MICHIGAN AND BORDER CITIES GOLF COURSE SUPERINTENDENTS ASSOCIATION,PUBLICATION Volume I March, 1962 Number 3 William Milne Named New Midwest Turf Foundation President By Clarence Wolfrom Maple Lane Golf Club William Milne, superintendent at the Coun­ try Club of Detroit is the new president, of the Midwest Turf Foundation. At the annual meet­ ing of the Foundation, held in conjunction with the Twenty-Fifth Midwest Turf Conference, at the Purdue University, in Lafayette Indiana, Bill was elected to preside over the Foundation for the coming year. Over six hundred registered at Purdue, to attend the annual conference. Dr. Daniel Planed and directed the program in his own inimitable PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE by Robert Prieskorn Western Country Club A S YO U SOW : This little phrase holds, in it, the w is­ dom of the years. Time has proven that it can not be contested. The young man with an eye on the horizon must have a staff on which to lean, for he w ill find the road is long and w inding. The w eak who are content to do as little as they can get aw ay with must have a crutch, (usually a close friend.) Last there is the person who w ill find a club is the answ er to his needs, and thus by evil w ill he plant his seed. As you plant this year's tree from which you w ill take a staff, a crutch, or a club, keep that little phrase ever forw ard in your mind, for as surely as you do, SO SHALL YE REAP. The M ichigan and Border Cities G olf Course Super­ intendents Association wish to extend their heartiest congratulations to Mr. Bill Milne, and best wishes for the future. Once again Bill has brought honor to his profession and to his home association. For this we say "Good Show Pres". fashion. Those in attendance went away with a broader knowledge of turf, and the problems of it's care and character. It was a pleasure to be one of the many Michigan superintendents in attendance at the conference, to gain first hand information on new turf developments, and to renew old friendships. Clarence Wolfrom, President Michigan Turf-Grass Foundation We are quick to demand perfection of others, and slow to find it ourselves. r. a. navarre HARRY THOMPSON PASSES ON MR. HARRY THOM PSON, past m anager of the Bloomfield Hills Country Club, passed aw ay Friday, March 16, 1962, at the age of 72. Mr. Thompson w as born in Birm ingham , England. He m anaged the club for thirty-two years before he retired some nine years ago, when he moved to California. To all his friends Harry w as known and toasted "The Dean of Gentlemen." THE AN SW ERS Orchard Lake Country Club • • It promotes growth and activity of beneficial soil bacteria and other microorganisms. It tends to improve soil structure indirectly by promoting (1) the growth of legumes (2) better root development, and (3) greater crop residues. WHAT IS AGRICULTURAL LIME? lime In chemical terms, agricultural includes the oxide, the hydrate, and the carbonate of calcium or calcium and m agnesium . Practically no oxide or burnt lime is used in M ichigan as a soil amendment. Hy­ drated limestone 28% , dolomitic limestone 38%, marl and calcareous in­ tufa 31%, and dustries approxim ately 2% of the agricultural lime now used in M ichigan. limes makes up about 1%, calcic lime refuse from various local PRESENT DAY FERTILIZER PRACTICES Present d ay fertilizer practices increase crop yields, thereby increasing the removal of calcium and m ag­ nesium from the soil by crops. On the average each pound of nitrogen contained in commercial fertilizers leaves an acid residue in the soil sufficient to neutralize 2 pounds of high grade ground limestone. Thus the 45,000 tons of fertilizer nitrogen being used yearly in M ichigan creates a need for 90,000 tons of agricultural lime. Present d ay high analysis phosphate fertilizers (45% P2 O 5) contain less than Vz as much calcium per pound of P20 5 as did the ordinary 20% superphosphate used 20 years ago. IS OVERLIMING POSSIBLE? It is possible but there is greater danger of under­ lim ing. The writer has observed fields where 100 cubic yards of marl per acre have been applied without harmful effects. But from the standpoint of economy this w as an extreme case of overlim ing. Also the writer has observed cases where the application of 2 tons of limestone meal per acre to naturally high-lime lake-bed soils has resulted in both boron and m an­ ganese deficiencies in crops. LIME, ONE OF by Clarence White If you use fertilizer, you should use lime. I would like to recall what E. D. Longnecker, De­ partment of Soil Science, at Michigan State Uni­ versity had to say on the subject of LIME. WHAT IS SOIL ACIDITY? Soil acidity is a chemical condition that is unfavor­ able to m any crops. It is caused in part by small quan­ tities of various acids— carbonic, nitric, sulfuric, and phosphoric— in the soil. But a far greater part of it results from hydrogen that is held on the surfaces of clay and humus particles. The acid condition keeps crops from getting enough of certain nutrients they need, and lets them get too much of others. Liming an acid soil moves or changes it toward a neutral or to an alkaline (opposite of acid) state. The change is brought about by calcium— and magnesium if dolomitic lime is used— replacing the hydrogen on the clay and humus particles and in the soil solution. To describe whether a soil is acid, neutral, or a lk a ­ line, the term known as pH is used. If a soil is neutral (neither acid nor alkaline) its pH is 7. Sm aller num­ bers such as pH 5.0 indicate acidity, the sm aller the number the more intense the acidity. Numbers greater than pH 7 denote alkalinity. WHAT DOES LIME DO? There are two main reasons w hy lime pays off at such a good rate: 1. It reduces soil acidity to a level that crops w ill tolerate and yield their best. 2. It supplies calcium and magnesium which are both essential plant nutrients. Other benefits are: ® By decreasing soil acidity, it makes phosphorus and molybdenum in the soil more available to crops. However, if soils are sampled and tested periodi­ cally and limed accordingly, the danger of overlim ing from the standpoint of both economy and causing minor element deficiencies is elim inated. • Alum inum , iron, and m anganese, which m ay be present in harmful amounts in strongly acid soil, are made less avilable. Editor.........................................RICHARD A. NAVARRE...............Forest Lake Country Club Assistant Editor.....................ROBERT PRIESKORN...................Western Country Club Assistant Editor..................... ANDREW BERTONI.......................Meadowbrook Country Club Reporter....................................LEO BISHOP......................................Red Run Country Club Reporter....................................BILL BAIR........................................Warwick Hills Country Club Director.....................................BILL RAEBURN..............................Knollwood Country Club Director.....................................JOHN LaBOSKEY...........................Genessee Hills Country Club Director.....................................C. F. WHITE.....................................Orchard Lake Country Club LAWN EQUIPMENT COUP. 520 W. 11 Mile Road • Royal O ak SALES and SERVICE — LI. 2-1721 for Roseman Hi-Speed Fairw ay Mowers and Rough Mowers New Locke Mower for Tees • Cooper Putting Green Mowers • Complete Line of Accessories. TERMINAL SALES CORPORATION 1627 West Fort, Detroit Fertilizers and Garden Supplies Agricultural and Industrial Chemicals M ILORGANITE — THE YEAR AROUND FERTILIZER TURF & HORT. SUPPLIES INC. Detroit 8, 5144 Lawton, AGR1CO “COUNTRY CLUB’’ FERTILZIERS 12-4-8 16-8-8 -f DUPONT + NUGREEN - URAMITE AND TURF FUNGICIDES SPRINKLER IRRIGATION TIPS ☆ ORDER PARTS NOW AND BE READY FOR SPRING ☆ USE BUCKNER SPRINKLERS Sisco, Royal Oak, LI. 8-7272 JOHNSON'S SUPPLY CO. 1900 W. SQUARE LAKE ROAD — FE 5-6609 PO NTIAC, M ICHIGAN FUNGICIDES FERTILIZERS INSECTICIDES WEED KILLERS SOIL STERILANTS WETTING AGENTS CHEMICALS BALL WASHERS HOLE CUTTERS POLES - FLAGS TEE TOWELS BENCHES SPRINKLERS W . F. MILLER CO. • JA C O B SO N GREEN MOWERS • M YERS SPRAYERS • ROTOTILLERS • SOD MASTER and SOD CUTTER • W ORTHINGTON G A N G MOWERS 1593 S. Woodward MI. 4-6009 Birmingham, Michigan C. E. ANDERSON CO., INC. Headquarters for TORO POWER MOWERS JO H N BEAN SPRAYERS M ASSEY-FERGUSON TRACTORS and ALLIED TURF EQUIPMENT “SALES and SERVICE” 1503 S. Main Street Royal O ak, Mich. Lincoln 8-1100 HIRAM F. GODWIN & SON Specializing in SEED - FERTILIZER - FUNGICIDES SPECIAL TURF GRASSES Eugene D. Johanningsm eier, Agronomist 22366 Grand River Detroit 19, M ichigan KE 1-0361 A SOLID TEAM Editor's Note: The following article is an excerpt from a USGA publication, January 1961. A new sea­ son is under way and many new Green Chairmen will be taking the “Helm” for the first time. This article is a good guide for the new chairmen and a short re­ minder for the established Chairmen. DUTIES OF A GREEN COMMITTEE CHAIRMAN "Your job as Green Committe Chairm an and Green Committee Member," writes Richard S. Tufts, former President of the United States G olf Association, "is to serve your fellow members by m aintaining the type of golf course that the m ajority of them want. A tough layout that is a challenge to the expert m ay not be enjoyable to the average golfer— of which there are so many. Certainly, your is not to rebuild the course the w ay you w ant it. The duties of the Green Committee Chairm an and Members cannot be handled effectively in a passive manner. They w ill demand your time and your atten­ tion. Your w ife m ay com plain that she is a grass widow . job You should be w illing to learn and spend some time reading journals, pamphlets and m agazines dealing with turfgrass. You should attend an occasional turf- grass meeting. A good Chairm an should be an active golfer, but not necessarily the club champion. A good chairm an should avoid problems, by know ­ ing his limitations. There w ill be m any bridges that w ill not have to be crossed, if problems are avoided. A golf course program of maintenance and m an­ agement is an intricate combination of men, m aterials, climate, grasses, etc., w hat is good for one course is not alw ays best for the course down the road. Don't be "Bulldozed" into doing things because everyone else is doing them. Leave the program to your G olf Course Superintendent, for is his responsibilty to grow turf for golf. A good Chairm an need not become a turf expert. He must, however have sufficient know l­ edge to answ er questions asked him by the Members and the Board of Directors. it Michigan and Border Cities Golf Course Superintendents Assoc. Richard A. Navarre, Editor IS THE ANSW ER Visit the course occasionally w hile the men are w orking and thus understand their problems. Good Chairm en have found that the best time to acquire the confidence of the Superintendent, as well as a better understanding of his job, is to go out with him at 6 o'clock in the morning when he faces his problems for the day. W alk the course with him. "M orning is made for those who see it". WHO IS THE SUPERINTENDENT? In recent years the old-time profession of "Keeper of the Green" has made rapid strides. Golfers con­ tinually demand higher standards of maintenance. To meet these dem ands, todays turfmen must call on the latest in agricultural research and technical inform a­ tion. They must utilize modern equipment. Although the modern Superintendent is first and foremost a grow er of grass, the fields from which he draw s his information have become extrem ely broad. He must have some know ledge of plant nutrition, plant pathology, entomology, weed control, w atering techniques and an understanding of plant in general. life He must know how to handle men (and members) effectively. He must have ability as a mechanic, a landscaper and a keeper of records. He should help in the preparation of the m ainte­ nance budget. He must be a planner and a purchaser. In short, he must be capable of providing a high de­ gree of maintenance proficiency, operate econom ically and keep abreast of new developments. He is a busy man. A sense of team play between every Chairm an and Superintendent is paramount. No team can w ork well together unless there is a feeling of loyalty and confi­ dence am ong its members. If you share in the problems and hardships, you'll share m any fine moments together, as a solid team. 1465 Square Lake Rd. BLOOMFIELD HILLS, M ICHIGAN Dr. James Beard Farm Crops Dept.M.S.t East Lansing, Mich. BULK RATE U.S. POSTAGE P A I D Permit # 753 Pontiac, Mich.