Mike Gunton is the greenkeeper for the club and has done a magnificent job in giving us one of the best greens in the county.
In October 2020 a new green was laid at the club. Unfortunately, this coincided with a stormy few days with high winds and lashing rain. It had a disastrous affect on the green, hindering new growth, throwing the new seeds all over the green and leaving us with a rye grass infestation.
It left Mike with a mountain to climb in terms of remedial work to get the green playable.
It left Mike with a mountain to climb in terms of remedial work to get the green playable.
However, Mike and the team were more than qualified to handle these necessary improvements. Despite the green being faced with additional challenges in 2021, and by working constantly throughout 2022, by 2023, Mike had turned the green into one of the best playing surfaces in the Three Counties League, often commented on by visiting teams.
At the end of each season, Mike returns to working on the green in order to get it into the best shape possible. This involves a whole lot of physical work; in September alone, Mike, David and Ron took 30 sacks of dead matter off of the green!
At the end of each season, Mike returns to working on the green in order to get it into the best shape possible. This involves a whole lot of physical work; in September alone, Mike, David and Ron took 30 sacks of dead matter off of the green!
Following that Mike then used a manual and mechanical aireator to punch holes into the lawn to prepare it for next season. Both are heavy pieces of kit with the manual aireator giving you a thoroughly good work out whilst the mechanical aireator gives you the affect of controlling a pnuematic drill up and down the green! Once that was done it was then about pulling out of the ditches all of the rubber mats and giving them a scrub.
During the season the green is cut twice a week with Mike and the team emptying the grass cutting and taking around 5 sacks from each cut over to the skip at the Rec and then getting the strimmer out to cut the edges of the green.
Having a top green at Liphook Bowls Club is largely down to Mike and the hard work that he puts in and we are very grateful to him!
Having a top green at Liphook Bowls Club is largely down to Mike and the hard work that he puts in and we are very grateful to him!
There is some heavy lifting involved in some of the work on the green as well as some less intensive jobs such as trimming and pruning.
If you would like to help us maintain the green then Mike would be delighted to hear from you.
If you would like to help us maintain the green then Mike would be delighted to hear from you.
