Bocce ball is an ancient game developed in Italy, whose modern adaptation most closely resembles bowling. It is traditionally played on a court 60 – 90 feet long and 8 – 13 feet wide consisting of natural soil or asphalt. The rules are complex, but basically two players or two teams of 2, 3, or 4 people score points when their ball lands closest to the “jack”, a smaller ball thrown before any player throws their bocce ball. It requires skill, strategy and just a little luck. Bocce ball is a great game to play outside on a beautiful day. It is highly popular among seniors, but youths are sure to enjoy this accuracy game. With the vast popularity of the game many businesses are opening around the San Francisco Bay Area offering bocce ball, food, and drinks. It is a good way to spend a night out with friends. If you would like to enjoy this ever so popular sport in the privacy of your own home, then a bocce ball court in Pleasanton, Ca. is for you.
The crew at O’Neill’s Green Services is at the forefront of the synthetic bocce court industry. Their synthetic bocce ball court in Pleasanton is no exception. It includes features not found on a traditional bocce ball court. These will be discussed a little later. The client in Pleasanton already had the location picked out for their court. They had a wood border built and had plans to use a more traditional base for their court. After meeting with Forever Putting Greens it was decided that a synthetic surface would be much better than the crushed oyster shell surface more commonly used. This is due to the fact that with a synthetic surface there is little to no maintenance required.
The first step was to bring in the rock used as a base under the synthetic surface. This was a job in itself as the location of the court was tucked away in the client’s backyard down a flight of stairs and a meandering rock path. Once the proper amount of rock was brought in allowing for good drainage it was time to install the synthetic surface. The turf used is specific to bocce ball allowing any water that falls on the flat surface to drain through and promotes a perfect roll of the ball. The clients mentioned that not only are they fans of bocce ball, but enjoy golf as well. O’Neill’s Green Services took this into consideration and decided to give them a hybrid bocce court in Livermore by installing a golf hole at each end of the court. After they are done with putting they can simply put in O’Neill’s Green Services proprietary foam cup plugs and are ready for bocce fun.