Bowling Green Performance Standards (B)

3) Bare (and decaying-dead) area: This is the difference between the total vegetative cover and the total composition of a defined area. For a bowling green this might therefore be given as from no more than 0.5% to 5%. In an ideal situation there might be no bare or decaying-dead areas.
4) Diameter of any individual bare area: An exposed area of soil might arise from wear and poor delivery of bowls, especially in soft and wet conditions. A small amount of bare area will be expected, although what is not desirable is having large expanses of individual bare areas. Having a parameter for any individual bare area of from 25mm to 50mm diameter can help distinguish between where more major renovation works are required and more easily repaired areas by either overseeding or patching with turf cutters.
5) Desirable grass coverage: The higher the content of suitable desirable grasses, the better the playing surface. Typically, the desirable grasses will be red fescues and browntop bent grasses, but other species might be included, such as fine leaved perennial ryegrass in specific situations. Being able to identify the desirable grass species will help to better understand the consequences of different maintenance activities, along with the influence usage has on the surface. A parameter of 90% might be the target for high level greens, yet a minimum of 50% or 60% might be suitable for basic levels of quality.
6) Undesirable grasses: Annual meadow grass is the primary undesirable grass. Whilst this species can readily colonise thin and bare areas, it offers poor visual appearance during drier weather conditions, is susceptible to many diseases, requires higher fertiliser and irrigation inputs to produce a suitable surface, and is a prolific thatch producer which then contributes to a soft, slower surface which is more easily worn. Monitoring encroachment of this grass should be fairly easy, once correct identification has been mastered, and this can help to adjust maintenance inputs to improve the competitiveness of the desirable grasses at the expense of this grass. The maximum content of this species might be from 10% to 50% depending on standard required.
7) Sward height: Keeping the grass cut height at a suitable level is essential, whilst also ensuring that the grass does not grow too long before it is cut is also an essential requirement. Aiming to follow the 1/3rd rule of not removing too much leaf growth per cut is important if a resilient and long-lasting surface is to be produced.

The length of grass will also significantly influence the speed and rolling distance of a ball and often the height of cut can be kept relatively high to match the abilities of players, without the need to have too short a sward which can produce too fast a pace game for many players.

This is often given as playing (or main growing) season and out of playing (or non- or slow growth) season. The majority of parameters will be between 4.5mm and 8mm during the season, with tournament play often being cut shorter (to maybe 3.5mm to 4mm), although after the end of the tournament the height of cut should be returned to normal. Out of season the green might range from 8mm to 12mm for the height of cut, depending on quality requirements.
8) Root depth, and root density: Ideally grass roots will be as deep as the soil profile allows. A root depth (which should be measured where most of the mass is, not where just a single rootlet extends to) of 50mm would be considered an absolute minimum which needs improving on, whilst a depth of 150mm would be considered excellent in practice. Root depth and density are good indicators of the effectiveness of the mowing, aeration and irrigation practices in particular.