Turf management

Last updated February 12, 2024

Turf management or pitchcare describes the work needed to keep a sporting pitch ready for use. This article looks at the various types of sporting pitches and the type of challenges which they present.

Tennis courts

There are two main types of tennis court, grass and clay. The clay courts can then be divided into natural clay, hard courts and fast/dry courts.

All tennis courts should ideally be a little west of true north to ensure minimum problems from sunlight.

Grass courts. Historically very popular, they are now slowly being replaced by clay courts which offer the opportunity of year-round usage and lower maintenance.

The skills needed to maintain a grass court are considerable. Traditionally the court is split into the foundations and drainage, the soil or binding layer, and the grass. All three must work together to provide the best playing surface. Maintenance of grass courts is typically split into the following areas:

Mowing, 6 to 8 mm.
Fertilisers.
Scarification: mechanically raising the surface turf to prevent compaction.
Rolling. Usually done in springtime to correct any problems from the winter weather.
Aeration. Winter work to remedy compaction over the summer. It will encourage deep rooting as well as assisting in drainage.
Seeding of worn areas after the season has ended.
Top dressing at the end of the season to maintain turf quality.

Artificial grass courts are a popular option at club level as they are weather resistant and their shock absorbing qualities help limit injuries. However they are not recommended for high skill levels and are expensive to maintain. The Lawn Tennis Association prices a basic court at £27,000 and replacement turf every 9 years at a further £11,000.

Clay courts require water to keep from cracking. This limits their use in very dry regions. At the other extreme, in countries like the United Kingdom with very wet seasons, a clay court may be unplayable for long periods and may also give rise to expensive maintenance at the start of the season. Normal maintenance is basically regular watering and rolling, to prevent the surface turning into dust. Clay courts can have both sub-surface and above surface irrigation. They provide a good training surface with a medium to slow pace and consistent bounce. The Lawn Tennis Association prices the courts at between £34,000 and £60,000 to construct.
Hard courts are typically made from asphalt or concrete with an acrylic covering. They are also called synthetic granular courts. These courts typically provide a "fast" game, which means the tennis ball will bounce with a low angle. The speed of the court can be changed by varying the amount of sand present in the covering. If a layer of cushioning material is added to a hard court then the performance increases and this is typical of an all-weather court. However, the cost of the cushioning can be substantial.

An interesting problem with asphalt courts arises in very hot environments. The asphalt absorbs heat very quickly, but the painted lines will reflect the heat and this differential in temperature can lead to surface cracking. These courts are generally low-maintenance but they need to be recoated every 5 to 10 years. Most maintenance involves keeping the surface clean. There is generally little movement in the surface which means added strain on ankles and knee joints.

The Lawn Tennis Association prices a porous macadam court at £20,000, which should last 10 to 12 years with low maintenance costs. An acrylic court would cost around £25,000 and is long lasting with low maintenance.

"Fast/dry" courts are a relatively new innovation from America. These are generally made from basalt taken from the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, which is then finely crushed and used as the top layer over either a purpose-built sub-layer or just placed on top of an existing clay or asphalt surface. This type of surface is promoted as allowing more "sliding" by the players and therefore it helps to limit tennis injuries to the lower parts of the body. These courts are typically slower than grass. They can dry very quickly and do not have the heat reflection problems of clay courts. Porosity is low and often these courts have a slight slope to aid water run off. They are similar to the basic clay courts described above.

Golf courses

The growth in the popularity of golf, combined with the large sums of money invested in a golf course, has led to the development of turf management, which is a term used to refer to the skills of maintaining a golf course.

The green, as opposed to the rough, is the principal area of concern. Many golf courses are now built in environments which would be hostile to natural grass cover and essentially the grass grows in a hydroponic or sterile environment with very fast drainage. This means that it has to be fed and watered regularly.

The key characteristics of a good green are speed and consistency. Faster greens are preferred and for tournament play the greens should be as fast as possible. To measure speed a stimpmeter is used. The main factors influencing green speed are:

Mowing height, which today is 3 to 6 mm. Due to the demand for faster greens, top courses are striving for even lower cutting heights. In the 1960s, green mowers were not capable of cutting below 6 mm; today they can cut below 3 mm.
Rolling, though excessive rolling will compact the grass.
Topdressing helps with consistency and reduces thatch buildup.
Frequency of mowing. During the growing season daily mowing is required. For faster speeds and professional tournaments greens may be cut twice a day or even double cut (two cuts in two directions, one immediately following the other).
Verticutting to remove excessive thatch, force the grass blades to stand upright, thin out excessive growth and speed up greens.
Scarification to remove moss and stop the collection of moisture on the green.
Grooming to reduce the thickness of clumps.
Aerating to remove excessive organic matter, modify the rootzone composition, improve rooting and drainage.^[1]

Football pitches

Historically football pitches have had natural grass cover. The stresses on a pitch, combined with winter weather, can often mean that the pitch has to be returfed on a regular basis. Essentially the existing turf is removed to a depth of typically 40 mm turf and 110 mm of soil. The replacement turf is ideally purpose grown to ensure consistency and freedom from weeds. A pitch can usually be returfed within four days and would typically involve removing and relaying 400 cubic metres of turf and soil. The FA lists four main characteristics of a good grass pitch:

Adequate grass coverage
Low level of weeds
Flat
Good drainage

Football pitch technology has moved forward tremendously since the 1970s/1980s, when it was found that by December, almost all pitches turned into mud baths. Today's technology includes the use of drainage pipe at 5m centres, a gravel raft, a sand (suspended water table) rooting zone, undersoil heating and supplementary lighting on the surface that encourages growth. Management techniques have also advanced, with more emphasis on soil and plant biology, morphology, and the zoology and physiology being introduced into the management of a grass sward. There are also a number of materials and methods to reinforce a natural grass playing surface.

As stadiums have been developed, and are generally now nearly sealed constructions, meaning there is less light and air movement on the playing surface, new processes and procedures have been introduced to counterbalance the effects of this.

Artificial grass offers an alternative to natural grass for football stadiums. There has been considerable development of this type of surface from the early days, when it was similar to tufted carpet. The performance of this surface has generally been questioned as not being truly natural. However, there are definite advantages with artificial grass, particularly when a stadium has heavy or multi-use requirements. Artificial grass also has an advantage in environments hostile to natural grass, for instance, low sunlight or a paucity of water.

Cricket fields

Cricket fields, and cricket pitches in particular, require a good deal of care to ensure that they are not waterlogged with rain, which can create issues with the bounce of the ball off the pitch as it is delivered to the batsman (the pitch is said to become a "sticky wicket"), and make it unsafe for players to move around the field; bowlers in particular risk damaging themselves if they slip during their delivery stride.^[2] For these reasons, play is often stopped when rain occurs, with most of the field covered to prevent it from getting wet.^[3]^[4]

Before play and during breaks, the pitch is swept over and otherwise maintained to improve its performance.^{[ citation needed ]}

Athletics tracks

Modern athletics tracks use "polymeric surfaces". Because of their hardwearing and porous nature they allow the facility to look attractive and well-kept at all times, although actual maintenance is low.^{[ citation needed ]}

Education

Many schools and universities offer either four-year programs in turf management, or certificates which take less time to complete. Students go on to become sports turf managers, head groundskeepers, golf course superintendents or work at a variety of other turf-related jobs.^{[ citation needed ]}

Related Research Articles

A tennis court is the venue where the sport of tennis is played. It is a firm rectangular surface with a low net stretched across the centre. The same surface can be used to play both doubles and singles matches. A variety of surfaces can be used to create a tennis court, each with its own characteristics which affect the playing style of the game.

Fusarium patch is a disease in turf grass settings also called pink snow mold or Microdochium patch. In many cool season grass species in North America, it is caused by the fungus Microdochium nivale. The white-pink mycelium on infected leaf blades is a distinguishing characteristic of the Microdochium nivale pathogen. Fusarium patch is considered economically important in the turf grass industry because of its tendency to cause significant injury to golf greens, thereby decreasing putting surface quality. Dissimilar from other snow molds, such as gray snow mold, Microdochium nivale does not need snow cover to cause widespread infection.

Organic lawn management or organic turf management or organic land care or organic landscaping is the practice of establishing and caring for an athletic turf field or garden lawn and landscape using organic horticulture, without the use of manufactured inputs such as synthetic pesticides or artificial fertilizers. It is a component of organic land care and organic sustainable landscaping which adapt the principles and methods of sustainable gardening and organic farming to the care of lawns and gardens.

A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". The cup holds a flagstick, known as a "pin". A standard round of golf consists of 18 holes, and as such most courses contain 18 distinct holes; however, there are many 9-hole courses and some that have holes with shared fairways or greens. There are also courses with a non-standard number of holes, such as 12 or 14.

Permeable paving surfaces are made of either a porous material that enables stormwater to flow through it or nonporous blocks spaced so that water can flow between the gaps. Permeable paving can also include a variety of surfacing techniques for roads, parking lots, and pedestrian walkways. Permeable pavement surfaces may be composed of; pervious concrete, porous asphalt, paving stones, or interlocking pavers. Unlike traditional impervious paving materials such as concrete and asphalt, permeable paving systems allow stormwater to percolate and infiltrate through the pavement and into the aggregate layers and/or soil below. In addition to reducing surface runoff, permeable paving systems can trap suspended solids, thereby filtering pollutants from stormwater.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sod</span> Upper layer of soil and grass

Sod, also known as turf, is the upper layer of soil with the grass growing on it that is often harvested into rolls.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Artificial turf</span> Surface of synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass

Artificial turf is a surface of synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass, used in sports arenas, residential lawns and commercial applications that traditionally use grass. It is much more durable than grass and easily maintained without irrigation or trimming, although periodic cleaning is required. Stadiums that are substantially covered and/or at high latitudes often use artificial turf, as they typically lack enough sunlight for photosynthesis and substitutes for solar radiation are prohibitively expensive and energy-intensive. Disadvantages include increased risk of injury especially when used in athletic competition, as well as health and environmental concerns about the petroleum and toxic chemicals used in its manufacture.

A hardcourt is a surface or floor on which a sport is played, most usually in reference to tennis courts. It is typically made of rigid materials such as asphalt or concrete, and covered with acrylic resins to seal the surface and mark the playing lines, while providing some cushioning. Historically, hardwood surfaces were also in use in indoor settings, similar to an indoor basketball court, but these surfaces are rare now.

A retention basin, sometimes called a retention pond,wet detention basin, or storm water management pond (SWMP), is an artificial pond with vegetation around the perimeter and a permanent pool of water in its design. It is used to manage stormwater runoff, for protection against flooding, for erosion control, and to serve as an artificial wetland and improve the water quality in adjacent bodies of water.

A pitch or a sports ground is an outdoor playing area for various sports. The term pitch is most commonly used in British English, while the comparable term in Australian, American and Canadian English is playing field or sports field.

Pythium volutum is a plant pathogen infecting wheat, barley, and turfgrass. It is known to be sensitive to some of the compounds typically present in selective media commonly used for isolating Pythium spp., so isolation may require alternative methods.

A greenskeeper is a person responsible for the upkeep of a golf course. Their duties include all horticultural practices, as well as the setting of flag-sticks and marking of hazards. Other responsibilities typically include raking bunkers, watering plants, repairing divots, trimming tee boxes, and mowing the course. Greenskeepers often work under the direction of a golf course superintendent.

Sand-based athletic fields are sports turf playing fields constructed on top of sand surfaces. It is important that turf managers select the most suitable type of sand when constructing these fields, as sands with different shapes offer varied pros and cons. Regular maintenance of sand-based athletic fields is just as important as the initial construction of the field. As water and other aqueous solutions are added, a layer of thatch may accumulate on the surface of the turf. There are different ways to manage this level of thatch, however the most common are aeration and vertical mowing.

STRI, formerly the Sports Turf Research Institute, is a consultancy for the development of sports surfaces, based in St Ives, Bingley, West Yorkshire, England, providing advice on the research, design, construction and management of both natural and artificial sports fields of play around the world.

Magnaporthe poae is an ascomycete fungus which causes the turfgrass disease commonly known as summer patch, or Poa patch. The disease occurs mostly on Kentucky bluegrass (Poa pratensis), Fescues (Festuca sp.), and on Annual bluegrass (Poa annua). Bentgrass may also become infected but shows very few symptoms and quickly recovers. Summer Patch will usually become noticeable between June and September, although small signs can appear at any time but are not noticeable because the turfgrass can recover quickly.

Brown patch is a common turfgrass fungal disease that is caused by species in the genus Rhizoctonia, usually Rhizoctonia solani. Brown patch can be found in all of the cool season turfgrasses found in the United States. Brown patch is most devastating to: Bentgrass, ryegrass, Annual bluegrass, and Tall fescue. Brown patch is also found in Kentucky bluegrass and Fine fescue but this is rare or does minimal damage. Brown patch is known as a foliar disease, so it does not have any effect on the crown or roots of the turf plant.

Pythiumdisease, also known as "Pythiumblight," "cottony blight," or "grease spot," is a highly destructive turfgrass disease caused by several different Pythium species. All naturally cultivated cool-season turfgrasses are susceptible to Pythium and if conditions are favorable to Pythium it can destroy a whole turfgrass stand in a few days or less. Pythium favors hot and very humid weather and will usually develop in low areas or swales in the turfgrass.

A hockey pitch is the playing surface for the game of field hockey. Historically, the game was played on natural turf (grass) and nowadays it is predominantly played on an artificial turf. The transition to artificial pitches came during the 1970s and was made mandatory for major competitions in 1976. All the lines, markings and goal specifications are outlined by the International Hockey Federation in "The Rules of Hockey".

A line marker is a device or machine with which lines or markings are drawn on a sports field or pitch. They were originally developed to mark out lawn tennis courts on grass, but later also became used in many other sports with outdoor pitches. The marked lines are often white, but may be any color. A variety of devices have been used, some of them now being robotically controlled.

Redgra, sometimes styled as RedGra, Red-Gra, or generically as redgra, is the brand name of an all-weather surfacing material primarily composed of red clay and fine limestone gravel. It is used on baseball diamonds, running tracks and long jump run-ups, and hard-surface association football, netball, cricket, and field hockey pitches in the United Kingdom.

References

↑ "Golf Course Maintenance", Retrieved on 21 July 2008
↑ McGrath, Alicia; Finch, Caroline (November 1996). "Bowling cricket injuries over: a review of the literature" (PDF). Monash University - Accident Research Center. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
↑ "The fastest ground staff in the world". www.espncricinfo.com. Retrieved 27 November 2020.
↑ "Swingin' in the rain - why cricket can't be baseball". www.espncricinfo.com. Retrieved 27 November 2020.