Bowling club gets upgrade
The grass at Foxton’s bowling club will be looking greener after a major upgrade.
The Foxton and Beach Bowling Club is getting a new artificial green to replace its main grass one, with the new turf expected to be ready to use by March.
Club president Alan Shannon said the artificial green allowed the club to host competitions in all types of weather, as the new turf can drain water in half an hour.
‘‘When we had the normal turf here, we would lose three to five tournaments a year because of wet weather.’’
Although it is a bowling club by name, club match convenor Clinton Gunn said it had become a community centre for Foxton.
Friday night meals and social bowls competitions on Tuesday and Thursday evenings attracted people to the club who may not otherwise be interested in playing competitively.
‘‘We’ve got 53 playing members, but we’ve got over 400 social members,’’ Gunn said.
‘‘Bowls is perceived as the game for when you get to 100 years old.’’
Shannon said the social competitions attracted 80 to 90 casual bowlers each night and brought a younger demographic of people to the club.
He said the average age of the social bowlers was ‘‘well under’’ 50.
Installing the turf required some shuffling from the club – it started the bowling season three weeks early to accommodate the work.
The new green is a significant investment, with a total cost of $245,000, but the club secured $165,000 funding from the Foxton Beach Endowment Fund.
To gain that funding, Foxton Beach residents participated in a vote.
Shannon said there was some opposition from the community, but 370 people voted for the club getting funding while 50 voted against. The club has been running since 1964 and some traditions will disappear along with the old turf.
The artificial turf meant the club would no longer need a greenkeeper, but club members would volunteer to clean the turf with a special vacuum cleaner, Shannon said.