Plymouth's council-run bowling greens look set to get a little TLC - including a new maintenance regime.
The council has admitted that some of its greens are below standard following complaints from local bowlers.
One keen bowler described the green on The Hoe promenade as an insult to Sir Francis Drake.
Mike Berridge, chairman of the Co-op Unity Park Bowls Club in Efford said he had come to dread playing away games on council-owned greens. He claimed his home green was in much better condition, thanks to a programme of weeding and spiking as well as mowing.
He said he felt sorry for the city bowling clubs who were paying the council to run their clubs from greens that were patchy and uneven.
A Plymouth City Council spokesperson said: “It is fair to say that our bowling greens do need some attention and we are already taking measures to bring them back to a better condition.
“We have commissioned a contractor to check the watering system at each green and will be carrying out any repairs that are necessary.
“We are also developing a new maintenance regime to begin in the autumn and we hope to involve clubs in this.”
Mr Berridge said: “The bowling fraternity has had enough, the city council bowling greens are in a shocking state,.
“Plymouth is the home of bowls but at the moment we are the laughing stock of the South West.
“Many bowlers pay good money, between £115 to £140 a year, and what do they get greens that are brown with mud, non- existent grass, almost unplayable.
“The council tells them it costs up to £15,000 a year to look after one green but I think that is a load of rubbish, I manage one of the best greens in Plymouth and it costs us around £6,000 a year.
“I played on the Hoe recently. It was disgusting, it should be the showpiece bowls green, where Sir Francis Drake was meant to be playing before the Armada. What message is this going to give for the Mayflower celebrations?
“There are Americans who would be happy to pay £10 just to pitch a bowl on the Hoe because they want to be like Drake, but the green doesn’t seem to be considered as important as tennis courts and other facilities.”
Another bowler also criticised the current condition of the council-run greens.
Barry Lewis said: “I am a relatively new bowler and I am lucky to play for Co-op Unity Park bowls club where we have probably the best green in Plymouth.
“Other private greens in the area are also a pleasure to play on.
“But we have recently played on three occasions on The Hoe green maintained by the council and skill levels are reduced to more of a lottery due to the poor surface.
“It is sad that some of the city’s best bowlers have to endure these greens regularly.
“Surely some of the £9m invested in Central Park could have been set aside to re-seed, roll and dress the greens.”
Another bowler, Pauline Evans, added: "This sport is mostly enjoyed by pensioners as their only means of exercise.
Ideally a professional lawn green expert should manage all the greens."
