The Bowling Green Opening Day preparations are vital to the playability of the green in the early weeks of the season, but don't try to force things along too much. John Quinn details some of the most important considerations for this critical period in bowls green maintenance
Author: John
Master Greenkeeper John Quinn is the author of Performance Bowling Greens, and several other titles on Greenkeeping, Club and Business Management.
When Should You Scarify a Bowling Green?
Natural greenkeeping is about rhythm, not routine. And the best greenkeepers are those who tune into the biology of the surface—not just the calendar on the wall.
Opening Day Preparation Step 1. Evaluation time.
Opening day preparation is upon us, but where do you start? In the first of a new series of articles, John Quinn lays out a failsafe plan for getting the green ready for the big day.
Plant available water in bowling greens
The plant available water in bowling greens is determined by the physical characteristics of the soil. Most importantly the soil texture dictates the relative percentages of Macro, Meso and Micro pore space in the soil. This soil porosity also dictates the rate at which the green will drain. The balance between drainage and plant available water is one of the most critical components of a performance bowling green maintenance program. Here then is the very crux of all those arguments about top-dressing!
Turf Grass Density. Performance Evaluation of the Bowling Green Part 3.
In the performance evaluation of the bowling green, one of the key factors is turf grass density which is important due to its ability to influence other performance factors and in monitoring bowling green and soil health generally.