Those of you visiting the club in recent weeks can’t have failed to notice the changes to the lower green. A number of new members have stepped forward to salvage the green from the clutches of beech and sycamore seedlings, forming a “Mowing Group”.
A couple of weeks ago, Jim was finally able to get his hands on a “scarifier” – a mower-like machine that pulls up dead grass and moss – of which there was plenty. The machine was provided as a token of support to the club by Turner Hire. Without this process, progress on getting the green playable was never going to get far as no matter how short or healthy the grass, there remained a layer of spongy vegetation underneath which sucked up any movement of bowls, making it impossible to reach anything more than the minimum required 19m even with a huge push. The scarfiying has, unfortunately, left its mark in places on the green – you can see the brown patches where perhaps too much grass was ripped out – but we hope that with the last weeks of summer, the green will have time to recover. With reseeding, further care and continued regular mows, the green will continue to return towards it’s previous condition.
Many visiting players have expressed their delight on seeing the progress on the green and are keen to have the chance to play on what several have said was, “one of my favourite greens”.
The lower green is actually the original green at the club. We think it was built in 1906 (see our History page here) before any of the surrounding trees were visible.
The work of the Mowing Group has now got the green to a state where some kind of game of bowls can be played – as evidenced here:
Its bobbly, slow and lacks the same extent of bias producing effects of the top green – but, if you have a strong arm, its ready for action!
Please get in touch if you want to join the Mowing Group. Its not just about mowing – there is a lot of other care needed within the grounds and to the green surrounds. Much of it is unskilled and just requires labour hours.
Mowing will be easier when we install a container shed in which we can keep the mower and other gardening equipment. This has been made possible by a grant facilitated through one of our local councillors, Paul Turpin, who is keen for the club to thrive and serve more of the local community.