Good Turfpays dividends

Only the popular course can make money.And no course can be popular if its fair-ways and greens are allowed to deteriorate.

Good turf with vitality to withstand theextremes of nature-heat and cold, droughtand flood-with better root development,sturdier leaf structure, may be had with lessexpense for seed if you use Milorganite.Easy, safe, inexpensive. High organic nitro-gen content-amazingly low cost per tonand per acre. Nitrogen released gradually,continuously. Generous applications canbe made without danger of burning.

Milorganite is used on more golf coursesthan any other fertilizer.

Free Bulletin "How to Use Milorganite onFairways and Greens" mailed on request.

THE SEWERAGE COMMISSION, Milwaukee, Wis.

VEG-E-TONICThe .oluble "Cool

Food" for PuttingGreen •. Quick .. n dlaning re.ulta with-out burning or .treak-ing. Highest In Nitro-gen. Phosphoric Acidand Potaah. No 'filler' .no w.ate. Leave. noinjurioua realdue onGreens.

FaClOry Representative.:P. L. Baldock, 22,10 Casitas St., Buckner /Irrigation Co., 4970

Pasadena. Milwaukee Ave., Chicago, andGordon Buckner, Athens Ath- Bayside, Lonr leland, New

letic Club, Oakland. Yark.Eastern Engineering Representative:

Wendell P. Miller and Associates, Bayside, Long Island, New York.

The way to win permanent independence from Nature'llhaphazard watering of your coune ill to inlltall an econ-omical IIprinkling IIYlltemfor complete regulated irriga-tion. Thill takee the matter of alluring fairwaYlI,thatwillllecure popularity, into your own handll. Nowi. thetime to plan lIuch an improvement.

Rain-Fresh Fairwayswhen you NEED them

Buckner SYlltem. are the leaden for low COllt,highlyefficient coune maintenance. More Buckner Sprinklerlland valveeare in ulleon American counee than any othermake. Without obligating younelf you may have theBuckner Catalog before you on your d_k while youplan. Write/or it.

BU~KNER

BUCKNER MANUFACTURING CO., Fresno, CaliF

~.~~o , _

~ . ~..: ~.;,>. %,~- .:.+:;;:;;:. ~'-::': '. ::.>,,\ 1./1 ""'1J1I: 1I11jj (;/' : a'•...•......•.•.--. " \:;' ':"{I/I/~ 7J:'_~£

; ~. I' ., <g;a &~.~..=

I --or

.~ ._ l ~~ . '-.':', -. ~-=i ~/'~, 0 _'j'

--.:...---Proied~ "" e'ns' 0",,; with FU t ~

.Keep Positive Control of Turf Disease and Soil VerminAdopt the IIMcClain Economy Systemll

The existing demand for maintenance economies may bereadily met by your usage of FUNGOL this year.

This approved fungicide and ve r m ic ide ism 0 s teffective for prevention and treatment of Brown Patch andother fungous diseases, as well as control of Soil Vermin.

The savings you can make with FUNGOL come from itsLARGE COVERING CAPACITY for Brown Patch, and itsextra vermicidal value for eradication of grubs, beetles, sodwebworms, and earthworms. No othervermicides necessary.

Save your Greens and bank accountwith FUNGOL and the "McCLAINSYSTEM." Write today for completedetails, free Record Charts for your ownuse, and testing samples of FUNGOL andVEG-E- TONIC.

McCLAIN BROTHERS COMPANY129 Second Street, Canton, Ohio

OVERCOMENATURE'S WHIMS

ONE-MAN SPRINKLER SYSTEMSPROMOTES

GOOD TURF

MILORGANITE

MAY, 1933VOLUMEVII-No.5

Single Copies Twenty Cents

Six Months One Dollar

One Year Two Dollars

The NATIONALGREENKEEPER

and TURF CULTURE(Registration of title applied for at U. S. Patent Office)

ROBERT E. POWERPrnidmt and Editor

FRANK H. PELTONS~crdar'JI

C. F. LOWETr~aJurn

M. J. FoxAJJiJlant S((r~tar}'

Published monthly at 405 Caxton Building, Cleveland, Ohio.Contents copyright, 1933, by The National Greenkeeper and Turf Culture, Inc., Publishers.

Entered aa second-class matter, Aug. f5, 19f8, at the post office, Clelleland, Ohio, under act of March 8,1879All Rights Reserved - None of the contents of this Magazine, either wholly or in part, may be reprinted without permission.

ContentsTHE EDITOH'S CHAm

By Robert E. Pou-er ...

THE UNVAHNISHED THUTH.

BUDGETING TilE GOLF COUHSEBy R. E. Furmer .

THE SEED BED OF A LA WNfly Prof. L S. Dicki"."''' .

GOLF COURSE NEWS . 9

OHNAl\l ENTING 1I0USE G HOUi'lDSBy L. C. 8,,'('(/ .

TEN YEAHS WITH A TUln' NUHSEHY/l)' Guy C. We.., .

TUHF CONDITIONS IN AHIZONABy Puul ..I,M.>,.•; .

TUHF CULTUHE NEWS .

....................... 1.1

17

1M

BETTEHli'lG l\lAINTEi'lANCE AT S;\IALL TOWi'I GOLF COUHSESBy V. T. Slowpm)'er 10 i\IAHKET PLACE AND BUYEHS' GUIDE .. 20

The Editor's ChairSUPPOSE we reminisce for a few minutes on the generalbusiness and economic situation and how it affects theturf culture industry.

crHERE is no denying the fact that we have been in a fogand a fright for almost a year. Sales which were madehave not been realized. Stagnation has sapped our re-sources. As a result we have "holed in" with a feeling of .fear that everything was going to pot.

crHE truth is, as we see it, that we are more scared thanhurt. The garbage man is clearing out the banking busi-ness and plenty of new, clean money is coming into cir-culation. In other words legitimate business is due tohave its day and that right soon.

SEVERAL things point to the above conclusion:First-Inflation of our currency will put more

money in circula tion.Secolld- The breaking down of the tariff wall

will give us a world-wide market.Tbird-The Federal Government has served no-

tice on the bank moguls that their days of gamblingand speculation with depositors' money are over.

FOl/rtb-Riotous government expense is on thewane and the luscious days of political patronageare over.

Fifll~ The Roosevelt administration is going tounscramble the monopolistic combine of large in-dustries and give the ordinary and honest manu-facturer a chance to get his share of sunshine insteadof being shut up in a dungeon as he has been forthree years.

crHINGS are gloomy at best but we cannot help feelingthat the old adage, <tIt's always darkest before dawn,"is true at the present time. The big U. S. A. is too vastand too prosperous and too rich in natural resources tocompletely lapse into solitude. We must have confi-dence and courage to face the morning sun with a smileand say, eelet's go."

LA.ST month we talked quite seriously about the em-ployment situation in the turf culture field-how anable man might need a job and a worried landownermight need his services.

crHE response has been spontaneous. Comes a letterfrom an old-time greenkeeper in New Jersey. <tI readyour editorial in the April issue and I think your employ-ment plan an excellent idea and something that has beenbadly needed. I wish to thank you on my own behalf andalso in behalf of other greenkeepers in my position foryour interest in our welfare."

::-

OUR Employment Department which you will see in oneof the back pages is going to grow by leaps and bounds.It is necessary, useful and economical.

IT is the poor man's day in this whirling world. \Xfhenhe goes out early and comes in late he can feel thatevery hour's labor is an important cog in the nation'sbusiness. No longer a puppet to be played with, hestands with shoulders erect and courage in his heart be-cause he recognizes his responsibility to his communityand his country.

4 T be Na/iolla! Grccllkee pcr and Turf Culture

The Unvarnished Truth

IT BEHOOVES one sometImes to speak the unvarnished truth.

Especially in these tin1es when the veneer is off the furniture.

The NATIONAL GREENKEEPER and TURF CULTURE has no affili-

ations with any trade interests or organizations which have an axe

to grind.

While it may be a bit embarrassing to be so frank, we cannot help

standing out in the open and telling our readers and advertisers that

this magazine will be just 100% on the level as long as I am at the

wheel.

You can believe every word we publish. Furthermore we shall do

our best to clean out the bunk which has and still does infest the turf

cuI ture industry.

When any of you have anything to buy or anything to sell and are

not dead sure, write in. Imay know something.

Editor.

May, 1933

MAY

1933

VOLUME VII

NUMBER 5

The NATIONALGREENKEEPERand TU.RF CULTURE

T be only trade jour-

nal in the world de-

'voted to tbe growing

of fine turf grasses.

Budgeting the Golf CourseBy R. E. (BOB) FARMER, Greenkeeper

Brynwood Country Club, Milwaukee, Wisconsin

Reprinted from address delivered at the Annual Greenkeepers' Educational Conference in Chicago

Bob Farmer takes the bull by thehOnls ;'1 his story 0/1 budgcfillgtbe golf course. Perhaps some willcriticize his deduciiollS, bllt 110

olle call discoullt IJis courage.

~ BUDGET is a financial estimateembodying proposals for the en-suing year as presented to or passedupon by a governing body. In thecase of golf courses we must con-sider first that golf is a luxury in itstrue sense and if it were not for thepopularity of the game due to theenjoyment and healthful benefitsreceived from it, these depressingtimes we have had in the last threeyears would have brought entirelydifferent reactions to those asso-ciated with the work.

It is appropriate and necessaryfor the greenkeeper to keep cost ac-counts and budget his work ac-cordingly. A budget serves to guidethe an10unt of money expended on each item andthe cost-keeping of each operation helps to arriveat the required results. Budgets are warnings thatthere is only so much money to spend and they alsoremind us of the needs that we will require moneyfor later on.

Many golf clubs have been reducing their yearlygrounds budget 1070 each year for the last threeyears in a vain effort not to over-spend their operat-ing expense. Other clubs carried on with theirusual budget until this year and then reduced by15 or 25%,. In order to have a working basis let usassume that my Green committee alloted me a$10,000 appropriation for this year to work with.This will in no way intimate that grounds mainte-

nance cost can be standardized onall golf courses, nor should it indi-cate any sample of cost accountingform, but it will, by setting up anactual cost of items and operationsfor one year on my course, repre-sent a figure whereby I can budgetfor the following year. This wayof budgeting is on the percentagebasis and it is the only way eachgreenkeeper can estimate his ex-penditure consistently for the en-suing year . We can also assume thisalloted $10,000 appropriation is a25% cut from the previous year.As an example I alTIshowing in thispaper a sample budget showing a25 %) cut, making an annual ex-

penditure of the grounds amount to a $10,000budget for the following year.

WHERE MONEY CAN BE SAVED

~ HE green keeper works from year to year study-ing the operations on the grounds and how theyaffect the budget. It is his duty to study the costsand how they fit into the annual expenditure. Manypointers are brought to light showing the advan-tages and disadvantages of budgeting. You willnotice in the sample budget where the greens itemis reduced about $ 53 5.00. This amount is almostequivalent to one man's salary for a year and inorder to meet the demand something drastic hasto be done. Some of the greens on the 400-yard holes

6 T be Na/iOlla! Greellkee per alld Turf Culture May, 1933

WATERING SHOWS A CUTcrHE watering operation includes greens, tees,fairways and sometimes the trees, shrubs andflowers. The budgets ded ucts $220.50 from the sumof the year before. If the night sprinkler is paid40c an hour there would be 551 hours less of timefor work. This item would suffer considerably.

Roughs comprise from 30 to 60 acres and areusually cycled twice a year, or so, except on publicand semi-public courses where the requiremenits;}re more stringent. The hay is usually raked inrows and hauled away but with $116.00 less tospend it could be burned as it is wind-rowed. Thehay may be also exchanged for manure and thuseliminate the costly expense of hauling.

The outside rough is that area beyond the 20-yard limit and among the trees and outer areas.Most of this expense is cycling, raking and generallycleaning up of fallen debris. Much depends on thenumber of storms as to appearance and a $115difference might be unnoticeable some years. Manyclubs have a yearly supply of dead limbs and treesto be removed from these locations. Oftentimesthis wood can be exchanged for services of the manand team who do the cycling of the tall grass.

It costsJrom 15c to 30c to rake a trap, dependingon the size. To reduce this item $176.00 wouldmean considerably less raking. The time for rakingwould become more important and would have tobe neglected on quiet days.

Greens, tees, and sometimes approaches are sup-plied with sod from the turf nursery. It is essentialto keep that up in first-class condition. In order toreduce the amount on this item the turf nursery.would have to be neglected.

Seeds, fertilizer chemicals, gas and oil, deprecia-tion and incidental items are all tangible and can bereduced according to the money allotted for such.

GOLF MACHINERY MUST BE KEPT UPcrHE repairs item can't very well b~ reduced$ 388.00 as it is necessary to keep the golf machineryin good werking order, nor can the repairs to barnand painting be neglected. The golf equipmentsuch as tee boxes, ball washers, poles and flags, etc.,must be maintained in the usual manner.

Nothing is said of the construction item becausea separate fund is usually created for this expendi-ture. Old construction work can be charged tothat item which it concerns.

369.85464.25

1,098.00318.85561.85

1,164.00742.50585.00

$10,000.00

$10,000.004,599.005,401.00

123.15154.7 5366.00106.15187.15388.00247.50195.00

$3,333.001,533.001,800.00

$3,333.00

493.00619.00

1,464.00425.00749.00

1,552.00990.00780.00

SAMPLE OF A REDUCED GOLF COURSE BUDGET

Amountto SPend

$ 1,604.25207.00795.85661.50350.25204.00344.25528.85

Items Actual Cost forand Operations a Prior Year 25% CutGreenL $ 2,139.00 $ 534.75TeeL 276.00 69.00Fairways 1,061.00 265.15Watering 882.00 220.50Rough 467.00 116.75\Veeding 272.00 68.00Outside Rough 459.00 114.75Bunkers and TrapL 705.00 176.15Turf Gardens and

Nursery _Seeds _Fertilizer _Chemicals _Gas and OiL _Repairs _Depreciation _Incidentals _

$13,333.00

TotaL $13,3 33.00Total LaboL 6,132.00Total MateriaL 7,201.00

which are of good size may be cut down so as toeliminate mowing and topdressing expense. On acost unit basis for the reduced areas a definite sumcan be estimated toward the saving.

Some of the short hole greens may be cut downalso if necessary. The proper fertilization of thegrasses may make it possible to reduce the frequencyof mowing. The texture of the grasses can be over-looked in extreme cases of this kind. Good selectionof topsoil can help to eliminate some weeding. Thekind of sand used for topdressing is an importantfeature also.

Tees are usually too small but since the number ofplayers are decreasing at most clubs, a reduction of$ 69.00 is almcst negligible. Consideration shouldbe given to the nature of the subsoil as this retardsthe growth of grass and slows up the time of re-palnng.

The acreage of the fairways is large and $265.00taken from that item means quite a little less tospend. Re-seeding and top-dressing is very impor-tant so the mowing item would have to suffer.When it only take~ one man from ten to fourteenhours to mow fifty acres, one can readily see wherethe number of times the fairways would be mowedwould be decreased twenty-five times. It is tragedyto mow the grass in the fairways short but com-plaints of lost balls are not pleasant to hear about.

May, 1933 The Natiollal Greellkeeper and Turf Culture 7

BY LAWHENCE s. DICKINSON

The National Greenkeeperalltl Turf Cillture

The Lawn

IUostrated128 pages---Price $1.25 postpaid

to any address

Oeveland, Ohio405 Caxton Bldg.

I

Ass't. Professor of HorticultureMassachusetts State College

Defines and Describes the Culture ofTurf in Park, Golfing and Home areas.

CONTENTSThe General View Controlling PestsMolding the Lawn General MaintenancePreparation of the Seed Bed Lawn MowenSeed Selection and Planting Park TurfImportant Turf Plants Cemetery TurfPlantinat a lawn with Stolons. Useful Tabl~

Fertilizing

cautious methods of spending, but good results canbe obtained by a gradual scheme of building up.

Six fairways can be fertilized and topdressed eachyear. Some of the trees can be fertilized, pruned andtreated every year. A quantity of sand can be putinto the traps each season. A just amount of de-preciation of machinery can be charged off yearly.Some funds should be set aside for old and new con-struction work. A green might need re-modelingor some new trees should be planted. Such a grad-ual development of improving your golf course willfix a standard budget each year. It will help to doaway with deficits and overspending. What is savedon each year's budget can be set aside for depressingtimes such as we have been going through.

Now that we are going through an era of depres-sion golf, I believe many golf clubs will allot certainamounts for each phase of operation. Maximummaintenance methods only open the road for achange in administration. Oftentimes pirate man-agers come into charge and capitalize on these maxi-mum conditions by reducing costs for a year or twoonly on the grounds. The glory is credited to theacting regime instead of the ones who built the golfcourse up to its splendid condition.

One of the chief advantages of budgeting in thismanner is the finding in the course of a year's work,that savings in some of the items and operations canbe made while in others none can be made. Alto-gether the savings will approach your budget veryclosely and one can readily see how and where tobudget for the following year.

More initiativeness and ideas as to how and wherethe total appropriation can be met will be devel-oped. The efficiency of the organization will be re-flected from the greenkeeper on through his men.Reduced budgets, if extreme, can only be exercisedfor a ye~~ or so until the condition of the course issuch that the members as a whole become dissat-isfied.

Most of the greenkeepers have always operatedtheir courses very efficiently and any reduction ofthe total appropriation works a hardship on them.Good managers will keep the general appearance ofthe course good through the playing season, buteven so, the principal parts of the golf course areneglected.

REDUCED WAGE SCALE IS DISADV ANT AGE

CJ"'HE red uced scale of wage that is being adoptedgenerally among golf courses works to a disadvan-tage. Experienced men do their work more effi-ciently and quickly than inexperienced men. Ittakes care and time to train new men. This is espe-cially true where many golf clubs are reducing theworking hours by laying off their men three half-days a week.

The ,forces of nature affect the budget verymuch. The 'weather can almost be called thebarometer of your budget. Rainy seasons increasethe mowing items considerably. All mowing equip-ment is kept busy at such times. The reverse is trueif it is dry, but then your watering operation isdoubled. Territorial location has much to do withthe diseases that visit the golf courses. Wooded golfcourses favor insect migration, so these obstaclesall work against any form of budget and are utterlyimpossible to forecast.

Many green keepers will be forced to spend theirappropriations more carefully whether they aretaking care of an old course or a new one. Due tobudgets being slashed it will take longer to bring anew course into good condition because of the more

The Seed Bed of a LawnBy PROFESSOR LAWRENCE S. DICKINSON

Reprinted from The Lawn by permission of the publishers, the Orange Judd Publishing Companyand the author, Professor Dickinson

PROF. LAWRENCE S. DICKINSONMassacbusefls State College

wbo is recogllized illtematiollally as all expert 011 turf

clII tllre. \\I' e arc greatly privilegccl to publisb exccr pts

from bis /Volle/erflll book.

~ HE seed bed of a lawn isreally the top soil or loam, andlike any good bed it has threelayers: ( 1) the top inch, orbed clothes; (2) the next twoinches in depth, or mattress;and (3) the remaining depth,or bed spring; all of which areessential to the comfort andhealth of the occupant. Theselayers are particularly impor-tant to grass plants, becausenot only do they act as aseed bed, but they must nour-ish the young grass plantsthrough its youth, and thenmaintain it through the vigorof life and dotage 'til death.

Therefore the seed bedshould be of such texture as topermit easy development of a root system, and con-tain a quantity of the chemical elements necessaryfor plant life. It should also contain at least twenty-five per cent of voids or air spaces; plenty of mois-ture and yet not be wet, and be prepared for occu-pancy in either the spring or fall seasons.

To meet the requirement for the physical prop-erties of an ideal topsoil; one must have a loamreasonably rich in organic matter or humus andcontaining from 15 to 20 percent of clay, 45 to 50percen t of sil t and the remainder sand. Such a top-soil is not difficult to obtain if properly managed,although one usually has to start with a topsoil thatwill fall under one of the following classifications:sandy, sandy loam, clay loam, or clay.

The doctrine that good construction makes forlow cost of maintenance is particularly adapted atthis point in the building of a lawn. Home owners,and particularly contractors and real estate agents,in their haste to get Ua lawn" saddle themselves, ortheir customers with a lawn area that will givechronic trouble, or require an expensive operation

8

because of poor construction.For many reasons it is not wiseto permanently plant a lawnas soon as the tt new house isfinished" or grading complet-ed, even though it should beproperly molded. Workmenplanting the shrubbery, anddoing the many ulast things"about the new house willleave permanent memorials,in the form of worn and ex-cessively packed spots alL.overuthe new lawn." Further-more in one season poor soilscan be made much better, andunevenness smoothed, so thata truly permanent lawn canbe planted.

Many subdivisions are be-ing made on land that is either very sandy or veryclayey. On such topsoils no attempt should be madeto plant a lawn until the area has been cover-cropped. Cover-cropping means to grow a cropfor the purpose of plowing it in before maturity,thereby improving the soil both as to texture ~ndfood content. As before intimated, cover-crop-ping is very beneficial to both sandy and clay soils,even Cape Cod sand has been made to produce goodturf after two seasons of cover-cropping.

SPRING PLANTING IS FATAL

IT SURELY is a great temptation, when one movesinto a newly-built house May 1, to immediatelyuplant a lawn." Yield not! Grow cover crops andplant in the fall. If the lawn is molded and ready forseeding in the spring it should be cover-croppedwith rye or oats sown thickly. This crop should beshallow-plowed in the latter part of June, and thearea seeded to buckwheat at the rate of three pecksper acre. The buckwheat should be plowed in whilethe stalks are green and succulent (about Septem-

Mav. 19 J 3

May, 1933 T be National Greenkee per and Turf Culture 9

ber 1 for the Northern latitudes) and the groundpermitted to remain fallow for about two weeks.

It should then be prepared for seeding. If thearea is not ready until mid-summer, grow only onecover crop, and if it should be fall before any workcould be done on the lawn area, sow winter rye toplow in early spring to be followed by two morecover crops. If the soil contains over twenty-fivepercent clay, one application of lime at the rate offifty pounds per one thousand square feet of sur-face will be of great benefit.

On soils capable of growing a fair vegetablegarden cover-cropping need not be practiced, butit is very necessary on sandy or clay soils. In allcases the seed bed should be fully prepared in thefall, if possible in time for fall seeding and if not forspring seeding on the ((honey comb," when the topis thawing and freezing.

All soils are improved by the addition of manures,and often they can be substituted for cover crops.The only factor against the use of manures is theirunknown weed seed content. However, this liabil-ity need not be very serious if the manure is appliedseveral weeks before seeding time, for a great major-ity of the weed seeds will have germinated and theyoung plants will be destroyed in the final prepara-tion of the seed bed. It is far better to harrow themanure into a lawn surface than to plow it in.

PREPARING THE SEED BED

IN preparing the real seed bed (bed covers) themolded lawn should be thoroughly harrowed orshallow spaded. Grade strings should then be re-strung and the entire area raked with iron rakes.This raking should not only remove stones anddebris, but should smooth out any unevenness andround off all sharp corners caused by abrupt bend-ing of the grade lines. The raker should becautioned to do as much ttpushing" as ttpulling"with his rake, otherwise there will be an excessiveaccumulation of loam at the lower part of the area.

Experience teaches (though it is seldom prac-ticed) that it is better to rake up the slope thandown it, for the same reason. As soon as this rakingis completed and the area appears ready for theseed, roll the area with a medium heavy roller. Un-expected hollows and hills will appear, lumps ofearth will be crushed and the tern pta tion to seedafter the first raking is alleviated by the obviousnecessity for another raking. This raking, the final

"Lock Your Hose Where it Belongs" \McCLAIN UNDERGROUND HOSE LOCKERImprove the appearance and safety of your courseby keeping your Putting Green hose neatly rolled onthis revolving metal reel in a durable steel compart-ment below the ground at each Green, protectedfrom sun, weather, theft, and mowers. Hose alwaysconnected to water outlet. Big hose capacity. Easilyinstalled. Pleases players. Many economy features.

Write for literature.McCLAIN BROS. CO., 1232nd St., CANTON, OHIO

one, should be done with a wooden lawn rake. Itshould effectually smooth the surface and loosen thesoil to a depth of at least three-quarters of an inch,leaving a soft, open clean and thoroughly pulver-ized seed bed.

If one desires to use a pre-seeding fertilizer otherthan the manures, super-phosphate at the rate ofsixteen pounds per one thousand square feet will befound to be very helpful to the young grass plant.This should be incorporated into the soil with thefirst raking.

Golf Course NewsA column of information brief and accurate.

Items are welcome and will be published.

NEW ENGLAND NOTES

r:.. By GUY C. WEST

';j OLF in New England this spring has been largelyvery dependent upon the weather. Following a ratheropen winter when most courses used their regular greensar all times, April brought a very excessive rainfall, andthe result was flood conditions, with many courses suffer-ing from flooded lowlands, soggy fairways, etc.

The "No Play" signs were hung out in many clubs dueto these wet conditions, and even the best of drainagef3cilities were taxed on all clubs.

The Greenkeepers' Club of New England held its lastindoor meeting of the season on April 3 at the HotelStatler, Boston. Dr. Howard B. Sprague of the NewJersey Agricultural Experiment station was the speaker,and explained interestingly the various experiments con-ducted recently and the results obtained from them.

The annual Field Day for greenkeepers at the RhodeIsland State College will be held this year on May 22.Exhibits will be limited to the small equipment. A tripto the experimental plots and a speaking program follow-ing lunch will complete the program.

Arthur W. Maclean, formerly assistant greenkeeperat the Kernwood Country Club, Salem, Mass. has re-cently been appointed greenkeeper at the BrattleboroCountry Club, Brattleboro, Vt.

(Coll/illl/cd 011 P"sc 14)

Bettering Maintenance At Small TownGolf Courses

By V. T. STOUTEMYER, Department of Horticulture,Iowa State College, Ames, Iowa

Reprinted from address delivered at the Annual Greenkeepers' Educational Conference in Chicago

DISTRIBUTION OF GOLF COURSES IN THE SMALLER TOWNS

AND CITIES OF IOWA

13281424201315

196663034201615

N I/m ber ofNllmber of TOWIlS Having Olle

Towlls ill State or More Golf COl/rsrs

nance is on a somewhat higherlevel or where the clubhousefacilities are more elaborate thisfigure may be doubled. Thesedues, of course, are very small incomparison with those of someof the larger clubs.

CLUBHOUSE HAS PROVED COSTLY

PopulatiollRanK/'

ONE question which everysmall town club has to face is therelative prominence which shallbe given to golf and to the club-house with the usual social activ-ities that cluster around it. Satis-factory golfing facilities may besecured for a very modest sum inthe small community, but veryoften the clubhouse facilities

prove excessively costly for the small golf club.

500- 1,000 _1,000- 1,500 _1,500- 2,000 _2,000- 3,000 _3,000- 4,000 _4,000- 5,000 n _

5,000-10,000 _

Totals 377 127

In some cases during the past season the green-keeper's budget has been reduced drastically, whilelarge expenditures have been continued for club-house equiptnent. Possibly this trend is the result ofa real demand by the membership for the improve-ment of the clubhouse as a social center. N-everthe-less, there are many clubs which would have largermemberships today and be in better financial con-dition if they had maintained good greens and fair-ways and had spent less on high-priced crystal andchinaware. If this be true, perhaps the greenkeep-

Professor Sloulell1yer bas mosl ill-lel1igl'11tly analyzed a sl/bject ofnation-wide im porlallc/'. His ill-vestigations are sOl/nd and bisfacts ring Irl/e. We recom mendbim witbollt r/'senlatiOIl.

crHE ancient and honorablegame of golf has now become aswell established in American lifeas ham and eggs or Boston bakedbeans. Golf doubtless has awider adaptation to people of allages and classes than most othersports. This explains the rapidspread of the game in the last twoor three decades. Wherever thegolf bug bites, it bites exceeding-ly deep and leaves its usual quotaof bereaved wives and fatherlessfamilies.

While golf has had its largestdevelopment in metropolitandistricts, there is a strong andgrowing interest in the smallertowns. The accompanying tableshows approximately the present distribution ofgolf courses in the smaller towns of Iowa, a typi-cally rural state. This list was compiled during thepast year and includes regularly organized golfclubs for the most part, with a very few fee andmunicipal courses. Undoubtedly a number of clubswere overlooked in this survey.

Thus it may be seen that a considerable numberof golf courses are found in towns with a small pop-ulation. It would be erroneous to imagine that verymany of these courses are still in the cow pasturestage. A few, it is true, have sand greens and per-haps charge an annual fee of $10.00 or $15.00. As arule the small courses are not opera ted very long be-fore several grass greens are installed. Eventuallythe sand is replaced en tirely by grass.

Cost studies are of little value in this period ofchange ,but it may be said that during the past fewyears many small 9-hole clubs have been providingbent grass greens and fairly good playing conditionswith some clubhouse facilities for dues of about$25.00 or $30.00 per year. \X1herever the mainte-

10 May, 1933