Dennis equips groundsmen with maintenance tips for a beautiful bowling green
Bowling green maintenance is a job that requires many fine skills,
sometimes from professional groundsmen, but more often than not
from club volunteers.
Whomsoever they may be, they all share the same passion as
those who attended a recent seminar aimed at helping green
keepers to improve their bowling green; whatever the ground
conditions. Hosted by Dennis Mowers, and supported by Parks
and Grounds Machinery Ltd., the event took place at Ye Olde
Knowle Bowls Club in Dorridge, Solihull.
More than 50 groundsmen made the journey and heard
presentations from Charles Henderson of STRI, Joe Crawley of
Vitax Amenity and the charismatic grounds maintenance expert,
Dave Bracey.
The day started with over hanging cloud that threatened to burst,
but held off whilst Toby Clarke of Dennis gave an ‘on the green’
demonstration. He used the industry leading Dennis FT mower to
show its versatile cassette system. He explained the importance of
using the verti cutting cassette
before mowing to “make the grassstand proud” as this leads to a more precise cut. Dave Bracey
went on to explain the rules of scarifying and verti-cutting by using
his now infamous ‘comb example’. The demonstrations concluded
with the Dennis S500, a dedicated engine driven slotter and
spiker, and the economical range of Bray hand held tools.
Back in the club house, Joe Crawley of Vitax gave an informative
presentation on why, when and which fertilisers to use. Following
on, Charles Henderson of STRI led the audience through an
impressive presentation that showed just how much modern
bowling green maintenance has evolved over time. Aspects such
as measuring the speed of the bowling green, and how to create a
flat and true surface were all discussed, provoking many questions
from the attentive audience.
In complete contrast, Dave Bracey took a look back over the 40+
years he’s spent at the Metropolitan Police Sports Club at Hayes,
Kent. He gave some practical and ‘back to basics’ advice that he
believed would be useful for greenkeepers of all levels.
The gathering concluded with some advice on financing for capital
expenditure.
All in all the audience were left with a fresh outlook and some
useful tips to take back with them to try out on their own surface.