In our relentless effort to maintain our fabulous green, BLBC has purchased a brand new, state-of-the-art, electric roller to replace our ancient gas-powered one. It was delivered last Thursday, and it was love at first sight. It is a beauty.
The new roller finally arrives, light it is not.
Why an electric roller? For the same reason many buy EV cars: economics, convenience, and eco-friendliness. When we powered it on for the first time, we were stunned by how quiet it is; no more heavy, unsightly earmuffs and no more worrying about disturbing our neighbors. Moreover, it is equipped with lights, so our greenskeepers can roll before sunrise if necessary.
The rolling crew was eager to give the new roller a try.
Aside from the EV benefits, the new roller is about three feet longer than the old one so that it takes far fewer passes to roll the entire green.
Snug as a bug in our equipment shed.
We purchased the roller from an Australian-based company and ours is only the second electric roller currently operating in the U.S.
If you are interested in learning more about it, go to:
On Sunday, September 19, BLBC volunteers showed up for our second semiannual greens maintenance workday. The aeration (tining), seeding, and sanding is critical for maintaining our healthy and gorgeous green, widely acknowledged as the crown jewel of PIMD’s natural bowling surfaces.
Fill the buckets with expensive sand, load the spreader, fill the 200,000 holes
The weather was ideal: clear skies, modest temperature, low humidity, and a gentle cooling breeze. Twenty members (including our 4-person greenkeeping crew) and Jose (our professional) worked together in perfect harmony.
Lesiie enjoying presidential privileges
The work consisted of three phases. Phase 1 started just after 8 AM, as four workers followed Jose’s tining vehicle to sweep up the extracted turf plugs and scoop them into wheelbarrows. Two other workers replaced the full wheelbarrows with empty ones before wheeling the plugs off the green. The coordination was extraordinary as the sweepers never had to wait for an available wheelbarrow. After 90 minutes or so, a huge, motorized gas-powered blower was used to remove the stray plugs and excessive dirt, after which Jose spread calcium sulfate (aka gypsum) over the green to break up the compaction of dense clay soil.
Jose tending the machineryJanie and the big blower
After a very brief break, phase 2 began. One group of workers stood in the sandbox and shoveled sand into buckets. A second group transported full buckets to the green so that a third group could dump the sand into Jose’s mechanical spreader as it travelled slowly across the green. A fourth group carried the empty buckets back to the sandbox to be refilled and the process repeated itself until the entire green was covered in sand. Once again, the coordination was perfect as the sand spreader remained in constant motion.
In the final phase, Jose dragged a metal mesh with his tractor to distribute the sand evenly on the green while a few volunteers swept sand into the corners.
Ethan kept track of the workday as a workout – and earned a kudos from someone.
The entire workday effort was completed in just under five hours, allegedly the fastest in BLBC recorded history.
A hearty shout out to our volunteers (listed in random order):
Douglas Frey, Mike O’Leary, Annie Brillhart, Ben Carson, Stephanie Upp, Chris Davis, Phil Watson, Rolly Coe, Thomas Birt, Phillip Andrews, Gary Samonsky, Cindy Moss, Leslie Engler, Cathy Dinnean, and Mo Shooer.
BLBC is preparing for the Annual Fall Workday for the Green, scheduled for Sunday September 14, 2025. This aeration (tining), seeding and sanding is critical for maintaining a healthy green.
Work day on Sunday, 14 September, 2025
In preparation for the upcoming fall Greens Maintenance workday, nearly 6 tons of special sand was delivered to the club. The greenkeeping crew helped guide the truck onto the premises and the sand drop was perfect. At $1700+ for the load, it was important that nary a speck was lost. So, the stage is set and we could use some help.
Tight quartersSand at the ready
The Greenskeepers need your help with various steps including plug removal and sand application/removal, among other tasks. There are also some light duty tasks in addition to those that are outlined below. As many of you know, this is a great opportunity to learn more about how our green is maintained and to meet other members you may not know.
We will be providing pizza and light snacks for those who volunteer, please let us know if you will join for that.
Below is an outline of main tasks and timing. We hope to be done by early afternoon and can use your help even if for a short period of time.
Starting around 8:30 we need 6 volunteers to shovel the plugs from Jose’s tining into wheelbarrows.
View of tining plugs, numbering over 200,000, being swept up for removal.
Starting around 10:00 we need 4-8 volunteers to shovel sand into wheelbarrows and then use buckets to dump the sand into the mechanical spreader. The larger number of volunteers would allow for breaks.
Starting around 10:30 we need 2-4 volunteers to sweep sand into the plug holes along edges and corners only. Jose will use the tractor with a broom/mat to sweep the sand from most of the green.
The club has most of the equipment, but we could use snow-type shovels and sturdy dollies. Please bring them along if you have those.
Spreading sand to fill the holes created by tining.
We do have some work/gardening gloves, but please bring your own if you have those.
Please reply to the Greenskeepers via email (greensblbc@gmail.com) by Sunday September 7 to let us know that you can join and what time slot, or to let us know any questions.
Following the workday the green will be closed for approximately one month for continued maintenance.
The annual Meat Axe Challenge between Berkeley and Palo Alto has been played nearly every year since 1958. It has always manifested the best of lawn bowls competition, with a combination of competitiveness, joviality, and good sportsmanship. This year’s edition was no exception.
Palo Alto traveled north, keen to avenge last year’s loss on their home turf. The schedule called for five 12-end triples games in the morning and afternoon sessions, with the trophy going to the side with the most game points … three for a win, one for a tie.
Exceptional hospitalityThe pre-match brief
The unseasonably chilly, misty weather did nothing to dampen the enthusiasm of both squads. Like liposuction, the contest was nip and tuck all the way. In the morning, the visitors captured three of the five matches, winning two of them quite handily. It was nervous times for the Blue and Gold as Palo Alto seemed to have the upper hand. They only had 15 bowlers, so their teams could remain the same. We had 25, which demanded a juggling act to add 10 new bowlers in the afternoon. Only our five skips bowled both games.
They had stability, we had depth. Ultimately, depth prevailed as we won four of the five afternoon matches to secure an 18-12 victory. The Meat Axe remains where it seems happiest … in our clubhouse.
Everyone on the same pageHanging on to the Meat Axe trophy
Once again, kudos to our greenskeepers for the beautiful and speedy green, and to our Hospitality Committee for the yummy snacks and barista-quality coffee. And an extra shout out to our Tournament Committee for arranging and rearranging the team assignments.
President Engler with the trophy.
Moreover, we swept the season’s three inter-club matches for the second year in a row.
On a cloudy, cool, and misty Saturday morning, 42 enthusiastic and seemingly over-caffeinated bowlers from five Bay Area clubs arrived in Berkeley to participate in the annual Howard Mackey Jamboree, the crown jewel of BLBC’s annual tournament schedule. The Jamboree, which was created by Mr. Mackey in the 80s, has a unique tournament format. There are three 10-end triples games. Players are allocated into the three categories of skip, vice, and lead and the teams are randomly selected and then changed after each game. It is the one tournament in which there is an “I” in team as each player maintains their own score and at the end of the day there are no team awards, only individual winners in each category.
The challenge for our tournament committee is to ensure that every bowler will have different teammates and different opponents in each…i.e., no one will ever play with or against the same bowler all day. Kudos to our TC for figuring out how to do this. An additional, albeit yet to be solved, complexity is never having anyone bowl on the same rink more than once. That’s next year’s challenge.
Daniel gets the play underwayWe started out under grey skies
As usual, the BLBC green was in pristine condition and there was an abundance of yummy, nutritious snacks and barista-quality coffee. Manifesting the collective IQ of the participants was that game one started on time as every bowler was able to figure out their team, position, and rink they were assigned to. As if scripted, the clouds disappeared by 10 AM and the remainder of the tournament was played under blue skies and pleasant temperature. The last games finished at 4 PM and nearly all the participants gathered on the patio, munching on ice cream sandwiches (a Jamboree tradition), eagerly awaiting the final results, which were:
Even though there was a bit on cash involved, the abundance of camaraderie, laughter, and cheerful banter throughout the day was akin to a typical draw game, which is exactly what this tournament is all about.
Bowling aplentyA nice pause for lunch
And lastly, a huge shout out to our Hospitality Committee and our greenkeeping team for helping make this a glorious day.
Our fantastic greenskeeper team is happy to announce that the green reopened Wednesday, April 9 at 10 AM. Please note there may be some sand on the green which may be picked up by bowls. If there is sand on your rink, we ask you not to use rakes or squeegees.
Hugo Deux sends a bowl down the rink on our newly reopened green.
The green has made a quick recovery from the Spring drill and sand maintenance, reopening just 17 days after the workday. Just a couple of years ago, a cloudy and cool Spring delayed reopening by two months so we are lucky this year. As bowling resumed today there was some sand evident on the green but the bowls behaved well. It will get better as the days progress.
Jim Corr ponders the head after a lovely shot by Hugo Deux.
As a reminder, please make sure to read the notice board in the equipment shed for information related to using the green, such as bowling direction, rink color, and green sheet status.
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