MID-ATLANTIC News Letter

Published by Mid-Atlantic Association of Golf Course Superintendents to aid in the Advancement of the

Golf Course Superintendent through Education and Merit

Director GEORGE G U M M

Editors R O B E R T M A R T I N O L E E C. D IETER

Vol . XIII Apr i l 25, 1963 No. 4

MAY MEET ING - SPR INGFIELD COUNTRY CLUB The next meeting of the Mid-Atlantic Associat ion wi l l be held at Springfield Country Club, Springf ield, Virg inia, on May 7, 1963. For those interested, the course wi l l be open for play at noon. Lunch may be purchased in the men's g r i l l e . There wi l l be a cocktail hour f r om 5 to 6 P . M . fo l lowed by dinner and the regular business meeting. Our guest speaker fo r the evening wi l l be M r . Alexander Radko, Eastern Director of the U . S . G . A . Greens Section. M r . Radko wi l l point out to us some of the distinguishing features of grasses , weeds, insects and diseases. His talk wi l l be i l lustrated with sl ides. Mr . Gregory , greens chairman; M r . Ronald Withers, club manager; and Mr . Robert Bowers, golf professional plan to attend the meet ing.

OUR HOST M r . Michael Koss , our host and member of the Mid-At lant ic , has been superintendent at Springf ie ld for a year and a half. A letter to an old acquaintance, Frank Dunlap, was the motivating factor in Mike 's move to Virg in ia . Mike started in the golf profession over thirty years ago under an old Scotsman and professional , James Ried. Mr . Ried was of the old school and taught Mike the trade f r om club making to merchandising. Mike has been in the f ie ld of golf and related recreat ion ever since. Although bowling occupied his interest f o r several years he returned to his f i r s t love , the care of the courses he has worked on. His previous position was at Lake Forest Country Club in Hudson, Ohio. He recently has been honored with his election to the o f f ice of president of the Greater Washington Associat ion.

THE COURSE Designed by Ault and Jamison, the course l ies in the midst of a sprawling suburbia. Sur-rounded by hundreds of homes the 6581 yard par 71 course o f f e rs a pleasant contrast to the

many member - res idents of the area. M r . Ed Carr , a local deve loper , built the course using his equipment to do the rough grading. The front nine was f ine graded and seeded by Thomas E . Carro l l and Sons, the back nine by the superintendent on the job at that t ime. In play just a l i tt le over two years , it is fast becoming a f inished course.

M A I N T E N A N C E The greens on the front nine are CI, C19 and with some C7; the back nine are CI and C19. Greens are cut at ^ inch ti l l approximately the f i r s t of June, then are ra ised to 5/16 inch through the hot weather . They are f e r t i l i z ed every 2 weeks with 6 pounds of 10-6-4 UF and 4 pounds natural organic. Tees are Mer ion Bluegrass cut at f inch and f e r t i l i z ed approxi-mately every 3 weeks with 6 pounds 10-6-4 UF and 4 pounds natural organic . The fa i rways are Bluegrass cut at 1 inch. Fer t i l i za t ion includes 600 pounds per acre of 10-6-4-25% UF in spring and fa l l . Much work has gone into the second nine with the rebuilding of tees, r e -seeding of poor areas and f i l l ing and sodding washes. Severe slopes, poor soil and bad weather conditions helped to create this situation. The water system, which is all plast ic , also presents its problems.

F U T U R E The club is expanding its fac i l i t ies this year by adding a second f l oo r , new lobby and wing t6 the present clubhouse. These new additions wi l l make room for a 350 seat dining room and additional o f f i ce space. Four new quick drying tennis courts w i l l be among the new fac i l i t i es P lans f o r the course include the building of alternate tees (winter and summer ) . The Bermu da tees wi l l be used as nurser ies fo r obtaining mater ia l to sprig the f a i rways . An e lec t r i c motor wi l l replace the engines presently supplying the power for the i r r i ga t ion system.

DIRECTIONS TO THE CLUB Turn off Shirley Highway at Springf ield Franconia interchange. Take Keene Mi l l Road -through Springf ie ld. The club is 3 mi les f r om t ra f f i c l ight in Springf ie ld.

P R E S I D E N T S MESSAGE The Apr i l meeting at the Pr ince Georges Country Club was a we l l attended one, it was the group's f i r s t gathering there in about 10 yea rs . The club has not stood sti l l during the last decade, they have made progress in all d irect ions. An enlarged and modern ized clubhouse, a new g r i l l e and a beautiful new golf shop greeted us. A lso in step with the streamlining is an up-to-date equipment shed serving as the operating base fo r the golf maintenance crew.

Along with all of the above mentioned changes and keeping pace with the improvements , those who played golf found a we l l groomed golf course awaiting them. Two old and f am i -l iar landmarks stil l remain at P r ince Georges , namely, golf course superintendent, Andrew Sweeney; and golf profess ional , A1 Houghton. Without a doubt, Andy and A1 have contributed much to the present success of the club. These two gentlemen are tops in their respect ive f i e lds and their members , no doubt, are v e ry proud of them.

M r . Houghton and George Bird, Pres ident of the Mid-At lant ic P . G . A . , gave us their v i ews on Pro-Superintendent relat ions. Colonel Harry Eckhoff gave an interesting talk, l !A Look Into the Future of Golf Course Deve lopment" .

M r . Frank Scuderi, greens chairman, was unable to be present and we r eg re t not having had the pleasure of meeting him. M r . Wal ley Doctor, club manager , was co-host along with Andy and A l . We thank them for a delightful evening, re f reshments , and a f ine roast beef dinner.

THE M I D - A T L A N T I C 10 YEARS AGO Ten years ago this month the members of this association met at the Country Club of Virg inia in Richmond where Tom Dawson was superintendent. The club president, M r . Charles Luck, Jr . ; the chairman of the greens committee, M r . Harry Easter ly , Jr . ; and a past president, M r . Austin Aydnor we r e present. These men are sti l l active in the club and are the big boosters of golf in their area.

Pres ident Thomas cal led the meeting to order at 7:30 P . M . and thanked the club o f f i c ia l s fo r making the day a success - as he put it, " f r o m the f i r s t tee off to the s t rawberry sundae" There w e r e 38 members and guests present. M r . Luck presented an interesting talk d is-cussing the improvement program they had put into operation to improve the condition of

their courses and to stimulate interest in the game. As he explained, the program included ^ j t h e expanding of Bermuda Grass on the fa i rways and tees; the overseeding with Rye in the ^P fa l l ; extensive fer t i l i zat ion; improved drainage conditions; rebuilding severa l greens to

incorporate improved strains of bents and adding new equipment. He stated that the success they had already attained and hoped to attain in the future was due to improved maintenance and cultural pract ices developed by their superintendent and the fine cooperation between superintendents eve rywhere .

Of great concern to all superintendents in 1953 was the increasing cost of labor. Dif f iculty was being experienced in finding men who wanted to work on weekends or any other t ime. The pr i ce of repair parts and supplies we r e also increasing. There was a problem of ob-taining a high standard of maintenance and staying within the allotted budget. To overcome this obstacle we we re urged to keep accurate cost records , to use power equipment wherever poss ib le , to take good care of machines, to attend conferences to obtain more knowledge, to learn to use new and old chemicals and adopt cultural pract ices to control weeds, insects and d isease .

A LOOK I N T O THE F U T U R E OF G O L F COURSE D E V E L O P M E N T The fol lowing is the introduction to a ser ies of art ic les the N E W S L E T T E R wi l l carry by Colonel Har ry Eckhof f . They are excerpts f r om the talk given by Colonel Eckhoff at the Apr i l meet ing of the Mid-At lant ic .

Why has golf become such a popular sport? The United States is in the midst of a r e c r ea -tional splurge unparalleled in its h is tory . Amer icans , as a whole, no longer seem to be content to sit on the sidel ines and enjoy their le isure as spectators. A growing number is act ive ly participating in recreat ional act iv i t ies and the game of gol f , once regarded as only f o r an exclusive group, has become a favor i te pastime enjoyed by individuals at almost all economic l e ve l s .

The re are numerous reasons why golf is enjoying such a tremendous growth. Ma jor golf tournaments and golf te lev is ion programs have had an influencing e f fec t . Peop le become interested in watching the game, then often cannot wait until they can try it themselves . Te l ev i s i on program planners are giving an increasing amount of t ime to gol f .

Newspapers and magazines continue to give greater coverage of gol f . Reader interest has never been higher. The National Golf Foundation has had more queries fo r background in-format ion for feature stor ies on golf this year than ever be fore in history .

POSITIONS OPEN WESTWOOD COUNTRY CLUB ( f o rmer l y Wes tbr i e r ) in Vienna, Virg inia, is seeking a quali-f i ed man fo r the position of golf course superintendent on their course. Westwood is a p r i -vate, member -owned club. The starting salary is open to suitable individual, f r inge benefits are avai lable . Re l iable r e f e rences required. Send resume and re fe rences to M r . W. S. Templeton, 1100 East Maple Avenue, Vienna, Virg inia, or call o f f i ce JE 2-9200, home WE 8-2805.

GREEN H I L L Y A C H T AND COUNTRY CLUB, Salisbury, Maryland, is seeking a quali f ied man to f i l l the position of golf course superintendent on their course. The course is an 18 hole layout with Bent greens and Bermuda tees. The equipment is new and in good condition. Starting salary w i l l be around $6, 500.00 and a three bedroom home wi l l be furnished the superintendent. An education fund is provided f o r . Address all inquires to M r . Joseph Schi l ler , Tony Tank Lane, Salisbury, Maryland.

JOB CHANGES We all wish Mike Burkholder loads of success as he leaves Westwood Country Club to devote all of his t ime to his lawn and garden business at L e e Highway and Cedar Lane in Fa i r fax , V i rg in ia .

JfcjVoodrow P i tman f r o m Greenspring Val ley Hunt Club, Ba l t imore , Maryland, to Laure l ^Pp ines Country Club, Laure l , Maryland.

W i l l i am Swick f r o m Chantilly National Golf and Country Club, Centrev i l le , V irg in ia , to Sterl ing Park Golf Course, Sterl ing, Virginia..

GUSTIN1 S B A L T I M O R E TORO

A l l Types of Power Turf Equipment

Greens Mowers - Tractors & Gangs

Complete Parts & Service

2205 E. Joppa Road, Balt imore, Md. NO 8-0500

4715 Mi l l e r Avenue Bethesda 14, Maryland

Telephone: OL i ve r 2-6600

Golf Course Equipment

and Supplies

4

For Golf Course Use

Seeds Golf Tag Fe r t i l i z e r s

Milorganite Fungicides - Insecticides

F. W. BOLGIANO & COMPANY 411 New York Avenue, N. E.

L I 7-4800 Washington 2, D. C.

Specialists in Golf Course Maintenance Chemicals

Weed Killers - Insecticides - Fungicides

Fertilizers by Swift & Co.

^ X . X l i i f a n Co. 3216 Carlisle Ave.

Phone: 947-0898 Baltimore 16, Md.

N A T I O N A L CAPITAL TORO, INC. 928 PHILADELPHIA AVENUE

SILVER SPRING, MD. JUniper 5-1322

S p r i n k l e r s Fer t i l i z e r s

TORO POWER MOWERS • FOR MODERN LIVING

C o m p l e t e T u r f Ma in t enance Equ ipment

C o m p l e t e S e r v i c e A v a i l a b l e

MID-ATLANTIC lews Letter 5007 - 34th St. , North Arlington 7, Va.

S T R I K E B A C K AT G I V E -

A M E R I C A N C A N C E R

Mr. George Cleaver Box 121 A Lutherville, Md.