The Golden Rules

Golden Rule Number 1: Correct Mowing Regime.

Golden Rule Number 2: Use the Correct Fertiliser Program

Golden Rule Number 3: Thatch Control, Thatch is a major contributor in the encouragement of fungal pathogens like fusarium and can cause severe outbreaks of disease to occur if left unchecked.

Golden Rule Number 4: Compaction Control, Compaction inhibits drainage, root penetration and fertiliser and thatch breakdown.

Golden Rule Number 5: Aeration, An overlooked benefit of regular aeration is the increased efficiency of fertilisers, as they are released more readily to the plants by the increased populations of microbes present in well aerated soil.

Golden Rule Number 6: Formal Drainage, Remarkably, I have visited only a handful of bowling greens in nearly 3 decades that have had major (expensive to put right) drainage system problems.

Golden Rule Number 7: Disease Control, most disease problems are caused or encouraged by poor turf maintenance! If you’ve been paying attention through the previous rules you will start to see a pattern of good practice.

Golden Rule Number 8: Control Insect Pests, Yes but how?, many of the most effective pesticides are now unavailable. Again most insect problems can be traced back to poor turf maintenance. Effective treatments are available, but by far the most successful approach is to limit your turf’s attractiveness to insect pests.

Golden Rule Number 9: Manage your Microbes. A strong population of soil microbes (microscopic organisms) is essential to turf health. They break down organic material such as thatch and release nutrients from this and the fertilisers you add in plant usable forms.

Golden Rule Number 10: Water and Irrigation, Managing the water we apply to the green is one of the most critical and technical aspects of bowling green management. Did you know you need to run the irrigation system for 50 minutes over the week to replace a 25mm loss to evaporation?