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It’s goodbye grass, hello Tiger Turf at Mahurangi East Bowling Club, as members play their last games on a natural surface before the lawn green is closed on January 30.
A new $250,000 synthetic green will be laid in late February, once the site has been cleared during working bees in coming weeks.
The club decided to get rid of the old lawn and add a second synthetic green two years ago, following ongoing maintenance and drainage issues, according to club president Wes Hopgood.
“People said it’s not playing well, we want to replace it, and it’s really hard to find greenkeepers these days,” he said. “It came up as a motion at an AGM and it’s been about two years in the planning.”
The club has received sizable grants from such organisations as Pub Charity and New Zealand Community Trust, as well as raising funds from its 222 members.
The end of the grass green will be marked and celebrated in style on Waitangi Day, February 6, with greenkeeper Sonny Currel planning to sink a 9-hole putting course in the lawn as a fun way to farewell the facility. Members can putt their way around the green from 10am and there will be a sausage sizzle.
Work on installing the new synthetic green is expected to take six to seven weeks.
Mahurangi East Bowling Club was established in 1985 and now shares its Hamatana Road clubhouse and facilities with Kawau Bay Fishing Club.
