Sage Advice From A "Young" PupAll that glitters is not gold, and all that is new is not necessarily better.

by WILLIAM H. BENGEYFIELD

I'VEBEEN a very fortunate pup!Since 1948, I've had the greatprivilege of being a part of the turf-

grass management scene associatedwith golf. When Larry Gilhuly invitedme to participate in the Green Section'sannual education conference, I decidedto catch up on some homework. Afterall, I've been in "retirement" since 1990and not exactly on the cutting edge ofresearch. Surely, I thought, science andtechnology have passed me by.

Nevertheless, I haven't exactly beendead these past seven years. Consultingin Spain at Valderrama Golf Club,where the Ryder Cup will be played thisSeptember, has been a rewarding chal-lenge. The Green Section Record andGolf Course Management magazinesare still the best in the business. I'vekept up with the pesticide advisor andapplicator exams and attended theGCSAA Conferences.

Overall, the basic precepts of goodturfgrass management are the same;they haven't changed one bit! In fact,I doubt they will ever change. HarryTruman once said, "The only thingnew in the world is the history youhaven't learned." I like that. Anotherquote I like is from Ogden Nash. Hesaid, "Progress might have been all rightonce - but it's gone too far!"

Thus, if I may, I'd like to remind youof some simple "facts" and "truisms" ofyesteryears. I like to think of them asMagical Facts that worked then, havelargely been forgotten or pushed outof the way by progress, but will stillwork for you today!

Fact No.1You have heard it said and it's true:

We live in the high-tech age! But I likewhat the Green Section's Jim Mooresaid about this in his Turf Tip a fewyears ago. He titled the article "Hi-Tech Can't Replace Common Sense!"Frankly, I wish we lived in an agehaving more common sense - but thatmay be expecting too much. Goodcommon sense is one of the most

Bill Bengeyfield

important keys to good turfgrassmanagement!

Our schools and universities areturning out a lot of high-tech graduates,but somehow they've missed coursesin Common Sense, Logic, and ProblemSolving. Here is a beautiful exampleof it for you - automatic irrigationsystems.

Mike Huck, another great guy withthe Green Section, recently wrote anarticle on high-tech irrigation systems.You should read it. He truthfully pointsout that we now have fantastic capa-bilities: elaborate computerized controlpanels 'with dozens of flashing coloredlights, hooked up to an automaticweather station, a technicolored videoscreen, satellites all over the place,digital printouts - the works! Thewhole thing (sprinklers, wires, com-puters, pipes, satellites, etc.) costs abouta million dollars. Water can be turnedon and off with split-second accuracy.You can do anything with it!

Well, almost anything. Unfortunatelyand too often, you really can't irrigatevery well with it. Why not?

Because someone in the irrigationloop didn't spend enough time think-ing about what the system is expectedto do. They didn't think about proper

sprinkler head triangulation and place-ment, about sprinkler head capabilitiesto fit different circumstances, aboutnozzle performances, about adequatepressures throughout the system, etc.

In a word, someone forgot what anirrigation system is really all about:complete coverage, the right precipita-tion rates for the area in question,proper control, and someone whoknows how to irrigate properly. Wehave a million dollars worth of flashinglights, but we have poor coverage andpoor results.

High-tech? Yes!Common sense? No!

Fact No. 2Another problem I see today is an

overconcern with thatch. Why isthatch so widely condemned? Whydoes everyone want to get rid of it?

I think I know. Our training, ourprofessors, our textbooks, and justabout everything we read and hear tellus - warn us - that thatch is badand we must get rid of it.

To the contrary, I believe thatchplays a very important role. In fact, itis more important today than everbefore.

But before discussing thatch, let'sfirst agree what it is. Dr. MarvinFerguson's Dictionary of TurfgrassTerms says, "Thatch is that tightlyintermingled layer of dead and livingparts (roots, shoots, stems, stolons, leaftissue, etc.) that develops between thegreen vegetation and soil surface."

In this day and age, I believe weneed thatch on greens of ~ to 1 inchin thickness. Here are my reasons:

• Thatch reduces soil compaction.• Thatch moderates soil

temperatures.• Thatch limits evaporation of

soil water.Furthermore, a proper amount of

thatch is absolutely necessary in pro-viding a degree of resiliency on theputting surface, i.e., an ability to "hold"a properly played shot. A proper

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It doesn't matter how sophisticated the irrigation system is on the course; it still comesdown to the fact that the system needs to provide quality coverage and the operatorneeds to make sound decisions when programming the system.

amount of thatch is essential to goodputting qualities - a tight sod and asmooth surface. Why do you think wehave far more complaints today over"spike marks" on greens than we had10 or 15years ago? Today, spike marksare a major complaint. Why?

A proper amount of thatch isessential for resistance to heavy trafficwear, ball marks, and damage of anykind.

Thatch is an important factor in allof the above. The fact is, thatch (theproper amount of thatch) is essential toa good putting green. And yet, timeand again, our university people andtoo many superintendents preach thatthe thatch layer is bad and must beeliminated!

Why is this bad advice today? Be-cause greens are being mowed muchmore closely and much more frequentlytoday than ever before. Double cuttingis now practiced even for club tour-naments, let alone heavy rolling andtriple cutting for major championships.

In the past 10or more years, we havefollowed a tremendous reduction in fer-tilization rates on greens. With modera-tion, I think this is a good practice, butit certainly has reduced turf growthand thus thatch development.

Whether public or private, golfcourses have more play, wear, andcompaction today than 20 or 30 yearsago. High-performance greens areexpected by golfers today at all times.Everything we do to meet that expec-tation reduces thatch: close and fre-quent mowing, frequent use of groom-ers, verticutting, frequent topdressings,brushings (we've never had so manydifferent kinds of brushes), and fre-quent rollings (more compaction andwear) .

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Ah, you may ask, "What aboutthatch and disease?" It's true! Toomuch thatch means greater diseasesusceptibility, and too much thatchcan lead to other problems as well -but not a managed thatch layer of~ to 1 inch. Today we have machinesand techniques that easily can controlthatch. We have great fungicidesavailable for any disease problem.They're expensive, but they work. Wehave the ability to control diseasesand thatch!

Fact No. 3Another wonderful way to control

thatch if need be - and do yourself alot of other good - is with lime. Wehave forgotten the magic that can befound in lime. You should know aboutit. It's one of the first chemicals used ongolf courses, and we inherited theidea from the farmer and his pastures.Believe it or not, lime can actuallycause grass to grow!

When the U.S. Amateur was playedat The Country Club in Brookline,Massachusetts, in 1934, lime was usedfor lines around the greens to controlthe gallery of that day. Now, of course,we use yellow ropes. Twenty years later,in 1954, a very dry spring occurred inNew England. Strikingly, around everygreen was a noticeable line of greengrass caused, naturally enough, by thelime application 20 years earlier. Thereare photos to prove it.

A few years ago, a young, college-graduate golf course superintendentasked what he could do to reduce thedeep accumulation (6 to 8 inches) ofthatch on his greens. His membershipwas upset. Footprinting was very muchin evidence, and this young fellow wasunder a lot of pressure.

I told him of a lesson I was taughtmany years ago by O.J. Noer, one ofthe great pioneers in turfgrass manage-ment for golf. O.J. and I were making agolf course visit together in Victorville,California, in 1954. The greens had a lotofthatch on them and O.J. said, "You'dbe smart to apply some hydrated limeto these greens two or three times ayear for the next couple of years. Useabout two pounds per 1,000 square feetin early spring, early summer, andagain in fall. In a year or two, you'llhave a lot less thatch."

It worked! Two years later thesegreens were in great shape, and excessthatch no longer was a problem.

It seems hydrated lime immediatelyfurnishes free calcium, slightly raisesthe pH level within the naturally acidthatch layer, and causes soil micro-organisms to work overtime, feed onthe thatch, and, in nature's own way,substantially reduce excess organicmatter.

When I told my young friend thisstory, he showed considerable doubt,furrowed his brow but nodded inagreement and left.

About two weeks later he was backwith another question. "You know," hesaid, "I've checked your story aboutusing hydrated lime with several othersuperintendents and university people.They've never heard of it! Who can youname as an authority to substantiatewhat you have said?" Obviously, henever knew O.J. Noer!

You see, we have forgotten themagic of lime. Even under alkaline soilconditions, as was the case at Victor-ville, California, thatch layers are justnaturally acidic, and hydrated lime willwork wonders. Oh yes, an 80-poundbag costs about $6.00. The originalthatch-lime research was done at TheUniversity of Rhode Island in the1930s.

Let me tell you another story aboutlime. It also works. When I first cameto the Green Section in 1953, TateTaylor was recognized as one of theoutstanding superintendents (green-keepers) of the day. He was one of thefirst college graduates in our business.Later in his career, he became a mem-ber of the Green Section staff. Tate wasnot only college smart, but field smartas well.

During one of our many bull ses-sions, Tate said, "You know, wheneveryou visit a golf course and the super-intendent is having trouble with acouple of greens and he has triedeverything he knows and nothing

Proper management of nutrients and environmentalconditions is key to controlling moss on putting greens.

A good root zone mix is the baseline forquality greens, but it is critical that aproper layer of thatch develop to provideresiliency and good putting qualitiesbefore opening new greens for play.

works, tell him to try a little lime. Eitherhydrated lime at two or three poundsor ground limestone at 5 or 10 poundsper 1,000 square feet. Then, stand back.Nine times out of ten, within a fewdays the situation will improve or betotally solved."

I've told this story at least a dozentimes to superintendents who were introuble and had tried everything else.And in every case, the lime worked!When all else fails, try a little lime andremember Tate Taylor.

There's another use for lime. Fre-quently in the fall or even a difficultsummer, greens may become a littlethin and open. Algae will soon formand then crust over. It may becomeblack and start to flake. If allowed togo unchecked, it will smother thegrass and inhibit recovery. Now it's trueyou can spend money on algaecidesand wetting agents and. what haveyou, and they'll probably work. Youcan also dust a little hydrated lime, atthe rate of about two pounds per 1,000square feet, over the algae and it willdisappear. One or two additional appli-cations may be needed every other dayor so, but have no fear, it will work;just give it a few days.

The only word of caution I can givewhen you use lime is to be sure toseparate its use by a week or so fromany applications of a readily solublenitrogen fertilizer. If the two materialsare applied too close together, theycould cause a leaf bum.

We seem to live in an age of excesses.We go overboard from one fad to thenext. We like to follow trends. Thisisn't good turf management, and it isn'tgood for the turfgrass manager or hisfuture.

Low nitrogen levels for greens havebeen the rage for years and mossbecame a problem. High nitrogen levelswere "in" 20 years ago and diseaseproblems were rampant.

Very high potassium levels have been"in" in the recent past, but we knewpotassium was important to cell wallthickness, winter hardiness, and wearresistance in the 1930s. There's nothingnew here!

Because of the Stimpmeter, golfersthought all green speeds should be 12feet or more just a few years ago. Today,most golfers are happy with 812 feet,and they enjoy green greens all summer.

In the recent past, someone hasbeen promoting and recommendingthe frequent rolling of greens. I have aproblem with this, especially the long-term effects of it. It doesn't makecommon sense, no matter who mayproclaim its virtues or the research. Toprove the point, I can personally tellyou of a real horror story of a promi-nent golf course where it was practicedand met with disastrous failure!

Another update. Synthetic high-analysis, slow-release fertilizers werethe rage 20 to 25 years ago on greens.Now they are starting a comeback,supposedly because of environmentalconcerns. I think they have a place incertain programs and conditions. Butbear this in mind: Their rate of nutrientrelease is determined largely by soiltemperatures and/or soil moisturelevels. Once applied, you no longerhave control over their release rate, andconditions may bring about nutrientrelease at a time when you do not wantadditional growth or stimulation. Makesure you use them properly.

I'm also concerned with fertilizershaving exotic analyses and promisingcure for this or that. They may have aplace but are too often not the panaceasclaimed.

Finally, Green Section greens arebuilt with 80% sand, more or less. And

people believe they will drain no mat-ter how much water is applied. Right?Wrong! The recommendations devel-oped by Dr. Marvin Ferguson weredesigned to reduce soil compaction,not allow excess irrigation. The ideathat anyone may apply as much wateras he likes to Green Section greenssimply does not know (1) how to irri-gate properly, and (2) the truth aboutthe management of such greens!

Where's The Common Sense?And so we have come full circle.

Moderation in all things - that's theanswer. We must properly use theknowledge we have. Lime in excesscan cause problems. Thatch in excessis not good management. But this doesnot mean we can forget their basicimportance, uses, and techniques. Iplead with all of you not to overlookthe wisdom and experience of the past.They are rich and valuable. Let us guardagainst a headlong rush to inventsomething new when we already havean effective and inexpensive answerfrom the past.

Believe me, that Bridge to the Futurehas its foundations in the experienceof the past.

Oliver Wendell Holmes once said:"Science is a first-rate piece of furniturefor a man's upper story - if he hascommon sense on the ground floor.But, if a man hasn't got plenty of goodcommon sense, the more science hehas, the worse for his decisions andthose he serves."

The Noers, the Taylors, the Graus,the Fergusons, Radkos, and Steinigershave already left us a treasure ofknowledge. Shouldn't we use it?

WILLIAM H. BENGEYFIELD retired asNational Director of the Green Section in1990, after 34 years with the Green Sectionstaff. His influence on promoting soundgolf course management is spread far andwide.