UNITED STATES ÇOLF ASSOCIATION QREEN SECTION Southeastern Office Georgia Coastal Plain Experiment Station T I F T O N, G E O R G IA SOUTHEASTERN TURFLETTER 8. P. ROBINSON Southeastern Director Volume o, Number 1 A p r i l, 1956 TIPS FRCM THE MEETINGS The Superintendent and Golfer» Hot« to "keep Tem happy" 1 It has been our opinion that most golfers are a happy l o t. During the 27th Annual Superintendents Conference, Long Beach, California, however, techniques were presented to help keep the best relations and understanding between the golf course superintendent and the g o l f e r. was pointed out that 76 percent of maintenance costs is labor. Thus, as costs go up the superintendent, becomes important as a manager in securing good labor and displacing labor with equipment. Many colleges have a d i f f i c u lt task obtaining s u f f i c i e nt funds f or turfgrass researc h. Be careful, therefore, trying to conduct t e s t s« Make sure that experiments are not a burden on the budget, do not i n t e r f e re with the g o l f e r, and ascertain whether or not it w i ll yield information when once established. playing condition as possible, everyone is happy. Since the 90-shooter apparently pays the b i l l s, make the course comfortable and human. As someone once stated, "A golf course should be fascinating but not f r u s t r a t i n g ." The superintendent should work closely with a il committee s which have r e s p o n s i b i l i t i es associated with the golf course. Bo not overlook the handicapping committee and—play the course. Always keep the membership informed of new materials, equipment, con- struction, and other changes. If the golf course remains in as good in It An old saying was quoted which might be worth remembering: "There appears t o be a soil-soul r e l a t i o n, whereas, 1. a person who works with his hands only, is a laborer — 2. a person who works with his hands and head, is a craftsman—but 30 a person who works with his hands, head, and heart is an a r t i s t ". Then a very apt quotation from the 19th Hole, "Any g o l f er 25 miles from home is an expert". Golf Heeds Room to Grow. According to Rex McMorris, Vice President of National Golf Foundation, the pressure f or playing golf greatly exceeds existing f a c i l i t i e s, plus, new and planned construction. In 1930 there were 5,856 golf courses in the United States. Vol«3, No, 1, Page 2 open f or play» The number f e ll to 4,809 in 1945 due, in part, to the depression, real estate advancements, and the -war» During 1956, however, the number w i ll reach 5,180 courses—still short, however, of the 1930 high» "What is the potential in number of golfers and courses? Host private clubs have a waiting l i st and the majority of muny courses have starting times. One hundred thousand (100,000) college students are learning to play and 120 colleges have their own golf course. Seventy others are on the way. Two thousand high schools have golf teams and 38 states have State Tournaments. Industry has 80 courses of its own• Seven hundred thirty-one c i t i es do not have f a c i l i t i es f or g o l f. 5,000 population have golf courses. in the United States with over 5,000 population In Iowa, however, 84 c i t i es out of 85 under Junior golf has become of age» There were 230,500 junior golfers in 1953. 1955 approximately 90,000 juniors entered such tournaments as the United States Golf Association Juniors, Junior Chamber of Commerce Juniors, Western, e t c. In Senior Tournaments are lighting another spark. As emphasized by our secretary, do not forget the women» Oftentimes they wonft permit us to forget them. Of the 3,335,600 golfers reported in the United States in 1953, 641,400 were women. We must admit though, that where you find women golfers you find an active and aggressive Club and also you w i ll find an active organization of young g o l f e r s. By 19557 it the pressure f or playing golf exceeds the nations is estimated that there w i ll be t h i r t y - f i ve million more adults. Yes, f a c i l i t i e s. National Golf Foundation^ Summary of Three Years Golf Course Construction New Courses Opened Courses Under Construction Courses in the Planning Stage 1953 61 105 127 1954 109 198 285 1955 225 359 516 Totals 395 662 928 The increasing number of golfers and course construction means that the demand f or qualified superintendents be found? Superintendents have a responsibility in meeting this challenge. appears that personnel may be obtained by training assistant superintendents, making use of agronomy majors with B. S. Degrees, and by special short course schools, such as, that proposed by the USGA during the National Conference. is on the increase. "Where are the new men going to It Vol, 5, No. 1, Page 3. Watch future issues of the Southeastern T u r f l e t t er for a summary of superintendents-salary survey made in parts of North and South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, The survey was a cooperative project between this o f f i ce and the Regional Superintendent Organizations, Its purpose was to obtain information which can be used by golf clubs and superintendents. Water—T oo L i t t l e, Too Often, Even though i r r i g a t i on is as old as recorded historj', water is more often misused than used c o r r e c t l y. Dr. Hagen, University of California, pointed out that many f a ll into the water management c l a s s i f i c a t i on of applying water nToo l i t t l e, too often". Each golf course with an i r r i g a t i on system should know: the application rate of their system expressed in equivalent of r a i n f a ll (acre inches per hour); the i n f i l t r a t i on rate or rate at which the s o il w i ll take in water inches per hour); (acre the peak moisture demand periods and the capacity of the system—can it meet the peak period; the t o t al depth of application (acre inches of water) per i r r i g a t i o n; and the uniformity of water application. The 1955 Yearbook of Agriculture, "Water"—containing 751 pages, is good reading f or anyone. drainage. Sixteen pages are devoted to an a r t i c le by Dr, Hagen on "Watering Lawns and T u r f ", Copies may be obtained by writing your Congressman or the Supt• of Documents, Washington 25, D, C, It gives valuable information on the use of water and New Techniques and Materials Used in Arizona, While v i s i t i ng several golf courses during the Arizona Turfgrass Conference, University of Arizona, Tucson, it was observed that maleic hydrazide was used before overseeding Bermudagrass greens f or winter play. The material was used to check the growth of Bermudagrass, During our v i s it the f i r st appeared to be working successfully, Joe Folkner of the University wanted to observe the recovery of Bermudagrass in the spring before making d e f i n i te state- ments, Five gallons of 30^ maleic hydrazide was applied to 18 greens, 10 days before overseeding and the greens were not watered until seeded. Another golf course used very low rates of a s o il sterilant—CMU—for the control of crabgrass in Bermudagrass fairways. large scale t r i al The Southern Turfgrass Association ( A l a ., Ark., Ky,, La,, Miss, & Tenn,) held i ts largest Conference at the Ridgeway Country Club, Memphis, Tennessee, One hundred registered f or the Conference, indicate that valuable information was given by their array of speakers. Reports from this Conference Southeastern Turfletter USO A GREEN SECTION 0% J* JJöät taSSS" « " » « *« 1. riscossiti Sec. 34.66, P. L. & R, U. S. POSTAGE iy2c PAID TIFTON, GA. Permit No. 46