Editor’s note: Bowling on San Jose’s new synthetic green is quite unlike bowling on grass. With fast speeds and pronounced draw, the synthetic green put our Berkeley bowlers to the test and they answered confidently.
The San Jose LBC Vet Novice Fours took place Saturday April 26.
Eight teams participated and played four 10 end games of fours, two bowls for each of the four bowlers. Bowlers from five PIMD clubs participated: Berkeley, Oakland, Palo Alto, San Jose and Santa Clara. When all was said and done, Berkeley bowlers made up 5 of the 8 bowlers of the top 2 teams.
The first place undefeated team (left to right) Leslie Marshall (San Jose), Reggie Banares (San Jose), Patricia Erwin (BLBC) and Janie Hillyer (BLBC) was undefeated.
The second place team (left to right) Ben Corson (BLBC), Bernadette Chang (BLBC), HC Yung (BLBC), and Mark Cooney (San Jose) lost just one game by a close score.
Judy Hillyer played on the fourth place team and was recognized as the MVP by their team skip. Well done BLBC bowlers!.
Editor’s note: Ever wonder about the small Mini-Me bowling green next to the mat shed. Read on for greenskeeper Patrica Erwin’s glimpse into spring initiatives to keep our green in tip top condition.
Since the Spring ‘drill and fill’ workday various bowlers have asked the BLBC greenskeepers if we got some time off since the green was closed. In fact, the work on the green has continued at a brisk pace, but with different tasks and more flexible timing while it was closed for bowling.
Janie painstakingly dispatching Poa.
Following the drill and fill, the greenskeepers diligently dragged and swept the green daily. In a few areas, they filled holes one by one with sand. As the sand settled, regular watering was conducted to prevent the green from drying out due to the extensive sand distribution. Careful walking of the green was essential to search for and remove weeds, particularly during the spring season. In the photo, Poa (annual meadow grass) is being removed. Poa requires proactive control to prevent it from overrunning the green.
Grass in the nursery is well matched to our bowling green. It provides a source of turf for small transplanting operations.
Janie and Jose harvesting a thin layer of turf from the nursery.
Another specific area of focus is supporting challenging areas such as the western corners. In mid-April, the team harvested a section of the nursery to replace an approximately 3’x4’ area in the southwest corner. This process, sometimes humorously referred to as a ‘surgery’ on the green, involves delicately cutting a section from the nursery, peeling off the grass and roots, and then ‘grafting’ it into the green. The grafting process requires meticulous attention to detail, including carefully removing the damaged area and placing the new section from the nursery just so. It is then leveled with a layer of sand and seed to enhance its strength. We place wire nets over the grafted area to prevent critters from digging and to mark the area for daily misting to aid seed germination.
The completed transplant will be carefully watched and nurtured.
The nursery has also received recent care. Damaged areas that were excessively dry or mossy were removed and then refilled using some of the thousands of plugs removed during the aeration process. Currently, the nursery is regularly watered, weeded, and supported to promote its growth and health. This will enable us to continue using sections of the nursery as needed on the green in the coming year.
We promote the game of lawn bowling for the enjoyment of new and experienced players alike.
