Green Closing 2024

So, once the season is complete, what actually happens in the following week to start the process of preparing the green for our return to bowling next April

Following the Final Drive on September 22nd, work commenced first thing Monday morning with members of the green team starting to scarify the green. This involves removing the thatch, moss and weeds from the green to enable water, air and nutrients to better reach the grass roots, encouraging growth and helping reduce the risk of disease.

A number of passes across the green were carried out by Dave Brown, Mike Cozens, John James and Peter Parnell. Later in the day, Dave took delivery of some £1700 worth of fertiliser, nutrients and other chemicals to aid keeping the green in tip top condition during the close season and over the coming year.

On Tuesday, the team completed further scarifying, with the some of the above photos showing the significant amount of material removed from the green over the 2 days. 

On the Wednesday morning, Dave arranged for a contractor to deep spike the green which helps reduce compaction and further aids air, water and nutrients to reach the grass roots. This is a further investment of £540 into the green.

Following this activity, the green was sprayed with Iron and a fungicide to combat Dollar Spot, a fungal disease affecting the grass which we have seen over recent months.

Finally, new seed was sown and for now, a combination of nature and nurture will be employed with the aim of having the best possible green available for use in 2025.

The work of maintaining and sustaining the green is a year round endeavour involving a great deal of effort and significant financial investment and we are always on the lookout for some extra assistance. This would be mainly grass cutting and brushing during the season, so nothing too technical. If this is something you feel able to assist with, please speak with any of the greens team who will be pleased to discuss what is involved.