New Jersey Golf Course Report

Vol. Il, No 2

March, 1969

The Spark

By James Smith, Sr.

The following is the complete text of 
Mr. Smith’s speech before the 40th An- 
niversary Banquet of the Rutgers Turf 
Short Course. Its printing here cannot 
possibly equal the heart-felt delivery, 
but at least perhaps we have captured 
the meaning.
Gentlemen:

To meet with you tonight is indeed a 
pleasure. To be asked in the role of 
elder associate, since elders are at the
present time very much in disfavor and 
likely to be downright boring, is dis- 
tinctly flattering. I shall try not to 
bore you.

Ralph has asked me to give my ver- 
sion of what sparked the movement 
which resulted in the establishment of 
the now popular and famous New Jer- 
sey Short Courses in Turf Management. 
Frankly, I do not feel that any sensa- 
tional specific occurrence set off the 
movement. True, Poa annua presented 
a periodic headache; uneducated use of 
nitrogen fertilizers caused job-losing 
calamities; epidemics of turf diseases 
left disasters which the greenskeepers 
could not explain. However, by them- 
selves, none of these problems, nor 
others like them, could have opened the 
door which separated the research and 
education side of the turf world from 
the professional turf production and 
maintenance side. Believe me, this 
door was a massive and imposing bar- 
rier. It was oaken in its hard-headed 
attitudes of self-sufficiency; studded 
with ignorance and intolerance; triple- 
barred with suspicion, mutual distrust, 
and bitter contempt; and completely 
successful in preventing communica- 
tion.

The key, in my opinion, which 
opened this door was “AWARENESS.” 
Please let me repeat — “AWARE- 
NESS.”

Golf, for years, had been a rich 
man’s game, and clubs, all private then, 
had been supported by annual contri- 
butions of a few board members who 
claimed, in return for their contribu- 
tions undisputed authority to run their 
clubs as they wished. This produced 
an autocratic atmosphere not at all con- 
ducive to progress. So long as a greens-
Continued overleaf

WELCOME BACK! This is the scene that greeted “Red” Williams two 
days after his return from the National Conference. All of the maintenance 
equipment and the entire barn at Homestead C.C. were destroyed. It is 
believed the fire started by ignition of gasoline fumes.

Spring — A Time to  
Assess Drainage
by A. Robert Mazur, Agronomist 

USGA Green Section, Eastern Region

As spring approaches, the thoughts 
of every superintendent turn toward 
the grooming of his course.

The normal situation in the North- 
east during the spring is the presence 
of plethoric amounts of moisture from 
rain as well as melting snows. This 
situation not only slows the soil warm- 
ing process, thus delaying the growth 
of the grass, but also prohibits normal 
maintenance operations. Wet soils 
footprint, rut and bog down equipment. 
This is the visible damage. The com- 
paction or invisible damage that re- 
sults has a far more detrimental and 
lasting effect on the turf.

In addition, we are aware of the fact 
that poorly drained soil promotes 
shallow-rooted plants, increases the 
incidence of disease and attributes to 
“scald-out” during the summer. The 
result is a turf that just won’t stand up 
under stress!

Drainage can be improved by (1) 

increasing the surface drainage, (2) in- 
stalling tile drains or slit trenches, or 
(3) by modifying the physical condi- 
tions of the soil.

(1)  Grass waterways and open drains 
are particularly effective in controlling 
the “runoff” or excess amounts of sur- 
face water.

(2)  Tile drains can be used to inter- 
cept and elminate problems involved 
with seepage or underground water. It 
is also often used to improve the nat- 
ural line of drainage, particularly on 
heavy soils.

Slit trenches are made of materials 
that conduct water faster than sur- 
rounding soil to a lower strata in the 
soil profile. The importance of this 
type of drain is the economy and ease 
of installation.

(3)  Modifying existing soil to correct 
poor soil structure and eliminate any 
impervious soil layers is costly and 
time consuming. For this reason this is 
only possible on limited areas of the 
course, such as greens and in some 
cases tees.

There is no better time to assess your 
drainage problems than in the spring 
when they are most evident.

THE SPARK Continued.
keeper tipped his hat to the right peo- 
ple and said, “Sir” and “Ma’am” in 
proper deference, he held his job, in 
spite of the condition of his course.

Greenskeepers were rugged individ- 
ualists. Some were very capable; oth- 
ers, hopelessly inept. Some were most 
scrupulous in their handling of club 
supply buying; others were less scrup- 
ulous. I knew many of these men per- 
sonally. I admired and respected them. 
May I say that, in a manner, as be- 
tween members of a family, my affec- 
tion for some was that of the love be- 
tween brothers or between father and 
son.

The turf research world was made up 
of dedicated pioneers in general agron- 
omy who were far-seeing in that they 
knew that advances in cultural prac- 
tices in agronomy would benefit all 
types of recreational turf, from home 
lawn to the fine turf of golf, tennis, 
bowling, and the like. Of course, among 
these pioneers, there were some who 
had little interest in the subject. How- 
ever, the Spragues, Evauls, Mussers, 
Graus, De Frances, Pfeiffers, and Mon- 
tieths, to name a few, who were the 
active workers in the late twenties and 
early thirties, were ready to be help- 
ful, hospitable hosts to all who wished 
to enter when the big door would be 
opened.

Changing conditions in the late 
twenties produced the awareness which 
finally unlocked the big door.

Rich autocrats were no longer will- 
ing and, in many cases, able to support 
their clubs. Younger, less affluent 
members were forcing business-like 
and democratic changes in club oper- 
ations. Members were demanding bet- 
ter turf and higher standards of main- 
tenance. The Great Depression accel- 
erated many changes. The young, new 
blood was very much aware of the 
need of great change in the golf course 
business. Therefore, golf management 
— meaning the officers and directors — 
was ready to have the big door thrown 
open.

Greenskeepers were forced by de- 
mands of the new breed of golfer, by 
comparison between courses, by threats 
to their job security, but, most import- 
ant, by their own common sense and 
conscience, to develop “awareness” and 
thus do their part to unhinge the big 
door.

The researchers and the educators, 
although somewhat ready for the turn 
of events, soon found a thirst for 
knowledge on the part of the greens- 
keepers with an extreme minimum of 
time which could be spent by them 
away from their courses. As a result, 
the Short Course was selected as the 
best way for greenskeepers to begin 
the long, arduous task of modernizing 

serviced by the greens crew.

Tree removal, brush cleanup and tree 
pruning may be done in late fall and 
early winter. This work helps keep the 
course well groomed and may help to 
eliminate more expensive professional 
tree work in the future.

Liming and fertilization are two im- 
portant maintenance practices which 
may be done by the greens crew dur- 
ing the winter, rather than during the 
busier months of the growing season.

The repair and maintenance of 
equipment which is done on a “bailing 
wire and chewing gum” basis during 
the summer months can be approached 
in the winter from the complete over- 
haul approach. Equipment put in tip 
top condition in the winter will pro- 
vide trouble-free service when it is 
needed. This in turn will constitute 
less man hours lost due to equipment 
breakdown.

The most important value of main- 
taining a crew through the winter is 
that these men will be there in the 
spring. You will have a crew that 
knows the golf course, knows the 
equipment, and knows your mainte- 
nance practice. As obscure as it may 
seem this is the greatest saving for the 
club. The time lost in breaking in an 
inexperienced crew in the spring can- 
not be regained. The damage done to 
equipment during this time may be 
considerable.

The club which provides for itself a 
year-round greens crew also provides 
for itself a year-round maintenance 
program. A year-round maintenance 
program leads to a well groomed golf 
course.

To answer our initial query he (the 
Golf Course Superintendent) doesn’t 
have another job in the winter. He’s 
too busy.

AGWAY COOP., 

Inc.

Little Falls 
256-5600

Morristown 
538-3232

fine turf grass culture on the golf 
course. In time, longer courses were 
given Today, many superintendents 
are full-degree college graduates.

In closing, I emphasize again that 
awareness of needs, changes, availabil- 
ity of scientific help, and a new horizon 
launched the Short Course in Turf 
Management.

Thank you all for listening to an 
eighty-year-old associate. Little did I 
think forty years ago, when my son and 
I were struggling to get our then infant 
Fertl-Soil Co. under way, that, forty 
years later, I would have the oppor- 
tunity to address such a gathering as 
this, particularly with two grandsons 
in the business — one, “Chip,” in our 
Jersey operation at Rahway, and the 
other, “Dave,” running the manufac- 
turing of Fertl-Soil Top-dressing at 
Kennett Square, Pennsylvania.

Ralph, with all my heart, I hope that 
the future of the turf field will be ever 
upward. With dedicated men like 
yourself and fine men, such as consti- 
tute the N.J.G.C.S. Association, guiding 
the industry, the future must be good. 
Thank you, Ralph, for asking me here 
tonight.
Penny Wise — 
Pound Foolish

By Al Rathjens, Jr.

“Well they must be playing cards 
now.” “What does he need that many 
men for now?” “I wonder if he has 
another job this time of year?”

Are these the thoughts that are pass- 
ing through your members’ minds this 
time of year? Granted the club mem- 
ber has in recent years become more 
aware and probably more appreciative 
of the duties of their golf course sup- 
erintendent and crew, but I believe that 
they are still slightly suspicious of the 
economic value of maintaining this 
crew through the long, cold winter 
months.

In many cases it is only after much 
browbeating and salesmanship that a 
green chairman will allow the super- 
intendent to maintain a crew through 
the winter. The dollars and cents sav- 
ing between the superintendent and 
one man and the superintendent and 
four men through the winter may be 
quite apparent to the chairman. What 
may not be obvious to the club official 
is the long term saving to the club by 
maintaining the larger crew.

Most clubs provide year-round activ- 
ities for the membership. The restau- 
rant and bar are open not only in sum- 
mer but also in winter; therefore 
walkways and driveways must be 
sanded and kept clear of snow. The 
greens crew may also be instrumental 
in the erection of the Christmas tree 
and decorations. Many clubs have 
squash courts and ice rinks, which are