Summer Sports - Bowls
despondent before playing. As long as it is consistently brown, I see no need to worry when looking at the surface.
Grass Not Too Long: Looking at the colour of the green, and deciding what pace the surface will be before putting a bowl down, is not a foolproof way of determining green pace; I have played on some very lush greens before and, to my surprise, they have been lightning fast - my own club’s green included. However, this is because the green has been cut short, so there is less grass on the green, giving it a flatter trajectory and, therefore, making the pace faster.
Patrick competing in the MAP challenge for England in California at the Newport Harbor Club
“I prefer not to see the grass too green, as this usually suggests that the greenkeeper is more obsessed with how the green looks than how it plays”
60 PC APRIL/MAY 2012
Many council greens will only be cut once or twice a week at most and, if you see long grass, you can be certain that the green will be slow. Now, I actually like slow surfaces, bucking the trend of most international players, which is probably one reason why Bowls England select me - they know they can rely on me on the slower surfaces. However, it is nice for a green to have some pace to it but, if you see grass half an inch thick, you know you need to do a half hour warm-up session so you do not have to go to A&E later with a dislocated shoulder! I have only been tricked once by long grass being quicker than expected. I played for England in Hong Kong, and when I saw the green I was in shock. They use a different type of grass in Hong Kong - more akin to a weed and much longer. My first bowl during a practise session saw me get my arm above my head, release the bowl and see it fly into the
ditch as the surface was ridiculously quicker than I expected - it was really fast! However, this is the only instance in my fourteen years of playing that I have been deceived, and it was the other side of the world. The weed was long but lay flat, rather than typical grass that tends to stand upright, meaning the bowl sticks to the grass on normal greens as there is more friction.
LITTLE THINGS
Ditches Level or Even Raised Slightly: Greenkeepers struggle to keep ditches level, and a poorly maintained ditch can be the difference between success and failure for all bowlers; in particular those that play at an international standard. I have played on surfaces where the slope begins more than two yards from the ditch, and keeping your bowl on the green without hitting something in this two yards is literally impossible!
Bowlers do not help
themselves as they continually stand or even sit on the edge of the ditches, creating more problems for the greenkeeper. A top quality bowler would always be pleased to see a level ditch, or one that is even slightly raised to ensure your bowl does not unfairly go into the ditch.
SURFACE
Flat Surface: Finally, as I play flat lawn bowls and not crown green, I like the surface to be flat. I once played on a green in Lincolnshire which looked more like a crown green surface with humps in it. You could literally see the green slope up and down. We were on an end rink, and the side
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