There comes a point in every long-running problem where the evidence becomes too obvious to ignore. For many of the bowling clubs that get in touch to ask about solving green performance problems, I think they are now at that point with sand.
After another summer of heat, dry patch, weak turf, hydrophobic soil, disease pressure, uneven surfaces, irrigation panic and increasing renovation costs, the question can no longer be: “What top dressing are we putting on this autumn?”
...we can consider Golf and Bowls as sports that long ago had a common greenkeeping ancestor. In terms of budgets, skills, equipment, labour availability and professional support, we can usefully consider these to have followed different evolutionary paths and that they are now two distinct species...
Localised Dry Patch is a common problem on greens in summer and it can take a while to conquer it. Could some of our traditional management practices be making it worse?
Applying more Nitrogen when these conditions are absent doesn’t necessarily produce healthier growth. It may create a quick response in shaded, wetter or less-stressed areas, increasing the contrast between healthy and drought-affected turf. It can also encourage the plant to produce additional leaf tissue that its reduced root system cannot support. More leaf area means more potential water loss, greater mowing demand and a further call on carbohydrate reserves that may already be depleted.
