WM. H. BENGEYFIELD Western Director Phone KEllogg 2-2935 • W e s t e rn T u rf l e t t er • Vol. 9 - N o, 4 July - August 1960 " T HE C R E D IT B E L O N GS TO After three months of heavy play, high temperatures and hard work, the Golf Course Superintendent is entitled to his reflections. He has been buffeted by the weather, criticized by some of his employers and frequently confronted with an indifferent work crew. Whether his program was a successful one or not, he knows the summer has been a rugged and testing one. Dick Haskell, Director of Golf for the Seattle Park Department and USGA Green Section Committeeman recently recalled a statement of Teddy Roosevelt's that is equal to this mood. With some justification, it would seem to be a fine credo for all superintendents. "The Credit Belongs to " is the title: ,f It is not the critic who counts. Not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man actually in the arena. Whose face is marred with dust and sweat and blood. Who strives valiantly and comes short again and again. Who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions and spends himself in a worthy cause. -— — —i who, in the end, knows the triumph of high achievement; and if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory or defeat." IN CALIFORNIA, IT f S "YES ON #6." Many golf and country clubs throughout the United States have recently encountered financial difficulties because of real estate tax problems. In California, for example, the problem is so acute that golf clubs and associa- tions there have made it possible that a California constitutional amendment will be voted upon in November, The amendment would have the effect of taxing golf clubs on their value as recreational facilities instead of on some higher scale. The Executive Committee of the United States Golf Association makes the following statement: The United States Golf Association is cognizant of the difficulties created for many gulf and country clubs by real estate assessments which are ex- cessive for the true value of their courses as recreational facilities. The Association notes that some clubs have literally been taxed out of existence. The Association deplores tax policies which can produce such results. Such policies would seem to be short-sighted and ill-advised for they can lead to denying people the benefits of golf. Golf is a health-giving, character-building game with a high standard of sportsmanship. A golf club is an asset to a community as a social center, its green acres have unusual aesthetic values which benefit the club*s neighborhood as well as its m e m b e r s. The mere presence of a golf course tends to enhance the value of adjacent property for residential purposes. Although there is a record number of approximately 6,000 golf courses in the United States today, they are not adequate to serve the interests of the golfing population. The USGA Executive Committee whole-heartedly endorses the action of golf associations in California in seeking to have golf courses in their State assessed properly on their value as recreational facilities. SPECIFICATIONS FOR PUTTING GREEN CONSTRUCTION: What may well be a mile stone in putting green construction will appear in the September - 1960 issue of the USGA Journal and Turf Management publica- tion. The article "Specifications For a Method of Putting Green Construction" is MUST reading for all Golf Course Superintendents, Green Chairmen, Architects and others involved in this w o r k. Basic research in soil physics, soil-air- water relationships and water movement in soils are the foundation of the specifications. Your Western Green Section Office will have reprints of this article available for distribution on request, "Water Use On The Golf Course" is another recent USGA publication avail- able from your Green Section office. It covers many important aspects of irri- gation installation and requirements. With many Western courses considering the installation of new irrigation systems, this booklet should receive the atten- tion of Superintendents and Green Chairmen alike. It is another phase of the USGA Green Section on program of direct service to Member C l u b s. THE BAFFLING BERMUDAS: Any baseball fan knows that !, You can't tell the players without a program* 11 Turfmen are having similar trouble with Bermuda grasses. So many new strains and selections of Bermuda are now available for turf production that it is difficult to distinguish one name from another. Some clarification seems needed. In classifying the Bermuda grasses now in turf u s e, we find each falls into one of the following groups: A* Common Bermuda (Cynodon dactylen). -- This group includes common Bermuda and selections of common Bermuda such as U - 3, Ormond and Tiflawn. South African Bermuda (Cynodon transevalensis). South African Bermuda grass of which Ugandagrass is o n e. Hybrids or Crosses between A and B above. This includes Tifgreen (T-328), Tifway, Texas 35-A, Magennissi and Gene T i f t. When classified according to texture: Coarse Leaf Common Bermuda Medium Leaf U-3 Ormond Tifway Very Fine Leaf South African Uganda Fine Leaf Tifgreen Magennissi Texas 35-A Gene Tift Everglades 1 D r. J. R• W a t s o n, J r. Cheif Agronomist Toro Manufacturing C o r p. Minneapolis b M i n n. f BULK RATE U.S. POSTAGE PAID Garden Grove, Calif. Permit No. 83 j