Helping Hands at Woodford...


Dean Broughton with his Groundsman 345 Andy Johnson vertidraining the green


“It wasn’t long before I recognised that, without the knowledge, no amount of enthusiasm would be enough to turn it around. I needed help - and badly!”


Tom Rigby, Chairman, Woodford-c W 28


hen the snow finally relented at the end of January, I anxiously peered through the club gates at what consecutive


harsh winters had done to our green. It wasn’t a pretty sight, and my heart sank. I had become chairman of Woodford- cum-Membris Bowls Club in November 2010, a small club of around forty members, of all ages and abilities, in the village of Woodford Halse in rural Northamptonshire.


The club was founded in 1994, the


result of an arrangement between the Parish Council and a small group of keen bowlers from the local community. It’s a club which has been built almost entirely on the enthusiasm, dedication and determination of its members and the support of its friends. But, in recent years, this enthusiasm


and determination had dwindled through a lack of funds, lack of knowledge and lack of willing and able volunteers. When I took over the reins, the green was showing signs of this neglect and, so, with a head filled with ideas, and enough enthusiasm to sink a battleship, I threw myself into it. It wasn’t long before I recognised that, without the knowledge, no amount of enthusiasm would be enough to turn it around. I needed help – and badly!


Desperate for guidance, I typed ‘lawn bowls greenkeeping’ into Google. Only 288,000 results, all of which professed to be the holy grail of greens maintenance. So I added ‘forum’, and up popped Pitchcare. Well into the small hours, I read through the greenkeeping calendar, furiously making notes as I did so. Two hours and twenty pages later I was really still none the wiser and even more


cum-M Membris Bowls Club


desperate for some help. So, more out of hope than any kind of conviction, I left a message.


I went for some supper and returned an hour later to find half a dozen replies - all positive and encouraging. By the next morning I had almost thirty responses. One of these was from Ken Barber who, judging by what others were saying, was a highly respected greenkeeper. Ken lived locally and offered to come and have a look at our green. We met a few days later, on 27th January, and, after a lengthy period of sighs, tuts and shakes of his head, he told me that it was the worst green he’d ever seen, but that he fancied a challenge. Ken takes up the story: “Tom told me that approximately three tonnes of dressing had been applied in 2010 but, judging by the 30mm depth of thatch, I would suggest that it was less than that,


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80  |  Page 81  |  Page 82  |  Page 83  |  Page 84  |  Page 85  |  Page 86  |  Page 87  |  Page 88  |  Page 89  |  Page 90  |  Page 91  |  Page 92  |  Page 93  |  Page 94  |  Page 95  |  Page 96  |  Page 97  |  Page 98  |  Page 99  |  Page 100  |  Page 101  |  Page 102  |  Page 103  |  Page 104  |  Page 105  |  Page 106  |  Page 107  |  Page 108  |  Page 109  |  Page 110  |  Page 111  |  Page 112  |  Page 113  |  Page 114  |  Page 115  |  Page 116  |  Page 117  |  Page 118  |  Page 119  |  Page 120  |  Page 121  |  Page 122  |  Page 123  |  Page 124  |  Page 125  |  Page 126  |  Page 127  |  Page 128  |  Page 129  |  Page 130  |  Page 131  |  Page 132  |  Page 133  |  Page 134  |  Page 135  |  Page 136  |  Page 137  |  Page 138  |  Page 139  |  Page 140  |  Page 141  |  Page 142  |  Page 143  |  Page 144  |  Page 145  |  Page 146  |  Page 147  |  Page 148