A Winter Project for a Stronger Season Ahead

whangamatabowlingc
Aug 4
2 min read

While many associate winter with winding down, for our Greenkeepers at Whangamata Bowling Club, it's the time for the renewal of our turf bowling green.

The colder months may not be ideal for playing on a turf green, however they are crucial for maintenance. The closure of the green gives our grounds team uninterrupted access to the surface, allowing them to carry out deeper renovations without disrupting members or risking damage to the turf during recovery.

Refurbishing a bowling green is a detailed process that requires skill, care and patience. Over the winter period, out team focuses on:

Aeration - Relieving soil compaction and improving drainage with deep spiking.
Scarification - this not only removes thatch and moss buildup but provides 3-4 mm deep grooves and a bed, for the new soil and seed.
Top Dressing - Applying a mixture of sifted soil and seed over the whole surface, which is rubbed into the grooves using a drag mat and wooden leveling rakes.
Leveling - A six metre long leveling bar is then dragged across the green, ensuring a small amount of soil is kept in front of the bar, to prevent low spots. This is repeated six times.

A Long-Term Investment

Refubishing the green isn't just about aesthetics - its about performance, playability, and longevity. A well-maintained surface provides a consistent roll, few injuries, and a better overall experience for members and visiting teams alike. It's also an important part of preserving the heritage and pride of our club.

We are very grateful for the work our Green keepers do at Whangamata. When we have visitors to our tournaments there are many comments about how good our grass green is to play on. A credit to the Green keepers, and those that help them.

Thanks to the Whangamata Club, this year, with their sponsorship our Green keeper purchased Germination Matting which you can see in the photo above. This increases the heat and promotes the germination of the new seed and growth of the grass.

We are also very lucky that while all this is going on we can still play bowls on our carpet green.