In a previous series of articles on How to Fix your Bowling Green we discovered a great deal by simply taking a soil profile sample. It’s amazing how much information we can glean from such a basic operation. From that we saw how we can fix many of the most common problems on the bowling green.
Taking that on a step further I put together a comprehensive eBook guide to Bowling Green Performance which describes the essential turf qualities required for consistent and predictable high performance. You can pick it up in the members area.
Here’s my checklist of bowling green turf performance factors:
- The turf should demonstrate a low, creeping growth habit with erect leaves
- There should be tolerance to very close mowing (<5 mm)
- There should be very high shoot density
- The grass should have a fine leaf texture
- The turf as a whole should be highly uniform
- There should be freedom from excessive grain or thatch
- The turf should have a high recuperative potential
- The turf should have good disease resistance
- There should be good wear tolerance and colour
There might be a few unfamiliar terms in that list, but don’t worry about that; all will become clear when you download your free ebook.
Even if the terms are familiar to you, some of them might seem a bit wooly, but they are measurable factors in most cases. Some, like colour can be fairly subjective, but the majority of these factors can either be measured and/or compared to known data allowing for a more clinical and objective evaluation process.
Over the weekend, you could try to get a feel for these factors on your green and see if you can ascertain the relationship between, for example, leaf texture and turf density.
Let me know if you what you find and drop me a line anytime if you need help!