers through People Glasses.
There has been too much emphasis on golfers as statistics. I know it's important that at the end of the season you can sit down and add up that your golf course
played 18,950 rounds in 1969 up from 17,722 rounds in 1968. But what really is most
important is - why did these rounds increase or maybe even decrease? If we look at
these golfers as people, perhaps we can! learn why they came to your course, or even
stay away. They come to your course, whether it's a private club, a semi-private
club, or a public layout to have fun - to enjoy themselves. What are you going to
do to enhance their fun?
First of all we have to know what the golfer wants.
to start with:
1.
2.

Here's a good check list

Convenient parking, close as possible to the pro shop and the first tee.
A practice area for all clubs from the drive to the wedge, plus a practice
putting green.
3. Conveniently located toilet facilities, adjacent to the first tee, if possible,
if it's a long way from the locker room.
4. If a public or semi-public course, he wants a golf club or country club atmosphere in the bar and food service areas, with food and drink at popular prices.
5. The golfer of today wants good turf, and expects it. If due to weather or
other conditions the turf is in a deteriorated state at the moment, our
golfer deserves and will appreciate an explanation why!
6. Because of the great competition for man's free time, and we don't have much,
the golfer wants to play faster despite the fact that he will continue to
take precious seconds and even minutes lining up and hanging over a 3 ft.
putt.
7. He wants a clean, well-manicured course - housekeeping par-excellence. If
this is what he sees at the first tee he will do his part in maintaining that
apperance. If not, he will contribute his litter to the unsightliness of
the course.

8.

He wants his hazards clearly defined, and the hazards within the confines of
the hole cleaned so he can find that precious, premium, no-cut ball.

For all of this, and more, he is willing to contribute to a more profitable operation of a golf course in the form of higher daily greens fees or monthly dues, and
an increase in the price of his post-round drink and sandwich - if you can contribute improved professional management.
The agenda for this year's Midwest Turf Conference covers a multitude of subjects that will enable you as managers to make management decisions leading to developing a better product, to satisfy the demands of your customers or members.
How profitable this product will become is up to each of you as managers. And, I
cannot stress enough how vital management is. And, it is in the field of MANAGEMENT
that I believe golf course owners, operators, trustees, clubhouse managers, greens
superintendents and golf pros must advance their thinking.
The operation of a golf
turf, pro shop and clubhouse.
to a successful and profitable
the same two basic problems to
1.

course complex involves three professiona; areas These three professional areas must each contribute
operation. Each of these professional areas has
challenge management:

Rising personnel costs, coupled with a shortage of trained manpower
Evaluating and applying new techniques and ways of doing things

Available to each of these professional areas - turf, pro shop and clubhouse - are
outside professional agencies, ready and willing to help you as managers to make
professional decisions which, with your professional management, can only result in
a professionally-run operation - and only a professionally-run golf course complex
can be a profitable one.
Those of you who are affiliated with a proprietary operation, whether a public, semi-private or private golf complex - a complex owned and operated for profit
by an individual or a group of individuals, are in the most enviable position.
100% profit-motivated companies and syndicates involved in golf course complexes
respect and demand professional management.
Those of you who are managers within
a membership-owned golf complex, generally the private club, have a greater challenge in exercising your management function because you are face-to-face with a
membership and its Board of Trustees who, though professionals in their own business
area, repeatedly - though with good intent - apply amateurism to decisions which
require professionalism. The United States Golf Association in its manual says if
private clubs1 trustees ran their business the way they run their club, many of
their businesses would surely fail.
We all have seen so many instances in the operation of golf course complexes
where the amateur approach to situations demanding a professional decision has led
to a sub-standard result . . . the new green "designed" by the club champion rather than a qualfied golf
course architect.
. . . the new mixed grill "designed" by the president of the Board of Trustees,
a successful electronics parts manufacturer, rather than the club manager
in consultation with an experienced clubhouse or restaurant architect.
. . . a turf renovation program dictacted by the Greens Chairman, a prominent auto
dealer, rather than by the greens superintendent in consultation with the
state's turf agronomist.
. . . the new pro shop "designed" by the club's golf committee in consultation
with the architect who just designed the committee chairman's house, rather
than by the golf pro in consultation with an experienced golf clubhouse
architect.

It is the obligation of the various professional agencies and associations
in golf to assist you
being recognized for your professional management in each
of your respective areas. The GreersSuperintendents of America, the PGA, the Club
Managers Association, the American Society of Golf Course Architects, the USGA,
the many state and regional turf associations all must take up the banner - THE
PROFESSIONAL APPROACH IS THE ONLY APPROACH.
Last fall the Cleveland District Golf Association sponsored a Professional
Approach conference on turf for officers, trustees and greens committee members of
its 43 member clubs, featuring leading turf authorities. Gratifying results are already beginning to show. Ardfor next fall, the Cleveland District is planning a
Professional Approach conference on clubhouse operations.
This is our challenge - and if the record attendance here this week is any indication, the PROFESSIONAL APPROACH to the many problems in the operation of golf
course complexes - private, public or semi-private - is being recognized as the only
way of doing business.

THE PUBLIC FEE GOLFER
Harold W. Glissmann, Harold Glissmann, Inc.,
Omaha, Nebraska
"Effective Techniques" Characterizing the Public Fee Golfer is the way this
talk should be titled due to the Conference theme. I assure you there are many
effective techniques. I have looked at and served the Public Fee Golfer since 1925,
when my family took our modern dairy farm and built an 18-hole public golf course
on it, cost of approximately $ 10,000 and a lot of hard work, using our dairy barn
for the so-called Club House, building the course with teams and slip scrappers, used
pipe for water system, no peat moss or sand for the greens or tees, and wild ducks
to puddle the lake to keep it from leaking.
Par, according to todayfs standards, would have been about 68. However, I believe the scorecard read 70 or 71. Green fees for week days were 500 for all day,
and 750 Saturday, Sunday and holidays. Total club sales during a season would amount
to several hundred dollars, not including the trades. Ify father was an old horse
trader, and that's the truth. He would really deal with those city slickers, grown
men in knee pants and nothing to do but chase a little ball around a patch of green
grass. He enjoyed this business very much and before long we had two 18-hole
courses and three 9-hole courses under our management. Green fees have advanced from
250 to $ 2.25 for 9 holes, and no discount for additional rounds, to investing a
quarter of a million dollars in a fine 18-hole course, land cost not included, and
$ 6.00 fee for 18 holes. So, I am sure I can characterize the Public Fee Golfer for
you - that is since 1925.
Golf was once a simple pleasure. A fellow with a couple of hours to kill
could take a canvas bag with five or six sticks out to the public links and have a
fairly pleasant time whacking the ball around. Then the game fell into the clutches
of the Organization Man with matched sets of clubs, clectric carts, mustard slacks
and dozens of other silly accoutrements. In logistics and equipment, playing golf
today is roughly comparable to mounting a polar expedition, and the courses are overrun with fuss-budgets.

I am sure that most of you have a diff ~nt idea of him, the fee golfer, than
I do, or did have when I started in the bus\.\^s. The 1925 public golfer was glad
to just to be able to pay and did not care too much what he played with, or on what
size course, or how it was maintained - just so he could find his golf ball and
enjoy himself.
*

Soft goods sales were practically nil. About all that was sold were balls,
tees, after we quit using sand for tees, and a few clubs, and they were mostly
used-clubs bought from the country club Pro. Such is not the case today. If a
goodly portion of your net profit does not come via the clubhouse, snack bar 01
starting pavilion, someone is missing the boat.
The 1969 Public Fee Golfer is a new breed and he will become more so as time
goes by and leisure becomes more a part of life. Leisure is what we should dwell
upon for a few minutes.
Leisure, as defined by Webster's New Dictionary, is free, unoccupied time
during which a person may indulge in rest, recreation, etc. The public fee golfer
is a part of the leisure market. Leisure in America as observed by Max Kaplan is
a leisure in which all men find their wants met.
According to a study by National Industrial Conference Board, 67$ of a surveyed group gave their workers a maximum of four weeks vacation in 1965; 31$ gave
employees eight part holidays. The recently enacted Monday Holiday Law will give
many millions of workers longer weekends and more leisure time. Starting in 1971
Washington's birthday, Memorial Day, Columbus Day and Veterans Day will become
three-day holidays, along with Labor Day, making five long weekends per year for
certain.

*

Fortune Magazine's study says that the greatest increase in family income
will be in the $ 10-15,000.00 class. The survey also shows that the best consumers and buyers are among this same group; also that the total number of families
with good incomes will jump from 34$ of the market today to 56$. This can only
help the fee golf business. The nation's 9 million golfers are spending 250
million dollars for equipment, and that is expected to increase 13$ in 1969 and 70.
Every kind of sport and recreation will enjoy this great increase. The owners and
operators of fee courses that are ready will reap the harvest.

PROMOTING GOLF NATIONALLY
Peter Miller, Supt., Firestone Country Club,
Akron, Ohio
Many of you are familiar with the Firestone Country Club, having either been
to the golf course personally or through the many television shows that have been
presented since 1962.
Firestone built the present championship 18 in 1929, the designer being the
late Bert Way. Since that time the golf course has gone through many changes from
a fine industrial links to one of the finest championship golf courses. To give
you an idea of the magnitude of the national coverage afforded Firestone, a bit of
history is necessary.

The first national tournament held was the Rubber City Open. This tournament
drew nationally-known golfers from 1954 until 1959. In I960, Firestone hosted the
PGA and also extensively altered the golf course by adding 50 traps around the
greens and fairways, two lakes on #3, and #16, two new greens #3 and trIS, plus 16
relocated or enlarged greens.
The length of the golf course was also changed from 6,306 yards to 7^180
par T). Robert Trent Jones did the design work and a very good job at that because since I960 in eight 72-hole tournaments there have been 3,078 rounds of golf
played, and only 176 of these have been sub-par rounds, 163 par ounds, and 2,739
over par rounds.
The Rubber City Open dissolved into the American Golf Classic, a regular stop
on the pro circuit, nationally televised since 1961 and still continuing. In 1962,
the World Series of Golf started (winners of the PGA, Masters, U.S.Open and the
British Open), and this is a nationally televised program.
In 1962, Firestone hosted All Star Golf, a 13 series winter show, and in 1964
and 1965 televised Big Three Golf. 1965 also brought the thirteen-show series of
Golf with Sam Snead. The PGA again appeared at Firestone in 1966. 1967 started
the CBS Golf Classic series that you see throughout the winter. At this point we
are nationally televised through the American Golf Classic, the World Series of
Golf, and the CBS Golf Classic, 22 hours a year through all three major networks,
tieing the golf course up for 33 days. I don!t think you will find another golf
course in the world with this type of exposure.
Firestone is well-qualified for this. The tournaments are run very capably
by service organizations in cooperation with the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company,
the proceeds going entirely to charity. The Clubhouse has all the facilities
necessary, press rooms, service rooms, cart storage, television facilities, etc.
Parking is available for 12,000 cars within walking distance of the Clubhouse and
course. The golf course is also we11-qualified besides being a battlefield for
the pros - it is a good spectator course. Areas are available throughout the
course where a person can watch the action in a. number of locations.
There are six leader scoreboards scattered throughout the golf course to keep
the spectators well-informed of what is happening on other areas of the golf course.
The course is underlaid with 250 miles of telephone wire, providing instand scoring and communications between each green on the course, the press area and leader
scoreboards. Switchboards are provided in the clubhouse for a very efficient outside telephone network and all facilities are provided for AP and UPIJ The television networks are tied into downtown Akron by a micro-wave relay system,and depending on their mobile unit location are afforded the use of 27 miles of buried
coaxial cable networks.
All power for equipment is readily available on the golf course. With the
many years of experience working with television, the PGA, and the many facets of
running a national tournament. Firestone is well-qualified to be hosting such
tournaments.
We maintain our golf course like most anyone else, aerifying the greens and
tees spring and fall, with/topdressings during the year, one, two to three weeks
before the first tournament of the year. The greens and tees are a combination of
Nimisila bent, an old South German mixed bent with a liberal sprinkling of Poa
annua; the greens and tees being fertilized in a 3-1-2 ratio, with the N approximately 6#, the majority of this being organic, either UF or activated sewerage
sludge. The greens are cut at 3/16 and the tees at 1/4.

The fairways are aerified spring and fall with a slicer, with at the same time
some potash being put down. Poa annua is the predominant grass and cut at 1/2. We
use primarily activated sewerage sludge on the fairways with a quarter of the 6# of
N put on in a readily available source. Our biggest problems on the course are the
fairways. The subject this year seems to be Poa annua«elimination, but this is a
bit difficult to do when you have a televised tournament in August, September and
October. We live with the Poa, as little water as possible, very judicious use of
fertilizer, with a very good fungicide program thrown in. We are aware of the thin
thread we are walking on, but in some instances the situation dictates the solution.
The overall maintenance of the course is such that the tournament does not
place a great deal of strain on us. The Firestone Tire and Rubber Company uses the
golf course as a guest facility, and with the reputation we have developed, every
day seems to ue a special day to someone.
We are very proud of our new facilities that will be put into play this year.
In 1967 construction started on a new 18 holes north of the present 18. This course
designed by Robert Trent Jones will certaily enhance the area, and also add a tremendous challenge to not only the professional golfer but the low handicap golfer
as well. The course, a par 70, 7,095 yards, has ten of the 18 holes built around a
reservoir. Holes such as the 17th, 221 yards par 3 over water to a peninsular green
65 feet wide, should provide all the excitement needed. The course was constructed
with USGA greens (sand and organic matter) and tees, Nimisila bent on the greens,
and Penncross bent on the tees, with the fairways a Seaside-Astoria mix. The
course has a complete automatic irrigation system as does the South Course.
With the maturing of the new North Course and the continued excellence of the
South Course, we believe we have what Robert Trent Jones says is "the finest golf
facilities anywhere in the country." Here's hoping that for many years you will
see the Firestone courses promoting golf nationally.

PROMOTING TURF AND PROMOTING GOLF
Keesling and Street, Oaklandon Development Company, Inc.,
Indianapolis, Indiana
Out of respect for Dr. Daniel and in appreciation of the many bits of wisdom
and knowledge made available to us in the past by you and your associates, we
accept the opportunity to contribute in some small way our interpretations of
"Promoting Golf through Promoting Turf." Our goal has been, and shall remain, to
provide fine playing conditions for the golfer throughout the entire season. Keeping our players informed of anticipated changes in the course helps to make their
time spent with us more enjoyable.
In order to make this goal possible, we needed two basics, namely: 150 acres
of gently rolling ground, an architect and builder. We feel these needs were met
after having acquired the acreage and having hired the Maddox Construction Company.
The Company, in turn, came up with a plan for a modern golf course designed for
machine maintenance. Our tees average 9,000 sq.ft., and are maintained by the same
tractor-drawn units as our fairways and areas around the greens. The fairways and
greens are trapped to catch the poor shot of the better golfer. Our C-15 bent
greens average 8,000 sq.ft., giving us an assortment of pin placements and, just as

important, helping to eliminate compaction from the steady traffic of players that
would have to take place on smaller putting surfaces.
Our man-made pond of some 50,000 sq.ft., fed by two deep wells, plus being in
a natural watershed area, enables us to use our single line watering system with
manually regulated sprinkler heads to a good advantage in maintaining our turf.
Our yearly fertilization plan calls for approximately 8 lbs. of N per 1,000
sq.ft. for greens, 6 lbs. of N per 1,000 sq.ft. for tees, berms and fairways, and
2 lbs. of N per 1,000 sq.ft. for the roughs. We are also firm believers in aerification for all of our turf, as well as a program to eliminate clover, broadleaf
weeds and doing everything we can to keep Poa under control over our entire course.
Our tree planting program has enabled us to beautify our course by the many
varieties used. However, a more important phase will develop as the trees outline
the fairways and provide protection to golfers from misplaced shots. At the same
time we are well aware of the fact that Old Oakland has a long way to go before it
satisfied, us completely. The welcome sign is out at Old Oakland!
In closing, we would like to tell you something of our policy as related
directly to the golfer. Each person is interviewed and briefed on what they can
expect at Old Oakland and what we anticipate in return 1. Reserved starting times up to 5 days in advance
2. Ettiquette, with emphasis on a reasonable playing time for 18 holes
3. Private lessons by appointment
4. Merchandise sold on quality basis, stressing the importance of merchandising and how it fits into our overall picture
5. Electric cart reservations, with emphasis on where they may be used on.
the course.

PROMOTING GOLF AT THE GOLDEN TEE
Jeffrey Mays, Golden Tee Golf Center
Cincinnati, Ohio
The Golden Tee Golf Center is a family recreation center. We cater to all age
groups. We have a lighted par-3 golf course, which includes two par-fours, a 65 tee
driving range, two 18-hole miniature golf courses, and another 18-hole mirrature
course under construction, a 17-table billiard lounge, a game room for the kids and
the adults, which includes bowling machines, pinballs, a hockey machine, and a periscope machine. We also have a well-stocked pro shop of golf equipment, and a coinoperated snackbar for sandwiches and soft drinks.
Ninety percent of our traffic comes through the pro shop entrance. This way
the customer is always exposed to our golf merchandise, and the one main entrance
and exit gives us control. The billiard lounge has made our operation year-round.
It helps maintain our traffic flow, and enables us to keep our key staff through
the long winter.
On the patio, which leads to the driving range, the par—3 and the miniature
golf courses we have tables, chairs and umbrellas in the summertime.

The wire screen on the right side of No. 1 tee protects the Holiday Inn
guests parking from erratic golfers#
For night lighting we use regular incandescent bulbs tor light most of the
center. Our back nine holes is lighted by mercury vapor, which gives a bluish cast,
but is more economical to operate.
Our location is at an exit north on Interstate 75, right next to Holiday Inn,
which gives us a lot of transit trade, particularly in the summertime. This is a
view of our maintenance barn taken from the miniature course. The putting green is
to the left of the fence.
Our new 18-hole miniature will encircle the present two miniature courses.
We are going to call it "Around the World and each hole will be unique in that it
will represent a differerent- :„vntry. We have a gradener who spends all his time
on flowers (special) and trimming and manicuring the miniature.
Our 65 tee driving range includes 20 tees on the upper deck. The younger
people always go to the upper deck. The side walls of 20 enclosed heated tees for
winter driving come down when the weather warms up. We had 3 electric heaters on
each tee before, but not enough to keep the golfer warm. Now with one infra-red
gas heater and the dividers you can keep warm with a sweater or windbreaker on with
the temperature near zero.
Our ball picker is hooked on the front end of a Ford tractor, which has an
enclosed, screened, heated cab for the driver's protection which people are driving.
We do need a piece of equipment to pick balls when the ground is too wet to run the
picker. Having 5 or 6 men hand-picking becomes very expensive. Maybe some type of
a vacuum system that could be mounted on the front of a Cushman Truckster would be
the answer. Maybe the manufacturers and the engineers can come up with something.
In summary, we promote golf at the Golden Tee by treating the customer with
the highest level of courtesy and offering him the services he desires. We also
keep our recreation center clean and neat at all times to present a most enjoyable
atmosphere. We advertise daily on the radio and weekly in the newspaper.
To sell our golf equipment we have three golf professionals giving lessons
and advice to the customer. We advertise the point that "we have a golf professional on duty at all times to custom-fit your golf clubs." If a person is
going to spend $ 2C0 to $ 300 for a set of golf clubs, he wants the club that is
best suited to his swing and type of game he plays.
We hold annually a "Beat Richard King" golf cournament. Richard King is a
local disc jockey, popular inrthe Cincinnati and surrounding area. It is strictly
a handicap tournament that lasts for a week and we give away $ 1,000 worth of golf
merchandise prizes. All the customer has to do is pay a greens fee, beat Richard
King with an adjusted handicap and he can win a prize. These are ways we create
traffic by operating a family recreation center with golf as the principal activity.

PROMOTING PUBLIC GOLF COURSES
John Raber, Raber!s Golf Course
Bristol, Indiana
t
Every promoter hopes for a winner. A winner must have the physical requirements as well as a natural aptitude, and this goes for a golf course if it is to
be a winner or successful.

A

Before any course is built a full survey should be taken. First, determine
the population of the area; then the availability of public golfing. If this
suggests a good opportunity, then the location is most essential.
The cost of the land is last in importance. It must be easily accessible,
preferably on a state road, centrally located in the population area to be served.
Three phase electrical service should be available along with plenty of water for
irrigation. Land should be chosen on which a good course can be built at a minimun cost. Such characteristics as drainage, minimum cost of clearing, availability
of greens building material, state of fertility of soil,and land not too rolling as
to make maintenance too expensive.
Today there are many industrial workers who wish to play, but do not wish or
cannot afford to belong to a country club. We have built our business on this premise. We had industrial leagues from twenty factories using our course last year.
This year we turned away many because we are full. For this reason we are building another nine this year, making 27 holes. We have three leagues already booked
to use on our new nine in 1970. These players insure our overhead. Weekends they
come out to play on the course that they will be competing on during the season.
s
I feel we ha*e something very unique. We have the name and mailing address of
every person ever to pay a greens fee on our course. We have no membership of any
kind, and everyone is treated the same. Each player is presented a postcard which
he is to address to himself and on the other side is the statement - "You were
drawn to have a free round of golf any time you choose in 1968 as one in a foursome."
These cards serve as a register for the day. At the end of the week we simply throw
out every tenth, fifteenth or so card and mail it. This gives them the feeling of
winning, but to win they have to promote by bringing three other players. We then
file all the cares in alphabetical order which gives us a good mailing address of
every golfer in the area. Can you imagine the value of this to the pro shop«? in
the promotion of sales? By this communicaton the golfer has a feeling of belonging
to the institution much as a country club member.
Green fees should never be high enough to discourage would-be golfers. Therefore, the cost of maintenance is of most importance. Labor is the major cost; consequently, labor saving is the most important object in making a successful business
out of ownership of public golf courses. The selection of the site and the architectural plans are the most important management decision in the life of the course.
Our course was built on 135 acres in a R 1 residential area adjacent to the
St. Joseph River on state road 120. The soil was in a high state of fertility,
having been in corn continually for 20 years. It is gently rolling, varying only
131 from low to high point. There were no buildings and only a limited number of
trees. The soil is naturally drained, not a tile or ditch any place. The topsoil
is perfectly constituted to use for greens and tees. We simply stripped 4 inches of
soil off the roughs with pans, and built all the greens and tees for $ 2500.00 of
earth moving.

*

The architect made large and long tees so the range of 62 to 7250 yards make
a course tough to par. No sandstraps as yet - to save labor. All fairways are
mowed with a nine-gang mower, and all tees are mowed with the same mower. All
greens are automatically watered. Seldom, if ever, do any players see anyone working on the greens, tees or fairways. This makes playing enjoyable and progressive.
We do most of the maintenance work at night and we consider it successful.
The greens are watered just as the course is closed. At 11 o'clock the night
man comes to work and puts out 18 sprinklers on onerine. He then proceeds to mow
the other nine. Our tractor is equipped with a 110 volt generator and has a tower
of 12 flood lights. He mows with the 9-gang for 1 hour, then stops and uses a cart
for travel, moves the sprinklers. In 8 hours he has one side watered and the other
mowed. The next night he reverses the order. The two green mower operators come
at 4 and have the greens mowed well ahead of any players. This way no laborer is
detained from work at any time by players. The greenskeeper comes early ehough to
inspect each green,and move cups makers before players see him and, in so doing,
makes the decision as to whether spraying or other preventive measures must be taken
during the day. By this method two men and two boys keep our couse beautifully manicured.
We did plant some 600 trees with modern planting equipment. It is cheaper to
plant the trees where desired than to clear undesired growth when building. Our
slogan - "A HAPPY GOLFER IS OUR BEST PROMOTER."

PROMOTING GOLF
Wm. E. Lyons, Sr., Pres., Lyons Den Golf, Inc.
Canal Fulton, Ohio
There are four classes of golf activities to cater to the wishes of the public to enjoy during their leisure time 1.
2.
3.
4.

h

The strictly fee course that sells only golf and a few side items such as
snack bar, with the prop shop to meet the daily needs for balls, gloves,
tees and a few rental clubs.
The fee course, selling cheap memberships or season passes as an attraction
to their bar, restaurant or large pro shop.
The country club, strictly private, with all types of activities,with golf
just one of several.
The commercial club, a glorified fee operation, in which the member or employee holds no stock; operated by a corporation as an employee activity
or an advertising promotion deal, such as bachelor clubs.

Lyons Den Golf is a class 1 operation. We have to depend strictly on greens
fees. We have no memberships or season passes. As one of my neighbors says,
"Sell passes and cut yourself out of one-third of your revenue." We think we have
just as good a product to sell as Standard Oil, my grocer or the baker. When
asked about season passes I tell the customer that whenever Standard Oil starts
selling season passes to their gasoline pump we will sell season tickets at the
Lyons Den.

Did you ever analyze the mind of a golfer? He or she lives in a dream
world all day at their job. They picture that trip from home or office to the
course, possibly picking up one more of their foursome for a bit of conversation
on the way to the course. Where will I have to park tonight? Down at the end of
the lot, or will their be a spot open on the 50 yard line? Will I get there in
time for a cart, or will I have to walk and carry my clubs? Will there be flowers
in bloom? Will Bill be there to greet me, or will Sarah be taking my greens fees?
Hope she has some good coffee and a quick sandwich with a smile. Will all my lies
be on perfect turf and my putts run true? Yes, our golfers are dreaming birdies,
pars and eagles all day long. He or she dreams a happy, leisurely few hours in a
dream world. When one sells only golf then we have to pretty much meet the expectations of our golfers dreams or they will not return.
To get material for you today I went to a supplier of Pro Shop merchandise,
a good golfer. He travels the state of Ohio. I asked for his opinion why one
course will get more/Man another. He sayd, "I'll tell you why Lyons Den is heavily
played. When I come to your course and park, I am greeted by an urn (2 ft. tile) of
flowers right in front of my car. Before I open the door those flowers told me
'this is a nice place.' Somebody cares about me. I am important to them.
"As I walk to the clubhouse past more flower gardens and the martin houses
on polies, you laid out a rubber walk to ease my tired feet. Again you make me
feel important. You are an owner of the place, yet you are there instead of hiring
someone who is not interested in me.
"You charge me a high price - the highest in Stark county for the shortest
course in the county. It satisfies my ego to pay it. They tell me you charge
everyone, even your own preacher. You have no members or season ticket holders to
make me feel unwelcome.
"Yet, I know you could not charge those high fees unless you were willing
to give me the best possible playing conditions. I appreciate the courtesy green
at #1 tee so I can test the speed of the turf and get in a few practice putts. You
call my name on the P.A. system, telling me that I will be on the tee in just 7
minutes. They you call me a second time to take my turn. By that time I have
heard my name so often (you inflated my ego) that I can't think a good swing. You
have never been more than 7 min. late getting us on the tee either. We know we are
scheduled for our second round in just two hours.
"You also told the slow playing foursome
2 holes behind schedule when they got to the 5th
you refund their money. Without a word - just a
gets around the way you operate." Our thanks to
this story.

ahead of me one day that they were
tee. They got nasty and suggested
smile - you gave it to them. News
Mr. Larry Kemper for that part of

When we opened Lyons Den eight seasons ago (1962), we charged only $ 1.00
per 9; $ 2.00 for 18. Mr. Jim Holmes, former Director of the USGA Green Section,
known to most of you, came by one summer to check on our modified soil greens
(actually soil-less). This was the first set of these east of the Mississippi
River. After eight years we now get $ 2.25 for 9 and $ 4.25 for 18. The Lyons
Den is a direct result of applying researched ideas from Turf Conferences and
"Cheese Bars."
The turf promotes our golf course. We do spend money on all the local programs and yearbooks the kids peddle. These are considered community donations.
They help a little in goodwill.
Placemats with the design of the course have been worth their cost in new

customers. We put out 25,000 annually to restaurants. The best promotional gimmick
we use is the punch card. We have 3*000 people carrying punch cards. We punch the
card with a letter nL,f for each round played. The 11th round is on the house. Then
we take the signed card and deposit it in a local bank with our daily deposits. On
November 1 each year we draw one card and give the name on that card $ 200.00. We
get the person's picture and use it for publicity.
Something else we do is to help people with their lawn problems. We sell more
fertilizer at a better profit than golf merchandise. We get them to apply pelletized
plant food once each month at the rate of 5 lbs. per 1,000. We wear out about 3 cyclone spreaders a year as a goodwill gesture.
As years go along and play has increased, we have had to enlarge our tees.
Now we are building just like our greens - with lots of drainage.
Our new maintenance building is attracting much attention. Our regular customers like to show it off to their friends. One of our tractors is older than
Bill, Jr., yet it will go on the course looking and sounding like new this spring.
We are charging the first class rate and we want to look the part. It works.

PROMOTING GOLF - MY IDEAS
Bill Duwe, Duwe Golf Course,
St. Louis, Missouri
1.

II.

Basic Premise: Make it easy for golf "customers" to do what you want them to
do. Most important - you want them to play consistently as many rounds as
practical.
A. Make it easy for golfers to find you.
1. Supply maps and other good directions whenever you can.
2. Road signs and markers (billboards if you can afford them).
B.

Make it easy to park.

Not just possible, but easy.

C.

Make it easy to sign up to play and certainly easy topay the greens
fee.
1. Internal directional signs, neat, attractive, sinple.
2. Conversely, make it difficult to go the wrong way.

D.

Now you have the golf on the first tee, your promotion has been successful, it only remains to make it easy for him to enjoy the round.
1. Question the players. Ask, "are you going away with a pleasant
feeling - glad you came out." Every person as he leaves your
course must have so concluded.

Specific, tangible ideas for golf promotion.
A. Promote yourself in the off-season. Don't let people forget you during the
winter.
1. Try a Newsletter - not new, but effective. It has to be good worth reading.
2. Christmas cards. We've done this for many years and believe it
has been valuable. Try for something of lasting value - photo
of course, etc.

3.

Have a good Hole-in-one promotion. Get it in the newspaper.
Give an award with your c. „ name on it. Keep and display an
up to date Hole-in-one roster.

4.

Use some score card attachments, special flyers stapled to each
card, About improvements on the course, standard rules, etc.
Make it simple and try to include an illustration.
Scoring pencils - no charge, but with the name of your course.
Call in winners to papers and sports news media.

5.
6.
III.

Another idea is to use as much as possible the people and organizations that
are "going your way."
1. National Golf Foundation, U.S.G.A., P.G.A., Golf Course Superintendents Association, Jaycees and others. They often have the same goals
you have.

IV. There are many good ideas for promoting golf, but one stands out as the most
perfect. One "idea" that does more than all the others - that is the golf
course itself.
1. The "growing things" - trees, shrubs, flowers.
2. Most of all the Turfgrass. All other promotions are helpful and desirable, but the turfgrass is essential. Turfgrass is the big idea in
your golf promotion.

THE HOW AND WHY OF
NIGHT MAINTENANCE
William E. Lyons, Lyons' Den Golf,
Canal Fulton, Ohio.

Inc.,

Several years ago one old timer was heard to remark, "I've mowed grass in
daytime for 30 years and I am not gdhg to change now." This man, perhaps, had no
need for a night maintenance program; or, the need was there and he wouldn't change
his thinking to face up to it; or, he failed to recognize the agronomic merits,
safety, efficiency and goodwill that modern night operations offer. On the other
hand, two days later I visited an owner of a fee course. The first thing he proudly
showed me were the new lights his crew had put on their machinery. To him it was
pay dirt. He had the need and had put the idea to work.
This paper is not meant to tell you all the steps in how to. maintain a course
at night. All I hope to do is point up the need for doing it and suggest the jobs we
have found best for a night program. Of course, you probably can improve on this
and use better tools than we have had.
A president of a large corporation was once heard asking the chairman of his
board. "How do you account for the outstanding success Mr. Smith has had with his
program? "Genuine enthusiasm," was the chairman's answer. I hope to encourage you
to be enthusiastic about your programs. All indices show that golfers are increasing as are the number of rounds; faster than playable courses are being built. I
prefer the term ENJOYABLE courses.

THE Golfer, Our Guest
More golfers on fee courses and more family participation at the club make
us wonder when we are going to get our work done! The daylight hours belong to the
golfers. (Some night hours too on lighted courses). We are forever in their way.
Let's treat every golfer as we would a guest in our own home. What would you think
of a woman who timed her home management so that the day you arrived as a guest she
was removing the rug from the living room or painting the guest bedroom? Yet you
and I have been guilty of just as much by having greens torn up, or doing any one
of a dozen other operations to the course during play.
Since work is the thing a golfer is trying to get away from, why do we have
to remind him? Would not his game be a happer experience if he saw no one working?
No noisy tractors, trucks, mowers, etc., to distract? Aside from improving our relations with the golfers, there are agronomic reasons for a night maintenance program.
Advantages to the Grass and the Crew
A study of heat, light, humidity, soil temperature in the grass rootzone and
several other factors was conducted on the experimental green at Purdue University
under the direction of Dr. William Daniel. As I recall it, the study showed the soil
temperature begins to rise rapidly about two hours after sunrise, reaches a peat
about three hours later and holds this range until about four hours before sundown.
Then it declines quickly, reaching the morning's status quo about 2 A.M.
Years before this study was made, many of you observed turf wilt about
11 A.M. Did you ever have turf killed by mowing during severe wilt? Learning the
hard way, we made it a standard rule to stop mowing fine turf about 11 A.M. Not
being able to keep our courses in "par" condition on such a short mowing schedule,
it seemed that a night mowing operation was the answer.
It began with one of our operators who loved fine turf. He asked me if he
could try night mowing to see if it would improve the turf and also satisfy the
golfers with shorter cut fairways. He sold us on his idea and for a test we bought
him: 1 headlight, 2 side lamps beamed to follow the edge of cut, 2 small lamps for
rear gang, 1 rear lamp the same as a headlight, 4 switches, and 1 variable regulator
for the generator. This system still serves. It is surprising how much mowing can
be done at the correct slow speed with one seven-gang, push-type unit "lamped up"
as described.
Being able to see better the operator will do a more efficient job at night
than in daytime. When the rear lamp is turned on he can actually see, without getting off the tractor, which unit is slightly out of adjustment. The factor of crew
safety when mowing at night is worth the effort to change our thinking. It's cooler
at night, thus more pleasant to work, less wear and tear on both man and machinery.
Then, too, the grass has a chance to recover before .r,.nrise from the shock of mowing.
Starting after the last group leaves the first o.r tenth tee, holes can
usually be mowed before the dew brings on those piles of clippings that kill turf.
If your golfers demand a 3/8 to 1/2 inch cut fairway then mowing at night is much
safer.
Less Wind at Night
There is also less chance of wind drift at night when spraying for diseases,
insects and weed control. Lime spreading is an easy night job. Pellet fertilizer

is spread more uniformly when a little dew shows tracks. In renovating, clipping
and leaf control, or any other, we did not find a fairway job that could not be done
better at night.
To spray greens as night, build a safe platform on the rear of the sprayer.
Mount the generator on it. Then use the two bank light system. Night spraying reduces the hazard of chemical burns.
The superintendent of a municipal course in a large midwest city told me
in 1958 they had so much play they could not even mow greens from Thursday until
Monday. I understand a Florida operator, who had a similar problem, put lights on
his greens mowers.
Here's another idea: Make up a portable lighting system. Bolt a 600 to
1200 watt gasoline-driven generator to the bed of your pickup truck. Assemble two
banks of three lamps each. Use outdoor type flood lamps. One set stays on the
truck on a 6 ft. piece of pipe. The other set should be set 7 to 8 ft. above the
ground and anchored some 50 ft. from truck to cross angle the lighting. All jobs
on tees and greens, except topdressing, can be done better at night.
A green mowed at night is better than one that is not mowed from Thursday to
Monday. Our golfers advised us that greens mowed at night were too slow by 6 P.M.
the next day so we had to go back to a dawn mowing schedule so we could be out of
the way of the 6 A.M. leagues.
Even stolons planted into greens or tees at night are noticeably better less chance of dehydration and quicker establishment. Night operations can help
you get more use from limited machinery supply, or allow you to condition the course
on time for tournaments. Now, night maintenance requires a radical change in your
thinking and is work - and work is that "bad" word. Just remember that someone else
has met the challenge.

SPECIAL AND NIGHT MAINTENANCE
Bill Duwe, Duwe Golf Course, St.Louis, Mo.

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

When else?
Why not?
What specific operations?
Lighting
Labor

6. Emergencies (communications)
Some ideas presented:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Aerify only 1/2 of each green - keeps play on good
Use biggest possible number of gang<s in mower - 7
tions permit - to keep ahead of players.
Use wetting agents to reduce dew on foliage. Must
for limited days. Time and cost to be considered.
Set up alternate procedures so superintendent will
disturbance.

turf.
-9-11-13
be repeated.

- as condiCan serve

have time free of

AN EFFECTIVE TECHNIQUE FOR RECOGNITION
Howard Gaskill, ?\:vt .., „Hiwan Country
Evergreen, Colorado

Club

There have been innumerable articles written and many speeches given concerning recognition and the golf course superintendent. The subject of recognition generally involves discussion of "professionalism", public relations, and/or
public image.
The Rocky Mountain chapter of the GCSAA has recently embarked upon a program of Certification that is relevant. The following is from the explanatory brochure that describes the program:
"The purpose of this program is to encourage members to upgrade themselves as well
as their profession. This is to set apart those persons who are truly professional golf course superintendents. Anyone designated as a Certified Golf
Superintendent will have the hallmarks of a professional.
He will possess an organized body of special knowledge which cannot be acquired
except by long and difficult study.
He wilj/^mpetent to practice. He will have the experience, the education, and
the benefit of professional association.
He will carry his assets primarily in his head, and can practice anywhere that
his services are in demand.
As a professional man he will use his talents for the public good, and will share
his successful methods with others. He will be known for his good works and
actions and expect to be compensated accordingly.
As a professional organization we are putting our stamp of approval on this man
and saying to the public - here is a man you can be sure of when it comes to
managing a golf course.
By becoming a Certified Golf Superintendent our members will be brought to the
public's attention, and it is only by the attention of the public that this
certification program will have any beneficial meaning."
While a superintendent's duties may vary from course to course, certain basic
qualifications can be singled out as essential:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.

He must have adequate knowledge of types and varieties of turfgrass and the
know-how, as well as basic information to produce the desired result.
He must know where to obtain specific information relating to all phases of
his operation.
He must be able to supervise and work intelligently with his employees.
He must have integrity:,for the club's property is under his supervision
He must be able to maintain good records covering everything from budgets to
weather reports.
He must be able to make decisions in the face of complex problems.
He must have tact and diplomacy in dealing with members, guests and club
officials.

A candidate for certification must be presently employed as a golf course
superintendent and must have accumulated 200 points based on his experience, education and association activity.

Points are awarded according to the following scale:
1.

Experience points (70 points minimum requirement):
A. Assistant superintendent, working under a Class A or certified superintendent. Points can be earned for a maximum of three years and are
based on the size of the golf course.

B.

Superintendent.
Years
1
2
3
4
5

6

More than
18 holes
10
20
30

18 holes
or less

Number of
full years
1
2
3

5
10
15

Points are also based on the size of the golf course.
Less than
18 holes
10

18 holes

20

30
40
50
60

20

30
40
50
60
70

More than
18 holes
30
40
50
60
70
80

etc.
C.

2.

Golf Course Construction. Additional points may be earned by experience
in golf course construction. To qualify, construction experience must
cover all phases of construction, from rough-grading through seed germination. 15 points for each regulation 9 holes; 10 points for each 9 hole
par-3 course.

Education points (50 points minimum requirement):
A. Full school year attendance at college;
Agriculture major 15/year
Other major 10/year
B. Degree(s) following college
C. Approved turf winter school
D. GCSAA Turfgrass conference
E. Regional or state turf conferences

c.

5 each
10 n
5 "
5 "

Association activity (15 points minimum requirement)
A. GCSAA membership
l/year
B. Chapter meetings (max. of 6/year)
1 each
C. Chapter office holder
l/year
D. GCSAA office holder
5/year

I would like to encourage all superintendents present at this Conference to
review the point-award system that will be printed in the Proceedings. The Rocky
Mountain GCSA has not limited their certification program to members of their
chapter. Any superintendent in the GCSAA who feels that he meets the requirements
may write to:
Larry Eggleston, Chairman
Certification Committee, RMGCSA
c/o Broadmoor Golf Course
Colorado Spring, Colorado

*

A $ 15,00 application fee will be charged. The explanatory brochure and
application form will be mailed out. When a superintendent is certified he will
receive a Certificate of Certification and press releases will be mailed to his
local newspaper, the industry journals and magazines. Because of the genera
amount of newspaper space this new program has received^ I encourage other GCSA
chapters to start similar programs and to work for a National Certification program from the GCSAA.

TEN YEARS OF DECISIONS
James W. Brandt, Supt., Danville Country Club,
Danville, Illinois
It would be grossly unfair if I delved into the decisions that I and the
Board of Directors have made at the Danville Country Club over the past few years
without giving due credit to my predecessor at the Danville Country Club, Mr. Alan
Wyman. I inherited Washington bentgreens that were in excellent condition and entirely free of Poa annua. Fairways had an excellent stand of Common bluegrass.
Tees were also bluegrass, but became too small with the greatly increased play.
When I arrived in Danville in March, 1953, Danville had just begun to experience a rapid industrial growth, with a resultant increase in new golfing members. This coincided with a demand for general improvements in teeing areas and
effective sand traps on the golf course. The budget for the year had been set at
$ 25,000.00. My first inventory included:
1
1

1937 Ford Tractor in excellent condition
1940 Farmall B Tractor with row crop front and equipped with
sycle bar
1
Avery Tractor with single front wheel and hand-operated brakes
1
1947 International half ton pickup truck
2
Fairway gang mowing units - tractor drawn 1 5-gang, 1 7-gang
1
set of 5-gang rough mowers
1
150 gallon spray rig with well-rusted tank
Adequate greens mowers
No tee mowing equipment - fairway units were used to mow tees and
borders of greens
Watering system. 6 lengths of hose, 6 Buckner sprinklers with roller
stands. Duri'tg summer months of 1953 two men besides myself hand-watered greens
starting at 4:30 in the evening and lasting until 11:00 at night. One man had to
walk a 90 ft. embankment and manually start a centrifugal pump. The booster pump
was then started in the basement of the club house. Water came from two artesian
wells. This also served as the club house water supply.
The work shop consisted of a 10 x 30 work area in the club house and basement. The greens mowers were kept in this area and were let down and taken out of
the basement on a skid board up and down the 12 steps. It is necessary to give you
this background in order that you might know the problems confronting us in our decision making in order to bring the course and equipment up to the point that we are
now considered to have one of the better-equipped and conditioned courses in the
area.

I placed water and irrigation equipment as the number one item for consideration for improvement. Fairway watering could not be considered, but adequate water
for greens and tees was number one priority. A new well was drilled. This well
supplied 250 gallons per minute. Additional hose and sprinklers were purchased. Now
one man could water in less than four hours, watering 10 greens at one setting. This
savings in labor the first season in use more than paid for the $ 2,200.00 cost of
well, plus donated pump.
There was an abundance of plantain and dandelions in the fairways and roughs.
The sprayer had so much rust and corrosion that it was impossible to use the spray
boom. The first season the tractor with the sycle bar was used primarily for mowing
the spikes off the buckhorn. A new spray unit was bought in the spring of 1954. We
discarded the sycle bar for weed control.
In the first five years the budget was increased from $ 25,000 to $ 27,000.
Yet with this minimal increase in budgets we were able to buy new spray equipment, a
new truck with dump hoist, replace the two tractors with tractors more adaptable for
golf course maintenance. We also were able to fertilize fairways for the first time
in the history of Danville Country Club. The same year we bought 2 bushels of Zoysia
sprigs at a cost of $ 50.00. These were planted in rows in the nursery.
We had excellent fairways in 1957 - that is until crabgrass took over. At a
Board of Directors meeting I was asked if something could be done about the crabgrass problem. This was the first time I had been asked to make any sort of improvement on the golf course. In 1957, at the Fall Field Days at Purdue, we saw some excellent crabgrass control using the arsenicals. Encouraged by these results, I
tried my first major selling job to the membership. We put out 10 plots in March of
1958. At the heighth of the crabgrass invasion these plots were posted with signs
giving the treatment and cost per acre. After seeing the results, the membership demanded that the control measures be put into effect. In March, 1959, 435 lbs. 85$
tri-calcium arsenate was applied per acre. Crabgrass and chickweed control have been
outstanding since the initiation of the program. We have been able to maintain our
toxic level of calcium arsenate by using 100 lbs. per acre on alternate years.
Meanwhile, back in the nursery the Zoysia had made complete coverage of the
initial area planted. Two tees were sodded to Zoysia. The player acceptance was
overwhelming. Since that time we have converted all tees, with the exception of
#15, which is in complete shade. A mixture of bent and Poa has held up very well
on this tee. All tees, with the exception of 3 tees, have been doubled in size in
the past 10 years. All of the Zoysia used on the tees has been developed from the
original 2 bushels.
The sand traps had been a great source of complaints from the better golfers.
Each one had a long, grassy slope extending from the edge of the trap bottom to the
edge of the green. It was decided to bring in fill at the edge of one green and
make an incline of 4 feet with a good sharp lip facing the golfer. This brought a
demand that all traps around greens be treated in this manner. The terrain around
12 of the greens made it possible to make good effective traps. This was accomplished over a 4 year period.
In the spring of 1964 I was faced with another major decision. Upon returning from this Conference in 1964, I was called into the Board of Directors meeting.
I was asked if I would assume the duties of manager, as well as being the golf
course superintendent. This was a most difficult decision to make as I had been
tended an offer to become golf course superintendent £ a very outstanding midwestern club.

I must admit that I very much like Danville as a town. Although my salary
had been generous, the budget left much to be desired. Here was truly a great challenge. The Club had operated at a deficit for some five years at the rate of some
$ 5j000 per year. My most compelling thought was that if I could just get the Club
on a sound financial basis, then I could get a much-needed watering system for the
fairways. As most of you know, I did stay.
Net income per year 1964
1965
1966
1967
1968

$

3,694
15,762
29,412
17,012
11,681

loss
profit

These profits were realized without any increase in membership dues or assessments.
The former excise tax was used for capital improvements rather than operating income. At the end of each year the net profit was transferred into the capital improvement .
With the Club again on a sound financial basis, the Board of Directors in
1966 decided that we should consider the irrigation of the fairways. Again we were
faced with an inadequate water supply. My recommendation was to dam up a large
ravine and use this as a storage basin. The Board of Directors decided to hire an
engineering firm specializing in water supply studies. The engineering firm made
a feasibility study, finding that our aquafier was adequate to withstand continuous
pumping. They were then asked to design and supervise the construction of a reservoir. They advertised for bids, the savings in the bid price over a member quoted
price more than paid for the total engineering fee of some $ 2,800.
The Board also decided to hire a firm to design and procure bids for the
irrigation system. Mr. Austin Miller was the designer of the original system. The
bidding firms were asked to bid on both completely automatic systems, and a system with automatic greens and tees, and manual fairway watering. Kirchdorfer Irrigation Company was awarded the contract for a completely automatic system. They
submitted an alternate bid on a two-row system as opposed to a single row system.
The price was only $ 2,000 more for the double row system.
I had made a preliminary survey of superintendents who had used automatic
and manual systems, and superintendents who only had used manual systems. Every
one of the 6 superintendents having automatic systems said they would never go back
to a manual system and gave supporting reasons. These letters, as well as my very
strong convictions, convinced the Board to go all the way with the automatic system. Three of the four men that I contacted,who did not have automatic systems
and said they would not want to go with the automatic systems, are now converting
their courses to automatic systems.
At the Board meeting that the watering system was to be voted upon, I
brought along these few slides for their viewing. The vote was unanimous to budget $ 120,000 for a lake and the automatic irrigation system. The actual total
cost of the system was $ 102,000 of which the lake cost $ 13*000, and engineering
services $ 3*800.
Now we have ample mowing equpment, including a 7-gang push-type mower, tee
mowers, bunker mowers, apron mowers - all riding equipment. We have a completely
automatic irrigation system, a new heated 40 x 50 ft. work area, superintendent's
office; in fact, now our real need is some good workmen to operate all of the fine
equipment.

In 1964 when I took over the dual-role at the Club, the grounds budget was
$ 39,000. In 1969 the grounds budget will be $ 55,000.
Decisions - yes, we all must make many decisions. Yet, every decision should
be one that can be substantiated by the need whether it be improved playing conditions, results of inflation, or other need. Sell your decisions to yourself, then
your chairman, then the Board, and finally the membership. Lay the ground work carefully and every club member will think that it was his decision. You will then have
made the membership happy as well as accomplishing your desired goal.

DEW IS NOT DEW
Tom Mascaro, West Point Products Corporation
West Point, Pennsylvania
Dew on turfgrass areas is not dew. Most of the commonly called "dew" is in
reality exudated water, or guttated fluid exuded from the open stomata, or from the
clipped ends of grass blades. Very little research has been done on the origin,
composition or effects of exudated water; yet, there is much evidence that it has a
profound effect upon turfgrasses.
Many theories have been presented, but few have been documented by resource
research. It is my hope that this discussion will stimulate research people and
others to delve into this fascinating and important subject, and that the turf man
who studies the following presentation will better understand some of its mysteries
and hope to cope with its effects through cultural practices.
The effects of exudated water apparently first received recognition when the
USGA, over twenty years ago, conducted a survey relating to the incidence of disease. The golf courses that practiced early morning watering had less disease than
those that did not. No one understood why, but this practice worked and through the
years has been adopted by many superintendents. The practice of early morning
watering must, in some way, be related to exudated water, but its function is not
too well understood.
Great progress has been made in the development of fungicides. They are tremendous help to carry us through critical periods; yet, they may fail UNDER CERTAIN
CONDITIONS. These words indicate a mysterious set of circumstances of which no one is
quite certain of the causes. Another great mystery to me is why more basic research
is not being done on WHY these problems occur in the first place. Aspirin is great,
but it seems to me that it is mighty important to know WHY we have a headache.
Therefore, in this discussion I will discuss more the WHY rather than the cure.
During my many years in this great turfgrass industry, I have seen and
photographed many problems. I have been particularly fascinated with the mysteries
of the effects of turfgrass loss. The evidence accumulated seems to indicate that
of many factors exudated water apparently has a pronounced effect as to WHY turf
diseases occur. Exudated water is referred to as exudate water - guttated water,
water of guttation or guttation fluid, water of condensation, "fairy rain," but
most of us call it "dew."

WHAT CAUSES THE DEW TO FALL?

•m
*

Have you ever wondered why there is dew some nights and not others? Why
nights but not days: Why on some parts of the lawn, but never on others, or what
dew is? Poets have called dew "nature's water jewels." Children see it as "fairy
rain." The meterologist says, "The air got too cold to hold all the moisture the excess fell to earth."
Three requisites are essential for dew to form - moist air, a cold surface,
and a clear sky. If clouds gather, dew ceases to fall. If tree foliage overhangs
the lawn effect is like a cloud and dew does not collect. But, when the day has been
brightly sunny and the night turns very cool, conditions are right for a copious fall
of dew. Next morning you will discover that the very smallestgrass blade has not
been neglected. It will be dew-laden and an object of beauty.
Frequently a leaf will have a single large dewdrop deposited at the very tip
of the blade, while upon the extreme sharp edge of both sides of the blade there
will be a collection of small, bead-like drops in orderly precise fasion. When the
large dewdrop perched upon the tip of the grass blade starts to fall, it descends
rather slowly at first, following the extreme edge of the blade as it slides down
and joins up with the other dewdrops it encounters strung along the edge of the leaf.
Eventually the combined drop becomes heavy and falls to the soil. Dew can provide a
valuable addition of moisture for your lawn.

*

Much of this article is misleading, yet it says what most people think about
dew. The so-called "dew" we see on turfgrasses is largely exudated water. It does
not fall - it rises. Most of it is water exuded or "pumped" out of the plant.
Light and temperature affect this process. During the night, with lower temperatures and lower evaporation rates, the exuded water accumulates. Apparently through
the process of osmosis,root pressures build up to force water out of the hydathodes.
During dqyight hours,with higher temperatures and more evaporation, the reverse
takes place. A few investigations have shown that the plant system is under tension
and water can be taken in by the leaf. If the evaporation rate is low during the
day, however, exuded water will remain and sometimes continue to form.
Perhaps the reason so-called "dew" does not form under trees is that the soil
is drier and water is not present to be exudated. We know that there is a definite
relationship to the amount of exudate and the available soil water. Close observation will show that the orderly, precise arrangement of the droplets is due to the
location of the hydathodes, and that the single large droplet at the tip of the
blade is much lower than normal if the blade has been cut. These are facts and
have been documented by a few research scientists.
Here is what these men had to say about turfgrass disease and exudated water J. K. Wilson, 1923. "Exudate contains both organic and inorganic materials."

*

The organic materials suggest exudate water may have a similar composition to that of
hydrogen ion concentration is almost the same as the sap. As plants become older
the exudate becomes more acid.
A substance (sugar enzymes perozidase, reductase, or a combination of them) suggests
that nitrates which are taken up by the plant are in part reduced to nitrates as
they pass up through the plant tissues, and that this reduction may continue for
some time after the water has been exuded. The organic material that is present in
exudate water seems to be easily utilized by bacteria.

Turfgrasses exudate water at different rates, depending on the species. This is
easily seen on turfgrass areas of mixed grasses. The exudated water is much
heavier on some than on others. The bentgrasses, Bermudagrasses and Poa annua are
prolific pumpers; bluegrasses are medium pumpers, and the fescues and Zoysia grasses
are the driest, or pump the least.

G. M. Hoffer, 1949* Hoffer's theory: When turf is well-fertilized with a quickly
available nitrogen, the guttated water contains a high concentration of nitrates.
The nitrate salts cause a chemical burn on the grass leaf. The destroyed cells are
then decomposed by bacteria to available organic matter.
The fungal spores germinate and are sustained by the organic matter. If a great deal
of thatch exists, some of the guttated water is absorbed andjjpld. When optimum
temperature and moisture exists, fungus starts in the thatch/ quickly spreads to the
grass blades at the surface. If the soil is compacted this will restrict the infiltration of guttation fluid and a dangerous concentration of nitrates are held at the
soil surface. This concentration of nitrate salts will cause a chemical burn of the
plant stems and pave the way for fungus growth. If a turfgrass area is wellfertilized with a quickly available nitrogen and the exudated water is collected and
poured in one spot, a severe chemical burn will result.
Engle, 1955* "Very acid soil conditions favor most of the turf diseases." Tender
succulent grass, which has received an excess of water and nitrogen, is susceptible
to most diseases. While high humility contributes to the softness of grass, it also
may aid growth of the fungi. Air movement has a great influence on humidity as well
as temperature at the turf level."
Large brownpatch
Pythium
Copperspot
Dollarspot
Pink patch

77 - 06°

93 o

81 - 86°
68 - 86°

65 - 73°

Early morning watering rather than evening has been found to keep turf more free of
disease. Lime to maintain pH above 6.0.
R. M. Endo, 1967» Guttated water is the fluid exuded from the stomata and tips. When
drops of guttation fluid are placed on the leaves of Seaside bentgrass and threads of
dollarspot fungus are added to the droplets, the threads grew sparingly to well and
caused a variable amount of infection. When water was used the fungal threads grew
very sparingly and failed to cause any infection.
When bentgrass seedlings were sprayed with spores of Helminthosporium sorokinanum suspended in guttated water, the plants developed very severe symptoms on 99$ of them
in 2 - 4 days. Nearly all the seedlings were dead after 6 days. Plant inoculated
with spore - tap water suspensions developed water soaking, yellowing and necrosis on
10$ of the plants in 6 - 7 days - all plants survived after 14 days. Guttation water
increased infection and disease. It induced acceleration and increase in spore
germination.

One can readily see, from the research work done by these scientists, that
exudated water and disease occurrence are inter-related.
Many golf course superintendents have contributed much to the practical aspects of this problem. To mention a few, Carl Bretzlaff, Superintendent at Meridian
Hills Country Club, Indianapolis, would use a drying apparatus on his greens when

disease weather was upon him. The rig consisted of several layers of burlap fastened to an axle mounted on wheels and hand-pushed over the "dew" laden greens. He
always kept his greens dry, and with the use of fungicides seldom had trouble.
Joe Valentine, superintendent of the famous Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa.,
relied on the use of hydrated lime "to change the pH and dry the greens" - as he put
it. He would use 5 to 10 lbs. per 1,000 sq.ft. at 3 to 4 week intervals during
"brownpatch and dollarspot weather."
Jimmy Comito, Superintendent at Huntington Valley, Pennsylvania, relied on
severe dragging of the greens during period of heavy "dew" and disease weather.
"Dragging the greens breaks up all that mold", he would say, "as soon as the mold
starts up again, drag it some more - keep the greens dry too."
Marshall Farnham, Philadelphia Country Club, firmly believed in early nxrning
watering during the many years that I knew him. I cannot recall his experiencing
any difficulty holding grass on his greens. Trained in plant breeding and having
graduated from Cornell University, he was well-versed in the science of turfgrass culture. I always felt that he related exudated water with the incidence of disease, and
although neither of us had a pat answer, we agreed that dilution of exudated water
with early morning watering was a good practice.
Oscar Bowman at Old Warson County Club, St. Louis, Missouri, when he was superintendent at Algonquin would say, "Topdressing does more to prevent and control disease than anything else." A firm believer in topdressing, he has always relied on
this important cultural practice,and its value is reflected in his superb greens.
Other superintendents, too numerous to mention, had a number of things in
common with these men 1.
2.
3.

They all had a "green thumb" - that is the natural ability to get plants to grow.
They all practiced good cultural methods, making sure that everything was in
balance
Especially during critical disease periods, they used methods that more or less
kept the turf dry. Without knowing about exudated water, they sensed that
there was a definite relationship between "dew" and disease.

Another factor which should be brought out is the strong possibility that turfgrasses are also injured by accumulated salts carried in the exudated water. Marloth
in Egypt in 1887 found salts on the leaves of tamarix as the result of exudated water
residue. Lepeschkin in 1906 found glucose and basic oxalic acid. Klein in 1913
found that on some plants nitrate salts were deposited on the leaves as residue from
exudated water. Marloth reported after collecting from the leaves and stems, the dry
salts consisted of:
51.9$

CaCoj MgSO/^O
4.7$ MgCl2
3.2$ MgHPO^
5.5$ NaCl
17.2$ NaN03
3.8$ Na2C03

calcium carbonate
- magnesium sulphate
- magnesium clorate
- magnesium orthophosphate
- sodium chloride
- sodium nitrate
- sodium carbonate

We know that plant injury will occur when a high concentration of salts is
present in the soil solution. Seeds are also affected. It has also been shown that
injury will result by all soluble salts whether they contain plant nutrients or not.
Some of the fertilizing materials used have a high salt index?

Material
Nitrate of soda (standard)
Calcium nitrate
Ammonium sulphate
Ammonium nitrate
Muriate of potash
Urea
Pottassium nitrate
Sulphate of potash
Superphosphate, 20$

Salt index

100.0
72.8
53.7
49.3
31.9
26.7
20.1

14.1
6.4

Concentration of various salts can cause injury in one of three ways,or in
combination:
1.

As the exudate forms and the water evaporates, the salts accumulate on the leaf.
When these salts reach optimum concentration, they cause a leaf burn.

2.

If the exudate falls and is absorbed by the thatch and held there, plant stems
can be injured or burned when the salt concentration reaches a toxic level.

3.

If the exudate is washed into the soil rootzone and high concentration of
salts is formed in the soil solution, then root burn and injury can occur.
Theory

Turfgrasses can be injured or killed from the effects of exudated water under
certain conditions. Exudated water is the result of the natural biological function
of grass plants. It is the result of normal transpiration and is a continuous function of normal healthy plants. If normal exudation is stopped or retarded in any
way, the grass plants may suffer. Exudate water is formed on the leaf at the open
stomata along the sides of the blade and at the tip. If the grass blade is cut and
open cells are exposed, exudation will be profuse in this injured area.
Exudated water evaporates as it forms during periods of low humidity. It
accumulates during periods of high humidity. Humidity levels are always much higher
in the micro-zone where grass grows. (The micro-zone can be considered to exist
from ground level to the level of the grass mowing height). Exudated water has the
same pH as the plant sap and soil water.
If the pure exudated water droplets contain a high concentration of nitrates,
burning of the life tissue may result. Exudated water when diluted with irrigation
water becomes harmless provided the diulted exudate is washed into the soil water.
Exudated water contains the proper nutrients to support bacterial activity and turfgrass diseases.
Among the popular turfgrasses, their exudating rate can be shown as follows:
Bentgrasses
high
Bermudagrasses high
Poa annua
- medium high

Bluegrasses
Fescuegrasses
Zoysiagrasses

-

medium
low
low

The bentgrasses and the Bermudagrasses are highly susceptible; bluegrasses are moderately susceptible. The fescuegrasses and Zoysiagrasses are the least susceptible
and, of course, are the driest of the grasses.
Wetting agents that reduce the formation of "dew" in reality only reduce the
surface tension of the droplets. They adhere less to the grass blade. This may have

some beneficial effect.
Some of the foregoing statements are fact, some theory. Needless to say,
there is enough evidence on the relationship of exudated water and turfgrass problems that this whole subject should be thoroughly and scientifically investigated.
Until we can get the answers to some of these aspects of exudated water, we must
continue to grow turf as best we can. The following is a suggested approach by
H. B. Musser:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Provide provision for adequate surface and subsurface water drainage.
Provide good air circulation over greens
Correct surface compaction with suitable aerating tools.
Modification of heavy soils by a program of aerating and topdressing to
build a porous layer.
5. Adjustment of soil reaction to pH 6.0 or higher.
6. USe of the more slowly available nitrogenous fertilizers in quantities that
will produce normal growth without over-stimulating.
7. Provision for a constant supply of available phosphate, potash and trace
elements.
8. Adjustment of watering practices to provide as long intervals between applications as practicable. Continuously saturated turf must be avoided.
9. Elimination of matted or spongy turf.
What to do During Periods of Stress
1.
2.
3.

4.
5.
6.

7.

Practice early morning watering. (This dilutes the exudated water and dried
green before mowing).
Use sufficient water to wash exudate into the soil. (Possibility of salt
accumulation is minimized).
Use high pressure rinse and direct stream directly into turf. (The fungi mycelium can be mechanically destroyed at least temporarily by the force of
the water.)
If a disease attack seems uncontrollable, drag-mat the green in two or three
directions, then mow. (This will mechanically destroy the mycellium of the
fungi at or near the surface of the turf).
If severe thatch is present and fungicide will not control the spread of the
disease, try light vertical mowing. (Verti-cutting will mechanically destroy the fungi mycelium).
Topdress lightly. (Topdressing does something to turf for which no substitute
can be found. It will mildly stimulate the turf, dry it somewhat to help retard fungal growth).
Lime. (If disease is rampant, dust with 5 - 1 0 lbs. of hydrated lime per
1,000 sq.ft. at 3-4 week intervals. Although this amount of hydrated lime
is small, care should be exercised when applying it. Grass must be dry or
a burn will result. Apply after exudated water has evaporated. The hydrated lime should not be watered in, but left to remain on the turf until
the next watering).

Exudation is a normal function of the grass plant and as such insures normal, healthy
growth.
IN CLOSING, I hope I have stirred your imagination. We need documented evidence about the cause and effects of so-called "dew." Research is not the exclusive domain of the scientist - it is also a part of the practical man's job to be
inquisitive, to study and to experiment with cultural practices, to help supply
some of the answers.

NEW CONCEPTS IN IRRIGATION
C. K. Watson, Toro Manufacturing Corporation
Minneapolis, Minnesota
Basically we look for seven features about an automatic system:
1. We look for controlled watering, - a precise use of water, applying just the
right amount of water, which can be clocks . timed for a specific soil condition. Sprinkling can be regulated to an area as small as the coverage of
a single sprinkler head.
2.

Now, next we look for the best possible and maximum use of time available
for watering. By the selection of schedules, when water pressure is at its
best, wind at its minimum, and interference with people at a minimum. This
generally means watering in the late evening, night and early morning hours.

3. We look for evenness of watering, such as a steady sprinkling created by positive rotation of a gear drive. There exists on the market today, two-speed
sprinkling heads that aLlow even watering on single row systems because the
head slows down in the areas where the sprinklers do not overlap and speeds
up in the overlapping section.
4. We look for frost control which can be accomplished by running sprinklers durirg early morning hours. A sprinkler system must also be geared toward maintenance syringing on hot days when grass must be cooled once or several times,
and when any special application of fertilizers or chemicals requires a little
water.
5.

Also, a sprinkling system must conserve water - when water is turned on, and
turned off at pre-set times without forgetfulness.

6.

And lastly, we all know that a deeper root system makes for stronger turf.
Therefore, it is likely that with an automated water system turf will be
least subject to moisture stress. That is, there will always be water available in the upper 50$ of the need range, thus the wilting point for turf is
avoided.

What are the new concepts of turf irrigation? Today a two-speed feature
not only gives even precipitation, but it also puts water on in less time than do
single speed conventional models. An even amount of water can be put on a surface
area in 40 minutes with a two-speed unit versus what would normally take an hour
for a single-speed unit.
Some manufacturers today have introduced a sealed gear drive - completely
protected again the harmful effects of water. These units are manufactured to have
a minimum running time equivalent to ten or twelve years of usage. Many manufacturers are thinking with the superintendent as far as easier maintenance is concerned.
In many heads, this is accomplished because there is complete accessibility to all
components from the surface. This eliminates any excavation. In other words, we
eliminate what I commonly refer to as a "thirdy dollar hole."
Some manufacturers have gone to specially selected materials, such as
Delran and Cycolac. They were chosen because they are durable, and have high impact resistance, and have developed long wear characteristics that resist the
corrosive effects of water. Manufacturers have also designed and created, in the
last few years,what is known as a valve-in-head concept. This means that the
valve itself is built within the sprinkler head.
-66-

Other manufacturers have designed positive winterization for freezing climates. In other words, they have designed heads that are self-draining to avoid
freeze damage to the sprinkler head itself. In addition, there are available winterization plugs to winterize the piping system which will protect against back
seepage into the piping system itself, and will prevent water from seeping into the
pipe line during winter thaws. Then, too, certain manufacturers have developed a
gentle control system, slow closing and opening speeds on its valves, resulting in
the control of surge pressures on the piping system. It can add considerably to the
life of the system.
Basically we look.- f r increased flexibility and decreased cost. In the past,
all irrigation has been bas^i upon the principle of applying as much water as possible
per irrigation cycle. With the old manually-operated system, this includes the furrow
and the flood and the quick coupler. Labor is required for each application of water,
which dictated that watering cycles be kept at a minimum - in order to keep labor
costs down.
With the advent of automatic watering systems, it is feasible to consider more
frequent and even repeat watering cycles. The initial automatic watering systems
were the block type where one large valve controlled a great number of heads. Now,
the drainage problem associated with this type of system was severe and it was advisable to operate this type of system as we had in the past with as few cycles as
possible. Later, a few years ago, designers began to incorporate the valve-in-head
concept which, for the first time, eliminated all restrictions of the number of
watering cycles that could be utilized; thus, the vari-time system is possible.
Here is a review of the general combinations of automatic control systems,
either previously attempted or presently being practiced in some manner:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

A few controllers with up to 30 stations and operating up to 20 heads per station on a block type system.
A higher number of controllers but fewer stations and grouped into zones.
Central control with all clocks located in a single control room.
All manner of multiple head controls, including block systems, and with as
few as 2 or 3 heads per valve.
Single head control or a valve per head per station

To achieve good irrigation requires matching together the best concepts of
flexibility into an overall system concept. Such a system also takes into consideration the fact — is it economically feasible? Let's review the basic problems that
beset our industry.
1. Water gathers in low areas and in soils that have low porosity
2. Side hill watering results in runoff and erosion
3. Soil conditions vary within short distances of one another
4. Changes in watering programs take time
5. Central control is usually quite expensive
6. Central control lacks visibility for maintenance watering. Two-way radios are
not the complete or even a very good answer.
7. Certain types of control systems have complicated programs and, therefore, are
ineffective for the layman's use.
8. Certain types of controllers are highly flexible and are very expensive, and
are very complicated. And, all of this flexibility is lost if a number of heads
are run at one time.
With these basic problems in mind, we attempted to set up the ideal solution,
keeping in mind that the principle of reasonable cost was important. Here was our
objective:

1.

The ideal system should be capable of making changes or by-passing the
watering program for the total area in only a few moments.
2. The system should be capable of adjusting to different turf watering
problems.
3. Adjustments could be made in areas as small as the coverage of a single
sprinkler head and be flexible to adapt to any type of soi.
4. Have the capability of semi-automatic and manual override for maintenance
watering in full view of the area being watered.
Then, superintendents indicated four things that the ideal water system
should provide as far as they were concerned. We came up with four answers 1. Even precipitation
2. Flexibility
3. Long product life
4. Practical product maintenance
We came up with a central control system with a two week programming. Next,
we placed satellite controllers connected to the one central control which allowed
for the flexibility of zone control, plus separate variable timing for each sprinkler
head in the field. These are regulated by the central controller which regulated
starting times aid repeat cycles. Now, the central controllers were located in a
superintendent's office or pump house, and they signalled the entire golf course for
automatic, semi-automatic, or by-pass sprinkling as required by weather. This central control allows for instant changing of watering times and the number of cycles
for effective soil infiltration, and it has the basic benefit of improving the health
and vigor of the grass. In this sytem, electric signals are used from the central to
the satellite where long distances are involved.
Now, from the field satellites to the individual head, either a hydraulic or
electrical signal is used and both of these are only very short runs. The manufacturers feel that this system combines the best of central and zone control, using
the best features of both the hydraulic and the electrical control and fusing them
into the best possible watering system for the money. By this system it is possible
to match soil conditions with watering time available and to adjust each head for individual running time.
In summary, there are many watering systems - installed in the last few yearsthat are giving their customers an efficient watering job at the lowest possible
cost — while still retaining a high degree of flexibility and effectiveness. And
that the vari-time has measured up quite well to the four principles - even precipitation, flexibility, long product life and practical product maintenance.

AUTOMATIC IRRIGATION
Walter J. Wilkie, March Irrigation Company
Muskegon, Michigan
Last October,at the suggestion of John Dunlap,I wrote Dr. Daniel advising
him of the tragedy that was occurring within our sprinkler industry. I told him, in
part, that most people blindly look upon any form of an automatic underground sprinkler system as a universal panacea to all of their watering needs. However, we all
know that they aren't. Many of you here today, although appreciative of your system,

are somewhat disillusioned at the demands of the work load that you have fallen heir
to as you try and implement the so- .ailed managerial control that is supposed to be
a part of every automatic system. Needless to say your plight is to be pitied, and
if there is any justification for same it, perhaps, lies in the infancy of our industry which means that you're crawling has enabled us to do a better job of walking
today, as we try and implement a system of built-in quality control. Why? - because
you've defined the problem and have taught us how to build a system with an intended
usage pattern, rather than the way time dictates we compromise with its intended use.
For instance, the installation of any given golf course will require anywhere
from 18 to 36 controllers, depending upon the size and the geography of the course.
These are normally located in three or four controller areas, and it's the management
and operation of these controllers that has dictated your success or failure with the
system.
For instance, I've heard many of you complain that you've in essence become
"scooter jockeys" for to make a simple time change requires that you get on your
scooter, drive out to each one of these controller locations, open the control panel,
and open each of the controller boxes to reset the sprinkling time on each of the 18
or 36 controllers. This requires, at a bare minimum, at least an hour of your time.
Thus if you had an hour program scheduled but really felt that 45 minutes would be a
more realistic estimate of your grasses' water requirements, you may do nothing, or
because of the criticalness you were the slave of your system and took the time required to readjust same.
As a result of these shortcomings that have seemingly plagued our industry, we
feel as if a list of rules should be adopted for the design and installation requirements of all systems so as to refine their operating efficiency. These are as follows
1. That only greens be on controllers designated to control greens.
2. That only tees be on controllers designated to control tees.
3. That only approaches be on controllers designated to control approaches.
4. That only fairways be on controllers designated to control fairways.
5. That all controllers be capable of operating simultaneously if water permits.
6. That all stations on the clocks be balanced in the field to put no more or
less water than the average equivalent desired precipitation by adjusting the
nozzle sizes of the equipment.
7. That all controller stations will program to operate for no less than three
and no more than five minutes of time during each system cycle.
If we design our systems within these guidelines we can go one step further and add a
center controller to control the satelite controllers.
On the lower right hand corner of a panel are four switches, the first of which
is the power switch which serves as the master control switch to the master control
panel as well as to each of the individual controllers. Next to that is. the pump
start switch which is purely a manual override for any system which uses the clocks
for the "on-off" operation of the pumps. The third switch is a re-set switch which
we call the manual advance circuit, which when depressed will automatically bring all
of the clocks, regardless of what position they're in, back to the "off" position and
stop there.
The last switch, of course, is the rain circuit which, when wired to the rain
switch, will automatically stop the sprinkling cycle after a pre-determined amount of
precipitation has fallen. Originally we had this so designed that when the rain
switch stopped the sprinkling cycle it would automatically move the controllers back
to the zero position. However, on many occasions when, say the switch had been set to
stop the cycle at the end of l/lOth of an inch, and because that was all the rain

that you had during a given night, many of you wanted to continue the sprinkling
cycle the following morning from the point at which it had stopped, and so we now
just kill the sprinkling cycle at that point. You then in the morning can elect
to manually override the rain switch, or bring the clocks back to the zero position.
With the power in the "on" position we have independent control over all of
our green controllers, tee controllers, approach controllers, and fairway controllers
and for each of which we have a three-position switch which will put it in the "onoff" or auto position. With the switch in the "on" position it will automatically
start a sprinkling cycle at that moment and continue to repeat it until the switch
is either moved to the "off" or auto position, after which it will complete its cycle and stop in the normal "off" position. Then, directly above each of these
switches is a time-clock which is graduated in 15 minute increments. We can, with
this time-clock provided our switch is in the automatic position, control both the
time the sprinkling cycle begins and the amount of time that each zone will operate.
For instance, suppose we. were to decide that we wanted to water tonight, and
that we wanted to water the greens for 15 minutes, the tees for 20 minutes, the
approaches for 15 minutes and the fairways for 30 minutes, and that we wanted to
start the sprinkling cycle at 10:45 P.M. Well, if you will recall, we said that we,
under our system, dial approximately 5 minutes of time on each zone. So, to water
the greens for 15 minutes we'd have to repeat three cycles; to water the tees for
20 minutes we'd have to repeat four cycles; to water the approaches for 15 minutes
we'd have to repeat three cycles, and to water the fairways for 30 minutes we'd have
to repeat six cycles. If we had pre-determined that we wanted to start watering at
10:45, on our time-clock we pull out the first pin at 10:45 and on the greens we
would ask it to repeat again at 11:45 and 12:45, respectively.
With this feature we have found that because of the ease with which the superintendent can change the amount of time that he waters each day, he waters more as
the grass needs it than as he has programmed it to do because it is now easy to
change the time and to compensate for the changing atmospheric stresses placed upon
his turf.
The syringe control can remove the dew from the greens, tees, approaches
and/or fairways in the early morning hours and would be able to remove frost as it
might occur in the early spring or late fall. This syringe cycle is subdivided
into "on" "off" auto control for each of the three groups and waters for either a
pre-determined or adjustable increment of time on each zone, and the lights under
this grouping show which of the controller zones is on during operation.
I'm sure that you can see what I mean when I say that your crawling is enabling us to do a better job of walking today. As a "for instance" - I can remember in
the fall of 1966 when we began to negotiate the contract for the Oakwood Club, John
Dunlap, their Superintendent, asked me what type of auxiliary controller control we
were planning for his installation and I told him that we had a master switch that
would stop the sprinkling cycle in the event of inclement weather. He queried the
above and said, "It's not enough" and began to tell me all the things that the system was going to have to do, which is basically the essence of everything that I've
told you today. We then, with his help, installed the wires and he started us upcn
our first attempt at a method of Quality Control through Automation, and it's John
who will take the last half of this program and explain to you from the superintendent's point of view why these things are so necessary and how they work in
practice.

QUALITY CONTROL BY AUTOMATICS
John Dunlap, Supt., Oakwood Club,
Cleveland, Ohio
A great deal has been written and said about automatic irrigation systems
in the past ten years - some of it good and some bad. Many of the first automatic
systems were badly engineered and also poorly installed; consequently raising the
voices of dissent. In recent years equipment advances and new technologies have
greatly increased the reputations of automatics.
The new "super" automatic systems that are now being installed in the Northern Ohio area are very large investments, ranging in costs up to $ 200,000. Any
project of this magnitude takes careful planning and engineering, so for the next
few minutes let's take a look at what is involved in getting one of these systems
into the ground.
Planning and design for a system must start at least a year ahead of the
time you hope to install it. Contact qualified irrigation personnel to help lay out
a basic plan for your course. After the basic plan is made the superintendent should
then go over it and make all necessary changes so that the system is now customdesigned to water his particular course as effectively as possible.
The next step is to contact as many equipment manufacturers as possible and
get some of their equipment for your own testing purposes. It is quite surprising
to see how much performance differences there are between various makes of equipment. You should decide which kind of electric valve will do the best job, whether
you prefer electric or hydraulic operation, and what type of pipe you think will
best fit your needs. But choose carefully because there are no bargains, and beware of people offering "deals." Above all else, do not design the system to a preset dollar figure. Design to meet your specifications of performance and then put
this plan out for bids to good irrigation installers. Beware of plumbing contractors bidding on such installations - they simply donot have the experience necessary to install something this complex.
When the bids are received from the installers, turn the bids and contracts
over to your club lawyers and make sure everything is down in black and white. In
the final analysis of the bids the lowest bid does not necessarily represent the
best dollar value, so here again choose carefully. Even though the system will probably be installed by an outside contractor and his crew, it is the course superintendent's responsibility to see that the system is installed properly. So, let's
look at a few things that are important for good installation.
We mentioned before that planning should start at least a year ahead of time.
One reason is so that the contract can be signed several months ahead of actual installation date, and the installer will have plenty of time to order the bill of
goods and have them delivered to the job site. Delays caused by lack of piping and
sprinkler materials is very costly. When the paper version of the system design is
transferred to the course, the superintendent should he responsible for the placing
of all sprinkler heads and where necessary be willing to make field changes if they
will improve upon the basic design.
The pumping facility of a super-automatic is very important. In the past,
many systems were installed with much too small a G.P.M. capacity and this impaired
the proper programming of the system. The G.P.M. of today's systems should be adequate to run all controllers simultaneously without loss of pressure. This is of
particular value when a syringe cycle is included in the system since a syringe

cycle must be completed in as little time as possible to be of value. A good
syringe cycle should be able to wash off the entire golf course in no more than 30
minutes, and in order to do this the pumping capacity for most systems should be at
least 1200 G.P.M., and ..better yet around 1500 G.P.M.
Another feature to consider would be some type of pressure regulating valve
so that main line pressure would remain constant at all times no matter if 1 head
or 20 heads were in operation. All pump controls should be fully automatic and be
kept as simple as possible. This is one area where designers tend to over-design.
Flow switches and pressure switches still give the best pump control available and
are almost completely trouble-free.
Since the operation of a master control was covered in the previous talk, we
won't dwell on it here except to say that this is the heart of an automatic system.
Without a master control panel the superintendent becomes a virtual slave to the
system. Every time a change in the weather occurs he must visit all the controllers
and reschedule his watering program. With a master control he can change, stop, or
start all watering cycles from his office. This convenience will pay for itself many
times over because the superintendent will easily change his watering program to
match day-to-day weather changes instead of "letting it go" as previously programmed.
After the system is installed and in operation you can expect to spend at
least a year balancing and adjusting the system to perfection. Time-clocks must be
adjusted to compensate for various soil conditions, nozzle sizes on some sprinklers
will have to be changed, and pressure might have to be adjusted at individual heads
to give proper operation.
All of the things we have said in the last few minutes sound like a lot of
work, and they are, but when you are finished you will have a most efficient irrigation system and will be able to give you "quality control" of the water that is
applied to the course.

CENTRAL PROGRAMMING OF GOLF COURSE IRRIGATION
Austin J. Miller, Pres., Miller Sprinkling Systems,
Royal Oak, Michigan
What do you want? You can have every switch, knob, fuse, clock and pushbutton in your superintendent's office, or the pumphouse, or the clubhouse. The
other extreme is also possible, and you can have your controllers scattered around
the course in 20 or more locations.
The superintendents operating automatic systems are in the best position to
give direction in establishing the happy medium. No one solution is right for every
course. Most superintendents recommend 4 to 6 satellite controller locations. This
keeps the wire or tube runs reasonable and allows the operator to see the sprinkler
he is turning on when manually operating the controller.
At the satellite locations there should be separate controllers for greens,
tees and fairways, even approach to the greens. These satellite controllers should
have more than one automatic valve per station and must be capable of automatic,
semi-automatic, or manual operation independent of the central program. By provid-

ing each satellite with a 24-hour starting clock it can function fully automatic in
case of a central program failure from fire, lightning or wire break.
Each satellite controller should have a lightning arrestor on the primary
electrical supply and a copper ground rod connected to the cabinet. Controller cabinets need to be on a 4211 concrete base to prevent frost heave and resulting misalignment in later years. A concrete pad in front to stand on and at least a 12"
concrete apron on the other three sides will permit mowing around the controllers and
eliminate hand-trimming. By supplying the satellite locations from the closest electrical source, wire size and distance is reduced. This usually means two or three
sources of power, thus reducing your reliance on a single source.
Sounds great, doesn't it? That's a complete automatic control system detailed above. What about central control? That's the point. Central control or
central programming should be reserved for those functions you want to do from your
office. This can be as simple as a Yes - No switch. Yes - I want water tonight, or
No - I don't want water tonight. It can be as complete as remoting every function
available at the satellite.
It is generally felt that your central control should let you start your irrigation program for greens, tees and fairways independent of each other. Syringing
of greens, tees and fairways should also be independent and the syringe time should
be variable. You can also have an on-off switch for each controller on the course
so that parts of the program can be omitted. Appropriate lights on the panel will
indicate switch position or the function in operation.
Of utmost importance is an emergency switch so that you can turn off the program during operation. A sudden shower or call from the clubhouse that a sprinkler
was running would make this switch useful. An adjustable rain switch that will shut
down the program after two-tenths inches or more of rain might save a 2 A.M. drive
to the course during a thundershower. The controllers should automatically re-set
to "off" after the above switches go off. Control of these remoted functions can
be in a panel box mounted in the maintenance building or superintendent's office.
Most golf course automatic systems will cost over $ 100,00, and when you're
spending that amount of someone else's money (your club members) it deserves the
services of a Professional Engineer with considerable experience in golf course
irrigation. You shouldn't depend on a free plan from a material supplier,or contractor. You and your engineer can include in your central program the functions
that most nearly meet your operating requirements and capital budget.
Central programming won't grow better grass, but it is another step in providing more precise water control which will help you, the superintendent, grow
better grass.

INDUSTRIAL LANDSCAPE IRRIGATION
Austin J. Miller
Your biggest headache? That automatic irrigation system around the new manufacturing plant, city hall, or apartment complex you have just finished seeding and
planting? Nine times out of ten you'll end up with a quagmire in a few short days.

The owner or manager probably has no irrigation system at his home and has
longed for water during a summer drought. The new automatic controller allows him
to put his theory of "a little water is good - a lot must be great" into practice.
Result - the system is run so frequently that you get a call complaining the grass
is turning yellow.
The answer is simple. You keep the key to the automatic controller. If you
control the watering, the automatic irrigation system can be the best friend you've
ever had. It will let you keep your sod and plantings in the same good condition
as when planted. Turn the automatic system over to the owner only after you have
given him instructions on its operation. Recently moisture sensors have been developed which sense soil moisture and omit irrigation if above the pre-set level.
This unit should be specified on all jobs.
An irrigation engineer should design the system, but he needs the landscape
designer's help to do a good job. Normally, the irrigation system cannot do the
right job on lawn and plantings at the same time. Lawns are irrigated frequently
and light plantings more infrequently and heavy. If plantings need more than the
normal rainfall and cannot stand periods of drought, water them on separate zones
from the lawn sprinklers.
Your irrigation designer will need to know what areas to border with part
circle sprinklers, i.e., parking lots, walls with low windows and entrance walks.
The type of grass and height of cut will influence amount of irrigation to be expected. Slope of the area, drainage and areas shaded by buildings are also important.
Length of available watering time at night and size of water supply will
affect main line size and number of automatic controller stations. Location of automatic controllers will depend on who is going to operate the system, i.e., for the
maintenance man, install in mechanical room; plant protection man, in office or gate
house; outside landscape contractor, on plant wall behind shrubs or plant manager,
in manager's office.
A backflow prevention device is required to protect the municipal water supply.
This normally extends 12" to 18" above the surface and should be camouflaged in
shrubs. The owner should help select the automatic controller and backflow preventer locations. Your irrigation engineer knows sprinklers, pipe, automatic controllers and you know grass and shrubs, and. it takes a good dialogue between both
of you to provide an efficient irrigation system.
Rates of precipitation for the various types of sprinklers used on the project should be listed on the plan. From these you can instruct the operator in
length of time to run each zone and the days of the week that the controller should
operate. As a guide, rotary pop-up sprinklers will apply about one-quarter inch
per hour and stationary pop-up sprinklers, one inch per hour. You can readily see
that they should not be nixed on the same zone control. Manufacturer's tables give
exact rates of precipitation.
Some responsible person should be placed in charge to monitor the irrigation
system and add or omit sprinkling cycles as changes in weather occur. Herein lies
the main advantage to automatic control. The more-skilled and permanent man in 15
minutes a week can replace the less-skilled man working 20 to 40 hours per week.
Not only is considerable money saved in operating labor, but the water is applied
at the right time and in the right amount. This saving in operating labor will
sometimes pay for the whole system in five to ten years and the automatic control
portion in one year.

Remember, every irrigation system is custom-designed. The landscape designer must participate in the planning and operation of the system until the owner
or operator is fully trained in monitoring the system.

PRODUCTION, MERCHANDISING AND FUTURE PLANS
FOR FYLKING KENTUCKY BLUEGRASS
Doyle W. Jacklin, Jacklin Seed Company
Dishman, Washington
New turfgrass varieties - inferior, superior, dense, thin, profitable, unprofitable, capitalistic, socialistic, headaches, bastards, and several other words
may be used to describe proprietary turfgrass varieties which are and will be released in the future. Good or bad, proprietary varieties appear to be setting a
marketing trend which will see many merchandising changes in the seed and sod industry. Many of these changes are already occurring and our Company for one has been
able to observe through first-hand experience the problems and satisfactions which
accompany these changes.

%

*

Planned production, promotion and marketing of the patented variety Fylking
is no doubt similar to the types of programs followed for Scott's Windsor, NK's
Prato, and Warren's A series. As one of the new proprietary turfgrass varieties,
however, Fylking is somewhat indicative of the neWmerchandising techniques which
will be followed in the future. By discussing some of these techniques with you I
hope to reveal several hints and facts which should prove to be both informative
and beneficial in the successful marketing of any variety whether it is public or
private. Keep in mind, however, that many of the points I make may not always be
applicable to all varieties or marketing programs, but they have been successful or
unsuccessful for us, and1 y indicate the same for you.
First, let me thre/ out a monetary fact for your consideration. Our experience with Fylking indicates that to successfully introduce a new Kentucky bluegrass
variety a minimum initial expenditure of at least $60,000 basis today's money market is required. The first three years following introduction, an annual promotional budget of no less than $ 50,000 to $ 60,000 is required, and as production increases the budget must also be increased. That's $ 300,000 promotional expenditures
for the introduction and first three years following introduction with no guarantee
of public acceptance.

+

To give you an idea of where Fylking is today, it has been 2\ years since we
made the official public introduction. Naturally, $ 300,000 sounds like a lot of
money and believe me it is. Of interest to those who may fear a flood of new varieties, such a large expenditure will tend to automatically limit the number of new
Kentucky bluegrass varieties to be successfully released and merchandised now and
in the future. Factually speaking, many things must be accomplished to successfully introduce a new variety, all of which require money. Let's look at a new introduction using Fylking as an example to get a better idea of the nature of this
expense.

Requirements:
1.

The breeding or selection of a variety which is unique and reproduces true
to type
2. The increase of the variety fcr seed testing stocks.
3. The distribution of seed samples to a representative group of testers.
4. The compilation and evaluation of test data.
5. Decision as to whether to introduce the variety or not
6. Publication of test data
7. Decision as to the method of variety protection and marketing procedures to
be implemented.
In this regard I make special mention of the U.S. Plant PATENT Act which is
the only real means available today for variety protection. Although other systems
have been proposed, none have been implemented. Involved in the plant patent application is a detailed description of the variety, a two-to-four year period during
which the Patent Office reviews the patent application and naturally patent attorney
and application fees. Finally a number is assigned.
Registration of a brand allows an owner exclusive use of that brand in the
sales of his particular variety. An example of this is our use of the 0127 registration which identified the North American production of Fylking Kentucky bluegrass.
Such a registration again requires application through the U.S. Patent Office, a reviewing period of about 12 months,and naturally attorney fees.
The variety name is distinct, Fylking - it cannot be patented nor branded. In
summary, a minimum of over five, and possibly ten, years of investment are necessary
even before evaluation, and at the end of this time the variety may offer no advantages over other varieties to warrant its release. To state it bluntly, you must have
a superior variety; secondly, you must test it adequately throughout its growing area.
There is one exception to this, however, and that's the variety which is
selected because it is distinguishable from others but offers no important improvement and is not properly tested before release. Without trying to revive bitter memories by mentioning Newport, I am inclined to use this variety as a typical example
of inadequate testing and unproven superiority prior to release. A situation could
well arise today, or in the future, whereby a company or grower desires a new variety
for his own and is willing to commit for any variety, whether superior or not, and
promote it for all it's worth just so he has an exclusive. Although this would not
be a good procedure to follow or condone, it will no doubt happen and then the entire
industry will suffer to some degree.
On the other hand, a few other new Kentucky bluegrass varieties are on the
horizon ready to be released and have been tested for many years. Due to one or more
unique and desirable characteristics, they will be released for public acceptance,
and in this group I would include such varieties as Pennstar, Sodco, Warren's A
Series, and other of similar stature.
Assuming the variety has been released, what's the next phase of introductory
promotion? Since initial quantities of seed will naturally be limited, a certain
segment of select customers should receive the majority of seed stocks rather than
trying to make it available to all customers in meaningless amounts. For example,
with Fylking our initial approach was to sod growers and golf courses only, by-passing the rather lucrative retail seed sales through chain stores, landscapers, hardware stores, etc. There was a method in our madness, however, since we felt that
Fylking had a prime place in sod production based on early test results. If the sod
growers proved this fact, which they did, then we intended to use this information
for all it was worth in the promotion of its superior attributes to the consumer

whether it be in a seed or sod form.
It had been planned that as Fylking seed became available it would be released in straights or mixtures at the retail level. We had hoped for such a retail
introduction this spring, but due to a shortage of seed for the second consecutive
year Fylking will be available only in limited quantities throughout certain eastern
areas. Although this is disappointing, it may prove advantageous since it allows us
another eight months to gear up for a full-scale promotion program this fall.
Although initial seed releases were restricted to sod growers and golf
courses, there were still a number of promotional items and projects which had to be
coiqleted for a successful introduction of Fylking.
1.

Fylking had to be introduced to sod growers and golf courses in an informative
manner. This was accomplished through mailings of the facts and summations
report to sod growers and golf superintendents, either directly or through our
own distributors. Promotion of Fylking!s superior attributes was accomplished
through advertising in trade magazines, journals and newspapers. Trade magazine articles such as appeared in the Weeds Trees and Turf magazine, or the
Flower and Garden magazine, were reproduced and redistributed to additional
potential customers.

2.

Promotional pieces had to be made available to sod growers and golf courses,
not only for their own information but in particular for use by sod growers
in distribution to their potential customers.

As a grower and processor we are convinced that we have a share of the responsibility in seeing that our customers are able to sell our variety to their customers. We are following through and will continue to do so by providing all the promotion we can through literature and other material made available to distributors
and distributors1 customers, including jobbers, sod growers or dealers at no charge.
These items include:
a.
b.

c.

d.

An attractive full-color brochure containing descriptive information about
Fylking for use as a point of purchase counter piece, envelope stuffer or
handout.
A small sized three-color informational brochure which makes an excellent
standard size envelope stuffer.
A full-color, fade-proof outdoor streamer, capable of withstanding 45 miles an
hour plus headwinds, and I can verify that figure since I had to personally
test its capabilities myself.
Full-color indoor banner especially designed to provide an area for private
name imprinting in the upper left-hand corner.

e.

Reprints of magazine ads for use as envelope stuffers or in the hardback form
provide an excellent standing counter easel or hanging card. With a
"Recommendation seal" over-printed on the ad reproduction, this point of purchase piece provides a prestige to the product. This particular ad has the
Sunset Magazine seal of approval on it, and in the West the Sunset Seal of
approval carries just as much weight to the consumer as the Good Housekeeping
seal does throughout the United States. We are using the seal extensively in
the West, primarily in California.

f.

Full-color postcards, again for use as a counter piece, complimentary favors,
or as a self-promoting letter which dealers, nurseries, or sod growers can use
in contacting customers through the mail, or perhaps even to be used as a nice
reminder that their bills are overdue.

g.
h.

Pocket notebooks used as a meeting or conference complimentary favor.
Our newest item, which is now being printed, is the full-color seeding, sodding
and maintenance brochure for consumer use. It is an excellent piece, and I
wish I had it here to show you. Dealing with seeding and sodding procedures,
this brochure should answer most questions the homeowner will have if he is
planning to sod or seed his lawn, in addition to providing tips for the maintenance of that lawn in a superior condition.

i.

A future brochure will be our second technical bulletin which will deal with
the technical test results, seeding and sodding procedures, and maintenance
requirements described in considerable technical detail. It is not intended
for the consumer but will be available to him on request. This brochure will
provide the scientific and agronomic information required by golf course
superintendents and sod growers for the successful production of superior turf.

With all these promotional pieces you might ask - "What's left for distributors, sod growers, nurseries and dealers to do promotion-wise?" Well, there's lots —
the previous items will fill about 5$ of the successful promotional requirements, but
the rest comes from direct local promotion throughout the usage area. Consumer magazine, newspaper, regular TV and other forms of advertising which you and I are subjected to every day fulfill the remaining 95$. We are further convinced that a portion of this promotion should be done by our Company as a service to our distributors
and their customers.
Our participation will be in several forms, the first of which includes mailing of professionally written turf articles to over 600 newspapers and garden editors
throughout the United States. These mailings occur in the spring and fall for a
total of 8 - 10 mailings per year. We have had excellent results from this type of
promotion with either a portion or our entire article appearing in most of the major
United States newspaper garden columns. Many magazines have published or will be
publishing these articles as feature stores and some of them include such names as
Better Homes and Gardens, Sunset, Flower and Garden, Floral magazine, Home and Garden,
Landscape Industry, Weeds Trees and Turf, and many others. Additionally we will participate in direct consumer advertising through ad placement in Sunday newspaper
supplements and selected national garden magazines. The major portion of advertising,
however, will originate from distributors, dealers, nurserymen and sod growers who
handle Fylking seed or sod.
Now that I have mentioned the name sod growers, let's discuss the sod growers'
role in the promotion and avertising of any turfgrass variety. Although I am not a
sod grower and do not have any direct sales contact with sod growers, I have met many
of you at conferences such as this, or during brief visits to your farms. During
these visits I often hear the words, "Why should I advertise or promote when I am
selling all the sod I can grow without any advertising?" It's a logical question
and on first glance it defies an answer. On second glance, however, it is rather
easy to dispute this statement, and I give the following reasons:
1.

It's going to catch up with you. At some point, maybe this year, or even ten
years from now, the supply will eventually exceed demand. From that time on
it's going to be either wholesale price cutting, or survival of the grower
who has established a favorable production reputation through promotion and
merchandising.

2.

Foresight in testing and growing new varieties more suited to the public's
needs and tastes will benefit most growers who are eyeing the future, not
just the present. Promotion of new varieties in the early development stage
not only acquaints the public with the new variety, but develops a relationship whereby the public associates this grower with newly released and
superior products.

3.

There is always the possibility of one or a small group of sod growers having
an availability monopoly on a new variety and this can always be advantageous
to that group until the other growers catch up. A similar occurrence can be
the marketing of a proprietary variety by sod growers to the exclusion of consumer seed marketing. Again, this can be very worthwhile but does require
superior promotion and merchandising.

4.

Promotion of specific blends or mixtures developed by a grower or the unusual
qualities of a particular variety can only mean better sales. It also indicates that a grower must be wise to have a wide selection of not one or two
different varieties, but three or even up to six varieties, and/or combinations of varieties which can be promoted as being adapted to the various climatic, soil and physical conditions throughout his major sales area.

5.

Although the majority of sod may be marketed through a nursery or similar retail outlet, promotion of a variety by a sod grower not only benefits that
sod growers customer, but insures a consistent demand for that sod by the retail outlet in the future.

I could go on but time is running short, and I Lope I had made my point. Advertising and superior merchandising techniques are not only important and profitable
but very necessary to this rapidly changing industry of ours. My review of our
Fylking] promotional effort illustrates the importance of promoting any new variety
whether it be of seed or sod. The rippling effects produced by advertising are felt
by everyone, and I encourage all of you to actively participate in advertising, no
matter what the variety, the method or the means.

WINDSOR - - THE PONY GRASS THAT WENT TO TOWN
Paul Florence, 0. M. Scott & Sons Company
Marysville, Ohio

Windsor, an improved variety of Kentucky bluegrass, was a single clone selection made from a pony pasture in Central Ohio in 1949. In Scott's Bluegrass Development Program data consistently rated Windsor superior in these categories:

2.

3.

Disease resistance, including the common bluegrass diseases such as leafspot,
and dollarspot.
Drought tolerance - consistently remained greener and fresher in appearance
during periods of extended drought.
Color exhibited the fresh, vibrant green color considered so necessary in a
premium lawn grass variety.

Turf density, due to its disease resistance, drought tolerance and a superior
root and rhizome system, Windsor was consistently rated superior in turf
density.
5. Texture - attractive in texture, yet extensive clipping weight trials indicated
reduced foliar production.
6. Close mowing - Windsor was maintained and performed well at clipping heights as
low as 3/4 of an inch.

7*

Chemical tolerance - exhibited extreme tolerance to the chemical compounds
rapidly being formulated for lawn management. This included the phenoxy herbicides, the mercurial fungicides and the chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides.

In I960, Scotts inaugurated a first in the lawn seed industry. Seed producers in the Pacific Northwest were offered contracts to produce seed meeting rigid
quality specifications. These products were and still are paid a premium for seed
meeting the contractual specifications.
Limited quantities of seed became available and test marketing at retail was
initiated in 1962 under Scott's brand - "Gold Label Classic," a bluegrass blend. As
the seed producers increased their acreage and yields, Windsor was marketed in a
broader geographic area and in several additional Scott brands, including pure variety.
The market place determines the success of any new product whether it be cars,
chemicals or seeds. Last year, Scotts spent several million dollars promoting lawn
products to the consumer in the United States and in Europe. Windsor was an integral
part of that program, and as a result we sold over 3 million pounds of Windsor bluegrass seed in 1968. Windsor bluegrass was made available to the professional sod producer for the first time in 1964.
The plant patent on Windsor places responsibility on Scotts to insure that
when any homeowner purchases Windsor sod, he does - in fact - receive sod grown from
a Windsor planting, and meeting rigid quality specifications.
Scotts have developed a sod grower licensing program to meet this responsibility and designed to support the professional sod grower with technological assistance in production and marketing. The licensed Windsor sod grower is provided marketing assistance through his co-op advertising fund, designed to broaden the Windsor market, and stimulate the sod market in general.
Selling aids include signs, banners and promotional literature. We also
assist him in building his market through seminars held at Marysville and in behalf
of his customer whether they be landscaper or retailers. The marketing of Windsor
sod is thus stimulated by local,regional and national promotional efforts, and in
joint promotional programs with our thousands of Scott retailers from coast to coast.
Our Research Division has thousands of bluegrass varieties under evaluation
and tomorrow we may have a replacement for Windsor! Today, however, it is still:
1.
2.
3.
4.

The first bluegrass variety to be patented.
The first bluegrass variety to be produced under seed contract paying
a premium price for «quality
The first bluegrass variety produced for sod under a successful
Patent Licensing Program
The first variety sold with a guarantee to the purchaser, homeowner
or professional, satisfáctióaj or your money back - no quibbling no excuses!

SODCO BLUEGRASS
W. H. Daniel, Dept. of Agronomy
Purdue University
Sodco bluegrass is a new multi-line variety released by Purdue in 1967. It
is a combination of four individual lines selected for similar turf and seed qualities. It is dark green, slower growing, requires less mowing, tolerates shade,
tolerates close mowing, is stem rust resistant. (The Anheuser dwarf is only one of
the four lines. Anheuser will not be released as a variety nor recognized as such).
Sodco develops slowly, slower than Merion, so you may be disappointed in it
as a young seedling both in its slow germination and its early stand. A light mulch,
selection of sites where erosion is minimal, light over-plantings of lespedeza, rape
or oats, which might reduce erosion - any of these may help - they are your decisions.
Sodco will respond to ample fertilization, equal or ample to Merion. It will
develop sod very slowly, slower than most varieties; thus its true value is not its
fast, easy performance for individual sod growers. Its excellent turf survival quality in shade, in disease-plagued areas, and its less mowing and less thatch characteristics should be most valuable to your users of sod.
The seed growing contracts are with Agricultural Alumni Seed Improvement Association, 2336 Northwestern Avenue, West Lafayette, Indiana, 47906, who have the responsibility for its production and distribution. Breeder's seed sent West in 1967
produced foundation seed in 1968, which was planted in fall,1968 and spring, 1969*
for first certified seed beginning in 1970.
Some 15 sod growers in the U. S. received first demonstration seed in fall,
1968 for testing as sod. Some 40 experimentors have seed for test planting.

PRODUCTIONS AND PLANS
FOR WARREN'S A-20 BLUEGRASS
Ben Warren, Warren's Turf Nursery
Palos Park, Illinois
A-20 bluegrass is a variant found in an old stand of common Kentucky bluegrass. It has been under very close observation for 10 years in our Palos Park plots
and in our plots at Goshen, New York; Anderson, Indiana and Crystal Lake, Illinois,
for about 5 years. It has been observed in plots at several experiment stations and
botanical gardens. The consensus from these evaluations establishes the following:
It is dark green and above average in density with medium width leaves that
are upright and strong. Its most oustanding characteristic is its wide range of
disease resistances. A- 20 has good to excellent resistances to leafspot, stripe
smut, mildew and stem rust, plus above average resistance to Fusarium roseum. This
grass will tolerate mowing heights down to 1/211, and at heights of 2 inches, the
leaves are stiff and erect enough that satisfactory mowing is possible.
A-20 must be propagated vegetatively because of lack of trueness from seed.
Several methods for vegetative planting have been tried in our fields, and to date
-81-

we are using one of the machines developed for Bermuda planting in the south with
good results. The smaller size of this machine will plant about 3 acres per day.
A larger machine being put to work this spring has the capacity of 10 to 12 acres
per day. These machines place 3 square inch plugs on 9 inch centers.
Because of the superior performance of this grass, we are planning to convert the major part of our acreage to this strain.
(Editor's note - A-10, a patented bluegrass, is being produced in the St. Louis
area. Vegetative increase A-34 is being sold for shade areas - up to 65%> shade.
Vegetative increase - A-34 is trademarked as is A-20.)

BLUEGRASS RESPONSE TO CLOSE CUTTING
J. A. Long, 0. M. Scott & Sons Co.,
Marysville, Ohio

Close cutting in turf use applications other than putting greens is becoming
a routine practice and represents a trend for increased sophistication in managing
turf areas. Heights of cut of 3/4" and 1/2" are now generally desired on tees,
greens, collars and to a lesser extent on fairways. Improved playability and utility of turf under these mowing levels is the predominate driving force for mowing in
this direction. As recently as five years ago many of those in turf research, extension and industry were hesitant in recommending or even suggesting that such
species as Kentucky bluegrass could be maintained for extended periods of time at
mowing heights of one inch or less. Some are still reluctant.
In our turfgrass breeding program at Marysville, Ohio, Eugene Mayer's group
has been maintaining excellent quality bluegrass turf at 1/2 inch height-of-cut
since 1963. A number of bluegrass varieties available today, in addition to a number of experimental bluegrasses, have been maintained with very satisfactory results. Mowing frequency of approximately 7 days has been used each year.
The irrigation program has been adjusted to provide at least 3/4 inch of
water per week during periods when rainfall is not adequate. The test areas received 5.5 - 1.75 - 1.75 lbs./l,000 sq.ft. annually applied at a rate and frequency of approximately 1 lb. of nitrogen every 8 weeks. Clippings were removed
with each mowing. Mowing was done with a trimmer-type reel mower.
Now, let us explore for a moment the interest in maintaining bluegrass at
1/2 inch height of cut at least in the program at Marysville. In plant breeding
programs it is essential to use selection pressure to obtain optimum genetic expression.
Physiological Factors of Close Mowing
One of the basic considerations in holding satisfactory turf of close-cut
bluegrass involves the maintenance of a proper reserve carbohydrate balance within the plant. If carboyhydrate reserves are depleted in thr plant, its capacity
to regrow is severely limited.

Genetic variability in bluegrass has an important bearing on its performance under low cut. Newport, for example, in the warmer regions maintains a significantly lower reserve carbohydrate level than Merion bluegrass under comparable
mowing maintenance. This characteristic resulted in a decline in shoot density of
Newport under the warmer temperatures. Light intensity and temperature variation
(day-night) are inter-related to genetic variation and will influence bluegrass
maintenance under low mowing heights. Cougar does better where low humidity predominates.
Mowing - How Important?
Frequent clipping of grasses is the one maintenance practice that stimulates
the development of what we classify as turf. Grasses when clipped on a regular
schedule form a turf as a result of the development of many tillers or shoots.
These structures arise from the crown of bunch-type grasses; from lateral underground rhizomes, or from above-ground stolons, or both.
For maintaining bluegrasses at low heights of cut (l/2n) it is important to
set mowing frequency. If such a situation occurs where the time span is lengthened and considerable top growth occurs, a gradual return to the 1/2 inch mowing
height will be necessary to avoid scalping and weakening of the bluegrass.
During periods when conditions favor very rapid growth, the mowing frequency
should be reduced to a three or four day schedule. Sufficient leaf area must remain to provide a level of photosynthesis that will maintain the plant in an active
and vigorous growth state. This is essential since carbohydrate reserves will be
influenced significantly by the plant's capacity to maintain high photosynthetic
efficiency.
Irrigation - Essential
*

Close cutting of bluegrasses result in reducing rooting depth, thus the area
that the plant may draw moisture from will be less than would be found for higher
cutting heights. Experience has guided us to use frequent irrigations under such
conditions.
•

Secondly, with a trend in total leaf area reduction, the transpiration capacity of the plant is lessened which materially affects the plant's capability to
maintain a proper temperature relationship. A certain level of transpiration is
essential in the maintenance of the vital metabolic processes of the foliar parts
of the plant in relation to temperature. Much closer tolerances thus are required
in moisture availability to the plant.
In the Central Ohio area under moderately heavy soils 3/4n to 1" of irrigation water per week has been satisfactory for the maintenance of bluegrass at l/2
inch height of cut.
Slow Release Nitrogen Desirable
m

*

In the maintenance of bluegrass at 1/2 inch height of cut over a four year
period, a urea-formaldehyde nitrogen source was used. The fertilizer was applied
on a bi-monthly frequency at a rate to supply 1.0 - 0.3 - 0.3#per 1000 sq.ft. The
use of the slow-release nitrogen was considered important in satisfactorily maintaining the bluegrass from the standpoint of lessening surge growth. Data from nitrogen fertilizer tests has shown that a two-fold increase in growth can occur with
soluble inorganic nitrogen sources applied at comparable rates. Scalping or excessive defoliation that occurs results in a severe shock to the plant reducing its
capacity to produce regrowth and avoid stresses of high temperature, low moisture,

or disease attack. If soluble inorganic nitrogen sources are used, reduced rates
applied more frequently would perhaps be satisfactory.
Additional Maintenance Requirements
Most bluegrass varieties available today can be maintained at the 1/2 inch
height of cut provided that we meet conditions previously reviewed, plus be prepared to employ protective fungicides and insecticides so that buildup of damage is
avoided.
Where bluegrass varieties are used that are susceptible to leafspot or stripe
smut, and where climatic conditions favor development of these diseases, fungicide
use would be essential. Products containing PCNB applied at a rate of at least one
pound of PCNB per 1,000 sq.ft. two times each year would provide satisfactory protection from the diseases listed above under average conditions. Under severe conditions additional treatments may be required.
Benelate, an experimental fungicide now being tested widely, appears to be
quite effective in controlling stripe smut. However, if leafspot is a problem,
other fungicides active on leafspot would be required as Benelate is limited for
this disease.
In regions where Fusarium roseum is a problem it may not be possible to check
this disease with currently available fungicides. Commercial bluegrass varieties
currently in use lack sufficient levels of F. roseum resistance to be assured of maintaining high quality turf where this disease is prevalent and severe.
Sod webworm always poses some threat to bluegrass turf in the northern regions
of the U.S. A number of effective insecticides are available today to take care of
this problem.
Maintaining bluegrass at low heights of cut requires rather precise mowing.
Well adjusted and sharp reel-type mowers are best suited for this application. Where
low-cut turf is to be maintained, uniform grading should be carried out to avoid uneven cutting with the close height tolerances.
Annual renovation of thinning turf, plus aerification on compacted areas will
provide a more optimum condition for maintaining low-cut turf.
On turf areas where heavy traffic is anticipated, the use of present-day preemergence herbicides will lessen weed problems particularly where turf is scarred
and opened up. Topdressing from aerification, plus extra topdressing, can further
improve survival.

CONTINUING BLUEGRASS RESEARCH 1968-1969
Terry Riordan, Graduate in Turf
Purdue University
The year 1968 was a building year, a year of transition from certain objectives to new objectives. It was felt that individual bluegrass plants had been
sufficiently studied, and that it was time to select the outstanding plants

(specified selections), and to study these selections as varieties. Summer of 1968
was used to select the better plants, harvest and prepare seed, and to germinate
enough seed for the varietal study. Data was also taken to complete the analysis
of the 1967 space planting.
Past Background
The current project is a continuation of the work started in 1965 in cooperation with Civil Engineering, Horticulture and Botany, and is funded by the State
Highway Commission. Our effort, along with the other departments, was to improve
the highway roadside aesthetically, while at the same time making it easier and less
expensive to maintain.
During the period of this project 10,000 individual space plants have been
screened in the field and greenhouse on the characteristics of leaf height, amount
of rhizome spread, rust resistance, leaf color, and seedhead height, quarHty and
maturity. Also, an overall rating for desirability for selection was made.
New Procedure
Seed of 87 selected plants was planted in rows at the Agronomy Farm in September, 1968. The selections were measured for percentage germination, plant height,
and number of leaves, tillers and rhizomes. Sixty selections gave sufficient seed
for study, and 40 seedlings from each were transferred to 4-inch pots for winter
growth in the greenhouse. Vegetative parent material was used to plant two other
pots, and all pots (2,520 individuals) will be transplanted back to the Agronomy
Farm during April, 1969.
Individual space plants (single pot) of the same selection will be planted
closely together, thus allowing plants to be compared within a selection, but also
allowing selections to be compared to each other. Parent plants will be planted
with each selection in order to give an estimate as to whether the selection is
producing seed sexually, or by the development of an individual from an egg without
fertilization (apomixis). This apomixis study will be backed up by cytological
chromosome study which will give another estimate of this phenomena. It is felt that
if seed is produced through apomixis the selection can be increased and marketed
through seed, but even if seed is sexually produced the plant selection could still
be used due to the increased technology of the sod industry.
Vegetative increase of several outstanding selections has already been undertaken at the Agronomy Farm in order to increase both the amount of pure vegetative
material and also the yield of seed. These increases, which were started last fall
(September) will allow material to be available for our first roadside planting.

LET'S TALK TURF IMPROVEMENT
C. G. Wilson, Head Agronomist
Milwaukee Sewerage Commission
Milwaukee,Wisconsin
The program must be sold, especially if the user's enjoyment will be disrupted in any way. It is not enough to sell oursevles, or for that matter even the
Green Committee, if they fail to communicate our improvement program to the membership at large.

Use every means possible to communicate. Demonstration plots, club newsletter, releases through club billing department, and personal contact are important. One notice is seldom sufficient. Three to six mailings spread a month or
so apart should be considered. Part of your budget for turf improvement could
well include a "media" fund for public relations.
Don't be afraid to challenge your own pre-conceived ideas or the ideas of
others. One reason I like Purdue and Dr. Daniel is that neither one are afraid to
try a new or radical approach to a problem. The secret, of course, is to try on a
small scale first before implementing fully. The late 0. J, Noer always felt the
first test results should be repeated before embarking full-scale. (Go back and
read the previous sentence once more).
Talk to as many people as possible who can offer ideas on your turf improvement project. Turf experts, manufacturers, distributors and your fellow superintendents will all be of help. Contrary to the belief of some, advice does not add
to confusion. The truly perplexing problem is the one you try to solve without the
help of others.
Finally, implement the project.
naught until this is done.

The value of all that talk will come to

CONTROLLING POA ANNUA
W. H. Daniel, Dept. of Agronomy,
Purdue University

Arsenic toxicity can selectively remove Poa annua in turf, thus Poa annua free turf - is a reality already proven in research and on entire golf courses. Recently a speaker used kodachrome pictures from over 30 golf courses to illustrate
observed progress in this. By 1969* over 300 courses currently have some control
program underway.
A four step program is basic:
1.
2.
3.
4.

Add no more soluble phosphorus. Why juggle two,items? Why build phosphorus
higher?
Start accumulating toxic arsenic. Repeat lighter application, get uniform
distribution. Allow time for new grasses to grow and fill in.
Start improving stand of desired turf - by Aero-blade, seeder, or any way to
get seed into the soil; repeatedly overseed as space is available and
weather permits.
Short days, cloudy days, wet soil and time favor selective Poa annua weakening
to be evident in these periods. Chickweed, Poa annua, crabgrass and goosegrass are less tolerant to arsenic than bentgrass or bluegrass. Arsenic interferes with the transfer of carbohydrates within the susceptible species.
A Weed

Several states have declared Poa annua a weed. For example, in 1968 Florida
required that the number of Poa annua seed per pound of grass seed be listed on the
label. Further, seed is prohibited from sale if above 5000 seed/lb. And, it is
hoped this limit can be reduced after one year of review.
-86-

Basically there are five points relevant to the control of Poa annua. These
are TECHNOLOGY - principles
TOOLS to accomplish the work
TECHNIQUES of man and equipment use
TIMING for the plant and user benefit
TIME for biological processes
Let's describe Poa annua. It is Poa (of the meadow in Greek). This includes
hundreds of species scattered almost world-wide of which pratensis, compressa and
annua are some representatives. The early botanist seeing Poa annua germinate and
produce seed in the same season, which was in contrast to perennial types, called it
annua, i.e., it seeds in some 6 to 8 weeks after germination under some conditions.
Now, it is just like tomatoes, coleus, etc. - it will vegetatively increase until
some adversity kills the plant parts. You have seen summer desiccation, severe disease smothering under ice as such damaging failure points. Also, you have seen a
beautiful sheen of new Poa annua come up.
I recall seeing such on August 5 at Cleveland Country Club one year. So, a
normal Poa annua plant under watered fairway conditions in Cleveland would be fall
germination, winter survival, spring lushness, summertime weakening, some disease,
some wilting, and when things really get tough complete loss either in the winter
under ice or in the summer, but then new germination occurs. We can break this cycle, we can reduce the competitiveness of Poa annua - the technology is available.
Examples of success have been observed, reports of progress have been disseminated.
Club members have seen the bar revised, the kitchen modernized, the locker
room changed, the grill increased. They expect these things to be major renovation
of high cost with a considerable period when tradesmen may create complete unuse the bar is closed - the grill is out. Why should it be different when we start to
change the grass on the golf course? They expect continued, perfect playability out
there! It takes time to revise the grill, to tear out the old, to put in the new,
to refinish the walls, and it takes time out there on the golf course.
Again, someone in the club made a decision following a policy that led to improvement, and someone must make that type of decision for the club if they are going
to have Poa annua removal, and it is a major decision. It requires financing, public
relations promotion within the membership, within the community, for we have all
heard statements like - "Say, what's happened to
Country Club? Their fairways
are all BURNED UP, and the word gets around when really it is to be expected.
Some of the bottlenecks in observing Poa annua control start out rather insignificant. First, things look pretty good; now the club is well-groomed, the
course is always ready to play, the superintendent is on the ball, and the turf survived last year, so why change it?
Second, the other country club tried it and they sure had some bare areas.
That is not for us. In other words, one decision, one observation and the program
is taboo. Our members won't stand that.
Third, the Greens Chairman catches too much "hell" already. He is fair game
for every golfer to lambast as if it is club policy to beat down the official.
Again, public relations are important, but somebody needs to make decisions for the
club during their term of office for the benefit of the club; yet we recognize the
problem.
Fourth, there is the problem of superintendent and crew, and equipment setup
to do the job efficiently well and effectively. I have seen many errors in applica-

tions, which were unnecessary mistakes. It does take quality personnel and adapted
equipment, but these are not new to good golf courses and good turf growers.
Technology
Selective repression of existing Poa annua, selective prevention of new establishment is the key. It is a small job to control Poa annua I The BIG job is
to grow desired grass! We know that arsenic accumulated in the rootzone can override phosphorus uptake and selectively stunt existing Poa annua as well as seedlings. We also know that Betasan, Balan, Bandane, among others, can prevent seedlings of Poa annua becoming established. Each chemical has its good and bad points that is technology. Each chemical will do certain things and permit the turf manager to do certain things. For example, Balan will prevent both Poa annua and new
bent or bluegrass from seed; so will Betasan and Bandane.
Nevertheless, the turf manager should select a chemical which will be used
in a repeated program that provides him with continued control. Again, technology
is understanding the inner-relationships of repression of weeds, forcing a growth
of desired, and the principles he must follow to benefit from the selective program.
For example, forcing growth with fertilizer, protecting existing with fungicides,
overseeding when thinness is evident - all of these are just technology.
Tools
Tools include the equipment and the manpower. The new Rogers Aero-blade
seeder combination was recommended to five out of six golf courses considering Poa
annua renovation just because it does a uniform job of placing wanted seed in the
preferred position for germination and survival.
There are combinations of tools that may be available for spreading the materials, for applying the seed and reducing the thatch, for applying the water.
Upgrading to automatic irrigation, purchasing of needed equipment are just preliminary steps providing tools for improvement.

*

Techniques
Techniques vary widely depending on tools, depending on terrain. Basically
the techniques are related to habits. I have seen golf courses start at the edge
of the fairways, overlap in the middle with arsenicals just like they were mowing.
They crowded together between the sand trap, spread apart in the wide spots, and
then two years later you can see where the man did or did not go twice. I have
seen where sprayers slowed down and killed everything, where equipment going downhill went fast and up-hill slow so that extreme differences in results were achieved.
Even calibration, simple as it is, can be overlooked.
Since this is repeat accumulations, records are important, for if we miss out
on how much has been applied, then uncertainty prevails on what should be applied;
then question arises as to results achieved. For example, we strongly recommend no
soluble phosphorus be used when arsenic is being accumulated as Poa annua is being
reduced. With this in mind it takes understanding of technology, it takes different techniques of purchasing, and if one does change his program so he uses some
soluble phosphorus, then uses arsenic, who knows where he is? In contrast, if
only arsenic is used, then one seeing results can interpret the end results and
know where he is.

*
v

Timing
Timing is always important whether it be fighting the bull in the arena, or
working to get the most from nature's normal responses. When shall the program start?
Early fall is preferred. When shall it achieve toxicity? One year later. When shall
I put on seed? When there are openings. When shall I put on arsenic? When stress
of climate is medium. How soon may I repeat overseedL ng? Every two weeks.
How
often may I apply arsenic? After next rain or irrigation. How much shall I apply?
All of these are related, thus it is very wise to have samples, models. It is wise
to take trips and see other areas previously treated. And, as mentioned earlier, it
is strongly suggested that<timing be concentrated into one fairway, three fairways, or
nine fairways. Don't start on 18 fairways. Set some timing fast and some timing
slow. Treating one-half of fairways is simplest and safest for initial program for
the "best" half can be used. All clubs that I know of starting a program have later
enlarged the control program. (At Brae Burn Country Club, Art Anderson used lead
arsenate in 1938, '40, '44, !47, !51, '55, T59 and '64 to maintain his program).
Time
You understand a bluegrass seed. It will germinate in six to eighteen days;
puts up one leaf, starts a crown, puts up a second and third leaf. As it starts its
fourth leaf it also starts a tiller at the crown, then a second tiller, now has some
8 - 9 leaves, and it is at least two months old - still a seedling. Then, it puts
out underground rhizomes, a horizontal stem which, as it emerges, causes spread characteristic of bluegrass. Now it is a teenager. A bluegrass planted August 1 with
irrigation could have rhizomes in November, but a seedling dropped carelessly in
October may be useless and dried by desiccation in the winter so there is nothing
next spring. Meanwhile, Poa annua, which grows more normally and vigorously, completely over-masks it.
For example, at Meridian Hills Country Club in Indianapolis overseedings made
in two successive falls produced a very sparse bluegrass cover of less than 5$. When
arsenics kept out the Poa annua and crabgrass, the less than 5$ advanced to over 95$
in one season.
The purpose of overseeding is to initiate sparse-starting plants which, by
spread, can fill in. Bentgrass grows similarly making stolons. Bentgrass plants
two to three months old are still very small. Actually where arsenics are being
used at least 90% of the turf increase is from spread of existing plants. For high
budget courses plugging of thin areas is a real possibility in critical spots.
Toxicity with arsenic can be summarized by these steps 1. Stop applying soluble phosphorus
2. Improve poor drainage areas with vertical trenching
3. Gradually build arsenic toxicity by repeat divided applications
4. Repeatedly introduce the desired by overseeding and plugging.
5. Resod the worst first. For example, fronts of tees and aprons
6. Cloudy days, short days, wet soils and time favor selective Poa annua
weakening
In summary, when your club determine policy and budget for the program, then
the turf manager carry out the policy. Poa annua control should require two years.
There will be problems worth achieving, nonetheless. So, I am through with Poa
annua - the failure grass. It is not modern standards. 2,4-D took care of broadleaves, Silvex took out clover, Dicamba has removed knotweed - now it is Poa annua's
turn at bat.

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HERBICIDES FOR TURF
Wilbur F. Evans, Amchem Products, Inc.
Ambler Pennsylvania

Establishing and maintaining dense competitive turf is an excellent method
for controlling many lawn weeds. A number of herbicides are available to help the
grower establish new turfgrass areas, or rebuild sod which has been invaded by weeds.
Turfgrass weeds belong to two principal groups - broadleaved and grassy.
Weeds may also be categorized as annuals, biennials or perennials. Proper identification of weed species to be controlled is essential.
BROADLEAF WEED CONTROL. Herbicides are of the phenoxy group - 2,4-D,
2,4,5-T, 2,4,5-TP (silvex), MCPA and MCPP (mecoprop). Recently dicamba (Banvel-D)
was developed.
2,4-D will control dandelions, plantains (broadleaf and buckfaorn) and many
other broadleaf weeds in turfgrass.
2,4,5-T is quite effective on white clover, violets and pennywort, etc., and
is often used in mixture with 2,4-D to extend the range of weeds that can be controlled by a single treatment.
Silvex, MCPP and dicamba are effective in c ontrolling cbver and chickweeds
(common and mouse-ear), wood sorrel and yarrow.
Two very difficult weeds to control have been red or sheep sorrel and knotweed. Dicamba at 1/4 to 1/2 lb. per acre has proven quite effective on both species
and on yarrow.
Chemicals can be used separately to control a specific weed problem. Also,
several combinations have been made to broaden the spectrum of weeds controlled.
The most popular of these have been 2,4-D, plus silvex, and 2,4-D, plus dicamba.
The rate of actual chemical applied per acre in the combinations has generally been
1 lb. of 2,4-D, plus 1/2 lb. Silvex, and or 0.1 and 0.25 lb. of dicamba. These mixtures are available in liquid or dry (vermiculite) form. This year a three-way combination, including 2,4-D, silvex and dicamba, will be available.
Maximum effect is obtained from foliage applications when soil moisture is
good and the weeds are growing actively. Both spring and fall treatments are recommended. However, fall treatments have the advantage of allowing time for the desirable turfgrasses to spread; whereas eradicating weeds in spring may leave open areas
suitable for crabgrass germination. Also, danger of injury to desirable plant species is less in the fall.
Certain precautions should be observed:
1.

Bentgrasses are generally susceptible to phenoxy materials. Split applications using one-half normal rates are advised. Read the label. Late fall
applications on bentgrasses are generally more injurious than spring applications and should be avoided if possible. (Or spray heavy if bent is to be
eliminated).

2.

Avoid spray drift onto desirable plants or shrubs. Spray when there is little
or no wind and at low pressures and medium droplets.

3.

Do not apply herbicides within the drip line of trees or shrubs. The materials may be root-absorbed and injury can result, especially with dicamba.

Used according to the label these materials can do an effective job safely.
FERTILIZER-HERBICIDE combinations are available and are very useful.
above precautions apply to these formulations as well.

The

ANNUAL GRASS CONTROL - Crabgrass (hairy and smooth), goosegrass (silver
crabgrass), foxtails and barnyardgrass constitute the most common annual grass weeds
in turfgrasses. Other annuals, sandburs, wiregrass, even new nimblewill, may be
prevented by timely applications. Goosegrass, although quite similar to the crabgrasses in appearance, is a different specie, germinates later, and is generally more
difficult to control.
All the above grasses are annual, germinating in the spring and dying in the
fall. Control is effected by applying the herbicide in the spring before the weed
seeds germinate. In the Midwest this period is from mid-March to mid-May, depending
on location.
Materials in common use for annual grass control are: Azak, Bandane, Balan,
Betasan, Dacthal and Tupersan. Rates of active material per area for grass control
varies according to the chemical. Some turfgrasses, such as bentgrasses, Bermudagrass and other species are sensitive to some of the above chemicals. The labels
should be checked for any restriction of use by grass species. With the exception
of Tupersan desirable turfgrasses cannot be seeded until fall in areas where the
above chemicals have been used for spring treatment.
POST-EMERGENCE control of crabgrasses can be effected by repeated applications of DSMA or MSMA. These materials have proven effective for nutsedge and sandbur control as well.
PERENNIAL GRASS CONTROL - Control of perennial grasses, such as quackgrass,
tall fescue and orchardgrass can be accomplished most effectively by treatment with
a non-selective herbicide, followed by removing the treated vegetation, deep cultivation and reseeding of the area. Spot treatments may be adequate if the infestation is not extensive. Amitrole and Dalapon are two compounds which kill both grass
and broadleaf weeds, including underground portions. Paraquat is also non-selective,
but regrowth from rhizomes may require treatment. Repeated vertical hand-slicing
into clumps can weaken tall fescue. Also, very hot water soaking crown area can kill
a clump.
WEED CONTROL IN SEEDLING TURF. Spring seeding of large turfgrass areas is a
more feasible practice when competition can be minimized.
A new material, bromoxynil (Brominal) is now cleared for broadleaf weed control in seedling turfgrass. Applied as an early post-emergence treatment when
broadleaf weeds are in the 2- to 4-leaf stage and the seedling grass has emerged,
it controls many broadleaf weeds without injury to the seedling turfgrass. Repeat
applications can be made safely.
Tupersan will control germination of crabgrass and other annual grass weeds
while allowing desirable turfgrass species, such as bluegrass, to germinate and
grow. Application of half the normal rate (5 to 6 lbs. per acre) at seeding time.,
followed by another half rate one month later, is the recommended practice for grass
weed control.
In conclusion, herbicides to control any unwanted weed are for the produc-92-

tion of good turfgrass. However, good management practices - such as proper cutting
height, watering and fertilizing - are important factors in keeping a good turf once
the herbicides have done their job.

IbLYOUR GRASS SAFE?
Wayne Morgan, Kellogg Supply Company,
Wilmingt on, C alifornia

When a nationally known sports figure is injured on an athletic field, this
type of information usually receives a prominent place in the news coverage. It is
unfortunate that equal importance is not placed upon the more than estimated 5000
injuries occurring annually at our colleges and unversities. If injuries obtained
at our nation's high schools could also be tabulated, the total number would be
quite revealing.
While considerable attention has been directed towards improving protective
gear, training facilities and methods and the physical condition of the players,
insufficient consideration has been given to the condition of the athletic field,
which is one of the major contributing causes of player injury. One report indicated that over 50% of the serious knee and ankle injuries were possibly turf related, with serious knee injuries more prevalent than serious ankle injuries.

r

Much importance is placed on knee and ankle injuries. It is stated that this
type of injury occurs because the body turns but the feet don't. Broken legs received from being tackled while the shoe cleats are anchored into the soil (sometimes referred to as "hanging up") is also another cause of serious injury. "Shin
splints," leg strains received from running on hard turf or surface areas are a
common problem. Other persons consulted about the safety of grass feel that injuries received from twisting, falling on hard soil, or slipping on wet grasses
are problems of equal magnitude.
What can be done to reduce the possibility of injury? A report from Cal-Turf
Inc., Camarillo, California, an article from the Athletic Journal (July, 1965) and
information from Monsanto, manufacturers of Astro-turf, offer significant promise in
the direction of making grasses safer.
A study on how to make athletic fields safe was conducted by Cal-Turf. They
tested soil preparation, type of turf and cutting height. These effects on turf
quality and speed and usability of the turf were recorded. Their results indicated
that from 25% to 50% sawdust mixed with sand was the best soil for energy absorption. Loam soils had the poorest energy absorption. Soil kept moderately moist had
grefer energy absorption than when either dry or too wet.

*

The improved Bermudagrass "Tifway" had high impact absorbance for tacked or
falling players when compared to bluegrass or alta fescue. Also, in each case the
fescue variety showed better impact-absorbing characteristics than did bluegrass.
However, the difference between the fescue and bluegrass was far less than the
Tifway and these two varieties.
Results from mowing height differences indicate an increase in impact absorption for all three grass species with an increase in mowing height. Their report

stated that Tifway should be held between 1-1/2 to 2 inches in height for football
fields. Speed of play was apparently not reduced or affected by these higher cuts.
Under the conditions of the given soil preparation and mowing height, with
adequate fertilization for continuous good growth, the Tifway surface has enough
sheer strength to resist excessive wear and tear by cleats, offers safer traction
when players cleats
1. Entered the grass mat
2. But not the soil itself
3. Nor the root area
4. And allowed the cleats to release and turn
Mr. Harry Wilcox, former County Agent in Pennsylvania, wrote the article on
"Safer Athletic Fields." Checking on injuries at a high school field, accurate
records were kept both before and after a safety program was instituted at both the
practice area and playing field. Before starting their program, the soil had been
drastically compacted by heavy equipment during construction. This, and being used
for play, had resulted in a weak, thin turf with very shallow roots. Water penetration into the soil was greatly restricted and puddling of water occurred.
Their program for "a planned schedule of turfgrass management to grow grass
on a continuing year-round basis" consisted of:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Repeated aerification to loosen the soil and break up severe compaction.
Repeated seeding the proper grasses that are adaptable to the área and use.
Repeated ample fertilization to force growth.
Watering to keep grass growing.
High mowing off-season; medium-high during use.

They found their program could be carried out simply by reallocating already
budgeted funds. Their results show benefits.
During football practice recorded injuries were:
On old field
In August
In September

After the correction program began
9
12
21

In October
In November

2
2
4 - 1 7 less

During games of season - two teams - all season In 9 away games on other stadiums
In 10 home games on improved field

20
9
11 less

Monsanto sent out 542 questionnaires to the nation's colleges and universities and received back 185. The questionnaire inquired about knee and ankle injuries and whether or not it was felt these were turf related. Those responding
listed 1771 serious leg injuries. Over 50$ of the serious knee and ankle injuries
were reported either to be, or probably to be, turf related. The serious leg injury rate for games was .362 per game, while practice rates are only .066 per
sessbn. The largest number of serious knee and ankle injuries knee and ankle injuries reported was 84* and the lowest number reported was 0.
Comparing these reports they use results for 1967 from 3 Astro-turf football
fields. There were 69 football games and 79 practice sessions. There were 5
serious knee and ankle injuries reported.

Other valuable information pertaining to turfgrass safety was obtained from
interviews with the following people:
Mr. Cecil Hollingsworth, Past Director of Athletics for over 25 years at U.C.L.A.
Mr. Frank Schact, Supervisor of Grounds at U.C.L.A.
Mr. Ronald Townsend, Superintendent of Parks and Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

10.

Soils should be firm with resiliency - not too hard nor too soft. Cleats
should not penetrate more than 1/2 depth into soil.
There should be both surface and internal drainage - obvious to achieve
above.
Minimize slippage when overly wet by using mud cleats. Improved drainage,
adding calcined aggregates to dry out would be better.
Don't have the crest of the field too high or injuries may occur from
sudden changes. 12 - 18" center above sidelines is ample.
Playing on turf recently sodded without sufficient time for roots to develop results in turned ankles and other injuries. Allow 4 weeks minimum.
The turf should be dense enough to provide cushioning for falling players,
yet open enough to allow freedom of movement of feet. Use topdressing to
aid in this and more frequent mowing.
When compared to common Bermudagrass the improved Bermudas seem to make it
harder for the quarterbacks to epin on handoffs, so use shorter cleat.
For Rugby, which is a fast, continuous game, these improved Bermudas were
. reported to be slower.
Bermudagrasses height of cut should be regulated by the activity used for:
Football
1" to 1-1/4"
Socker
3/4"
Baseball infield
1/2" (want fast for picking up
grounders)
Baseball outfield
3/4" to 1"
The turf should not be too long so that the player's feet will have to
be picked up or tangled in the grass. Coaches state what is desirable
is the ability for "sliding motion". Topdressing and Greens-aire can
help regulate this.
Hazards too close to the playing field, such as signs, wires, posts, or
open drains have been known to cause player injury.

As can be determined, something can be done to aid in making our grass safer.
The answer seems to be in the development of a dense, healthy turf with firm but resilient soil. For the welfare of our prime youth, it behooves all of us to continually strive toward this goal.

TURF MANAGEMENT FOR PURDUE UNIVERSITY
FOOTBALL STADIUM and PRACTICE FIELDS
J. C. Sinninger, Supt. of Grounds
Purdue University
As history, in 1964 the stadium field was lowered approximately 8' and a new
tile drainage system installed. Then, the field in general was rebuilt with soil
and sodded. Because the silt and clay in sandy soil restricted water movement, it
was necessary to vertically trench above the tile lines - into pea gravel above

tiles. Then between each tile another trench was placed. This made 151 spacings.
Then for final insurance every 5 yard line and sideline were trenched - so drainage
is now vertical and fast. Any spot later found wet will be trenched also. We used
2 - 3 " narrow trench with pea gravel backfill, then sand cap to overflow.
Some problems of maintenance were needed - fertility, intense aerifying and
added topdressing. So, the very first thing we applied 200 lbs. of nitrogen and
200 lbs. 60$ potash on the entire field in the last two weeks of March. Then, we
sowed 1 lb. of bluegrass seed per 1,000 sq.ft. down through the center. Using a
chain link drag, we went over the field and then applied 1/2tJ of water. Next, we
started putting in the slit trenches for drainage.
You must remember that the locality and type of soil you have will affect your
maintenance program; hence, the following should only be a guide to anyone who has a
problem. A good program necessitates walking over your field daily to permit needed
observations.
Date to i J Work
1.

March 1 - 3 0 . Fertilize, seed, drag. Overseed in late winter as needed. The
last two weeks in March, apply 200 lbs. of nitrogen (mineral base) and 200 lbs.
of 60$ potash on the entire field (2 acres). Water as needed.

2.

April 1 - 2 0 . Roll, mow.
Using a medium weight roller, roll the field before first spring rain. Roll
only when soil is moderately moist. Start mowing operation as soon as the
grass is long enough to cut. Use only a reel power mower set for 2 n height of
cut. Cut often - at least once each week; more often if grass grows rapidly.
Never let it get beyond 2" long.

3.

May 1 - 1 5 . Aerify, fertilize, spray for fungus and weeds.
During the first two weeks of May, aerify the field using an aerifier with 1/2»
spoons, 6 n apart. After aerifying apply 600 lbs. of 38$ nitrogen (urea formaldehyde base nitrogen) and 200 lbs.of 60$ potash to the entire field and water in.
Keep close watch for fungus infection. If any signs are found commence spraying
entire area about every 2 weeks with a fungicide. Use the low side of the manufacturer's recommendation. It occurs most often when you have temperatures
above 80°F. at night with exceedingly wet grass and little air movement. Also,
watch for weeds and foreign grasses.

4.

June 15 - July 1. Fertilize, sod bare areas.
Reseed or spot-sod bare areas and damaged strips; then apply small amount of
fertilizer, and wash into the soil.
Continue mowing operation. If clippings are too long and heavy, use turf
sweeper to remove. Set sweeper so that it just barely touches the grass blades.
Don't sweep any more than necessary. This is to prevent disturbing the crowns
of the bluegrass plants. Apply only enough water to keep grass from dying from
wilt. The reason for this is the grass roots grow where moisture is most favorable (deep).

5.

August 1 - 7 . Aerify, soil test, fertilize, seed, drag, water.
In the first week of August use Greens-aire with a l/2n spoon to bring up much
soil. Topdress with porous topdressing to bury crown and reduce divots. Take
a soil test and determine analysis and rate of application of fertilizer needed.
This will bring the grass back to a good green color for the football season.

6.

September 10 - 24. Fertilize, seed, plug.
The second or third week of September apply fertilizer to force fall growth.
Mow often; roll lightly after every use.
Before each home game apply 5 - 1 0 lbs. of bluegrass seed. Immediately after
each football game replace all divots by hand and press in with foot. Then
water with l/4n of water. The following Monday roll lightly, repair the damaged playing field with 4,! diameter plugs from the sod nursery. These plugs
should be 3" deep. You may think this is a losing battle, but it is essential.

7.

November 25 - December 15. -Aerify, topdress, seed, fertilize, drag, water,drain
water system, lock gates for winter.
Before last home game overseed worn spots. The last of November, or the Monday
after the last home game prepare the field as follows for the winter:
a.

Aerify both ways or double at an angle, using l/2" spoons. Then topdress
field 1/2" deep with the following mixture: 1/4 sand, l/4 peat moss, 1/4
crushed cobs and 1/4 calcined clay. This buries crown of loosened grasses,
reduces desiccation.

b.

Take soil test and apply recommended fertilizer, possibly 12-4-8 analysis
(50$ organic base nitrogen) at 20 lbs. per 1,000 sq.ft.

c.

Use a turf mat and drag the field over twice.

d.

Replace all divots using extra sod from sod field to repair any additional
divot holes. Press down all divots firmly with your feet. Then lightly
roll the entire field.

e.

Apply 1/4" of water with sprinkler system.

This depends on weather condi-

tions.
f.
8.

Drain sprinkler system and lock the gates for the winter.

March 1.

Start over.

• '

TURF HEATING IN ACTION"

J. R. Barrett, Jr., ARS & Dept. of Ag Engineering
Raymond Freeborg, Graduate Research Assistant, Dept. of Agronomy
Purdue University
Electric heating is one proposed way to extend the natural seasonal limitations affecting turfgrasses. Plants have a better chance to survive, grow and rejuvenate themselves if the growing season is extended by buffering the heat loss
from the earth in the fall, and by hastening the warming of the rootzone in the
spring.
The fundamental requirements for design and installation of electric soilheating cable systems have been determined. The exact design of a system will depend on the extent of, and use for, each turf areas, the climatic location, the
availability and cost of power, and the grass variety used. Further, turf heating

as a management tool can be used to keep soil from freezing, keep turf greener, promote new root and blade extension, and melt snow.
A few commercial systems have been installed in Scotland, England and Sweden. In the United States, investigations of the use of electric heating for turf
have been a cooperative venture of the Farm Electrification Branch, ARS, and the
Departments of Agronomy and Agricultural Engineering, Purdue University.

Falcon Stadium
Falcon Stadium, U. S. Air Force Academy, was the first college athletic
field in the U. S. to employ turf heating. The expressed purpose for the installation was to insure a frost-free football playing surface, thereby increasing precision of play and helping to reduce some of the serious injuries which have resulted from frozen football fields.
Fifty-five cables, each 1560 feet long and producing 7800 watts are installed
7 inches deep, spaced 1 foot apart lengthwise in the field. These polyvinyl-chloride
insulated cables can give off 5 watts of heat per foot of length. Each cable has a
braided copper grounding jacket and is protected by a 40-ampere, single-pole, 277volt breaker. The total connected load is 429 kw with the system operating from a
three-phase, four-wire, 277/480-volt substation.
Center sections of football fields, as a result of more traffic, frequently
have less turf for insulation than the edges. This, combined with differential
use, shadows., etc., makes sectioning of heating systems desirable - between the hash
marks, then to either side to 5 yards beyond the sideline markers.
Each zone is equipped with a control panel consisting of a relay, on-off
automatic selector switch and a light which indicates the zone is being treated.
The control circuits include an air thermostat set so that heat will be called for
when the air temperature drops below 40°F. This is in series with a liquid filled
remote bulb placed just under the sod in each zone, which limits the application of
heat when the lj-inch soil temperatures are 50°F or less.
The cables were buried under a bare surface in June, 1966, using a modified
subsoiling tool preceded by a rolling coulter. No particular problems were encountered and the installation was completed by fall. The three "separations" during
installation were found to be at the junction of the cold lead to the heating element. The comprerssive butt connectors must be firmly clamped, and pulling on the
cold leads should be avoided. The system was not used in the fall of 1966 since no
late season football games were scheduled. If a system is to cause earlier than
normal root and blade growth in spring, heating should begin 3 weeks to 1 month before normal growth begins.
The heating system was next used from September 1 through November 30, 1967.
Only the middle zone was powered the entire time. On November 14 the heated turf of
this zone appeared to be greener and was judged to be more dense than the unheated
outside zones. The outside zones were then turned on for the last 2 weeks of November. No freezing occurred either in the heated stadium field or in nearby unheated
practice areas.
Busch Memorial Stadium
Busch Memorial Stadium, St. Louis, was the first multi-sport professional
stadium to have an electrically heated playing field. Heating began October 28,
1966, from 49 cables, 1796 to 2741 feet in length. The cables were knifed into the

turf in late August and September. These heating elements run lengthwise, are
spaced 1 foot apart and were specified to be 6 inches deep. Difficulty in getting
them to this depth caused problems later. The polyvinyl-chloride insulated cables
provide 4.6 watts of heat per foot length, and per square foot of area, when operating at 277/480 volts AC. Grouped, not individual, cables are fused. The total
length of cable is approximately 115,000 feet, giving a combined load of 529 kw.
The heating grid is in four separate zones. The baseball and football
fields are such that one goal post is at homeplate and the other deep in center
field. Two of the zones start at the center line of the baseball diamond-football
field and extend to just beyond the sidelines of the football field. The other two
zones extend outward from the football field to the edges of the massive movable
stands as they are placed for football games. By this sectioning, areas can be
selectively heated according to usage.
The automatic control system consists of a time-clock and an air thermostat in series with soil sensor resistance elements. The air thermostat responds
to general weather conditions, and the soil thermostats are used to limit heat
application according to the reserve in the soil.
A mixture of Zoysia and bluegrass was used for the initial sod. Heat was to
stimulate the Zoysia into early spring growth and later fall activity, while the
bluegrass was to remain active throughout the winter. But, no known grass will
stand near constant practice and play. The sod placed on this field in early spring
was destroyed from wear by mid-December.
The turf heating system was used to keep the ground thawed to permit wintertime rebuilding and reconstruction. A grader windrowed the residue during late December. In doing this, some cables were found less than 2 inches deep; in fact,
some 30 breaks that occurred during the sod removal procedure were repaired. After
some recontouring and refinishing, the heat was turned off. Then during February,
1967, Meyer zoysia sod was hauled in and laid on frozen ground. Next, the heat was
turned on and the field was covered with clear plastic. Thusly managed, early
knitting and growth were forced so that the stadium was quite ready for baseball on
April 11, 1967. This would have been impossible except for turf heating. As the
Zoysia needed additional heat,the air thermostat setting was raised to 70°F. and
the soil sensors to 65° for the fall heating season 1967.
During 1967 the field was scheduled for 78 baseball games,plus home team
practice and warmup sessions. In between baseball games, 16 soccer games were
played. Professional football added 12 games to the load, plus band performances,
special events and other uses. Can any turf survive? It was worn out again.
The field was again renovated between January 15 and April 15, 1968. The
infield was raised, trenches were dug over each tile and filled with pea gravel
topped with a calcined aggregate to improve drainage, 4500 square yards of badly
worn areas were resodded with Tifway bermuda; other areas were aerated and overseeded and the field was ready for the opening 1968 baseball game. The field was
again renovated and resodded with Bermuda in January and February, 1969.
Lambeau Field
Further north, the Green Bay installation began in July, 1967; actual heating started October 13. The primary objective was to prevent the field from freezing, at least until after December 31. Further, a plac.^ was needed on which to hold
practices once the regular practice fields were frozen. Other results were hoped
for: reduction of costs of seeding and sodding, faster rejuvenation of turf after
damage, reduced injuries, faster drying and some snow melting.

Preceding installation of cable, diagonal slits across the gridiron were
made and filled with a calcined aggregate to increase drainage. About 73,000 ft. of
cable, in 48 sections 1520 ft. long, were buried through existing sod, lengthwise of
the field. The cable layer was pulled by winches. It was made of a blade, cable
guide and rolling coulter mounted on a frame. No breaks or damage occurred during
installation, or since. The cables, buried 6 inches deep and spaced 1 foot apart,
are stranded copper, insulated with Vulkene over which is a braided copper ground,
also covered with Vulkene. These are rated at 10 watts per foot for a total connected load of 730+ kw. Each individual cable is fused and allowance was made for
expansion and contraction. The 190- by 380-foot heated area extends about 6 feet
beyond the playing field. Power is supplied to the field's underground distribution
system through a 12.47-kv to 277/480-volt, three-phase, 1,000-kw pad-mounted transformer.
The heating grid is divided into three individually controlled zones with
the control system similar to that used in Busch Stadium. The air thermostat is set
to allow heating below 45° to 50°F. The soil resistance bulbs were initially balanced to limit heating to when the 3-inch soil temperatures were below 45°. This
placement, while deep enough to prevent damage to the sensing elements, was too deep
and too close to the cables. Some crusting occurred. To eliminate this, the bridges
were reset in early December to allow heating when 3-inch soil temperatures were below 50°, and reset to about 55° just before the historic NFL championship game December 31.
The system is said to have cost $ 80,000. Some authorities say $ 100,000.
The best energy consumption estimate was one million kw hours per season. If the
average rate is from 1$ to 2$ for each kw hour, then the Packers' electric heating
bill could be $ 15,000.
By November 20, 1967, the practice fields had frozen and all practice was on
their heated stadium field. For the last regular league game on December 17, the
heated field was in good to excellent playing condition. At 7 a.m. Wednesday, December 27, the air temperature was -11°F. At 11 a.m. it was one above as practice
began. Yet, the playing surface was firm and unfrozen.
A field cover is used on cold nights and to keep rain and snow off the playing surface. Snow falls on the cover and is removed. The condensed moisture at the
turf surface under covers is a big unsolved problem.
Officially, 50,861 spectators were present at the December 31 NFL championship game. The air temperature was -13° and getting colder, and a 15 mph wind was
blowing. The field covering was removed between 9 and 10 a.m. The game began on
a damp, but thawed surface that began to crust in the fourth quarter. All but one
player wore cleats the entire game, which indicates that traction was still available.
In Conclusion
Proper, careful installation of a well-designed system is mandatory. Shallowly buried cables can cause many headaches. Trouble-shooting to find breaks is
very difficult and time-consuming. Groundskeepers must be careful or they will dig
or drive spikes through cables, necessitating expensive repairs.
The key to a successful commercial turf heating installation lies with management personnel. These people must develop an understanding for potential difficulties along with an understanding of the good to be gained through use of a system. The Busch Stadium field could not have been prepared for baseball without a
guaranteed frost-free field in mid-winter 1967, 1968 and 1969. And, three 1967
-100-

professional football games would have been skating matches except for supplementary electric heating at Green Bay.
Certain things must be recognized concerning turf heating. Poor drainage
will not be improved, bluegrass will not produce a hay crop, bluegrass can be
stressed by high temperatures, Zoysia will not become a darker-than-normal green,
snow may not melt as fast as it falls, additional fertilizing is necessary, and,
in general responses will be slow, as heat transfer and changes in life processes
are slow.
The use of coverings is critical and will be a lasting problem. Covers
slow heat loss; keep rain and snow off; help melt snow in the grass blade-zone;
slow evaporation from the surface; collect radiant energy which can cause damage
from excessive buildup of heat, and necessitate a large labor force. In general,
use covers as little as possible - for condensation causes slick, wet surfaces.
Special insulated covers, which reduce interface, could be very helpful.

UNDERSTANDING TURF DISEASES
Donald H. Scott, Extension Plant Pathologist,
Purdue University, Lafayette, Indiana
It is important for the Turf Manager to understand the cultural and environmental conditions that lead to disease development, the significance of symptoms in
order to diagnose a particular problem, and the proper control measure for each
disease problem. A few principles regarding the causal agents of plant diseases
and the symptoms of some of the common turfgrass diseases are First, plant diseases are a normal part of the biological check and balance system found in undisturbed nature. Thus, plant diseases often become increasingly important in Turf Management as the intensity of turf culture is increased. Some diseases are associated with the rapid death of an entire plant.
Others kill certain plant parts. Still others cause only a slight stunting.
In a broad senses, a plant is diseased when it fails to develop normally.
However, this definition is deficient becausejnormal growth and development are
relative terms. A plant makes its maximum growth and development when grown under
optimum environmental and cultural conditions.

Causes of Plant Diseases
Non-infectious diseases are caused mainly by improper growing conditions.
Non-infectious disease agents cannot be transmitted from affected to healthy
plants. Some causes of non-infectious diseases are:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.

Excessively high or low temperatures
Improper soil-water relationships
Injurious impurities in air, soil or water
Mineral deficiencies, excesses or imbalance
Improper oxygen relationships
Extreme alkalinity or acidity of growing medium
Improper balance of light
Plants grown out of ecological range
Mechanical damage
Lightning damage
Genetic factors

Infectious diseases are caused by parasitic agents, i.e., bacteria, fungi,
nematodes, mycoplasma-like organisms, viruses and flowering plants such as dodder.
The causal agent can be transmitted from diseased to healthy plants. The majority
of infectious turf diseases are caused by fungi. There are over 100 infectious
diseases that may affect grass plants.
Plant Disease Development
Development of an infectious plant disease results from the interaction of
three factors: the host, the pathogen and the environment. The host plant must be
susceptible. Inoculum of the pathogen must be disseminated to the susceptible host
in sufficient quantity. The proper environmental conditions affecting both the
host and pathogen must occur before and during the time the pathogen is in contact
with the host. The absence of any one of these factors will prevent disease development. The following drawing illustrates this phenomenon.

Host
/

/ Disease
Development' x
Pathogen —
—
Environment

Any disease control measure must protect the susceptible host, make the
host more resistant, eradicate or reduce the pathogen, or change the environment to
make the host more resistant or the pathogen less virulent. Plant parts affected
cannot be "cured" but developing new parts can be protected.
Environment and Disease Development
Environment influences the ability of a pathogen to perpetuate from one season to the next, the development of inoculum, the dissemination of inoculum, the infection process, and the development of disease after infection. Each pathogen has
its set of ideal environmental conditions. Environment may influence disease development by predisposing or "conditioning" a host plant. Each plant species, like
each pathogen, has its own set of ideal environmental conditions.
Soil-borne pathogens are more or less permanent soil inhabitants, and infection primarily occurs through portions of the plant that are at or below the soil
surface. Air-borne pathogens complete a large portion of their life cycle above
ground, and in relation to the aerial parts of the host. Some important environmental factors are:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Temperature of air and soil
Humidity of air
Frequency of rainfall
Amount of rainfall
Soil moisture
Soil pH
Soil type
Soil fertility
Micro-flora and micro-fauna of soil
Effect of Cultural Practices On The
Development of an Infectious Disease

Proper cultural practices may help to protect the host, eradicate the pathogen or reduce the severity of a disease.
1. Nutrition. Proper nutrition will help any grass to maintain its hghest
natural resistance to a pathogen. Nitrogen is the most important single element
for growth, but excessive use of it may increase the susceptibility of grass to
pathogenic organisms. This is especially true when nitrogen is high in relation to
potash and phosphorus. Research indicates that many variable exist between different elements and disease resistance. However, one trend remains clear - generally,
plants have their highest degree of resistance when nutrients are maintained in
balance.
2. Cutting. Grass mowed at the proper height has more resistance to disease than grass mowed too closely or allowed to grow too high. Scalped grass does
not have enough leaf surface to produce sufficient carbohydrates for the production of new leaves, roots or stolons. Excessively tall grass reduces air movement
and provides an excellent incubation chamber for pathogens. The removal of half or
more of the grass blade at one mowing may weaken plants.
3. Watering. Excessive watering causes poor soil aeration,and roots suffocate from a lack of oxygen. Poor surface or subsoil drainage causes similar problems, and increases the damage caused by over-watering. If grass blades, including
thatch, could be kept dry while maintaining sufficient water in the rootzone, foliar
diseases would be non-existant. Soil kept near the saturation point prevents normal root growth and favors growth of pathogenic organisms like pythium. Proper
water control is the single, biggest environmental and cultural factor in disease
control in turf.
4. Thatch. Pathogenic organisms thrive on the dying, dead and decaying
organic matter found in the thatch layer. Thatch absorbs excess moisture and acts
as an incubation chamber. With the removal of the thatch, the pathogens must compete with non-pathogenic bacteria, fungi and other organisms in the soil. Many
non-pathogenic organisms produce substances that are toxic to pathogens. The
antagonistic effects of these organisms reduces the inoculum potential of the
pathogenic organisms.
5. Injury. Careless use of pesticides and fertilizers, the improper use of
machinery, excessive traffic, or the removal of half or more of the grass blade at
one mowing may injure and weaken plants. Injured or weakened plants have less resistance to pathogens than healthy plants.
6. Promote rapid drying of leaf blades. Fungi, with the exception of the
powdery mildews, require free moisture on grass blades for 3 to 12 hours for infection to occur. Rapid drying of dew and guttated water is important for disease
control, especially on golf greens. Guttation fluids contain the amino acid glu-

tamine, which increases the virulence of certain fungi. Poling or brushing greens
may facillitate drying. Removal of trees, shrubs or brush from near greens may
aid in air circulation and drying. Problem greens are often improved by increased
air circulation.
Maintain proper soil conditions. A well-drained, fertile soil with proper fertilization, water and pH promotes healthy,vigorous plant growth. Healthy
vigorous growing plants are more resistant to most pathogenic organisms than
weakened plants.

Chemical Control of Infectious Diseases
Correct diagnosis of a disease is extremely important from the standpoint
of using the proper control measure. With most fungicides the disease organism is
killed or prevented from infecting the plant and producing disease.
The use of
turf fungicides on a preventive schedule, must be applied before the disease
strikes.
Follow the manufacturer's directions on the package label for rates, interval between applications, compatibility with other chemicals, grasses on which
the chemical may be used, etc.
High pressures are not necessary. It is much more important that the fungicide be applied evenly. It usually is best to use a multi-nozzle boom and apply
the chemical equally in two directions. The time interval between spray applications should vary with temperature, expected disease, grass condition, chemicals
used, and amount of rainfall or watering.
The spray interval may be short as only two or three days in hot, wet weather, or three weeks if the weather is cool and dry. Some furg icides give some
protection for a week or 10 days even when 4 to 6 inches of water has fallen as
rain, or been applied by sprinkler. Another chemical may last only two or three
days under similar conditions. The problem is complex and one that you have to
"feel out" for yourself, based on your knowledge of the chemical and its past performance, the turf involved, the past fungicide schedule, and a knowledge of the
factors that cause a particular disease to flare up. Only by keeping records can
you determine why a certain fungicide failed or did a good job. Fungicides cannot make up for poor Turf Management.
Every turf manager should specifically have a collection of bulletins,
leaflets and articles on turf diseases, both from Experiment Stations and industry. Then annually - or as reference - check this to keep informed.
One leaflet NC-12, Turf Diseases in the Midwest, is available.

WHAT1S NEW WITH BENTGRASS DISEASES
Malcolm C. Shurtleff, Dept. of Plant Pathology
University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois

Some of the exciting new developments concerning bentgrass diseases and
their control include:
1.

The stimulation of the growth of pathogenic fungi by the amino acid glutamine,
sugars and other nutrients secreted by the cut ends of bentgrass leaf blades.
Healy and Britton at Illinois found that Helminthosporium sorokinianum, the
cause of melting-out of bentgrass putting greens during hot weather, was stimulated by guttation fluids on the leaves to produce more germ tubes which
branched and formed multiple appressoria. The result: a tremendous increase
in fungal penetrations and the production of large lesions which quickly
girdled and killed the leaves. The increased severity of H. sorokinianum on
bentgrass during the summer is believed due in part to an increased glutamine
content in the guttation fluids. The glutamine stems from a more rapid release of nitrogen (from organic sources of application of soluble nitrogen).
Since glutamine occurs in guttation fluids only when too much soluble nitrogen
is present, the obvious control is to change fertilization practices to provide
only enough nitrogen for good growth of grass. Early morning removal of the
guttation droplets - preferably by syringing with water — should be a standard
practice.
The fungi causing brownpatch, Sclerotinia dollarspot and pythium diseases, as
well as Curvularia, are also known to be stimulated by guttation fluids.

2.

Two smuts are becoming prevalent on bentgrasses in the Midwest: stripe smut
caused by Ustilago striiformis, and flag smut caused by Urocystis agropyri.
Under the close mowing of a putting green or tee, both smuts produce identical
symptoms. Only by a microscopic examination of the black smut spores in the
ruptured leaves can you tell the two smuts apart. The teliospores of the
stripe smut fungus are single cells. Those of flag smut are "spore balls" consisting of one or two fertile cells surrounded by several empty cells.
It is not uncommon to find both smuts attacking the same turf area — even the
same bentgrass plant. This might explain some of the erratic control results
of the past. Smut-infected plants are readily killed by drought and high temperatures in the Midwest. The smut fungi survive in the crown of infected
plants and as spores in the soil, thatch, or on seed. New infections in bentgrass arise from smut spores in the soil infecting the lateral buds on crowns
and rhizome nodes of mature plants, thus giving rise to new smutted tillers and
rhizomes.
Smut on bentgrass is a much more serious and widespread disease than most people
realize. The large number of infected plants in putting greens is apparently
the result of the penetration of lateral buds and the spread of the smut fungi
from perennially-infected crowns. Frequent watering of greens and tees contributes to a buildup of smut since perennially-infected plants do not die in
hot, dry weather as, for example, in unwatered fairways or lawn-type turf.
Races of the smut fungi are known to exist so grass varieties resistant in one
locality may be susceptible in another. Promising control of smuts has been
obtained with systemic fungicides.

3•

The first effective systemic fungicide for turf diseases is now_ available.
This is Benlate orDuPont 1991.
Benlate is scheduled to be released later this year for use on turf and ornamentals. It will be marketed as a wettable powder containing 50% l-( butyl carbamoyl)
-2-benzimidazole carbamic acid, methyl ester. Benlate is a long-lasting, broadspectrum seed, soil and foliar fungicide that possesses excellent residual, curative and systemic properties. It also keeps mite eggs from hatching. Benlate
gives excellent, long-lasting control of Sclerotini_a dollarspo^ Rhizoctonia
brownpatch, stripe rust, smuts; Fusarium patch or pink snowmold and powdery mildew. Benlate, when applied several times to smut-infected bentgrass plots at
Urbana, Illinois, at 3 and 6 oz. per 1,000 sq.ft. in 50 gal. of water, has kept
smut from reappearing. It will be another year or more before we can tell
whether Benlate eradicated the smut fungi, or merely suppressed them. In adjacent -pi ts sprayed only with_water, smut is abundant. Britton also found in
greenhouse tests that Benlate kept bluegrass plants free of powdery mildew for
at least 3\ months when mixed with the soil at planting time, or sprayed over
the seed at the rate of 3 ozs. per 1,000 sq.ft.
In the future we can vision using Benlate, possibly in combination with chloroneb
(Demosan), Daconil 2787, Dyrene, Terrazole or Koban, or other fungicide, to give
control of all important bentgrass diseases. Instead of spraying on a weekly or
10-day protective schedule, perhaps fungicide(s) will be mixed with the topdressing or a slowly available fertilizer and be applied in the spring and fall
following aerification. Here is the area where we will be working at Illinois
in the years ahead.

4.

Pythium control. Pythium was damaging throughout much of the Midwest in 1968.
Where water could not be removed no fungicides would check it. The best we
can suggest is a#

k*

do everything possible to remove^quickly all excess^ surface and subsurface
water, i.e., rebuild problem greens for 3- or 4-way drainage, put in slit
trenches, add dry topdressing, prune or thin trees and shrubs to improve
air drainage, etc., and
apply a fungicide effective against Pythium. The best results have been
obtained from using Dexon, Terrazole (or Koban) and Demosan either
applied alone or mixed with Dyrene, Daconil 2787, Tersan 0M, Panogen
Turf Spray, or other mercury-containing fungicide.

Dexon (Chemagro) available for turf as a 33% wettable powder and as granules,
should be applied at dusk or at night since exposure to light results in loss
of fungicidal activity. When properly applied, Dexon may persist in soil for
many months.
Terrazole (Olin Mathieson) is a new soil fungicide being marketed as a 35$
wettable powder containing 5-ethoxy-3-trichloromethyl-l,2,4,-thiadiazole. It
gave the best control of Pythium in Oklahoma tests. At present there is no
label for turf. Mallinckrodt!s new product, Koban (MF-344) has the same active
ingredient as does Terrazole, and is registered for turf. We will hear much
more about Koban in the future.
Demosan (DuPont 1823) contains l,4-dichloro-2,5-dimethoxybenzene. It is available as a 65% wettable powder, a 10% dust and 10% granules. It has also
checked stripe smut in mature turf of Merion Kentucky bluegrass for several
months and gives excellent control of Typhula blight or gray snow mold.

Superintendents should experiment (in an out-of-the-way nursery) using fungicide
dusts or granules applied to wet grass to control Pythium. This would remove
some of the surface moisture needed by the fungus to spread and infect.
a high level of available calcium, based on a soil test, is another possibility of controlling Pythium. Couch and co-workers, in growth chamber
tests, found calcium to be the key element in keeping Pythium under control.

MANPOWER ON THE MOVE
Tom Sams, Supt., Audubon Country Club,
Louisville, Kentucky
With today's labor situation as it is, the proper utilization of manpower has
become a critical problem with the majority of Turf Managers. In order to effectively use what manpower we have, we must make the transition to mobility wherever
possible. Let's face it - trying to compete in today's labor market with private enterprise is almost impossible, so we have to resort to a more modern equipment inventory to offset this problem. We also must display a certain amount of ingenuity
wherever and whenever possible. In short, being a Turf Superintendent in today's
times requires a lot more than the knowledge of growing and maintaining fine turf.
Having ingenuity permits us to improvise on our everyday problems whenever we have
to; it also permits us to constantly improve on routine management. One question
that keeps popping up is, "How can we get better results from our employees?" "Is
what you are doing on your golf course with your manpower going to benefit me?"
When Louis Miller, Superintendent of Louisville Country Club, was asked
this question he commented - the answer to effective manpower utilization is not
the Superintendent trying to gear his operations to that of another superintendent,
but to adopt effective methods of efficiency that can fit his own situations. He
cites an example on his own course where he has a completely automatic watering system on his fairways, but he has to resort to watering his greens by hand because of
their age.
As antique as his greens watering program is, Louis has gone quite modern in
many other aspects of Turf Management. For example, he, along with Charles Oiler,
Superintendent of Standard Country Club in Louisville, have installed two-way radios
in their private vehicles as well as key vehicles that are used on the course.
Charles figures that the savings in time traveling around his course supervising his
personnel is about one-fourth.
Another example of manpower on the move is at Wildwood Country Club in
Louisville where George Littrell, Superintendent, has converted to spiking his
greens with a three-gang unit pulled behind a truckster. It wasn't too many years
ago that the thought of putting a truckster-type vehicle on a green made most superintendents shudder. With today's more sophisticated machinery, this is very commonplace - Superintendents are spiking, cutting and spraying greens with riding equipment.
There are times when the budget won't stretch to purchase a certain piece
of equipment, or maybe what you need isn't available. This is when we must display
our ingenuity, this is the time to improvise for without this faculty that most Turf
Managers are blessed with can you imagine how much more difficult our jobs would be!

MANPOWER ON THE MOVE
Robert V. Mitchell, Supt., Sunset Country Club
St.Louis, Missouri

Since the beginning of time, industry has been constantly mechanizing their
operation. The maintenance of golf courses has followed this same trend for essentially the same reasons - to make budgets stretch farther and buy better conditions.
But, we have an additional motive - the inability we're facing today of obtaining a
labor force.
One would probably be safe in saying that there is no job being done on golf
courses today the same way it was done 20, 10 or even 5 years ago. The use of maintenance vehicles is commonplace today, and only ten years ago very few were used.
You'll find this is true with all courses regardless of size of budgets. We've all
seen and used ideas of our own to make better use of the labor and equipment that we
have. I think it well to point out here, however, that seldom do we see and never
do we agree that changing a method of doing a job for speed alone is better, unless
the change produces a more satisfactory turf. I'd like to share with you a few
idea that I've seen used to solve a need on golf courses:
Use of a low "sled" — wooden platform on rounded skit boards - - pulled by
a tractor to carry tools and equipment from place to place. Hooked short it doesn't
tear up turf.
Construction of small, low, two-wheeled carts to carry greens mowers from
green to green to be pulled by "hand-me-down" electric golf carts when club purchased new carts. Bag cavities on carts are useful to carry miscellaneous tools to
do many jobs on the course.
Needing something for conveyance, one superintendent removed the cutting
units from a National mower, which served his purposes.
Another superintendent used a golf cart that wasn't busy to pull his sod
cutter and Greens-aire from job to job. (I caution the use of this idea on hilly
courses).
To hasten the raking of his 9^000 sq.ft. greens, one superintendent mounts
Del Monte rakes in an old set of fairway mower frames — removing the reels and
knives. Pulling this 3-gang rake outfit with a tractor keeps six green cutters busy
trying to catch up. This same fellow topdresses greens with a two-wheeled tractordrawn Rotary spreader equipped with terra tires. I found that the addition of calcined clay added to the topdressing makes it flow better and more evenly through
the spreader.
And, as you know, there are a great many superintendents using 2-way radios
to more effectively dispatch their labor force.
This topic, "Manpower on the Move" suggests to me not only methods and/or
innovations to better move men, but any item that better does a job, or does a job
faster with the same results that releases men to do other things.
1.

Effective safe method of hauling telephone poles - chain one end to tractor
and other end across a trailer.
2. Tiller rake effectively smooths and compacts new green for planting
3. Widening bridge to 20' enables crossing with 7-gang mowers without breaking
them down and thus saves many manhours.

4. Wetting agents will prohibit frost accumulation for a day or two for earlier
golf or early work on green.
5. Deep Verti-cut with some blades removed will adequately shred sod into stolons
for small areas.
6. Large areas to be stolonized can be accomplished with a manure spreader
7. Hay rake can effectively remove straw from Bermuda tees and nurseries in the
spring.
8. Automatic irrigation system reduces manpower for watering and for use elsewhere.
9. Drop-type spreader - tractor drawn quickly topdresses tees.
10. Same spreader can be used on greens and nurseries.
11. Drag matting with tractor saves labor effort
12. Where vehicles can't be used - this Park Special with 4 - 1 6 " street brooms
mounted in front does a splendid job of brushing-in topdressing.
13. 3-wheel vehicles speed fairway spraying by at least 1/3 over older types.
Boomless sprays even faster.
14. Four 3-wheeled vehicles ready to go cut greens - each contain whipping pole
for dew removal, greens mower, ramp board for loading and unloading, and a
box to hold clippings.
15. Tractors with 3-point hydraulic systems irakes use of carry -all rack to haul
materials and equipment inexpensively
16. Effective use of vehicles in all weather shows need for access roads or
trails. All golf cart paths should be 8' for equipment use.
These are just some ideas on how you can move manpower and accomplish more
with your resources.

IRRIGATION NCW AND THEN
Thomas J. Kramer, Kirchdorfer Irrigation, Inc.,
Louisville,Kentucky

Changes have occurred in turf irrigation for three closely related reasons:
technology, efficiency and economy. These criteria are used by manufacturers in
developing new products, by architects and engineers in analyzing system design, and
by turf managers in the selection of an irrigation system. The irrigation industry
is constantly working for more efficiency and better economy to help grow better
turf for less money and effort.
Efficiency is a method of rating the proportion of work produced to that
put in. In irrigation we use efficiency ratings to select pump plants, piping
systems, and water distribution patterns. Usually, the more efficient an irrigation system is, the lower the operating costs will be.
Under economy, on the other hand, we include the initial capital expenditure, plus the operating costs amortized over the system life expectancy to deduce
the cost per year to own and operate an irrigation system. An economical system
is one that will do the necessary job for the least amount of money and effort.
The history of turf irrigation has been one of rapid change. In many parts
of the country the concept of an irrigation system has changed from one of handwatering to one of fully automatic in less than two decades. This has occurred

because the public has demanded better turf areas for recreational use. Turf Managers have realized that to grow this quality turf they would be forced to exercise
more and more control over their watering practices, and thus fully automatic systems 1 : e gained prominence. Superintendents in all parts of the country are
realizing that to grow a better stand of turf the control available with automatic
irrigation is highly beneficial and at times necessary.
Automatic fairway irrigation systems here in the Midwest are of two basic
types; the first being the single row system with pop-up sprinklers spaced down
the center of the fairway. The second type, the multi-row, spaces the sprinklers
in a triangular or square pattern with two or three rows per fairway. Some of its
advantages are:
First, the multi-row system uses smaller sprinkler heads which we space in
a triangular pattern at between 60$ and 70$ of the diameter of the sprinkler, depending on local conditions. This gives us a precipitation rate on the order of
1/3" per hour. The precipitation rate of the larger heads: used in the single row
system is in the neighborhood of l/2n per hour. A lower precipitation rate can more
closely match the infiltration rate of most soils. We can obtain a more firm surface
condition, which reduces excessive structural breakdown, if we give the water an
opportunity to move through the soil profile at the same rate that it is being
taken in. We also lose less water to surface evaporation because the rate of evaporation is proportional to the degree of wetness at the surface. On slopes where
runoff will occur this lower rate also helps.
Secondly, the smaller heads will operate on less pressure than is required
with the larger units. We can actually use about 22$ less pressure with the multirow system. This can be converted into power costs, which results in a considerable savings. Another feature of the multi-row system is its tolerance to more
wind. This is a result of the triangular pattern used and again we conserve water.
Perhaps the most important feature of the multi-row system is its distribution efficiency - the uniformity of coverage that a sprinkler or group of sprinklers can attain. An effective method of measuring this efficiency was developed
by J. E. Christiansen and is called the Uniformity Coefficient. This rating will
vary according to nozzle size, pressure and pattern of sprinklers involved. The
multi-row system will carry a much higher coefficient than can be attained with
the single row system. Uniformity efficiencies of 90$ are common for the triangular pattern, whereas ratings of 75$ are the rule rather than the exception
with the single row design. Aside from these specific advantages, other features
are generally incorporated into the multi-row design.
Usually several sprinklers are grouped to one valve. The actual number will
vary from four to six, depending upon soil conditions and topographical considerations. This means that we use about one-fourth the number of valves needed for the
single row system. This also means we use less wire and fewer controller locations.
Generally it requires about 50 automatic valves for fairway use with the multi-row,
whereas a single row system will take about 200 valves. This results in less maintenance for the automatic portion of the system, such as valves, wire and controllers.
We may install these valves in the rough, rather than in the fairway. A
large valve box is used at each valve and thereby saves the digging necessary with
that of the direct buried valves. This also reduces maintenance costs. These are
just some of the advantages of the multi-row system. But, what about costs?
The cost of a multi-row system will generally be 5 - 10$ higher than an
equivalently engineered single row system. The actual figure will vary according
to the course layout. But, I feel this difference is justifiable when the efficiency and economy are considered. Better coverage pattern, better utilization of
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water, lower pumping costs, lower water costs, and less maintenance will contribute
to make the multi-row system help to grow better turf for less money and effort.
But, what can we expect in the future in the way of fairway irrigation? One
of the most exciting developments that I know of is the use of soil moisture measuring devices to determine the moisture content and, therefore, the available water
supply. This is then converted to control the irrigation cycle.
The problem of frequency of application has become pronounced in the advent
of automatic irrigation. Before automatic irrigation it wasn't feasible to produce
exacting water rates, and we were lucky in some instances if the night watering man
make it through the entire system at all.
The exact amount of water used will vary according to the evapotranspiration rate, species grown, soil structure, and management program. This can be determined manually with tensiometers or resistance blocks, but it generally isn't
feasible for large scale turf areas such as golf courses. So, it is left to the
Superintendent to eiths? take a calculated risk and apply the exact amount of water,
or to over-water, and the latter is what usually occurs.
Automatic soil moisture control has been used for small turf areas for some
time now. Experiments on the west coast by (Wayne Morgan and others) have shown
considerable savings in water and pump costs, with a resultant of better quality
turf. This is because an ideal soil-water-air relationship is established when
there is neither too much nor too little water.
We first became interested in this idea several years ago for fairway use,
and after looking at various methods we chose the resistance method with one sensing unit for each automatic valve. We found that the multi-row system is ideally
suited to the moisture control idea because of its even distribution patterns, and
because there are about 50 valves on a fairway system and this means fewer sensing
units. This is what makes the idea feasible for large scale use in the Midwest.
After building our own controller we installed the. e; \em on Danville Country Club's #9 and #10 fairways, but did not get to use it enough last year to gain
any important information. But, I look forward to reporting in the future on its
development. This concept will eventually become practical for use on any automatic system, and it will provide control that cannot be matched by the present
"guess method." I believe also that besides its efficiency it will in many cases
save a considerable amount of money and be very economical.
These are just two items in an industry that is growing by leaps and bounds.
But, before you jump on any bandwagon remember that changes and innovations should
be both economical and efficient if they are to be justified. It is up to you as
architects and turf managers to choose a aystem that will do the best job.

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