Bowling Green Ditch and Surrounds Maintenance

A well-maintained ditch and tidy surrounding bank help to provide a pleasing backdrop and framework for a green.

Ensuring the ditch material is maintained in a clean condition, without grass clippings, soft litter, tree leaves etc. being present. The ditch material might be rubber dimpled moulding, rubber granules / pellets, smooth gravel, or various other fillings or linings. Sand might also be used, however, when it is moist it can readily stick to bowls and if the sand is of an angular shape or coarse in size it can scratch the woods.

Surrounding grass banks can be difficult to maintain due to the steepness of the bank, so the use of artificial grass either to replace the natural grass or affixed to boards is quite common. These do need to be checked routinely to ensure they stay well fixed and secure to prevent loose grass strips or boards arising from gradual deterioration, especially as the material is exposed to changing weather throughout the year.

Where banks are natural grass then regular mowing with either hand shears, trimmer, or hover type mower will be required. Raking, sweeping or vacuuming grass clippings will also be required. A weekly cut at between 13mm to 25mm might be suitable for many greens. Damaged banks will typically be repaired at the end of the playing season, although if a bank forms a hazard due to its condition during the playing season then it will need to be repaired at that time to ensure the safety of players who may venture onto a surrounding bank.

At the end of the season ditch fill material will typically be removed and stored for the following season. This allows the ditch channels to be cleaned with a wash and scrub down, with any soil (typically from top-dressings), decaying organic matter, algae or similar being removed from the ditch. Repair work can then take place, if necessary. The removed fill material will also be cleaned - typically washed - prior to storage, which might just be a location on a hard area and being covered and protected by a tarpaulin. The cleaned material can then be returned to the ditch channels and topped up as required the following March just before the start of the playing season.

Rink markers can also be repainted, repaired, renewed or refixed as required over the winter period.