In the rush to get the green ready for the new season, its sometimes easy to overlook the small and seemingly less significant jobs around the green.
However, these can be very important and can save you a lot of problems later and they help make the place look better for opening day.
The following bowling green pre-season checklist is not exhaustive, but is a good guide to the types of small jobs that make a big difference:
- Daily worm cast, debris and dew removal.
- Raking moss out of the artificial bankings and pathways
- Hand weeding any broadleaf weeds from the green, bankings and surrounds
- Trimming the green edges
- Mowing in varying directions
- Checking the mower setting (cylinder to bottom blade clearance and height of cut) before every cut.
- Hand spiking (or mechanical mini tining) and wetting agent application to heads.
- Weeding surrounds
- Tidying hedges and borders
- Clean out ditches and replenish any filling, clean and/or replenish liner material.
- Refreshing plant tubs/pots
- Fill irrigation tank and re-commission sprinkler system, checking for leaks and damage.
- Check sprinkler arcs and adjust accordingly.
Taking care of the small jobs can make all the difference to the first impression you make on the members, visitors and yourself.