U N I T ED S T A T ES G O LF G R E EN S E C TI Western Office P. 0. Box 241 Davis, California CHARLES G. WILSON Western Director WESTERN TURFLETTER Vol. 3 No, 3 May-June 1955 IMPORTANT' CHANGES IN THE WEST Office Location in Southern California May we call your attention to the following change of address for the Western Office, and suggest that you change your mailing accordingly. l i st U.S. GOLF ASSOCIATION GREEN SECTION WESTERN OFFICE 1709 WEST EIGHTH STREET LOS ANGELES 17, CALIFORNIA Many w i ll recognize that the above address belongs to the Indeed this i s, and w i ll Southern California Golf Association. continue to be the case. We are indeed fortunate and happy to report that the SCGA has graciously offered o f f i ce space to expedite Regional Turf Service in the West. Not only w i ll it accomplish this end, but also it should lessen costs of operation and permit the Green Section staff to provide even greater service to i ts member clubs than has been possible in the past. Regardless of their location, clubs s t i ll w i ll receive a f u ll half day v i s it and written report concerning turfgrass conditions. The new headquarters which w i ll e f f e c t i v e ly cut down on the time formerly used to travel to and from Southern California w i ll be utilized for occasional spot checks or follow up v i s i ts at no extra cost to participating clubs. Thus, the change w i ll be of direct benefit to courses in the North and East of the Western territory as well as in Southern California. Meet Your New Western Director William H. Bengeyfiold is the USGA's choice to become Western Director of the Green Section on July 1, when the o f f i ce is moved to Southern California. We might add, that a better choice would be hard to find, and we know that member clubs, other turfgrass interests and Experiment Station scientists w i ll like " B i l l" f u l ly as much as we do. B i ll comes to the West excellently equipped to consult with our member clubs about their turfgrass problems» His educational, research and f i e ld service background include a degree from the College of Agri- culture at Cornell University, County Agent work in Westchester, New York, and Green Section service as an agronomist working out of our In Southwestern, Southeastern, Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic o f f i c e s» addition, he has had practical experience working on golf courses, and by the time the change is made w i ll have had an opportunity to v i s it most of the clubs in the West to become acquainted with their turf management programs. Present Western Director Resigns - Also e f f e c t i ve July 1, your Western Director for the last three years w i ll resign from the United States Golf Association to accept a position as agronomist with the Sewerage Commission of the City of Milwaukee, With the Sewerage Commission I w i ll continue to remain active in the turf management f i e ld on a national scale, and thus look forward to renewing pleasurable contacts when I travel West to attend turfgrass conferences, Based on the Green Section program's acceptance in the West, the USGA. Executive Committee has established four additional regional o f f i c es throughout the country, Tho present Green Section o f f i c es now service USGA. clubs in 35 states and the District of Columbia. Thus, our Western courses can indeed take pride in knowing that their pioneering support of a now and untried program resulted in i ts establishment in other areas. Possibly this is the f i r st time in the history of our nation that something started in tho West f i r s t, and then moved East. MORE ABOUT WATER Drought Tolerance or Resistance — Is There a Difference? In talking the matter over with Dr. R. M. Hagan, Irrigation, University of California at Davis, it would seem that there is indeed a difference between drought tolerance and drought resis- tance. According to Bob, knowledge of this difference might well govern your choice of grasses for planting purposes, although research investigations sponsored by tho Green Section may indicate that some of our turfgrassos have the admirable quality of being both tolerant and resistant to drought. In a nutshell, drought tolerance relates to the depth of rooting or deep water foraging qualities of grasses like bermuda and t a ll fescue on uniform soils, whereas resistance relates to the structure of a grass like red fescue which enables it to go for long periods after wilting has occurred and s t i ll revive with an irrigation. Ray D. Leary, Chief Eng. 4 Gen. Mg-p. Sewerage Commission of the City of Milwaukee, P. 0. Sox 2079 Milwaukee 1, kiac. ' »