This N E W S L E T T E R is publ ished month ly by the Greenkeepe r s Club of New Eng land , and sen t f r e e to i ts mem-bers and t he i r Greens ' Cha i rmen . Sub-scr ipt ion pr ice t en cents a copy, or a dollar a yea r . GUY C. W E S T Ed i to r

312 Mt. Pleasant St., Fall River, Mass. M A R S T O N B U R N E T T . . Business Mgr. Wyantenuek G. C., Great Barrington, Mass.

September , 1932 Vol. 4, No. 9

S E P T E M B E R M E E T I N G

The Sep tember m e e t i n g was held a t the B r a e b u r n Coun t ry Club, W e s t New-ton , Mass. on Sep tember 12th. The Club Championship was won by Emi l A. Masciocchi of t h e Oak Hill Coun t ry Club, F i t chburg , Mass. wi th a score of 84. Second gross was won by Wallace Peckham wi th a 90. Net pr izes were won as fo l lows:

1st, Wm. Lindsay, 93-16-77. 2nd, T h o m a s B r e n n a n , 103-25-78. 3rd, F r a n k Wilson, 106-27-79. 4th, J a m e s Sull ivan, 97-17-80.

Wal lace P e c k h a m ce lebra ted his b i r t hday in good style.

We not iced two t ees whe re t h e mark-ers could have been p u t f u r t h e r back.

One of our f r i e n d s said t h a t th is mee t ing was the first he could r emem-ber a t which we had no t asked f o r a r t i -cles f o r the N E W S L E T T E R . P e r h a p s we have come to t h e conclusion t h a t it doesn ' t do much good. However , we need some now, and hope t h a t some of our f r i e n d s who a re in te res ted will send in the i r cont r ibu t ions .

The a n n u a l m e e t i n g a t the Green Section E x p e r i m e n t a l p lots a t t he Char les River C o u n t r y Club, Newton Cent re , Mass. was held on Augus t 17th. Dr. J o h n Monte i th , J r . of the Green Section was p resen t , and discussed the var ious plots, wi th the var ious experi-m e n t s be ing car r ied on. The re was a la rge a t t e n d a n c e of in te res ted g reen-keeper s and g reen cha i rmen. Al though this mee t ing was of in te r -

est, and all such mee t ings have a definite value and an impor t an t place in our e f for t s to be t t e r ourselves and our courses, we v e n t u r e to s ta te t h a t we fee l t h a t th is mee t ing could have more-value. We would like to see a commit tee f r o m the Greenkeepers Club work to-ge the r wi th the ones who have previous-ly sponsored these meet ings , wi th the definite idea of t r y i n g to make more of these meet ings . We wonder if i t wou ldn ' t be a b e t t e r idea to have the " e a t s " as a d inner to fo l low the plots ' visit, t h a n as a lunch b e f o r e vis i t ing the plots. A commit tee f o r th is purpose could dis-cuss all such quest ions and probably make m o r e out of th is mee t ing .

We w o n d e r w h a t ever happened to t h a t sugges t ion of ex-pres ident T r e a t t h a t we have an ou tdoor mee t ing with our sa lesman and dealer f r i ends . We seem to have t r i ed all S u m m e r to spon-sor a g reenkeepe r -p ro t o u r n a m e n t , and it now seems p robab le t h a t the n e x t mee t ing will be r u n along these lines, i t migh t be well to t h ink over such sug-ges t ions t h a t have been made in the past , and never t r ied . Any idea which f u r t h e r s coopera t ion a m o n g those in te r -ested in golf course ma in t a inence should be a s tep in the r i g h t direct ion.

In keep ing with the t imes, the Wes t -e rn Massachuse t t s Greenkeepers a re ca r ry ing on. A t t h e Pi t tsf ield C o u n t r y Club f o r the Ju ly mee t ing twen ty -one members ga the red . Augus t saw abou t the same n u m b e r a t Wil l iamstown. The n e x t m e e t i n g will be held a t Berkshi re Hills C o u n t r y Club, Pi t tsf ie ld, Mass., on Wednesday , Sep t ember 21st. Golf a ; 2 .30; supper a t 6.30.

as r epo r t ed by Mars ton B u r n e t t . I F and W h e n . — M e n will w e a r b rown

this Win te r , says a stylist . They will if t hey did las t Win te r .

— L i f e .

Greenkeeper wi th seven yea r s exper i -ence, t h i r t y yea r s work ing wi th t u r f ; would apprec ia te h e a r i n g of club need-ing exper ienced man . Address XYZ % Newsle t te r .

We a re f o r t u n a t e in p re sen t ing this m o n t h a " R e s u m e of Brown-pa tch Con-t r o l " by our pres ident . This is a fine ar t ic le which our r e a d e r s will do well to save. We hope t h a t the copies of the N E W S L E T T E R are filed away f o r f u t u r e r e f e r e n c e , and t h a t ar t ic les such as th is give help f r o m t ime to t ime when prob lems arise.

A R E S U M E O F B R O W N P A T C H C O N T R O L

B y J a m e s M c C o r m a c k Unicorn C o u n t r y Club

Al though we have received some val-uab le i n f o r m a t i o n on the p reven t ion and control of t u r f diseases, th is prob-lem of b rown pa tch cont inues to cause considerable t roub le and expense.

I t is f a i r l y well ag reed t h a t th is scourge is caused by f u n g i , which find-ing the p rope r incuba t ing condit ions, g row v e r y rap id ly and kill t h e grass . The condi t ions necessa ry f o r f u n g i to spread are well defined. If these con-di t ions are control led the i r g rowth can be cu t down to a min imum, if no t pre-ven ted ent i re ly .

The mos t s a t i s f ac to ry and economical way of comba t t ing this disease is the p reven ta t ive method . The res i s tance of the grass should be bui l t up and main-t a ined t h r o u g h o u t the season and es-pecial ly p reced ing humid r a iny wea the r . The physical condi t ion of the soil has much to do wi th deep roo t ing of the grass . The r i g h t p ropor t ion of sand should be placed in the t op soil so t h a t sufficient a i r will r each the roo t s and p rope r d ra inage condit ions ma in t a ined close to the su r f ace of the g reen .

A fe r t i l i z ing p r o g r a m which t ends to ma k e the grass more s t u rdy is an im-p o r t a n t f a c t o r in cont ro l l ing this di-sease. Spr ing top-dress ing should con-ta in a wel l -balanced fe r t i l i ze r appl ied in compost of correc t t e x t u r e and dur-ing the hot mon ths a small a m o u n t of inorganic f e r t i l i ze r should be added to each top-dress ing. The g reen should be well w a t e r e d a f t e r each appl ica t ion in order to dissolve the fe r t i l i ze r and g e t the compost close to the roots .

P r o p e r w a t e r i n g is ve ry essent ia l to hea l thy t u r f . Too much w a t e r has p roven as d isas t rous as too l i t t le . A check on the condi t ion of the g reen can be made when the cup is moved.

W h e r e condit ions a re such t h a t this disease is of m a j o r impor t ance a small a m o u n t of fung ic ide should be appl ied to each top-dress ing. This dose should be much l ighter t h a n r ecommended in o rd ina ry b rown pa tch control , i ts pur -pose be ing to stop f u n g i g rowth as soon as the spores begin to ge rmina t e . This l ight appl icat ion will no t kill t he spores which are ve ry r e s i s t an t bu t will g rea t ly r e t a r d the i r ge rmina t ion . Spores f r o m which the f u n g i ge rmina t e can lie in-act ive in the g reen over an ex tended per iod of t ime. When the p rope r grow-

ing condit ions p r e s e n t themselves , these spores develop into the var ious types of f u n g i which t hen develop rapidly .

W a t e r i n g in ear ly morn ing b e f o r e the sun s t r ikes the g reen has p roven ve ry beneficial . A f t e r a g rowth has s t a r t ed , th is w a t e r i n g will r emove the f u n g i f r o m the i r place of ge rmina t ion and re-duce to a m in imum thei r damag ing ef -f e c t upon the grass .

The season f o r b rown pa tch g rowth ex tends f r o m J u n e to Augus t . The ideal condi t ions f o r its g rowth a r e humid wea the r genera l ly fo l lowing r a i n wi th the t e m p e r a t u r e in the vicini ty of seven-ty-five degrees . T e m p e r a t u r e is a ve ry i m p o r t a n t cont ro l l ing f a c t o r on the r a t e of g rowth .

When b rown pa tch is first not iced a l ight dose of fung ic ide should be imme-diate ly applied and washed in b e f o r e sun s t r ikes the g reen . If t he g rowth is not observed unt i l l a t e r in the day, the appl icat ion of fung ic ide and wa te r should n o t be made unt i l a f t e r the sun is qui te low. Bichloride of m e r c u r y has p roven to be ve ry effective. Bes t re -sul ts have been obta ined by us ing two ounces p e r thousand square f e e t of t u r f . This is applied in liquid f o r m by dis-solving in wa t e r or wi th the top-dress ing fo l lowed by a t h o r o u g h wa te r ing .

A light appl icat ion of f e r t i l i ze r helps the g reens in m a n y ins tances to come back quickly. This should no t be made too heavy otherwise the grass will g row too rap id ly and be more susceptible to f u r t h e r in fec t ion . If no fung ic ide is avai lable when brown pa tch is first not iced a t h o r o u g h washing wi th w a t e r has been f o u n d ve ry sa t i s f ac to ry in re-duc ing i ts g rowth . Many fung ic ides have been grossly exagge ra t ed and only those should be used which have proven sa t i s f ac to ry in the pas t .

Eve ry fa l l an appl icat ion of lime t ends to sweeten the soil. Also, a l ight appli-cat ion with top-dress ing dur ing the mid-dle of the season proves beneficial . Lime will neu t ra l i ze an excess of acid p resen t in the soil and r e s to re the p roper p H value to the su r f ace wa te r . The r a t e of f u n g i g rowth is dependen t upon the p rope r pH value. If th i s is a l t e red by the addi t ion of lime in small amoun t , t he g rowth is r e t a r d e d g rea t ly .

Heavy w a t e r i n g dur ing ex t remely hot w e a t h e r is necessa ry to save the g rass f r o m b u r n i n g up. I t mus t n o t be over-looked t h a t th is w a t e r g r ea t l y di lutes any appl icat ion of fung ic ide . I t is much be t t e r to give more f r e q u e n t applica-t ion in l ight doses t han to apply a

heavy dose, as th is has a ve ry damag ing effect on t h e grass . The appl icat ion of a n y chemical to the g reen should never be en t ru s t ed to an inexper ienced per-son.

Bill Lindsay r e p o r t s opening a new prac t ice p u t t i n g g reen this S u m m a r a t the Manches te r Coun t ry Club. Bill has had ve ry l i t t le t roub le wi th b rown-pa tch this year , hav ing had pract ica l ly none on even the fifth g reen , which has been t roub lesome be fo re .

We not iced ve ry l i t t le publ ic i ty a b o u t the f a c t t h a t our new club champion, t e a m i n g with his club pro, bes ted Gene Sarazen and p a r t n e r a t Oak Hill last month , in one of the two t imes Gene was d e f e a t e d in his New Eng land tou r . Emi l and p a r t n e r should be a good t e a m n e x t m o n t h a t Bear Hill.

A new prac t ice p u t t i n g g reen and also a new prac t i ce p i tch ing g reen have been opened r ecen t ly a t the Fal l River Coun-t r y Club. This p i tch ing g reen is abou t 35 by 50 f e e t , wi th a large and deep t r a p on the l e f t side. This t r a p is shal-low on one end and deep on t h e other , and is f o r pract ice . Seventy y a r d s of f a i r w a y in f r o n t of t h e g reen , and ample rough a round the t r a p and g reen enable any p layer to prac t ice a n y shot f r o m seventy ya rds down to the pu t t . This g reen is nea r the club house, and a l r eady has seen much use.

C H A N G E O F M A N A G E M E N T F r o m Mr. David G. Reid of Hovey &

Company of 150 Milk St., Boston, comes the fo l lowing news, " H O V E Y & COMPANY,, f o r m e r l y a Pa r tne r sh ip , is now u n d e r the complete ownership and m a n a g e m e n t of David G. Reid and will cont inue to serve the i r cus tomers wi th the same p rompt and rel iable service as in the pas t . " Mr. Reid is well known to New Eng land g reenkeepe r s and to the t r ade , hav ing been senior p a r t n e r f o r m a n y years . The N E W S L E T T E R t akes this oppor tun i ty to wish Mr. Reid and Hovey & Company cont inued suc-cess.

" T h e t r u e f r i e n d is the one who u n d e r s t a n d s " . We are wonder ing if anyone in the E a s t has used sodium chlora te exten-sively as a weed kil ler, f o r weeds in t r aps .

P I T C H H O L D I N G G R E E N S

B y F . C. G r o o s , L o n g B e a c h C. C . Repr in t ed f r o m

"The Pacific Greenkeeper" Greens t ha t will hold a p i tch shot and

still r e t a i n a t r u e p u t t i n g su r f ace seem to be a much discussed s u b j e c t — a g r e e -ably discussed if t he ball holds, and j u s t plain cussed if i t does not .

The poor old g r e e n gets shot f r o m all angles. Wr i t e r s , if they men t ion it, hai l or boo f r o m behind a ba r r i cade of type -w r i t e r s ; t h e a rch i tec t shoots it f r o m the ^ ^ g round u p ; go l f e r s praise or condemn it accord ing to the vagar ies of t he i r g a m e ; so, he re goes a shot f r o m t h e g r eenkeepe r ' s s t andpoin t .

Tha t it is d i shea r ten ing to a g o l f e r who ca re fu l ly has placed his shot n e a r the pin only to see it bounce mer r i ly on i ts way to the tal l and u n c u t goes with-out saying. Bu t it is equal ly disconcer t -ing f o r the p layer who f a v o r s the p i tch and r u n shot to find t ha t his ball s t icks in the s u r f a c e wi th a s ickening p lunk . Wors t of all to the p layer is to see his pu t t s deflected because of ball holes or heel p r in t s in the t u r f .

Happy , t h e r e f o r e , is the g r e e n k e e p e r who has been able to b r i n g his soil s t ruc -t u r e to such a s ta te of mois ture -ho ld ing consis tency t ha t a good playing su r f ace is ma in t a ined wi thou t t h e necessi ty of soaking the g reen to such an ex t en t t h a t the r e s u l t a n t loss of bac te r ia l act ion en-danger s the l i fe of his t u r f . I t is a com-mon prac t ice to apply a topdress ing of 60 per cent sand, 20 per cen t loam, and 20 per cen t organic m a t t e r , and while ^ ^ i t is conceded t h a t th is m i x t u r e should p roduce the desired resu l t in t e x t u r e when the g reen is cons t ruc ted , y e t t h e pass ing of yea r s makes it ev ident t h a t th is m i x t u r e becomes depleted in or-ganic con ten t despi te the appl icat ion of commercia l f e r t i l i ze r s and s t r ic t a d h e r -ence to topdress ing schedules. Thus the qual i ty of t h e t u r f is impai red as is also the pi tch holding qual i ty of the green .

Unlike the g a r d e n e r who can add his a n n u a l organic quo ta to b r i n g his soil up to s t anda rd , the g reenkeepe r , because of his t u r f , canno t spade any-th ing benea th t h e su r face .

Since i t is impossible to spade in or-ganic m a t t e r so necessary to main ta in the ideal s t r uc tu r e , then the nea re s t and most p rac t ica l approach to it is spiking i t in, f o r th i s seems to be the only w a y l e f t to ge t benea th the t u r f and , a t t h e

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T e l . H a n c o c k 1 4 5 4 - 1 4 5 5 C o m p l e t e C a t a l o g M a i l e d O n Reques t

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M i d d l e t o w n Golf Club C r o m w e l l , C o n n .

same t ime, to keep the p layers a t the game.

I have ma in t a ined f a i t h f u l l y the prac-t ice of spiking b e f o r e every topdress ing f o r the pas t seven yea r s and dur ing t h a t t ime have en joyed f r e q u e n t pa t s on the back admin i s te red by good go l f e r s who like to see the i r back spin shots s tay put .

Our spiker p u n c t u r e s the t u r f every inch and a half wi th a hole th ree -e igh ths of an inch wide and one and one half inches deep. Cross sect ions t a k e n of these holes display t h a t t hey a re half filled wi th top dressing.

Spiking, then , increases the pore space, rep laces some of the v i t ia ted or-ganic soil conten t , increases bac te r ia l act ion, and insures mois tu re p e n e t r a t i o n to the very longes t r o o t depths . Conse-quent ly the go l fe r shoots spiked g reens wi th confidence t ha t they will hold, and the g reenkeepe r en joys a cont inued ma in t enance of the t u r f .

W e have been ma in t a in ing our g reens in ve ry good holding condit ion by w a t e r i n g t h e m only every o ther n igh t f o r a du ra t ion of f r o m t h r e e - q u a r t e r s to one hour accord ing to the con tou r of the g reen . Our exper ience has indicated t h a t spiking no t only obviates the neces-sity of soaking the g reen , b u t adds ma-ter ia l ly to economic t u r f ma in tenance .

" N e w ideas a re a lways in the e ther . Don ' t le t m e n t a l s ta t ic d rown t h e m ou t " . A fine place f o r you to g e t some new ideas is to a t t e n d a g reenkeepe r s ' mee t ing , and l is ten to you r fe l low g reenkeepe r s . " T e a m work is t h e u l t ima te proof of

good m a n a g e m e n t " . Do you real ize the fine t e a m work shown by you r Board of Di rec tors in the i r work to make your club wor thwhi le? H U M A N S M I G H T G I V E I T A T R Y

The rob in t h o u g h t his f o r t u n e was made when he spot ted t h a t s t r ing. I t was t ied to a pos t bu t he d idn ' t see "the post . I t was new and white and s t rong and t w e n t y f e e t of i t were lying on t h e g round . Visions of the sweliest nes t in Elmvil le seized his imagina t ion . He closed on the loose end wi th his beak and gave a lus ty tug . The s t r i ng sp rang back a y a r d or so and the rob in a lmos t lost his balance. " T h a t j u s t can ' t be , " he wigwags with his ta i l and g rabs i t again . Same maneuv re . Same resul t . Robin sc ra tches his ear and t akes an-o ther hold. He s tands a minu te , calcu-lat ing. This t ime he leaves t h e g round in flight, s t r ing in t o w — a n d down come bo th wi th in a dozen wing-beats . W h e n we l e f t the window t e n minu t e s la te r he was still a t work. N e x t morn ing the s t r ing was still t h e r e b u t the rob in had gone. B u t he bui l t his nes t j u s t the same. A man migh t have sa id : " I t ' s no use while th is d r a t depress ion lasts. Lots of j ack a r o u n d b u t I j u s t can ' t g e t i t t i l l th ings loosen-up." But once the rob in f o u n d t h a t s t r ing was hopeless he w e n t a f t e r some t h a t wasn ' t . F o u n d it, too, and some f e a t h e r s and horsehai r , and t h a t new nes t looked j u s t a b o u t the way he p i c tu red it. F o r w h a t the mora l m a y be w o r t h — the robin works wi th beak and claws f r o m dawn till da rk however t o u g h t h e going.

— C r e d i t W h e r e Credi t Is Due All obstruct ions to the execution of laws, all combinat ions and associations, unde r wha teve r plausible cha rac te r , wi th the real design to direct, control, count-e rac t or awe the r e g u l a r del iberat ion and action of the const i tu ted author i t ies , a r e des t ruct ive of th is f u n d a m e n t a l p r in-ciple, and of f a t a l tendency.

—George Wash ing ton

" I t ' s a cinch to cut t h e o the r fe l low's b u d g e t " .

F O R " Q U A L I T Y "

LAWNS, GOLF and S P O R T T U R F

M A T E R I A L S F I N E S T G O L F G R A S S E S S e p a r a t e V a r s . or M i x t u r e

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C o m p l e t e G r a s s M a n u r e ( 6 - 8 - 1 7 0 % O r g a n i c )

C a s t a - P o m a G r a s s M a n u r e ( 5 - 6 - 2 — 6 5 % O r g a n i c )

G e n - P u r p o s e G r a s s M a n u r e ( 4 - 8 - 4 — 4 2 % O r g a n i c ) F e r t i l i z e r s C h e m i c a l s F u n g i c i d e s I n s e c t i c i d e s Soi l S p o n g e P e a t M o s s H u m u s I m p l e m e n t s

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Mowra.h Meal and Castor Pomace available for prompt or future shipment. G E T OUR P R I C E S

| The h ighes t g rades of Bent Grass-es, F a n c y Re-cleaned Red Top,

! Fancy Re-cleaned Kentucky Blue Grass on hand f o r immediate ship-ment .

8 5 S T A T E S T R E E T Bos ton , Mass .

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G l e n H e a d , L. I. , N. Y . P r i c e L i s t S e n t O n R e q u e s t .

From A u g . 1 to Sept . 15 th

New England Golf & Country Clubs U S E D 3 4 C A R L O A D S

( 7 2 9 T o n s )

M I L O R G A N I T E for

FALL FAIRWAY FEEDING These f a r sighted clubs recognize the im-

portance of "Milorganizing" fa i rways this fall to insure better turf next season.

If your club fai led to feed this fall, plan to Milorganize fa i rways early in the spring, so you too will have good fa i rways next season.

We are prepared to make specific recom-mendations which will be effective, yet economi-cal.

Our Sa les of M I L Q R G A N I T E to N e w E n g l a n d Clubs 1928— 96 tons 1930—460 tons 1929—371 tons 1931—354 tons

1932—1069 tons Dis tr ibuted by

NEW ENGLAND T O R O COMPANY 112! Washington Street

W E S T N E W T O N . MASS.