UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION GREEN SECTION S O U T H E A S T E RN D I S T R I CT U N I V E R S I TY OF G E O R G IA A T H E N S, G E O R G IA T E L E P H O N E: L I B E R TY 8 - 2 7 41 S O U T H W E S T E RN D I S T R I CT T E X AS A & M C O L L E GE C O L L E GE S T A T I O N, T E X AS T E L E P H O N E: V I C T OR 6 - 5 2 10 S o u t h e rn T u rf l e t t er No. 4 August - 1960 DR. MARVIN H. FERGUSON D I R E C T OR M I D - C O N T I N E NT N A T I O N AL R E S E A R CH C O O R D I N A T OR PLAN AHEAD BEFORE PLANTING JAMES B. MONCRIEF S O U T H E A S T E RN A G R O N O M I ST W. WAYNE ALLEN S O U T H W E S T E RN A G R O N O M I ST Simply a solution to a landscape problem is not sufficient - a beautiful solution is the ideal goal. Purposes for any ornamental planting fall into one or more of four categories- (1) Surfacing - ground cover and low growing plants. (2) Enclosure - this may be around all or part of some property, (3) Shelter or simply around areas such as flower beds. - such as a vine over a patio for shelter from (4) Enrichment- planting solely to enrich the environment« rain and sun. While we may not always realize it, many factors are considered when deciding which trees or shrubs should be used for any given location. Naturally the pur- pose for planting must be met (one or more of those mentioned above). Things such as cultural requirements, ultimate size«, structure and silhouette (natural form) texture (smooth or rough leaves and/or stems), color (not only blooms but s also foliage and its seasonal changes), and fragrance are factors to be considered. Elaboration about each of these is prohibited by lack of space. However, to illustrate how considering one or two factors may save one some built-in headaches or future replanting, think about the following: (l) Desired - a clump or small grove of trees in the bend of a dogleg fairv/ay to enter into the strategy of play. Solution - choose a fairly fast-growing species but, for example, avoid using the sweet gum here because of its seed pod production. The pods are tough and will easily stop the reel of a reel type mower. (2) Desired - a low-growing shrub to plant close to a building with windows. Solution - be certain the plant when mature will not cover the windows, unless the additional labor of frequent trimming is not of prime importance. All this is to say, "Consult an expert to be sure about the growth habits and requirements of a plant before planning too far ahead. ff SPECIFICATIONS FOR CONSTRUCTION OF GREENS Specifications for a method of constructing a golf green will appear in the September issue of the USGA Journal. soil-air-water relationships and water movement in soils are the foundation of the specifications. Basic research in soil physics, OVERCCMING A SALT PROBLEM Before Bob Anderson left the Corpus Christi Country Club he built several new tees. Because the course is so near the bay the water table is high and salt accumula- tion is a severe problem, especially in certain localized areas. A tee was to be rebuilt in one of the worst areas. sheet over the old tee and proceeded from there to cover it and shape the new tee on top of the old. Apparently the method was completely successful because there is now a good stand of bermudagrass on the tee. Bob placed a polyethylene A small puncture in the polyethylene sheet has allowed some movement of the salt into the new soil. It may be necessary to do some repair work later. GEORGIA GOLF COURSE SUPERINTENDENTS ASSOCIATION MEETING The Georgia Golf Course Superintendents meeting was held at Ansley Golf Club, Atlanta, Georgia on July 12. There were 30 present and Dr. Charles Hudson of the Hastings Seed Company was one of the speakers. He made remarks about the use of shrubs and flowers around the clubhouse. He stated that bush type holly is being used more in recent years and has replaced the boxwood in many places, and that more showy plants should be used on the golf course than are being used at the present time. The day lily is one of the widest used flowers but in many cases could be used more by clubs with emphasis on the use of different colors. Other flowers that are used very much are hardy phlox, mums, bulbs of various sorts and Eleagnus. He stated that Eleagnus is an excellent screen plant and could be used in a very wide area. Dogwood is used very much for its showy color. While the dogwood is pretty it is susceptible to blight. This disease started in Savannah in 1937 and has spread widely since then. The use of Captan and Phaltan in spring, July, and fall., has given good results for control of this disease. THE TIDEWATER TURFGRASS ASSOCIATION The Tidewater Turfgrass Association met at the Little Creek Naval Base near Norfolk^ Virginia on July 19 with 35 attending. A demonstration of what a good irrigation system can do for a golf course was shown by the local golf club. For two years they had tried to maintain turf without an irrigation system and because of the ''droughty Within two years after installation of an irrigation system excellent turf was present on most fairways. Much interest in this area was found in the use of Tifgreen and for a better maintenance program in all phases of turf. Considerable discussion at the meeting dealt with control of insects and weeds. condition of the soil they did not establish turf. 11 NORTH CAROLINA GOLF COURSE SUPERINTENDENTS ASSOCIATION 9 The North Carolina Golf Course Superintendents met at the Pinehurst Country Club on July 25 v/ith 31 attending. The subject discussed was "Golf Course Construc- tion" with emphasis on green construction. Much interest was shown by the many questionsc After luncheon some played golf while others toured one of the four courses. The bentgrass observation plots were of interest and the bent planted on the greens appeared to be in a very healthy growing condition under the able management of Henson Maples. The North Carolina State College is putting plans in the budget for turf research in the state of North Carolina. This budget is yet to be approved. SEA ISLAND REPORT - Mr. T. M. Baumgardner of Sea Island, Georgia reports the following; "Cur one Tifway bermudagrass tee came through the change-over best of all even better than the common bermudas, Tifgreen, and also much better than our Sea Island bermuda selection." 5 Concerning the transition period, Mr. Baumgardner reported a loss of a lot of bermudagrass on their new nine when the ryegrass went out. They are busily re- planting the bare areas. They attributed this trouble to tv/o factors; one being severe freezing of the young short-rooted bermudagrass in December; the other to the nature of the soil mixture which came from the lake excavation^ namely, fine sand, hardpan and marl, which resulted in a very tightly compacted soil for the tees and fairways. They had no change-over problems on the new nine with the greens where coarse sand was added to the mixture. The Tifgreen approaches and banks of the greens also came through very nicely where surface drainage was better than on the fairways. WOULD YOU BELIEVE IT DEPARTMENT - CRABGRASS SEED SHORTAGE The Hastings Seed Company, according to Dr. Charles Hudson, was contacted for crabg 33 *ed pound. certai extent. The reason for the scarcity of seed is that it matures at a time when many of the other grasses on the market are not harvested. Therefore, crabg ss seed is not available in bulk form* After searching for some time, 5 pounds was located at $35.00 per 3S has shown the ability to grow where radiation is used to a e a^ A DATE TO REMEMBER September 14-15-16 University of Florida Turf Management Conference University of Florida Gainesville, Florida Southern Turfletter USGA GREEN SECTION B U LK R A TE U.S. POSTAGE PAID College Station, Texas Permit No. 80 D r. J* R. Watson Chief Agronomist Toro Mfg. Gorp. Minneapolis 6, Minn.