KEWg

September, 1930.

H B W E E

Vol. 2, No. 9.

"Doubt whom you will, but never yourself."

—Bovee.

DELAY means LOSS, putting off replacement of obsolete
machinery and equipment is like standing at the window and feeding
money to the wind." "MODERNIZE and SAVE, do you realize that
the saving's effected through replacement of obsolete or worn out
equipment can be made to pay the bill?" These two quotations from
the September issue of "Credit Where Credit is Due" can very easily
and profitably be applied to golf course maintainence. How many
courses there are that are struggling along with machinery which
is so far gone that the operator must take half his time to repair it!
How many times do we hear that—"We'll have to make this machine
last another year"!
Greenkeepers are often lax in laying their needs before their
green committees, but they should not hesitate to inform their committees as to their every need for efficient maintainence. Then a
longtime program for replacement can be undertaken, if it is impossible to buy all necessary items during one year. By buying the
absolutely necessary replacements yearly, and looking ahead four
or five years and figuring as to what will be bought in those years,
a club can in a very few years be well-equipped.
Such a program to fully equip a club should also be accompanied
by a program of keeping all equipment bought in good shape, with
all worn-out parts replaced and all necessary repairs made as soon
as needed.
We would like to see all clubs have the equipment they need,
and we would like to see a stop made to the practice some clubs
seem to have of buying every new idea which is brought out. Much
of this is due to green committee chairmen buying without consulting
their greenkeepers, and some vice versa. The need for any equipment should govern whether or not it is to be purchased.

This N E W S L E T T E R is published
monthly by the Greenkeepers Club of
New England, and sent free to its members and their Greens' Chairmen. Subscription price ten cents a copy, or a
dollar a year.
GUY C. W E S T
Editor
312 Mt. Pleasant St., Fall River, Mass.

MARSTON B U R N E T T

Business Mgr.

September, 1930.

Vol. 2, No. 9.

330 Walthara St., West Newton, Mass." -

PROGRESS AT MARSHFIELD
A little more than eight years ago
an organization known as the Marshfteld Country Club, Inc. was perfected
for the purpose of operating and maintaining buildings and grounds suitable
for playing golf and other games, and
to furnish facilities and equipment for
the athletic and social activities of a
country club, and generally, to do anything necessary to carry out these purposes.
This organization became a reality on
September 15, 1921. The capital stock
at that time was $20,000, and had been
purchased by residents in and near the
Town of Marshfield. The following
year the Country Club became a reality,
and on August 5, 1922 the golf course
was formally opened with ceremonies
to feature the occasion. The first ball
was driven by the president of the Club,
the late Daniel M. Frye of Somerville,
Mass., and as a souvenir of the occasion
the driver he used, as well as the ball
which was driven from No. 1 tee, are
now hanging on the walls of the clubhouse.
Since that time the Club has grown
steadily and prosperously, until the year
1929 when it reached the zenith of success. In the interim, improvements have
been made annually to the property;
the grounds have been beautified, a new
entrance has been recently completed;
and because of the growing interest^ in
golf and the attractiveness of the nine
hole course now in use, the Board of
Directors became aware of the fact that
an additional nine holes were needed.
A f t e r a re-survey of the property
owned by the corporation, by Architect
Wayne E. Stiles, it was discovered that
in order to build another nine hole
course, in addition to the present nine
holes, and yet retain the same sporty
layout, that additional land must be

procured. This was done late last Fall,
and at present about 125 acres are
owned by the corporation.
Immediately, plans and specifications
were drawn and work started with the
idea of building nine new holes, which
will give the Marshfield Country Club,
when finished, eighteen of the snappiest,
sportiest and prettiest holes for golf in
Southeastern Massachusetts. While it 'is
not expected that the construction of
the new nine holes will be completed
much before Fall, yet stock has been
sold in sufficient quantity to nearly pay
for the completion of the work.
The progress which has been made by
this Club is very unique. The little
handful of men who started the project
agreed among themselves that they
would build only as they could pay for
the construction. This policy has been
persistently carried out and has resulted
in the Club operating on a profitable
basis each year; such profits as have
been made having been turned back
into the property in the way of improvements. Neither the Corporation or
the Club is in debt for other than current bills.
The stockholders have always received annual dividends of 6 per cent
ever since the Club was inaugurated.
It is known that because of the foresight of those interested in its early
days, that it has brought to Marshfield
many residents which would otherwise
have located elsewhere; and with the
additional nine holes, making it a regulation 18 hole course, without any question it will still continue to bring a desirable element into this section.
It is the endeavor of those in
authority that the same policies will be
carried on, namely; to continually improve and beautify the property, as well
as increase the social activities of the
Town of Marshfield and its environments. The Town of Marshfield is most
fortunate in having such a wide-awake
organization in its midst.
M. D. Maxwell.
GERMINATION
In supplement to a previous article
on Soils and Sub-Soils, we got the Soil
prepared for grass seed. I now want
to say a few words regarding germination.
When grass seeds are moistened with
water the shell begins to absorb mois-

ture and becomes soft. When the moisture reaches the food material within
the husk it begins to change gradually
and germination starts, provided that
the three necessary conditions for
growth are fulfilled. The conditions are
Warmth, Moisture and Air.
Some of the Carbon in the food reserve begins to burst with the assistance
of the oxygen which the seed absorbs
from the air. Warmth and the giving
off of charcoal fumes or carbonic acid
are the outward results. When the food
of the seedling is made liqujd it is
ready for immediate use and nourished
by the stimulating food this inner particle or embryo begins to grow and
eventually breaks forth from the shell
a perfect little individual, capable and
strong and likely to increase in strength.
The amount of moisture required by
a seed is very little and when the shell
has once become thoroughly saturated
very little moisture is then needed to
complete the process of germination.
The prevalent idea seems to be that you
must keep flooding it with water which
in my opinion actually drowns or chokes
to death any life that may be there.
When sowing grass seeds aim at a uniformly damp and porous soil or seed
bed. I want to lay stress on this word
"porous" because a close sticky wet
surface only dries into a hard cake,
which is injurious and in certain cases
fatal to growing seeds, for oxygen is
the chief material absorbed by seeds
during growth and the carbonic acid
gas which is really the life breath of
the seed and is produced by the burning of the food material in the oxygen
gas, is very fatal to the growth of
the embryo if it is once prevented from
escaping by a hard and caked surface
of mud.
Lastly, in dealing with grass seeds
always remember that a young seedling
is fully provided by nature with food,
thus do not sow too thickly and not too
deep, give it a chance to come through
the soil after germination. But first
and last, buy a good seed; cheap seed
does not pay as you are then only buying chaff. If it is worth trying to sow
a plot of ground it is worth doing well
and putting in the best seed. Insist on
a purity guarantee always, and any
good firm will give you this. After the
grass has grown to about three inches
either cut with a scythe or high wheel
mower; said mower must be sharp and
set high.
I trust that from these rambling

statements you may derive a little something both helpful and interesting.
Bill Lindsay, Greenskeeper,
Manchester Country Club,
Manchester, N. H.
HUMUS AND PEAT
The use of various forms of humus
and peat is being emphasized more and
more in golf course maintenence. Many
are the forms in which peat and humus
are offered commercially. Mostly, however, nowadays, these substances are
not advertised as fertilizers, or as containing any of the essential plant food
elements in quantity. They are offered
as aids to increase the water-holding
capacity of a sandy soil, and to lighten
a clay soil—to improve the textures of
soils generally—p "! for these purposes
they are often efficient.
The use of humus and peat as a base
for commercial fertilizers, or as a carrier for certain forms of manure is in
many cases to be commended. Several
commercial fertilizers are being offered
at the present time which contain a
certain amount of some form of humus
or peat, and doubtless they are better
with this filler than they would be with
so much sand as filler, as are some
other fertilizers.
The fact that oftentimes golf courses
have been built because of certain topographical features and with disregard
for soil conditions, necessitates in these
cases radical work to make sod where
needed. Many times soils can be materially benefited by working in humus
or peat before seeding. Where turf is
established, a topdressing is often helpful.
In most cases, and with most of the
commercial forms offered, composting
with soil, if it is to be applied to a
sandy soil, and with soil and sand, if it
is to be applied to a clay soil, is better
than using the material alone. There
are some substances offered which can
be applied directly. Any greenkeeper
who desires to try any such material
would do well to try a small amount on
a section of a fairway, and note results, before buying a large quantity.
Then too, he can see by a trial whether
it would be better to compost the material before using it.
Fairway topdressing is of especial importance this year because of the dry
1-

(continued on "page 6)

WORTHINGTON
MOWER
COMPANY

PENNSYLVANIA
LAWN MOWERS

Fairway Quint or Trio for fairways
and rough. Super Roller and New
Aristocrat for greens.

STROUDSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA

NEW ENGLAND
Representative—

E. R. SAWTELLE
ONE STATE STREET
BOSTON
Telephone Hubbard 2424

JOHN J. NYHAN
Distributor
122 Cypress St., Brookline, Mass.
Pennsylvania Lawn Mower Works
Established 1877
Philadelphia

SEPTEMBER MEETING
OCTOBER MEETING
The monthly meeting- of the GreenThe October meeting of the Greenkeepers Club of New England was held keepers Club of N. E. will be held at
at Stoney Brae Country Club, Wollas- the Braeburn Country Club, Wednesday,
ton, Mass., September 2 with 28 mem- October 8. 8 prizes. Tournament to
bers present. An 18 hole medal handi- be played in the morning, lunch later.
cap tournament was held. Mr. W. B. The two low medallists in the morning
Anthony won the guest prize.
will play match play in the afternoon
to decide championship. 4 net and 2
The winners were as follows:
gross prizes will be engraved silver
1st low gross, R. W. Peckham 77.
There will also be a special
1st low net, Thomas O'Leary, 91-27- trophies._
guest prize and a special prize for mem64.
bers over 60 years of age.
2nd low net, Guy West 86-18-68.
Note that date of meeting on card
3rd low net, John Riley, 87-18-69.
sent by Secretary was wrong.
Best selected net 12
1st, J. J. Fitzpatrick, 46.
Meeting is Wednesday the 8th.
2nd, Thomas Pahey, 46.
Clifton E. Sowerby.
1st net 9, John Counsell, 32.
2nd net 9, W. S. Lindsay, 33.
Low gross scores: Peckham 77, Fitzpatrick 79, T. Fahey 81, Jas. McCorSPACE IS OPEN TO ADVERmack 82, Howard Farrant 86, John
TISERS. FOR RATES WRITE TO
Riley 87, W. S. Lindsay 85, Guy West
BUSINESS MANAGER
86, Martin Green 88, H. A. Mosher 90,
Tom O'Leary 91, John Latvis 96, Paul
Hayden 94, H. B. Cottelle 98, P. Tameo
97, John McDonough 99, James Sullivan 93, Ed Hanson 98, Joe Sheriden 95.
330 WALTHAM STREET
Clifton E. Sowerby.
WEST NEWTON, MASS.

Newsletter

DEL MONTE GREENS RAKE
This is a perfect tool for lifting the
runners and matted stolon greens.
Aerates the turf permitting sun-air
and fertilizer to work. Width 30".
Strong flexible steel teeth. Pressure
regulated by pressure applied to
handle.

lilt

T ' JtU

A .

J

^

Demonstration will be gladly given
on request. Price each $16.00 delivered.

NEW ENGLAND TORO CO.
NEWTON, MASS.

HOVEY & CO.
Specialists In

GOLF COURSE GRASSES
AND EQUIPMENT
SPRINKLERS
NuGreen and Semesan
Lark - Pelican
Double Rotary
Emerald Cord Rubber Hose
Sulphate of Ammonia (Koppers)
V. C. Fairway Fertilizer
Fancy Recleaned Grasses
Worthington Mowers
MacAndrews Green Seeder
When in the city visit our
showrooms in the shadow
of the Custom House.
150 MILK ST., BOSTON, MASS.
Tel. HANcock 1454 - 1455

//

Come-Putts
Reg. U. S. Pat. Off. — P a t e n t

//

Pending

I n c r e a s e the V i s i b i l i t y
of the H o l e on the o r e e n
W h i t e , waterproofed, paper composition rings, regulation size. Fit inside
top of hole, A mark to shoot at,
clearly visible thirty to forty feet
away.
A l r e a d y adopted as standard equipment by many nationally-known clubs.
Bounce-proof,- support turf around
ed ges of hole. Conform to the requirements of the U. S. G , A .

Write for further information

and prices

THE CHILTON CROCKER CO.
Park Square Bldg.
Boston

NACO

"A Golf Course Fertilizer"
Developed and recommended for the sole purpose of
growing better turf on Golf
courses, NACO is an all-organic, complete grass food fertilizer.
(New England Distributors)

Arthur B. Porter, Inc.
55 DEARBORN STREET
SALEM, MASS.
Tel. Salem 2317

(continued from page 3)'

seasons this year and last, and hence
more top dressing will probably be done
than normally. Therefore, it is essential
that every greenkeeper know what he is
using for topdressing. If he has a sufficient supply of compost—which is
humus in its best form—he will not
need to worry. Those who are forced
to buy humus or peat for top dressing
should use materials which have proven
successful to themselves or other greenkeepers under similar conditions.
The reason why all greenkeepers
should be wary of these commercial
peats is that the term "peat" has too
general a meaning. Some desirable
peats are organic, fibrous, and absorbant, others are undesirable, inorganic,
non-absorbant. If any greenkeeper can
find no other greenkeeper who can
recommend a new substance, he should
not buy in any quantity until he has
satisfied himself by actual experiment.
On many courses, humus and peat of
value may be found. Every greenkeeper should know the soil in the out
of the way places around his course.
Often material to help his compost piles
may be found. Many materials which
are poor for topdressing alone can be
used for compost, and are not expensive if found on club property.
We must remember that there is an
evident place for certain forms of
humus and peat in golf course j.naintainence, and we must be careful that
the materials that we use are the helpful ones—tried by experiment and
proven.
G. C. W.
BUSY AT THE R. I. COUNTRY CLUB
This has been an exceptionally dry
season at the Rhode Island Country
Club.
The pond at the right of number
eight green has dried up completely for
the first time in the history of the
course. This has given the "gang" and
myself a chance to get three hundred
yards of humus which has been unknown for a great many years.
We are going to do some construction
work this Fall, including the making of
ladies' tees at the second, third and
fourth holes, and a practice field at the
left of the eighteenth hole.
At present, we are seeding and loaming all the bare places on the fairways
and about the middle of November we

are going to fertilize each one all over.
The "fifty-cent" Brown Patch made
a call on several of the greens „his
month. This kind is more harmful and
harder to control than the large patches.
It is gone, but not forgotten, like a
bad friend.
Thomas J. Galvin,
Greenskeeper, Rhode Island
Country Club.
The Greenkeepers Club of Rhode
Island nxec with James Lawson at the
Misquamicut Country Club, Watch Hill,
R. I., on September 15. Following
lunch, a golf tournament was played for
prizes donated by Woodworth Bradley
of Providence. Low gross was won by
Wallace Peckham with a fine 77, low
net by Thomas Galvin with a 88-15-73,
and special prize for those over 50, by
Charles Mullaney. The next meeting of
the club will probably be held at the
Wanumetonemy Country Club.
Contract Maintamence for golf
courses made its debut in New England
this month when the firm of Woodworth Bradley took over the Pawtucket
Country Club at Pawtucket, R. I.
Herb Moran had an extra hazard at
Newport on the afternoon of Sept. 1st
when twelve mules from nearby Fort
Adams came visiting. Herb hasn't told
us how well they played!
Work is now underway at Charles
River on straightening the eighteenth
hole, placing the tee somewhat to the
rear of the seventeenth green, and removing the dog-leg feature of the present eighteenth.
Director Fred Sievers of the Massachusetts Experiment Station and Professor Lawrence S. Dickinson of the
Massachusetts Agricultural College
were visitors at several eastern Massachusetts clubs during; the last month.
Among the clubs visited were Kittansett, Fall River, Charles River, Woodland and Braeburn.
The best lawn we have seen this year
is the lawn at the residence of Frank
Robinson at Oaklawn, R. I. Mr. Robinson is the greenkeeper at the Cranston
Country Club, and states that he sowed
R. I. bent seed, and tries to use as much
fertilizer as is necessary!

ANY GOLF COURSE CAN OBTAIN
THE SAME RESULTS
from John E. Pierce,
Daytona Beach, Florida.
"Before placing this Colloidal
Phosphate on the lawn the St. Augustine grass didn't seem to run or
grow. At the present time I have one
of the finest lawns in town. This
was due entirely to a bag of Colloidal
Phosphate.
"Again I have seen remarkable
work done by this phosphate at the
Daytona Golf and Country Club. We
have played winter rules at this club
for four years owing to the poor condition of the fairways. Mr. Northen
has the course in the best condition
I have ever seen since applying a
coat of Colloidal Phosphate. In a
few weeks we can do away with
playing winter rules.
"I assure you that Colloidal Phosphate will give you results."
COLLOIDAL PHOSPHATE
SALES COMPANY OF
NEW ENGLAND
126 Newbury St.
Boston, Mass.

"QUALITY"

LAWNS, GOLF and
SPORT TURF

MATERIALS
American and Imported Grass
Seeds, Fertilizers, Manures, Chemicals, Fungicides, Soil Sponge, Imported Peat and Mowers.
80 CONGRESS STREET
BOSTON, MASS.
Telephone Liberty 6021
OUR

JACOBSEN
FOWER MOWERS
for
GREENS,
TEES,
APPROACHES
Catalog mailed on request.

BR ECK S

GOLF EQUIPT. SHOW ROOM
20 Lewis Wharf
RETAIL STORE
85 State St.

Boston, Mass.

BRAND

Seeds of the Highest
Quality Obtainable
Officially analyzed for purity and

germination and sold on that basis.
Distributors of

Victory Putting Green
Fertilizers
and a full line of "AA*" grades
of fertilizers

Thos.21SW.STATE
Emerson
Co.
STREET
BOSTON, MASS.
Telephone, HUBbard 0985

gEHaBsiaagim
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RECORDS

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With Bobby Jones, the French and German Flyers,
Capt. Hawks, Gar Wood and many others who are hanging up Worlds Records in the Golfing, Flying and Speed
Boat Realms, we have decided to publish a few of our
accomplishments.
We have built and designed this past year more
Golf Courses, we have sold more
Lark Sprinklers,
Jacobsen Power Putting Green Mowers,
Kopper's Sulphate of Ammonia,
Staude Mak-A-Tractors,
than any other organization in New England.
We did not do this alone any more than any of the
above. They had to have ground crews, so did we. Our
ground crew was composed of the Greenkeepers, so in
turn we want to say;
GENTLEMEN, WE THANK YOU.

HB
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Woodworth Bradley Woodworth Bradley Tractor Co.
Seedsman
Fordson Tractors
136 South Water St., Prov., R. I.—Phone Gaspee 9789
The Largest Golf Course Construction and Supply
House in New England.
Gerald Simonetti—Associate.

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