INVERNESS PIONEERED by CHARLES K. HALLOWELL Mid-Atlantic Director, USGA GREEN SECTION USGA Green Section • HAD the Open Championship not been held at the , Toledo, USGA FILM LIBRARY Ohio, in 1920, there might never have been The USGA Film Library has added "Play a Green Section of the Them As They Lie" to its two previous films, "Inside Golf House" and "The Rules of Golf- Association, or at best its formation might Etiquette". have been long delayed. The latest addition, a 16 mm. color produc- The then chairman of the Inverness tion, runs for 16V2 entertaining minutes in Green Committee, E. J. Marshall, and the which Johnny Farrell, the Open Champion of superintendent, W. Rocke- 1928, acts as intermediary between Wilbur J. Mulligan, a beginner of unimpeachable integ- feller, got together on the job of getting rity, and Joshua P. Slye, a past master in the the course into first-class condition. They art of breaking the Rules. The film was made drew up a schedule, presented it to the at the , Springfield, N. J., Board of Governors and in due course where Farrell is professional. "Inside Golf House" ,gives the viewer an op- received the necessary funds to go ahead. portunity to see the many interesting exhibits But chairman Marshall and superintend- in "Golf House," USGA headquarters in New ent Rockefeller were startled by the lack of York, and to re-live golf triumphs of the past substantial facts as they started the job. with many of the game's immortals. The film is a 16 mm. black and white production and According to their writings, only a runs 28 minutes. few opinions were available and most of ('The Rules of Golf-Etiquette" also has these related to selling some special sup- proved popular. The film stresses the import- plies but were not necessary in helping to ance of etiquette by portrayal of various vio- lations of the code in the course of a family improve the condition of a golf course. four-ball match. appears in sev. It was while hunting for real informa- eral scenes, and Robert T. Jones, Jr., makes tion about golf course soil, grasses and the introductory statement. A 16 mm. color management in 1920, that E. J. Mar- production, the film has a running time of 17V2 minutes. ~hall encountered others interested in de- The distribution of all three prints is handled ~eloping a central clearing house for golf by National Educational Films, Inc., 165 West course maintenance facts. His correspon- 46th Street, New York 36, N. Y., which pro- dence with Hugh and Alan Wilson, of duced the films in cooperation with the USGA. 1{erion Cricket Club, near Philadelphia, The rental is $15 per film, $25 for combina- tion of two and $35 for all three in combina- and Dr. Walter S. Harban, of Columbia tion at the same time, including the cost of Country Club, near Washington, D.C. dur- shipping prints to the renter. ing that period was lengthy and heavy, the result being the formation of the Green Section of the United States Golf Associa- the publication of the Bulletin of the tion. After the organization meeting on Green Section of the United States Golf November 30, 1920, Dr. C. V. Piper was Association. He was a contributor, usually selected Chairman, and E. J. Marshall, writing under the guise of "Dear BilL" Vice-Chairman. He had a burning desire to aid all, and especially the nine-hole and isolated golf Help for Small Clubs courses, to secure facts to enable the man- Mr. Marshall supplemented his letter- agement to give the golfers better playing writing by frequent trips to Washington conditions. The Green Section has con- to aid in starting the turfgrass plots and tinued since Mr. Marshall's time to inten-

8 USGA JOURNAL AND TURF MANAGEMENT, JUNE, 1957 sify its efforts to serve the member clubs DEFENDING CHAMPION of the United States Golf Association. Superintendent Rockefeller was as in- tensively interested in securing new infor- mation and aiding others in having better golf courses. He both traveled to and talked in other areas and designed a num- ber of courses in Ohio, including Heather Downs, Napoleon, Lakemont, Catawba Cliffs, Defiance, and Mohawk golf clubs, He often referred to "his boys" who, after their training and work at Inverness, be- came superintendents of other courses- Damely, Joe Mayo, Al Schardt and Charles 1\-feyers.

The Same Spirit The determination of Green Commit- tee Chairman Edward J. Searles and Sup- erintendent Wilbert Waters to have Inverness ready for the 1957 Open was just as keen as was that of Marshall and Rockefeller. The striking difference report- ed by Messrs. Searles and Waters is the fund of information that is available to them to aid in having the soil, grasses and general condition of the course in cham- pionship caliber. , Opan Champion of 1949 at Superintendent Waters renovated the , Medinah, 111.,and 1956 at tees in 1955, stepped up the fall fertiliza- , Rochester, N. Y., will be tion program'the past two years, mowed bidd:ng for his third title at the Inverness Club the rough at a uniform height all through this month, the third time that Inverness has 1956, and applied fertilizer wherever the entertained the Open Championship. turfgrasses were thin. Aeration has been the normal practice on all areas to develop deeper roots and to increase the water. at the National and Mid-West Turfgrass holding capacity of the soiL Conferences and is a leader of his fellow Slow-acting and long-lasting nitrogen is superintendents in the Toledo area. With the regular diet for the upstanding grass Chairman Searles and other committee growing on the greens. The mowing sched- members of Inverness he attended the ule calls for close cutting with both the 1956 Open at Rochester, N. Y. He yertical and reel-type mowers. Freedom of listened to Superintendent Elmer Michael mat, thatch and grain is Superintendent tell the problems which he encountered in \Vaters' specialty. preparing Oak Hill during an extremely Wilbert Waters secured all the neces- wet season for the Open. sary "know how" for putting Inverness Messrs. lYfarshall and Rockefeller did into championship form by his long ex- more than have Inverness in the best pos- perience in work at Inverness, and having sible condition for the 1920 Open Tour- been the top man at Highland Meadows nament; they led the way to making it for twenty years. Seven years ago he re- easier for others to have their courses ready turned to Inverness to take the position as for their members as well as the USGA Superintendent. He is a regular attendant Champions hips.

USGA JOURNAL AND TURF MANAGEMENT: JUNE, 1957 9