UNITED STATES GOLF ASSOCIATION S o u t h e rn T u rf l e t t er No. 6 December - 1958 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 M. L A T H A M, J R. S O U T H E A S T E RN A G R O N O M I ST J A M ES B. M O N C R I EF S O U T H W E S T E RN A G R O N O M I ST 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 ft M C O L L E GE C O L L E GE S T A T I O N, TEXAS T E L E P H O N E: V I C T OR 6 - 5 2 10 IT'S BUDGET TIME AGAIN Now is the time to consider your budget for 1959 if you have not already done so. You should have a definite goal or objective for course maintenance in 1959. From an analysis of the work needed to reach this goal or this standard of maintenance, you may arrive at a sound basis upon which budget recommendations can be made. The plan for attaining your objective should include all regular maintenance in the areas for which you are responsible as well as new construction or special, intensive maintenance which may be needed on some parts of the course. Estimates It would be helpful to your budget committee if you were to make estimates as to the cost of maintenance on each part of the golf course — tees, fairways, bunkers and greens. This takes a little time and effort, but it will show good business practice on your part to have such an outline to present to your committee. Costs of each item of new construction and each special maintenance program (weed control, etc.) should be estimated as accurately as possible. New construc- tion would likely be considered a capital expenditure, whereas special maintenance programs would be considered operational expense. Accuracy in estimating costs is important. Underestimating with the consequent necessity of supplemental appro- priation of funds is to be avoided. On the other hand, chronic overestimates of such programs often result in chronic cuts in the budget. The availability of labor will affect the level of golf course maintenance as much as any other factor. Therefore the budget item for labor must be considered carefully. This is the largest and most flexible expense in golf course main- tenance. It is the item most often reduced if the budget appears to be high. It is, therefore, quite important to be able to back up your estimated labor costs by accurate records. Such records will show the amount of labor required for each maintenance job and will give your committee a sound basis upon which to approve your request. Inventory A complete inventory, the repair records of all your equipment, and a list of equipment needing replacement should be submitted with your proposed budget, A record of cost of operation in 1958 and careful estimates of the costs for 1959 are required for informed planning. Equipment costs should include easily for- gotten or overlooked items such as the licensing of vehicles used off the course and the cost of safety checks and insurance. ******************** MEED FOR ACCURATE MEASUREMENT Turfgrass managers may choose pesticides from a great array of extremely potent chemical materials. Present day chemicals are not only more effective (and in some cases more toxic), but they are being made with a higher percentage of active ingredient. This greater concentration requires more accuracy in measuring materials. The user of chemical pesticides would be well-advised to invest in standard measuring devices such as graduated cylinders or containers which have been accurately marked. Liquid measures should be graduated into ounces, cubic centi- meters, or milliliters. Fluid ounce measurements are most widely used. Most dry materials can be weighed on small kitchen scales graduated in pounds and ounces with a 25 pound maximum load. These scales are inexpensive, costing only about $3.50 to $5.00. It is also advisable to have a smaller weighing device which is graduated into ounces or grams. With such scales, small quantities of chemicals can be weighed accurately for use on special jobs or observational plots. Dry materials should always be weighed rather than measured in bulk. Danger1 Beer cans - soft drink bottles - bar glasses. Many of us have been rather lax in the choice of measuring devices. Consequently many "measurements'1 are only approximations. In the use of new chemicals there is no place for the beer can or bar glass method of measurement. Even though many superintendents have made successful use of these approximations, they probably have made comparative measurements to a standard at some time in the past. A soft drink bottle, labeled to contain 6 ounces will really hold about 6-1/2 ounces. Where is the line to stop filling? An error of more than 8 per cent can occur because the line is not fixed. The use of small mouthed bottles or cans is not only inaccurate, but it is sloppy and may be dangerous when one is handling poisonous or corrosive chemicals. Such devices as bar glasses are even more inaccurate because they are not of standard size. A rather complete set of liquid and dry measures can bo purchased for less than 10. This investment will be repaid many times by providing rapid, accurate and safe means of material measurement. OBSERVATIONAL PLOTS It is seldom that a superintendent undertakes any serious experimental work but he is often called upon to do observational work on a golf course. This may be to observe the reaction of certain materials under his local conditions of soil, climate or management. It is important that such plots be not too compli- cated. Make them as simple as possible. Do not compound or apply too many things to one particular area. If too many different materials are used on an area, the result is a real "hodgepodge." (And Webster says, hodgepodge is a stew of various ingredients). Accurate observations depend upon being able to determine the effect of any one variable. The interactions of several simultaneous treat- ments can be determined only by complicated experimental designs and complicated statistical procedures. X K X tt K * * * K ** KEEP THE COMMITTEE INFORMED The green committee can be a great deal of help to the superintendent if its members know all about the operation of the course. Keeping these committee members informed is one of the best ways for the superintendent to keep all the club members happy. The superintendent has a good reason for most of his activities. Usually the club members don't criticize when they know these reasons. It is the unexplained activity that interferes with golfing that draws most complaints. At the time of the annual conference in October, members of the Louisiana Turfgrass Association elected the following men to office in the Association for 1959: Mr. C. D. Smith Mr. Atwell E. Champion Mr. Reese Coltrane.... Mr. Lloyd Abadie % Mr. J. M. Peek President Vice President Vice President Secretary-Treasurer Research Director In addition to these men, the Board of Directors is composed of Winnie Cole, Ford Ames, Ned White, Lou G. Vickers, Tom Hassion, and Irv Zeidman. # * x % * * -x-^- # * * * * * * # x * DATES TO REMEMBER December 8-9-10, 1958 - Texas Turfgrass Association Annual Meeting College Station, Texas January 26-30, 1959 - 30th National Turfgrass Conference and Show Sherman Hotel, Chicago, Illinois — Southern Turfletter USGA GREEN SECTION Sec. 34.66 P.L.&R. U. S. POSTAGE I V ti PAID College Station, Texas Permit No. 80 Dr. J* R, Watson Chief Agronomist Toro Mfg* Corp* Minneapolis 6, Minn*