Sorry for the huge size of this, but there is a lot to mine from this piece, and it is definitely worth reading the whole thing. I suppose it's possible that Beale is exagerating his credentials.
Golf Illustrated & Outdoor America, 1914 April Vol. 1, Issue 1, pgs. 40-44. by Reginald Beale F.L.S..
TURF AND GOLFING TURF
By REGINALD BEALE, F.L.S.
MY only excuse for writing on this subject is
that I have been asked to do so by my
good friend the Editor of this magazine,
but before getting under way I must present my cre-
dentials.
In the first place, I claim to be the pioneer of rapid
turf production and the art of greenkeeping as it is
now practiced. In support of this I bring forward
Sunningdale, which was the first golf course produced
from seed and which was sown in September, 1900,
and in full play in twelve months' time—a feat then
considered more or less miraculous, as at that time
it was generally conceded that it took a minimum of
three years to form turf of any sort and at least a gen-
eration to produce a fine, close-knitted, thick-soled
turf, but now commonplace,as I have since produced
twenty-five courses from plough to play in less than
a year, with a record of five months made at Sandy
Lodge.
I have inspected at least 250 established golf
courses and prescribed mixtures for not less than 100
new ones standing on all classes of soil, from pure
sand to hard clay, in all countries of Europe.
But what has all this to do with turf in the
United States of America and the Dominion of Can-
ada? Admittedly very little, excepting that the
same thing is required there, i.e., good turf, for the
same purpose, the Royal and Ancient Game, but
under different geological and climatic conditions.
Until the year 1908, I knew nothing of golf or
turf in America and certainly cared less, but that year
I had an interesting proposition put before me by
the Chairman of the Greens Committee of The Coun-
try Club, Brookline, Mass. This Club was extend-
ing its course by taking in some thirty acres of new
ground; samples of soil were sent to me together with
a very accurate description of the climate and in-
structions to prepare sufficient seed for the greens
and fairways. I carried out the instructions to the
best of my ability, hoped for the best and awaited
results, which were so satisfactory that in 1911 I de-
cided to tour the Eastern States, myself, so that I
could thoroughly investigate conditions on the spot.
My tour embraced the golf courses connected with
the following clubs—The Country Club (Brookline),
Arcola, Baltusrol, Brae-Burn, Chevy Chase, Chicago
Golf, Columbia (Washington, D. C.), Detroit, Gar-
den City, Glen Echo (St. Louis), Hackensack, Hunt-
ingdon Valley (Philadelphia), Kanawaki (Montreal),
Mayfield (Cleveland), Merion, Myopia, Onwentsia,
Philadelphia Cricket, Royal Montreal, Shinnecock
Hills, Tedesco, the National Golf Links of America,
Toronto, Whitemarsh Valley, and many others.
On my second tour, from which I have just re-
turned, I visited Piping Rock, Garden City, Sleepy
Hollow, Pine Valley, the New Merion, Atlantic City,
Westmoreland (Pittsburgh), Oakwood, Indianapolis,
Chicago Golf, Onwentsia, Skokie, Winnetka, Old
Elm, Westmoreland (Chicago), Detroit, Mayfield,
Wanakah, Rochester, Scarboro' (Toronto), Toronto,
Kanawaki, Outremont, and Essex County, and so
revisited many old friends, which enabled me to note
results and at the same time extend my territory and
experience.
By visiting the country, I got an absorbed knowl-
edge of its geological, and more important, the cli-
matic conditions under which one has to grow turf
in the Eastern and Central States of America and
Canada, and I can now sit in my study chair with
closed eyes and picture in my brain the existing nor-
mal conditions in those sections any time of the year.
In order to discuss the question of turf intelli-
gently, it is necessary to divide it into two sections,
viz., Turf for the Putting Greens, and Turf for the
Fair Green.
TURF FOR PUTTING GREENS
It is well to remember at the very start that a
modern putting green is artificial both in its make-
up and upkeep, consequently it may not be necessary
or desirable to choose grasses that are natural to, or
thrive best in, a certain district under natural con-
ditions, but rather to choose those that are best
suited to the purpose for which they are to be used;
this, no doubt, sounds unscientific and all the rest of
it, but when all is said and done, science is a good
servant but a very bad master, and the man with a
good fund of common sense and knowledge of apply-
ing same usually gets the better results.
It has always been my opinion and I state it here
right boldly, that turf of the best English quality can
be developed on putting greens anywhere in the
sections of the country covered by my tours, provided
that the greens are properly prepared, fertilized, and
top-soiled if necessary, so as to form a seed bed of rich,
friable soil of a minimum depth of four inches with all
undulations fashioned with runaway surface outlets
for storm water or melting snow in order to prevent,
as far as it is humanly possible,any such accumulations
when freezing and thawing conditions alternate and
when the natural or artificial drainage, as the case
may be, is put out of commission by the frozen sub-
soil. The so-called winterkill is bound to occur if
such methods are not adopted and valuable time and
money will be wasted.
A green made on these lines and sown with a mix-
ture of seeds, say for the sake of argument, the Coombe
Hill Mixture, should produce turf similar in all re-
spects to that at Coombe Hill in any section of the
United States and Canada that I have seen.
In support of my contention that the best Eng-
lish, or perhaps I ought to say British turf, as there
is some wonderful stuff in Scotland and Ireland, can
be produced in North America, more or less to order,
I bring forward the Country Club at Brookline, where
they sowed the greens with our Mid Surrey Mixture
and have obtained greens equal to those at the Mid
Surrey Golf Club, Richmond, England, which means
a lot to anyone who has seen Peter Lee's famous pro-
ductions at the latter club.
The greens at Brookline, especially the 9th, 10th,
and 11th, taking them year in and year out, are in
my opinion the best in North America, and while I
may claim some of the credit of obtaining such re-
sults for myself it is only fair to say I should not get
it all—I explained how the greens should be made
and sown, but if that Club had not seen that my in-
structions were faithfully carried out, nothing would
have been accomplished.
Before leaving the question of greens, I may as
well give a few hints on the making and upkeep in
tabloid form, so that they can be easily digested.
Always, if possible, arrange for early fall sowing
and regard the period between mid-August and mid-
September as the selected moment. When the first
rains come in the fall the soil is so warm that the seeds
germinate very quickly and if sown thickly get well
established and self-protecting before the winter
sets in.
In the spring the soil is cold and in consequence the
seed not only germinates slowly but it also grows
slowly and the young grass plants have to face the
heat and more especially the drought of the summer
when in a very young, weak state, very often with
evil results. Also in spring weeds and other obnox-
ious growths are much more prevalent than in the
fall.
When making or contouring a green, remove the
top soil, work with the subsoil and finish off by re-
placing the top soil in an even layer over the green.
The separation of the soil and the replacement of the
same cannot be done properly by scoops, so it is al-
ways advisable that this section of the work should
be done by hand with spades and barrows.
All drains should be laid before the top soil is
replaced.
In making up greens, each scoop or barrowful as
it is shot down, should be carefully trodden; other-
wise, the surface will sink later.
Always, if possible, make surface runaways from
undulations, otherwise water will accumulate with
disastrous results to the turf.
Water freely during droughts and in the evenings,
if possible, as best results are then obtained. The
water applied at that time does most good and does
not evaporate as quickly as it does if applied in the
heat of the day. In any case, water freely, and re-
member that one good soaking is worth a dozen light
sprinklings.
It is hardly necessary to state that pond or stream
water of a natural temperature gives the best results,
but where this cannot be obtained and the water is
pumped from a depth, or city water is used, some
means, if possible, should be taken to get it up to the
natural normal heat by exposing it to the sun and air
in a shallow pond or reservoir tank or if it is pumped
direct by laying the pipes close to the surface where
they will feel the influence of the sun.
If the latter system is adopted, draining cocks
should be put in all low places so that the pipes can
be emptied in the winter; otherwise they will freeze
and burst.
To avoid the tired, sickly appearance that turf
gets after a long period of artificial watering, give it
a monthly or bi-monthly dose of Complete Grass
Manure, at a rate not exceeding 20 pounds per 400
super yards, mixed before use with at least 100 pounds
of dry, fine soil or sand. A light fertilizing as above
will keep the grass growing and in good heart, whereas,
if artificial watering is relied upon alone it just keeps
it alive, especially if the water is hard, low in tem-
perature, or contains any impurities.
Eradicate and destroy all weeds as soon as they
appear, do not let them multiply, and remember that
wire, witch, crab and September grasses get hold
best in weak or exhausted greens. If you cannot
exterminate the latter, keep them, like clover, in check
by lifting the creeping or prostrate stems and branches
with a close-toothed iron rake and mow closely; re-
peat this as often as necessary and use our Anti-
clover manure for the drought dressings when the
trefoil is prevalent.
Topdress freely with a finely sifted compost of a
light, friable, porous nature, rich in organic or fer-
tilizing matter, so as to reduce the plasticity of the
soil if it is too heavy and to add body if it is too light,
and when doing so remember that a cubic yard of
compost will cover 144 superficial yards to the depth
of a quarter of an inch, and that sixteen dressings at
the above rate spread over, say, three years, will re-
duce the natural top spit soil of the dressed area to
the secondary position of the subsoil, so there is hope
for all greens, no matter whether they stand on sand
or clay. The contouring and general preparation of
a green is costly and its upkeep is more so, conse-
quently it is the worst economy to be parsimonious
when seeding. In England, with our warm genial
climate, we sow one ounce to a superficial yard and
expect to get a close turf in a year or less, and when
we are in a hurry we sow at the rate of two ounces
per super yard.
In America and Canada, where the climatic
conditions are, to say the least of them, extremely
severe and difficult, the minimum rate should be two
ounces per square yard and the maximum, four ounces.