On a rainy day in December 2020, MakMax Australia spoke to Dr Neil Peach, the Secretary at Enoggera Bowls Sports and Community Club about the new synthetic greens and fabric bowls club roof installed over their bowling greens.

The 3515 sqm PVC fabric barrel vault canopy was installed in 2019 and covers 2 full-size bowling greens at the Brisbane suburban bowls club.

“Our members are over the moon, the bowls community love it, and Bowls Queensland, who are our neighbours, are absolutely gob-smacked by how good it is for the game.”

View the video to hear more about the benefits of a fabric bowls club roof.

Transcript:

How has your bowling green canopy benefited the club?

The benefits to the bowls club over the last 18 months have been enormous, not only having the cover, but the new artificial greens – the combination of those two things has made an enormous difference. Everyone is wowed by the facility, those people who haven’t been involved with bowls who visit our facility are blown away.

So the green, the canopy and the lighting all work magic. At night-time, it’s like an absolute festival of bowls – it makes the game look more exciting. Our members are over the moon, the bowls community love it, and Bowls Queensland, who are our neighbours, are absolutely gob-smacked by how good it is for the game.

 

What is it like playing under the canopy?

Playing under the canopy is a different experience and whilst everything that’s different takes a little bit of adjustment, what we find is people love being able to be here on those hot, humid days when it’s sweltering, in the evening under lights, during the summertime when you can’t play on grass greens and in the winter times – it really makes a difference.

The experience: there’s still variation, it’s still an outdoor facility, but it has that protection that enables people to enjoy the game and not have to worry about the heat, the rain, the wind etc.

 

Would you recommend a bowling green canopy to other clubs?

So from our point of view, in Queensland where the summer weather is very changeable and you have enormous heat and humidity (as well as big storms), having the venue means that we’ve got certainty about what we organise with our social bowlers and with our barefoot bowlers. We don’t have to call off events because of the weather.

It provides an opportunity for people to be able to play the game in comfort. Other clubs are all impressed with it, they’d love one themselves. It does cost money, but boy oh boy, in the long run, it’s so good for the game.

It’s a product, that we believe will position the game for a future. A future of younger people (and not so young people) being attracted to it because of the quality of the facilities.

And the certainty of being able to practice, in the evening and early in the morning. Some of our members here are up at daylight and are out on the green practicing and others are here until 8 – 8:30 at night.

It’s a great venue, it’s a great facility, and we strongly recommend if you can, to get a cover.