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wsmorrison

Flynn's take on the maintenance meld
« on: November 11, 2004, 03:22:29 PM »
From the October, 1927 Green Section Bulletin:

"America has developed a more or less stereotyped shot to the green that is the high all carry shot.  This has been brought about no doubt by the fact that fairways and particularly approaches have gone unwatered during the summer when the ground has become hard.  It is much simpler to play a high carry shot to a soft green which gets water than to attempt a pitch and run to a green with a cement like approach.

In the first case when all greens are watered a constant condition prevails but in the case of the runup approach the ball hits and is liable to bounce anywhere.

In order to cultivate the pitch and run, the runup shot and the long iron or wood with run it is necessary to present a suitable playing condition on the approach and this can best be brought about by the architect insisting on a water system for fairwaus and by the greenkeeper making generous use of it.

Natural topographical features should always be developed in presenting problems in the play.  As a matter of fact such features are more to be desired than man made tests for they are generally much more attractive."

Now, I don't think Flynn was advocating watering fairways and greens to the same extent they are overwatered today.  It would seem that he wanted them watered somewhat more than they were, especially during the summer, where the habit was to let everything other than greens (which were too soft) get rock hard, so as to allow for the temptation to use ground game options.  Clearly, with rock hard fairways and soft greens becoming prevelant in Flynn's day, the overwhelming choice was to play aerial shots all day long.  With some watering, there would be some control of runup shots and not completely random bounces.  This would tempt the player to play along the ground.

Flynn's philosophy seems a bit different than Tom Paul's philosophy.  I hope he reads this and weighs in.

Chris_Clouser

Re:Flynn's take on the maintenance meld
« Reply #1 on: November 11, 2004, 03:35:04 PM »
How many courses actually used irrigations systems back in 1927?  Aside from someone actually going out and hosing down a green, what would the irrigation system consist of?  

« Last Edit: November 11, 2004, 03:35:30 PM by Chris_Clouser »

A_Clay_Man

Re:Flynn's take on the maintenance meld
« Reply #2 on: November 11, 2004, 03:43:19 PM »
Wayne, I don't know if there's enough evidence that the two theories are "a bit different".

Clearly, Flynn was calling for an educated justification for certain ground conditions.

That's what I thought the Ideal MM was all about. Maybe this will cause a clarification?

wsmorrison

Re:Flynn's take on the maintenance meld
« Reply #3 on: November 11, 2004, 03:45:33 PM »
This article is from a March 2000 article in "California Fairways" by Dr. Kent W. Kurtz

Similar to other turfgrass innovations, irrigation emerged as an adjunct to the management of golf courses. Many golf courses used mule-drawn water wagons to irrigate golf course turfgrass around the 1850s. The practice of watering putting surfaces originated in Scotland in the 1880s. By 1894, St. Andrews in Scotland had sunk a well for this purpose.

In 1897, the Twin Comet Lawn Sprinkler, developed by the E. Stebbins Manufacturing Company in Springfield, MA, was placed on the market. This was one of the first gear-driven lawn sprinklers to be mass produced in the United States.

Pioneers of the Early 1900s

One of the first inventors to obtain a patent for a sprinkling system was Charles Skinner of Troy, Ohio. He developed a system of galvanized piping with holes spaced two feet apart to water large areas. In 1904, John Ross of Pasadena, CA was the first to manufacture sprinkler heads for lawn and garden use. L.B. Harris invented one of the first gear driven sprinkler heads, the "Harris Precipitator" in 1910.

Another pioneer, W. Van Thompson, founded the Thompson Manufacturing Company in Pasadena in 1907. By 1915, the Thompson revolving arm roller sprinkler was being used on golf greens and at the Los Angeles CC in 1918. This was also one of the first clubs to install pipe and quick-coupler valves around WW I.

Another early pioneer, L.R. Nelson, the oldest, continuous, single-family owned irrigation business, developed a sprinkler for turf in 1906. Nelson is credited with the development of one of the early large traveling sprinklers. Nelson worked with the B.F. Goodrich Company to develop a five-inch hose that could be dragged along to work with the sprinkler.

George Moody developed the automatic sequencing, hydraulic controller in 1922. This was a major development and greatly influenced the creation of automatic sprinkler irrigation, which is a large industry today.

Another individual, W.A. Buckner, developed the first slow-rotating, hoseless sprinkler irrigation system. One was installed at Pebble Beach GC in 1912. Buckner further developed the quick-coupling valve, the sand resistant bearing, and the cam-driven sprinkler head. The Buckner name lives today in Fresno, CA under the name, "Buckner by Storm."

Pop-up sprinklers represent an important advancement in irrigation technology. John Brooks designed a brass pop-up turf sprinkler in 1916. By 1926, he had developed an electric timer that activated a hydraulic controller. When combined with the sprinkler heads, the clock made automatic irrigation a reality. By the 1930s, pop-up sprinklers made of brass were quite common. These were fixed-spray heads and were made of brass due to the metal's resistance to corrosion. In the Midwest, two brothers, Daniel and Bernard Wright of Chicago, combined their business with the Mueller Brass Company of Port Huron, Michigan to form an enterprise known as Muellermist. The company offered a complete underground turf sprinkler irrigation system with a ball-drive pop-up head as early as 1932.

Some of the earliest golf courses to install irrigation systems in the United States were Long Island's National Golf Links, the Merion Golf Club, and Pinehurst. When the game of golf spread West, golf course architects realized that without irrigation, building and maintaining courses was impossible.

The Great Depression Years

When the Great Depression disabled businesses through-out the country in the early 1930s, the irrigation industry continued to make many technological advancements.

* Rainbird The Rainbird Company was being launched in Glendora, CA during this period by Orten Englehardt and Clement LeFetra. Englehardt had experimented with two types of sprinkler heads: the gear drive which he attempted to construct and the vertical impact drive. Finally, he turned his attention toward a horizontal impact-drive sprinkler. Englehardt produced the prototype in 1932, and the patent was issued in 1934. Englehardt revolutionized landscape irrigation in the 1930s with his invention. This innovative design had fewer moving parts than most other sprinklers of the time, and they were more dependable and less expensive. By 1935, Englehardt wanted to return to farming, so LeFetra and his wife, Mary Elizabeth, assumed the manufacturing and sales rights to Englehardt's invention. The Rainbird tradition had begun.

One of the first turf customers for Rainbird was the Los Angeles Country Club. By the end of World War II, Rainbird was recognized as an industry leader.


wsmorrison

Re:Flynn's take on the maintenance meld
« Reply #4 on: November 11, 2004, 03:49:29 PM »
Adam,

You're right.  I don't think the theories are mutually exclusive.  I do think it surprising that Flynn felt it was a combination of firm fairways and soft greens that led to the advent of the aerial game becoming the overwhelming shot selection.  Tom's theory involves firm and fast through the green and the greens themselves as a remedy of the aerial game resulting from soft fairways and greens.

TEPaul

Re:Flynn's take on the maintenance meld
« Reply #5 on: November 11, 2004, 04:02:23 PM »
Wayne:

I think the answer can be found in these words;

"It is much simpler to play a high carry shot to a soft green which gets water than to attempt a pitch and run to a green with a cement like approach.

In the first case when all greens are watered a constant condition prevails but in the case of the runup approach the ball hits and is liable to bounce anywhere.

In order to cultivate the pitch and run, the runup shot and the long iron or wood with run it is necessary to present a suitable playing condition on the approach and this can best be brought about by the architect insisting on a water system for fairways and by the greenkeeper making generous use of it."

Me and my "ideal maintenance meld" are not advocating 'cement like conditions' on things like fairways and approaches. What Flynn referred to as 'by the greenskeeper making generous use of it' (water) was probably in his time somewhat akin to what I think of as some of these supers today drying the hell out of their courses!   ;)

I very much doubt that a single course during the time Flynn wrote that article used 1/25th of the millions of gallons of irrigation water that many do today.

But there is one important similarity to what Flynn seems to have been suggesting and what I'm suggesting with my "Ideal maintenance meld", and that is I think we're both suggesting that all the available options, whether they be the ground game approach or the aerial shot directly to the green or a pin be brought into some form of "EQUILIBRIUM" where one option does not completely dominate another or all others, at the very least in the context of decision making.

Flynn's seems to be suggesting that 'cement like approaches' don't work for anyone so why would anyone use it (I agree with that), and I'm suggesting that today the greens must be made somewhat less receptive than they've generally been for the last 50-60 years or there's no reason at all why a good player, particularly, would decide to use anything other than an aerial shot directly to a pin. But if you take that aerial shot reliablity away from him BUT ONLY TO A CERTAIN EXTENT (light "dent" and no dirt pulled up on the pitch mark) and definitely not completely, you must also give him the option of the a somewhat commensurately reliable bounce or run-in approach!

Only in that way can you offer him or challenge him with options that are in a form of "equilibrium"!!! I think Flynn was suggesting the very same thing except conditions back then tended at times to be about 180 degrees opposite---eg "cement like condition", particularly on approaches, back then versus soft and over irrigated conditions in the approaches, in modern times.  
« Last Edit: November 11, 2004, 04:08:19 PM by TEPaul »

SPDB

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re:Flynn's take on the maintenance meld
« Reply #6 on: November 11, 2004, 04:03:15 PM »
Wayne -
What in the wide world of sports happened to that TCC-12 discussion?

wsmorrison

Re:Flynn's take on the maintenance meld
« Reply #7 on: November 11, 2004, 04:08:13 PM »
What do you mean, What happened to the TCC-12 (composite) discussion?  Its still there, just not a lot of replies.  Is that what you meant?

SPDB

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re:Flynn's take on the maintenance meld
« Reply #8 on: November 11, 2004, 04:08:52 PM »
sorry my browser is screwed up, sometimes when I refresh it dials back to this morning. Bizarre.

wsmorrison

Re:Flynn's take on the maintenance meld
« Reply #9 on: November 11, 2004, 04:29:57 PM »
Give it a sharp rap upside the box!  Works for me.

mike_malone

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re:Flynn's take on the maintenance meld
« Reply #10 on: November 11, 2004, 05:47:54 PM »
Natural topographical features should always be developed in presenting problems in the play.  As a matter of fact such features are more to be desired than man made tests for they are generally much more attractive."

    Wow!--how does this statement relate to the Morrison/Paul bunker on #7 at RG.
 If I didn't know better I would say that statement sonds like a "Maloneism".
« Last Edit: November 11, 2004, 06:17:27 PM by mike_malone »
AKA Mayday

wsmorrison

Re:Flynn's take on the maintenance meld
« Reply #11 on: November 11, 2004, 06:35:00 PM »
Well, to someone with a predisposition for simplicity, it is apparently everything  ;)

Of course, great topography should be utilized; nobody is denying this.  Unlike you, Tom and I do not think the snapshot picture of RGGC the last day Flynn was on site needs to be cast in bronze as you would have it.  You would ignore the numerous changes impacting the game 60 years after Flynn died, I find this foolhardy.  Why not realize the potential of such a hole as the 7th at Rolling Green with modern golfers and the modern game in mind?  

Mike, please don't hurt yourself by blowing a gasket thinking too hard about this or facing that bulldog Marine, TE Paul, in the local diner.  Wait a second, they don't have diners in Newtown Square do they?  Chic restaurants and gentlemen farms, yes.  Diners?  No way.  He'll have to kick your ass in Swarthmore then.  

Please stick to cutting down evergreens within the course, keeping 18 a par 4 for championship play, putting a new back tee on 17 where I suggested it go, and blowing up the stupid new tee on #2.  That's enough for one Malone.  Leave #7 to me  ;)

mike_malone

  • Karma: +0/-0
Re:Flynn's take on the maintenance meld
« Reply #12 on: November 11, 2004, 09:15:56 PM »
Swarthmore is as snooty as Newtown Sqaure-no diners here
AKA Mayday

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