Well - the greens were not as bad as this in 1996 but they were a joke among the bowling fraternity. Actually this is a patch of moorland near Hamsterley Forest in north east England - such was the relative similarity to the greens of Ropner today, that made it quite an adventure to bowl at Ropner.




The scene of the greens as they were in May of 2002 really is in sharp contrast to that of a few years ago. Nevertheless the game was enjoyed to the full - and the spirit of Ropner never faltered.
Finally, enough was enough and The Association management decided to do something about it.
The full story of the turnaround is given below. The story is the subject of an article from The Association's head greenkeeper - a story of men, machines and determination.
Here is the story in full.......

NEGLECTED BOWLING GREENS TURNED ROUND IN FIVE YEARS

The two bowling greens at Ropner Park have been transformed over the past five years by members of the bowls clubs who play there. These council-owned greens were spongy and slow, full of thatch, weeds and annual meadow grass and had been neglected for decades by the local council and subsequently its contractors.

The six bowls clubs had formed The Ropner Park Bowling Association to supervise the games of bowls and to take responsibility for the maintenance of the pavilion and general security of the premises. They secured grants to improve the facility. £8,000 from The Foundation for Sport and the Arts bought an automatic watering system. £13,500 from The National Lottery improved the pavilion and provided bowls for youngsters and a specially adapted wheelchair for a disabled person to ploy the game.

When the grass-cutting contract was due for renewal the volunteer bowlers struck a deal with Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council to take over the maintenance of the greens. Under the agreement the bowlers would buy all the machinery and accommodation in which to house it and the council would provide all fertilizer, seed, top dressing and so forth.

On 22 September 1996, the council's contractors moved out and fourteen green keeping bowlers moved in with a brand new Dennis FT6lO mower to cut, scarify, hollow-core, overseed and top dress, Of course these raw recruits to green keeping needed advice and it was provided by the head green keeper at the local golf club. That autumn he helped them to identify fusarium in the greens and pointed out inherited problems such as 30mm depth of thatch, poor drainage and a variety of root zones including clay.

Spring arrived and the green keepers prepared for the new season with enthusiasm. A second-hand aerator and a cyclone spreader had been purchased and two metal containers were delivered to house the equipment that eventually would be required. One container served as a workshop since another group of workers were laying paving stones, constructing benches, replacing greens edging boards and laying out flower borders.

Our advisor suggested inviting an agronomist from the STRI to assess the greens and to set up a maintenance programme.
Her observations were:
Patchy grass cover, worn rink ends, levels needing attention and up to 45mm of thatch above a sandy loam with silt in the depth. Recommendations were: remove dew daily, mow at least three times a week and no lower than 5mm with a perimeter at 8mm to protect it, aerate and scarify alternately every 2-3 weeks during periods of strong growth and use the automatic watering system sparingly. Soil samples showed a pH of 6.0, phosphate was high and potassium was low. A fertilizer programme was included in the detailed report. Everything was followed to the letter and all work was carefully logged since as pure amateurs and with everyone over sixty years of age, memories would fail by the following year.

Even during the first season the bowlers were noticing an increase in green speed from the 8 seconds rate that they were used to. Now five years later the greens have been turned round from some of the worst in the area to some of the best. This is the result of a large team of volunteers who have a vested interest in producing a good surface on which to play the game they love.

Most recently the greens have been surveyed to assist leveling and concrete ditch channels fitted to enhance the surrounds. The greens have a picturesque setting of trees planted when the park was created in 1893. The standard of the greens and the colourful borders impressed the judges of the Northumbria in Bloom competition and they awarded first prize in the sports ground section - a fitting tribute to all the volunteers.

David Major RPBA (October 2001)...........TOP