UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION GREEN SECTION S o u t h e r n T u r f l e t t er 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 8-2741 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 6-5210 No. 3 June - 1960 D R. M A R V IN H. F E R G U S ON M I D - C O N T I N E NT D I R E C T OR N A T I O N AL R E S E A R CH C O O R D I N A T OR J A M ES B. M O N C R I EF S O U T H E A S T E RN AGRONOMIST W. W A Y NE A L L EN S O U T H W E S T E RN AGRONOMIST NATIONAL GOLF DAY NEEDS YOUR SUPPORT National Golf Day will be observed throughout the nation on June 11. Plan now to play your round of golf and add your dollar to the fund which is used in many ways to benefit golf. Funds derived from National Golf Day have supported research in turf from the beginning. When you support National Golf Day, you support research in turf which, in turn, provides better golfing conditions. Everybody wins, regardless of how your score compares with "The Round of The Champion." NEW ORLEANS SUPERINTENDENTS GET NEW COURSES Lou Vickers and Reese Coltrane, both of whom are veteran superintendents in the New Orleans area, are involved in the construction of new golf courses. The Timberlane Country Club is Lou's new course. This golf course is being built for a newly organized club. Lakewood Country club is building a new golf course and will move from their present location as soon as the new plant is finished. Reese Coltrane and his green committee chairman, Mr. Morris Newman, are already spending much of their time at the new club. Both of these courses are being built in low lying areas where there are unusual problems of drainage. No doubt there will be numerous occasions when the ingenuity, skill, and experience of these two capable men will be severely tested. Despite difficulties of construction, both operations show promise of being outstanding golf courses. LABOR IS EXPENSIVE Because labor costs are high, manpower must be utilized as efficiently as possible. There are many possibilities for more efficient maintenance operations which are still in the "blueprint" stage. Some of which could be considered for use at the present are: use of maleic hydrazide in roughs to reduce the need for frequent mowing^ mechanical edgers for sand traps; chemical control in lieu of hand weeding along creeks and fences; and others. ALABAMA — There is now an Alabama Turfgrass Association, The first meeting was held at the Roebuck Golf Club in Birmingham, May 9«, with 27 people attend- ing. The present officers ares President Vice President Secretary-Treasurer,•.Jim Moore, Vestavia Country Club, Birmingham Doyle Smith, Mountain Brook Country Club, Birmingham Joe Wildman, Country Club of Birmingham Dates for a field day and an annual meeting are being considered. Anyone interested in turf should contact Jim Moore for an application to become a member and grow with this newly formed Turfgrass Association. GEORGIA - FLORIDA GROUP MEETING — Sea Island Golf Club will be host to the Georgia-Florida Meeting June 13. Dr. Granville Horn, of the University of Florida, will be the guest speaker. The group is made up mainly of golf course superintendents from the northern part of Florida and the southern part of Georgia. NORTH CAROLINA — Meyers Park Club, Charlotte, N. C., was host to the North Carolina Golf Course Superintendents' Association May 5. Their guest speaker was Dr. H. G. Wells. He discussed disease on grasses, giving conditions for best growth and control. Some comments were? 1. Moisture most important for spreading disease 2. Anthracnose on ryegrass effected by nitrogen 3. Cottony blight on ryegrass is best controlled by; a. Planting time - 8 oz. of Phygon per 1000 sq. ft. b. Topdress and after emergence apply l/2 to 1 lb. on the seed. of Phygon per 1000 sq. ft« 4. Keep enough fungicide on hand ior two applications. TEXAS — Regional Meetings of therTexas« Turfgrass Association have been held in Houston, Dallas, Longview, San Antonio, and Lubbock. Two more will be held later in the summer. LIMITING FACTORS - J. von Liebig in 1843 stated "The yield of any crop always depends on that nutritive element which is present in mimimum amount." Assume that water, oxygen and optimum temperature are present and this law definitely applies to "turf quality." TRANSITION Some golf courses have made the transition from cool-season grasses to bermuda in fine shape while others are still in the process. Dead spots have been rather common in fairways and on some greens. Cn greens the small areas are being plugged and the larger areas are being block-sodded» beginning to come up in the dead spots in the fairways. Anything that causes a bare spot in turf invites weed invasion. Weeds are COLD SPRING has been slow in making much growth in the upper south. Poa annua has been prolific and a good seed crop was produced. The Southeast had its coldest spring in 25 years. The common bermuda In many cases the adult stage of an insect is not its worst. WATCH FCR INSECTS The larvae of the sod webworm, cutworm, and others are the culprits and often are not seen by passive observations. Be on the look out for such pests and possibly prevent severe damage by timely insecticide applications. •iHHHHS-^HMHCSHHWHHHHHHHS- CARE WITH CHEMICALS — Read the labels and follow the directions closely. June 11.., June 13o., July 20.., August 8 . - COMING EVENTS National Golf Day Georgia-Florida Group Meeting Sea Island, Georgia Texas Turfgrass Association Field Day College Station, Texas Mississippi Turfgrass Field Day State College, Mississippi outhern Turfletter USGA GREEN SECTION BULK RATE U.S. POSTAGE P A ID College Station, Texas Permit No. 80 Dr* J* R. Watson Chief Agronomist Toro Mfg* Corp» Minneapolis Minn«