In 1920, the Inverness Club, in Toledo, Ohio, prepared for the U.S. Open Championship. As Chairman of the club's Green Committee, E.J. Marshall, a Toledo attorney, was in charge of course preparations. He sought, but he could not find, impartial and authoritative agronomic information. His efforts led him to the USGA and the United States Department of Agriculture. The two organizations agreed to collaborate in the development of scientific information relating to golf course turf. Thus, on Nov. 30, 1920, the Executive Committee of the United States Golf Association formally created the USGA Green Section.

This single, centralized, not-for-profit agency, free from commercial connections, was a pioneer and remains today a chief authority in turfgrass management for golf. The USGA Green Section has been directly involved in every phase of golf course maintenance and management from the control of diseases, insects, and weeds to the breeding and release of improved strains of bentgrass, Kentucky bluegrass, bermudagrass, zoysiagrass, and buffalograss. The Green Section has been involved in research pertaining to cultural practices, equipment development, soils, sands, fertilizers, irrigation, and other materials and practices used in golf course maintenance. In 1960 it developed and published the Specifications for a Method of Putting Green Construction, now used throughout the world. In 1989 it produced a 25-minute videotape on putting green construction.

These and other advances have been sustained over the years by an expenditure of more than $27 million for Green Section operations. The combination of research and direct golf course visits is the key to success. The Turf Advisory Service (TAS) program takes research information directly to subscribing courses and thereby contributes to better playing conditions at lower costs.

Recently, the Green Section has embarked on the most intensive turfgrass and environmental research effort in the history of golf. During the decade ending 1995, the USGA will have placed more than $10 million in funding university research projects. The goal is to achieve a significant reduction in water and pesticide use, and to investigate the effects of golf courses on the environment. A wealth of new grasses, improved maintenance practices, and information pertaining to the environment is on its way.

By supporting research and offering sound, experienced agronomic advice about the scientific and practical aspects of golf course turf management, the Green Section's Turf Advisory Service provides ever greater value and better golf turf to the member courses and superintendents it services. Your club should become a TAS subscriber.