Turf management

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.

The skills needed vary considerably dependent upon the sport and whether or not artificial surfaces are used. Special sets of skills are also needed to care for either sand-based athletic fields or native soil fields.

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.

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:

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.

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:

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:

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