Bowling Green Maintenance: 38j. Minimal Resources and Low Club Membership

Spring renovation: With reduced maintenance activity over the winter and reduced end of season renovation activities, a small amount of spring renovation can be considered to help prepare the green for the coming playing season.

Don’t bother about trying to compete with other greens, work with nature and carry out a light renovation towards the end of April when the weather is typically warmer than the end of March to early April and any efforts will see quicker rewards.

Overseeding: Working with the existing grasses rather than trying to more rapidly change sward composition, but the purchase of a single bag of grass seed will be considered, especially for use in overseeding worn or bare areas, and in particular those which have been affected by disease or pests. Primarily it will be red fescue species which will be used, certainly not dwarf perennial ryegrass which will require increased mowing, fertiliser, watering and top-dressing to produce and maintain a suitable surface. A 10kg bag of a traditional 80% Chewings fescue and 20% Browntop bent mixture with just general cultivars costs about £75 for 10kg (£135 for 20kg), whilst for higher rated cultivars and a mixture of 40% Chewings fescue, 40% slender creeping red fescue and 20% browntop bent will cost about £125 (£235 for 20kg).

Several approaches could be taken to using the seed, although this would be heavily influenced by the condition of the green at the start of the playing season. The following approach might entail a total time spent applying seed of 1-hour.

If 25% of the green was thin or had noticeable damage from pests or disease prior to the start of the playing season, then this would equate to the equivalent of 370m2 of green. This would be the area to focus on, so we could say that half of this area might need a heavier application (34g/m2) and the other half a lighter application rate (17g/m2). The total quantity needed would be 9.5kg.

Applying the seed in mid-April might help with a faster germination and establishment than one sown at the end of March to early April due to typically warmer ground and air temperatures. Prior to any seeding aim to give the seed as good a start as possible considering the resources available. A single spiked roller followed by a double solid tine aeration of the entire green, overseeded on the selected areas, and then a light sprinkling (or dusting) of a sandy top-dressing on the sown areas.

Germination should be seen within two weeks and throughout May increased green tinge and coverage should be noticed within the oversown areas.

In Mid-May a further light application could be given, this time limiting it to a selected 100m2 only (again, just to any thin or damaged area), then the same in Mid-June. Use a spiked roller beforehand and apply a light sandy soil dusting. If weather conditions are good then germination and establishment can start to take place, if not, then either germination won’t occur and will be delayed, or post-germination might fail due to limited root establishment from new seedlings. It’s certainly worth a gamble in trying to improve by using the variable UK weather as a potential means to improve greens at minimal cost. This in-season approach would use 3.4kg of seed.

End of season renovation: We would be looking to work with nature as much as possible, so in practice the work should take place during the beginning of September when soil temperatures are still warm and sunlight hours are good. Renovation work will be able to be carried out not just slightly quicker than during October when the nights are drawing in and it is getting much colder, but for volunteers to work on a green in early September is a lot more pleasant than four or more weeks later.

If the overseeding has been reasonably successful and we are very limited to the quantity of seed that can be purchased (say a single 20kg bag at £135) then there would be 7.1kg remaining, which at 17g/m2 would equate to about 420m2 of thin/damaged area of the green being oversown, or a little under 30%.