And heed examples pioneers have
This NEWSLETTER is published
made;
monthly by the Greenkeepers Club of
New England, and sent free to its mem- If you expect the sun to rise tomorrow;
If you are sure that somewhere skies
bers and their Greens' Chairmen. Subare blue—
scription price ten cents a copy, or a
Wake up and pack away the futile
dollar a year.
sorrow
GUY C. WEST
Editor
For better days are largely up to
312 Mt. P l e a s a n t St., Fall River, Mass.
YOU!"
MARSTON BURNETT Business Mgr.
—Author Unknown.
W y a n t e n u c k G. C., G r e a t B a r r i n g t o n , Mass.

January, 1933

Vol. 5, No. 1
"IF"

("If" Kipling Had Written It
Like This!)
"If you can see what some folk call
'depression'
As nothing but a spin of Fortune's
wheel;
If you can keep your poise and selfpossession
No matter what you think or how
you feel;
If you can view a stupid situation
All cluttered up with 'ifs' and 'aws'
and 'buts'
And take it at its proper valuation—
A challenge to your common sense
and 'guts';
If you can rise above the mess and
muddle,
If you can glimpse a rainbow through
the clouds
When Doubt and Dread and Fear are
in a huddle
And hope is being measured for a
shroud;
If you can keep a saving sense of humor
For stories that are slightly inexact;
If you can disregard Report and Rumor,
And not accept a statement as a fact;
If you can spread the gospel of successes,
If you can stir the spirit that instills
The latent life in lathes and looms and
presses
And lift the stream above a thousand mills;
If, briefly you can spend an extra dollar;
If you can pry the sacred Roll apart
And buy another shirt or shoe or collar
And act as if it didn't break your
heart;
If you have faith in those with whom
you labor,
And trust in those with whom you
make a trade;
If you believe in friend and next door
neighbor

ANNUAL

MEETING

The Annual Meeting was held at the
Hotel Statler, Boston, on January 9th.
During and following the banquet an
entertainment was presented in charge
of Alec Steele, with C. C. Marble, banjo, Perley Archambeau, accordian, and
Louis Moore, Magician, keeping the
members in good humor.
Mr. Herbert Jaques, newly elected
President of the U. S. G. A. sent regrets at his inability to be present—•
owing to illness. Mr. Charles Cross,
President of the Mass. Golf Association,
and an Honorary member of the Greenkeepers Club for several years, was
present, and spoke briefly of the cooperation which now existed between
the Mass. Golf Assoc. and the Greenkeepers Club. Mr. Cross called attention to a meeting which is to be held
in February at the Braeburn C. C. for
greenkeepers and green chairmen. He
said that he had felt for a long time
that the greenkeepers were the logical
men to be advanced to Superintendents,
as no one can save more money or make
a dollar go further than the greenkeeper.
The reports of the various officers
and committees were presented, and
show the club to be in flourishing condition despite the depression.
Steve Hannon, Winthrop G. C., Walter Howe, Wellesley C. C., and Leslie
Wildgust, Winchester C. C. were
elected to membership.
Officers elected for 1933 are as follows :
President, James McCormack; 1st V.
Pres., Guy West; 2nd V. Pres., Howard
Farrant; 3rd V. Pres., James Sullivan;
Secretary, C. W. Parker; Treasurer,
Frank H. Wilson, Jr.; Trustee for 3
yrs., Ted Swanson; Entertainment Committee, R. A. Mitchell, Chairman,
Edwin Hansen, Paul Wanberg, Martin
Green, Joseph Oldfield; Golf Committee,
Paul F. Hayden, Chr., John Shanahan,
H. B. Cottelle, Tom Galvin, E. A.

Masciocchi; Membership Committee,
John S. Latvis, Chr., George Volmer,
E. B. Lord, Lawrence Hay, O. L. Wendell; Auditing Committee, A. E. Anderson, P. Cassidy.
PRESIDENT'S

REPORT

Gentlemen :
I am pleased to report that our club
continues to grow. During 1932 we increased our membership about 20 %
and our treasurer's report will show
that we closed the year in good financial condition.
What is more satisfactory, however,
was the interest taken by the members
in the affairs of the club, as was shown
by the attendance at our monthly meetings and the good fellowship which prevailed.
The indoor meetings were verv instructive, as our Committee provided us
with speakers well qualified to talk on
their different subjects pertaining to
Golf Course Maintenance.
The outdoor meetings proved very
popular and were much enjoyed. I cannot estimate the great benefit derived
from these meetings while playing
around the different courses in observing conditions and methods of maintenance, looking over the equipment
and discussing the different problems
with our fellow greenkeepers.
Continuing our policy of cooperation
we held a meeting on October 3rd at
the Bear Hill Golf Club, each greenkeeper invited his professional, and a
Best Ball Tournament was held. This
proved to be one of our most successful
outdoor meetings. There were about
ninety greenkeepers and professionals
who took part in this tournament and
it was the general opinion that this
should be an annual affair.
We are receiving splendid support
from the Greens Committee Chairmen
in our district. They are showing mu^h
interest in the work which our club is
doing and many of them attend our
meetings.
Three of our members have served
during the past year on the Service Section Committee of the Massachusetts
Golf Association and Mr. Cross, the new
President* of that Association, has reappointed those men to that committee
for another, year. We appreciate the
help which'our members have received
from the Massachusetts Golf Association
not only in information on seed, ferti-

lizer and the various problems in the
maintenance of our courses but in the
better understanding which has been
developed between the Greens Committee members and the greenkeeper.
At a recent meeting of your directors
it was voted to join with the Massachusetts Golf Association in a meeting to
be held some time in February to discuss the future of golf clubs in our
district.
Continuing our interest in the State
College we again donated $50.00 to that
institution for further experimental
work with golf grasses. We hope to
have a report on this work at one of
our meetings in the near future.
In conclusion I wish to express my
thanks to the officers for the fine work
which they have done during the past
year; in particular, the Secretary,
Treasurer and the Editor of the Newsletter who were so efficient in carrying
out their duties. In fact, all of the officers have cooperated 100% for the best
interest of the club and to each and
every member I wish to express my appreciation for the splendid support
which you have given me throughout
the year.
Respectfully submitted,
James McCormack, Pres.
SECRETARY'S

REPORT

Mr. President and Members of the
Greenkeepers Club of New England:
In submitting my first annual report
as your Secretary I am reminded of a
favorite remark of my Chairman:
"A report is usually the sound of
something that has already happened."
Your club has held the usual number
of monthly meetings this past year.
Starting with the annual meeting in
January, the three following meetings
were taken up with speakers.
Mr. Talbot C. Chase, then President
of the Massachusetts Golf Association,
and Mr. C. Adrian Sawyer, Jr., Chairman of the Greens Committee of Braeburn C. C. each spoke interestingly and
gave us much of value.
Dr. J. L. Horsfall and Mr. H. E.
Bailey of the American Cyanimid Co.,
spoke and lead discussions on Brown
Patch fungicides and also fertilizers.
Also at this particu ar meeting, Mr.
Kenneth Welton of the United States
Golf Association Greens Section spoke
upon and demonstrated soil textures
suitable for top soils for greens.
1

The last indoor meeting had Mr. 0.
J. Noer of the Milwaukee Sewage Commission for the speaker. As usual he
had several interesting and valuable
points for our consideration.
The Golf Meetings for the year were
held at the following Clubs: Woodland
Golf Club, Oyster Harbors Club, Tedesco Club, Wannamoisett Golf Club, Braeburn Country Club, Bear Hill Golf Club,
and Commonwealth Country Club.
For the December meeting we returned indoors for a joint meeting with
the R. I. Greenkeepers Club at the
Narragansett Hotel in Providence, R. I.
At this meeting we heard Dean G. E.
Adams, Prof H. P. A. North and Dr.
T. E. Odland tell of the work they are
doing at the Rhode Island State College
on golf turf, and we were also given an
outline of the Short Course for Greenkeepers to be given at that College this
Winter.
To return to the Golf meetings. It
is interesting to note that three golf
courses never visited before were
opened to your Club. These were:—
Oyster Harbors Club, Tedesco Club, and
Commonwealth Country Club.
Special mention must be made of the
Bear Hill meeting. This was the first
Greenkeeper-Professional Best Ball
Tournament ever held under the auspices of your Club. This meeting was
received with enthusiasm on all sides
and there is every reason to believe that
it will be an annual event sponsored
by the Greenkeepers Club of New England.
In February the Greenkeepers Club
of New England had a booth in the
Golf section of the Sportman's Show
at Mechanics Building where attractive
signs called attention to your Club and
to the scope and importance of greenkeeping in the golf world.
Every year since your Secretary has
been a member of this Club there have
been definite progressive steps made.
1932 has been no exception. The meetings have been on the same high plane
of previous years and there are two
very definite high lights of progress
which if not called to your attention
would be seriously slighting the hard
conscientious work which your Officers
and Board of Directors are doing at
all t:mes.
The first point is the GreenkeeperProfessional Tournament already reported on. The idea came from one of
your Directors and the subsequent successful execution has clearly placed the
Greenkeepers in the position of open

minded co-operation with the golf professionals, and cannot but reflect credit
to the Greenkeepers Club of New England.
The last point which I present for
your information is, that in a year
which will be remembered more for its
retrenchments than expansion your Club
has lost only three members and has
elected sixteen new members. What
more is needed to demonstrate the appreciation of the value of this Club by
the greenkeepers of New England than
these same figures, only three members
lost and sixteen new members elected
in 1932.
Respectfully submitted,
Charles Parker, Sec.
EDITOR'S

REPORT

Mr. President, and Members of the
Greenkeepers Club of New England:
It is with pleasure that we submit
our fourth annual report as Editor of
the NEWSLETTER.
We have published twelve issues this
past year, for the first six months these
issues were of twelve pages. Lack of
enough advertising to pay for publishing twelve pages compelled us to reduce
the size to eight pages for the last six
months. The size of the NEWSLETTER
for 1933 depends upon the amount of
advertising secured, and the amount of
news matter received.
We have endeavored during the year
to keep this little magazine your paper,
to give it an intimate touch, so that
those members who are unable to be
present at many meetings will feel that
they are in touch with their club. We
believe that we have presented during
the year some material of real benefit
to our members. We have tried to make
the various issues interesting reading.
However, we have succeeded or failed
is largely due to your efforts, as well
as our own. Whether you have or have
not sent us articles, whether you have
or have not showed interest in the
NEWSLETTER, has governed to a large
extent the success or failure of your
paper. However, what is gone is gone.
We earnestly solicit at this time your
help and your interest for this coming
year and for the future.
We wish at this time to thank all who
have contributed articles this past year,
and all those who by suggestions and
interest have helped. We wish especially to thank our advertisers for
their support, as it is only through their
cooperation that we can publish this
NEWSLETTER without expense to the

\

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club. And we wish to thank the Directors, who have all during the year contributed generously of their time and
support.
Respectfully submitted,
Guy C. West,
Editor, NEWSLETTER.
SOME FACTS REGARDING
BENT GRASS
(Agrostis

canina)

VELVET

(Presented by Hyper-Humus Co.)
Velvet Bent is not a trade name for
bent grass, but is the name of an entirely distinct species. It produces a
much finer textured turf than any strain
of creeping bent, Seaside bent, Colonial
bent, Astoria bent, Rhode Island bent,
or other species of the bent grass group.
Velvet bent makes a profuse growth
of narrow basal leaves, thus producing
a dense turf of fine texture.
When Velvet bent seed contains 5%
or more of other bent species or strains,
the resulting turf is patchy and uneven
in texture because the fine leaved velvet does not blend with the relatively
coarse foliage of the other bents.
One of the most conservative seed
houses, noted for its high quality products and moderate prices, offers stolons
of Metropolitan creeping bent at the
price of $17.50 for enough stolons to
plant 1000 square feet. Two pounds of
pure Velvet bent seed will plant the
same area at considerably lower cost.
Velvet bent turf produces a root
system that is fully as extensive as that
of any other species of bent grass, according to root studies reported by the
New Jersey State Agricultural Ex:e-iment Station. In its native habitat, the
species occur on well drained soils thai
are inclined to be rather dry, rather
than on swampy or soggy soil. Verve;
bent will tolerate a limited supply of
moisture as well or better than related
species.
Velvet bent requires far less top
dressing to maintain a true surface, than
creeping bent produced from stolons or
from seed. With the high cost of preparing good top-dressing, and the large
amounts used in the course of a season,
the saving on this item from use of
Velvet bent is considerable. Velvet bent
requires even less top-dressing than any
strain of Colonial bent, or of German
mixed bent.
Velvet bent produces the toughest
and h a r d i e s t t u r f when fertilizer is used

sparingly. In fact, greenkeepers that
have propagated this species on their
own courses, state that it seems to thrive
on neglect of feeding. Excessive soil
acidity is undesirable for Velvet bent
as well as for other species of bent
grass, but the grass will flourish over a
wide range of soil conditions.
Velvet bent is a relatively inexpensive
putting green grass for the following
reason—
1. There are approximately ten million seeds to the pound, about twice as
many as for other species of bent grass.
The rate of seeding Velvet bent need
not be more than two pounds per 1000
square feet on properly prepared seed
beds. The cost of seeding Velvet bent
is far less than for planting creeping
bent from stolons.
2. No special care is required at the
time of planting. Simply use the ordinary precautions as for sowing other
small seeded grasses. No unusual attention, such as the careful covering
with screened soil and careful watering
needed by stolon plantings, need be
given to Velvet bent planted from seed.
3. Velvet bent requires less topdressing to maintain a true putting surface than any other grass used for putting greens in the United States. Stolon
bent greens will require at least twice
as much top-dressing as Velvet bent.
One of the most costly items in the
maintenance budget may be reduced to
a negligible figure by planting greens
to Velvet bent.
4. Velvet bent is hardy, persistent
and durable. It will hold its own against
the encroachment of weeds, Poa annua,
and clover as well as any other putting
green grass. Moreover, it is better able
to do so with limited feeding than other
bent grasses. Re-seeding and fertilizer
costs may be reduced to a minimum
with Velvet bent.
5. These great savings in costs are
not made at the expense of quality. Pure
Velvet bent produces the finest t u r f ever
developed on a golf course or similar
grassed area. Impure Velvet bent seed
containing 5% or more of other species
of bent grass will not produce a uniform smooth textured turf, but pure
Velvet bent will do so.
6. The production of pure Velvet
bent seed has been placed on a permanent basis in New Jersey with the assistance of the State Agricultural Experiment Station, and seed of the same
high quality as that now available will
be placed on the market year after year.

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The Buel Perforator perfects the putting
surface — saves in labor — water and top
dressing. A very important piece of equipment for maintenance of your greens, Include one in your budget for 1933,
- J . F. BUELPROSPECT ST. — WOBURN, MASS.

Noiv on the Market

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S P R E A D S above and below ground
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C O S T S less in q u a n t i t y r e q u i r e d to
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Write Us for Name of
Nearest Dealer

Everett Pyle of the Providence Municipal Course started the New Year right
by marrying Grace A. Perkins of
Greene, R. I. on Jan. 1st. Everett was
present at the Annual Meeting, but
started soon after for Florida with his
bride for a honeymoon.
Roland F. Robinson and wife celebrated their 35th wedding anniversary
on the 10th. Robbie has recently bought
a house in Oaklawn, and is busy these
days remodelling it in the style of the
Cape Cod Cottage.
The Entertainment Committee expect to have Prof. Lawrence Dickinson
as a speaker for a meeting soon.
Dues are payable now. Send checks
t o t h e T r e a s u r e r , F r a n k H. W i l s o n , Jr.,
C h a r l e s R i v e r C o u n t r y Club, N e w t o n
Centre, Mass.

Tom Grady of the R. I. C. C. is spending the winter in Ireland, arriving there
on Christmas Eve.
Ort. Wendell is in Florida for the
winter, playing all the golf he can.
Pretty soft—Ort!

Budgets
The preparation of a budget, especially during- tnese years of reduced
income, is truly a real task.
Every piece of equipment should be carefully checked and its probable
span of life estimated. Then reserves and appropriations can be set-up
to replace it, thereby distributing the cost over a period of years.
Every small tool should receive a similar analysis, and its replacement made on a methodical basis.
Every pound of seed, fertilizer, chemicals and other odd items should
be properly allocated with regard to the needs of 1933.
After every item has been tabulated, place your business with the
dealers in advance of your needs. This permits them to purchase against
orders, reduces their need of heavy stocks at critical periods, and thereby
reduces their costs of operation which affect their profits and the ultimate
price to all consumers.
Every Manufacturer of Golf Equipment, Supplies, Fertilizer, Accessories, and Seed Importers is anxious to know the needs of his dealers
so that he too may anticipate the needs in time for delivery promises.
Your decisions to order early, even though later delivery is desired, will
help move all industry connected into action, and permit application of
idle capital, and place more men at work. This is truly a National problem
and you stand in an excellent position to render a real service to humanity
by acting promptly with early decisions.
We believe that most price changes for 1&3-3 have been announced
to the dealers and that orders can now be safely placed. Reduced stocks
throughout the country may retard delivery to some extent but this will
effect only the late buyers.
Dealer stocks are being increased steadily and should be ready for
your deliveries, and most certainly so for the customer who has anticipated his needs.
We invite your inquiries and pledge ourselves to the best service,
highest quality and lowest prices in line with sound business policies. No
order is too small nor too large to be neglected nor appreciated by our
entire organization.

NEW ENGLAND TORO COMPANY
112! Washington Street
WEST NEWTON—New North 7900—M A S S