This NEWSLETTER 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. WEST
Editor
312 Mt. P l e a s a n t St., Fall River, Mass.

HOWARD D. FARRANT Business Mgr.
132 R u s s e t t Rd., W e s t Roxbury, Mass.

Vol. 5, No. 7

August, 1983

TEXTURES

A subject little thought about, but
always unconsciously in our thoughts
when we think of golf course management is t e x t u r e . Whether any grass or
strain of grass is of fine, medium or
coarse texture may be enough to condemn it, or to boost it, for the use to
which it may be put. Thus, we always
strive to keep grasses of coarse texture
from the putting greens. The reason
why the velvets are liked so much here
in New England is not only the habit
of growth, but is the fine texture,
added to their other good qualities.
Where a firm, compact, even sward
of grass is desired, such as on the putting green, the grasses or grass used
must be of a fine texture, to enable
them to knit together more closely, and
thus to compact the sward, making a
faster green than if coarser grasses
were used; for, in general, if other conditions are equal, the finer the grass,
the faster the green.
For a perfect green, the texture of
the whole green should be uniform, and
for a perfect course, all the greens must
be uniform. How often we have heard
golfers exclaim that one green was fast
and another was slow! Uniform greens
are gained by using the same kind or
strain of grass, and by the elimination
of all other grasses or weeds. If a green
consists of a few patches of bent, some
patches of turf heavily infested with
annual blue, pearlwort, etc., the rest a
miscellaneous mixture of red top, red
fescue, etc., the texture is far from
uniform, and a putted ball will not roll
evenly, and the results are many three
putt greens. The green is unfair to
the golfer, and forms one more "hazard"
for him to negotiate.
There is a possibility of a uniform
putting green derived from mixtures,
but the mixture must be even, and the

grasses must blend together in such a
way that they are woven firmly and
compactly. It is far more difficult, however, to establish and maintain uniform
putting greens, using a mixture, than
by using one grass or strain of grass,
so in general we should expect the best
results with one grass or one strain.
Weeds are objectionable in greens because they destroy the uniformity of
texture. The main objection to the
practice of plugging in plugs of bent
grown in the nursery is that these plugs
are seldom the same texture as the
greens. Where this practice is followed, it should be the rule that the
grass or strain used for plugging should
be of better quality and texture than
the grass on the green.
Very few of us can pride ourselves
that we have greens of uniform texture
and of uniform speed of putting. However, we should recognize the importance of t e x t u r e , and so control our
greenkeeping practices that we aim to
improve this quality with the ultimate
hope of having all our greens of even
texture and quality.
AUGUST MEETING
The August meeting was held at the
Belmont Springs Country Club on
August 7th. The morning was devoted
to a demonstration of the loam baker,
and a discussion on "Ants", this latter
led by the Chairman of the Entertainment Committee, Robert A. Mitchell.
In the afternoon an 18 hole medal
handicap tournament was held. This
was the first tournament held since the
Golf Committee has raised the handicaps so as to handicap from 72, and
with two classes. The results were:
Class

A

1st net, J. Oldfield—85-20-65.
2nd net, G. West—90-23-67.
3rd net, W. McBride—94-24-70.
4th net, J. McCormack—86-16-70.
Special prize, most 4s—E. Masciocchi.
Class B

1st net, P. Hayden—95-28-67.
2nd net, P. Cassidy—99-30-69.
3rd net, J. Sullivan—98-28-70.
4th net, T. Mattus—100-28-72.
Special prize, most 6s—L. Stott.

PLACING CUPS, AN ART
By W. E. Langton

Reprinted from—
The Pacific Greenkeeper
Of all the jobs done around a golf
course one of the most important is the
placing of putting green cups. In order
to do this it is necessary for the greenkeeper to have a very good idea of the
game of golf as well as an accurate
knowledge of turf conditions so that he
may place the hole to please the players
and not wear out the turf. It is perhaps
often true that too many greenkeepers
place the cup so that there will be least
wear upon the green regardless of the
benefit to players. However, the fact
remains that greens were made to be
played upon, and whether it is good
for turf or not should not make a particle of difference.
It must be admitted that play is harmful to greens, and the amount of play
that a course receives is directly proportional to the amount of harm done. The
best greens in at least Southern California seem to be those belonging to
clubs which have very little play owing
to a limited membership and few tournaments. The writer has seen some
very wonderful putting greens maintained at huge cost, but they should be
good when one considers the amount
of care bestowed upon them and the
use they receive. I wish it were possible to bring this fact to the attention
of all new chairmen of greens committees. Perhaps then not so many tournaments would be held, visitors allowed,
nor caddies permitted to play.
It used to be considered good
practice on the part of greenkeepers to divide their greens into nine
nearly equal portions. Thus if cups
were moved into a fresh portion every
three days, twenty - seven days would
elapse before any one place was used
over again. This gave quite a time for
turf to recuperate from the wear it had
received while a hole was in the vicinity. This idea was systematic, allowing
for perfect rotation, and, provided
greens were uniform both in growth and
quality, everything would have been
splendid. But the best laid plans o'
mice and men gang a f t agley and is
frequently the case with man's systems
in regard to nature. It was found that
grass does not always grow the same
nor produce the same results with the

same treatment. Thus one side of a
green may be bare of grass and the
other densely covered, comparatively
speaking.
So with this last factor in mind, the
best thing to do is to find the best piece
of turf on a fairly flat piece of ground
as far removed from where the hole was
last time and put the cup there. It
takes experience to find these positions,
so that the best available greensman
should be given the task and be kept
at this work permanently if possible.
Some time ago on a very well known
course an invitational tournament was
spoiled absolutely by poorly placed
cups. The members thought the course
was too easy so they had conceived the
brilliant idea of putting the cups in
almost impossible places in order to
make the going tough for the visitors.
Unfortunately the home players were
not used to this kind of thing and as a
result they saw all their expensive cups
and prizes being carried to other
courses, The club official who supervised
the placing of these holes is still
severely criticised by the players who
lost their matches.
If a greenkeeper knows his business
and has the interest of both players and
greens at heart he will try to satisfy
both considerations. At least it is the
height of folly for club officials who
have no knowledge of greenkeeping and
perhaps little more of golf to take it
upon themselves to place the cups on the
eve of a tournament. Why they frequently insist on doing this is hard to
fathom. Do they think the greenkeeper
is incapable, or do they think that such
an important task should not be sullied
by the touch of a working man? Or is
it because they wish to have a finger in
the pie and look important? There is
nothing more humiliating for a greenkeeper than to be told on the day before a tournament that Mr. Soandso
will designate the place for the cups. It
may mean that the greenkeeper who
has worked for the better part of a year
to get his course in shape for this one
event is robbed of this final touch which
would give him the thorough enjoyment
of a good job well done.
The Rhode Island Greenkeepers Association held its August meeting and
annual Clambake at the Barrington
Golf Club, Barrington, R. I. on August
17th. Over forty members and guests
were present.

BROWN PATCH AND SNOW

MOLD

by H. F. A. North—Rhode Island
Agricultural Exp. Station.
The turf of the putting green is attacked by many diseases some of which
have been studied rather intensively
during late years. Newly seeded lawns
are often subject to injury by some of
these diseases. Fortunately only a few
are serious in this section of New England. Usually the two which are most
serious are Large Brown Patch and
Small Brown Patch. Very briefly the
identification and control measures for
each will be given in the following.
Large Brown Patch

(Rhizocetonia solani)
Identification—The rapid wilting and
browning of the leaves in a definite and
dark margined area of turf is usually
caused by Large Brown Patch. The
spots often become as large or larger
than one square foot. The climate of
Rhode Islands seems to be favorable to
this disease during the hot, muggy
weather of July, August, and early
September. During this period Large
Brown Patch literally may come "overnight".
Control measures may involve—(1)
the growing of varieties of grass known
to be resistant (2) the use of mercury
chemicals and (3) the use of good cultural practices.
(1) Resistant varieties—In the experimental putting green plats Brown
Patch has been found but seldom in
the Creeping and Seaside creeping
bents, and rather frequently in the colonial bents. It is rather well known that
Washington Creeping Bent is markedly
resistant to Large Brown Patch. Kentucky Blue Grass has been found to be
immune thus far. Velvet bents vary
according to strain.
(2) Chemicals for control or prevention of Large Brown Patch—Practically all mercury compounds seem to be
effective in proportion to the actual
mercury contained. The organic mercury compounds are usually more expensive than the inorganic mercury
materials such as bichloride of mercury.
A mixture of two such inorganic compounds in the proportion of 1 part
bichloride of mercury (corrosive subli-

mate) finely ground to 2 parts of calomel has been much used with good results since 1927. The bichloride is effective quickly and the calomel has a
more lasting preventative action. There
are many commercial preparations
available and some of these contain approximately the mixture above. Two of
the well tested methods for controlling
the disease during an attack are as follows: The recommendations are for
1000 square feet of area.
M e t h o d of a p p l i c a t i o n

In a fine spray
Mixed with dry soil

Mercury mixture

1 oz. bichloride of mercury
2 oz. calomel
Same as above

Carrier

Water—10 gallons
Good agitation of spray liquid is
essential
1 pail of damp compost or finely
screened sand
C a u t i o n : These chemicals are poisonous. Spray equipment must be rinsed
since the mercury is highly corrosive.
In either application it is essential
that mixing be thorough and that an
even spread be made. Chemicals should
be watered-in rather soon after they
are spread. With the dry method it is
recommended that mixing be done the
day previous to application. After the
initial application, if the mercury mixture s to be used again within a week
or two the rate can be cut n half or even
a third so that 1 ounce of mercury per
1000 square feet is the dose rather than
3 ounces. With the power sprayer even
less may be used. Calomel is practically
insoluble in water which explains the
need for a device to well agitate the
spray liquid.
(3) Cultural methods which may be
expected to reduce Large Brown Patch
disease during the hot, humid weather
of July, August, and early September.
(a) Early morning watering, removal of dew, provision for circulation of air.
(b) Adequate drainage and aeration of the soil.

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(c) Neutralization of excessive rate of 3 ounces per 1000 square feet
should protect the turf until the next
acidity with limestone.
growing season.
(d) Sparing use of fertilizer during
(3) Cultural practices which may
these months.
be expected to reduce damage from
* * *
Snow Mold.
(a) No late fall fertilizing.
Small B r o w n Patch or Dollar Patch
(b) Removal of snow which falls
(Rhizoctonia species)
upon putting green before the
Identification—The usual symptoms
soil has become frozen. It
are the 1 or 2 inch definite areas which
should be taken off within a
wilt somewhat as with Large Brown
few days.
Patch. The disease is slower in develop(c)
Adequate
surface drainage.
ment than the Large Brown Patch, and
the spots remain small taking on a
REFERENCES
more bleached gray color. The turf may
Bulletins
of
the U. S. Golf Associabe completely killed in such areas. tion, Green Section.
Small Brown Patch may occur in either
Dickinson, L. S. A New Phase in the
warm or cool weather during the grow- Control
of Large Brown Patch. Nat.
ing season.
Greenkeeper, Vol. IV, No. 6, June, 1930.
Control Measures—(1)
Resistant
varieties—The Colonial Bents are
known to be highly resistant to Small
The next meeting will be held at the
Brown Patch. Considerable resistance
Bedford Country Club, New Bedis shown by Metropolitan Creeping New
Bent and certain strains of velvet bent ford, Mass. on September 11th.
but many of the strains of these two
species are susceptible.
The relatively large amount of rain
in August has certainly saved many
(2) Chemicals for control—The fairways
which had been browned and
treatments recommended for the conburnt by the drought of July.
trol of Large Brown Patch are just as badly
experienced plenty of
effective for Small Brown Patch and Most courses both
large and small,
the same procedure should be followed. brown-patch,
during August, as one result of the
We shall be pleased to have
(3) Cultural practices as outlined weather.
your experiences of this Summer for
for Large Brown Patch may be expected the
NEWSLETTER. How about letting
to reduce the prevalence of Small Brown us have
your story of how you have
Patch also.
gone through the Summer?
Snow Mold

(Fusarium nivale, etc.)
Snow Mold often is unnoticed until
spring when definitely margined areas
of turf may be found matted and apparently dead. The spots often have a
pinkish cast. Often large areas of turf
are killed by Snow Mold.
(1) The most susceptible varieties
have been those which belong to the
creeping bent species. It has been
found that seaside bent is susceptible.
(2) Mercury chemicals for control—The same method of use of mercury chemicals as recommended for
brown patch has also been found to
control Snow Mold. A late fall (October or November) application at the

Line up your pro for the greenkeeper-pro best ball tournament to take
place soon, probably the first Monday
in October.
We understand that golf clubs in
general do not come under the code,
not being operated for profit. We were
promised a statement along these lines,
but have not received it as yet.
Incidently, we have been promised
many another article. We realize that
all of our readers and members are
busy these days, but hope that with the
advent of cooler weather, and darker
evenings, we will receive more articles.
How about yours?

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No Price Change

o n M i l o r g a n i t e w i l l b e i s s u e d b e f o r e J a n u a r y 1, 1 9 3 4 .

Fall Fertilization of Fairways with Milorganite has gained in
Popularity resulting in better turf and sturdier root growth. It
stands the winter better. Milorganite lies dormant during the winter
and is all ready at the first sign of spring.

" S e p t e m b e r 22, 1932

C o m p l e t e A n a l y s i s of C o m p o s i t e S a m p l e of M i l o r g a n i t e
Representing

production

between

July

1, 1931, a n d J u n e

15, 1932,

Moisture
T o t a l Organic N i t r o g e n
E q u i v a l e n t to A m m o n i a
W a t e r Soluble N i t r o g e n
E q u i v a l e n t to A m m o n i a
W a t e r Insoluble N i t r o g e n
E q u i v a l e n t to A m m o n i a
Active W a t e r Insoluble Organic N i t r o g e n ( N e u t r a l
P e r m a n g a n a t e Method)
Availability of Active W a t e r Insoluble Organic N i t r o g e n
( N e u t r a l P e r m a n g a n a t e Method)
Active W a t e r Insoluble Organic N i t r o g e n (Alkaline
P e r m a n g a n a t e Method)
Availability of Active W a t e r Insoluble Organic N i t r o g e n
(Alkaline P e r m a n g a n a t e Method)
T o t a l P h o s p h o r i c Acid
C i t r a t e Insoluble P h o s p h o r i c Acid
Available P h o s p h o r i c Acid
Total P o t a s h Soluble in W a t e r
T o t a l P o t a s h (Replaceable)
Total P o t a s h (Available)
The

following

analyses were

supervision

of

Prof.

made
E.

University

by

Truog,
of

Dr.

N.

Soils

inclusive

A s Received
Per C e n t

3.80
6.25
7.58
0.63
0.75
5.62
6.83
4.87
86.70
3.50
62.30
2.98
0.63
2.35
0.45
0.30
0.75

J. V o l k

under

the

Department,

Wisconsin.
Per C e n t

Organic M a t t e r
Calcium (Ca), As Calcium Oxide (CaO)
M a g n e s i u m (Mg), a s M a g n e s i u m Oxide (MgO)
B a r i u m (Ba), a s B a r i u m Oxide (BaO)
P o t a s s i u m (K), a s P o t a s s i u m Oxide ( K 2 0 )
Sodium (Na), a s Sodium Oxide ( N a 2 0 )
Manganese ( I n ) , as Manganese Sulphate (MnS04.4H20)
Copper (Cu), a s Copper Sulphate (CuS04.5H20)
Iron (Fe), a s Iron Oxide (Fe203)
L e a d (PbJ, a s L e a d Oxide (PbO)
Zinc, (Zn), a s Zinc Oxide (ZnO)
T i t a n i u m (Ti), a s T i t a n i u m Oxide (Ti02)
A l u m i n u m (Al), a s A l u m i n u m Oxide (A1203)
C h r o m i u m (Cr), as Chromio Oxide (Cr203)
S u l p h u r (S), a s Sulphur Trioxide (S03)
Arsenic (As), a s Arsenic Trioxide (AS203)
Nickel (Ni), a s Nickel Oxide (NiO)
Cobalt (Co), a s Cobalt Oxide (CoO)
Boron (B), a s Boric Oxide (B203)
Iodine (I),
Distributed by

75.30
1.61
1.74
0.06
0.83
0.95
0.10
0.53
6.88
0.22
0.02
O.OS
3.10
0.21
2.79
0.015
Trace
Trace
Trace
Trace

Pounds
Per T o n

1506.0
32.2
34.S
1.2
16.6
19.0
2.0
10.6
137.6
4.4
0.4
1.6
62.0
4.2
55.8
0.3
Trace
Trace
Trace
Trace

NEW ENGLAND TORO COMPANY
WEST NEWTON, MASS.