SportsTurf provides current, practical and technical content on issues relevant to sports turf managers, including facilities managers. Most readers are athletic field managers from the professional level through parks and recreation, universities.
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/448298
www.stma.org February 2015 | SportsTurf 21 where the water is going. High pressure, high volume water can get too deep into the crown of your turf plant and take a long time to recover. Our goal is to get the conditioner OUT of the turf, not to blow it up! Edge, edge, edge! I don't think you can edge too much. A gas-powered, belt driven, single blade edger is a relatively cheap investment. Change the blades often to give you the best and longest cutting surface. We string and edge all our warning track and infield edges before the start of every home stand, and often again when another team comes into town during that same home stand. That clean, edged look gets everyone's attention. I've taken care of youth league and high school fields where all I did was edge, and people com- mented on how much better the field looked! Edging also helps you maintain that "transition zone" so you have a crisp and specific line to work with. If your edge is not distinct, the lip WILL build up in a relatively short period of time. Drag and rake carefully! When dragging with any kind of pull-behind drag, stay a foot away from the edge. Loose soil and conditioner moves very quickly, especially when it is dry. When hand raking, develop a "touch" to bring your conditioner right to the edge, not over it or into the turf. We keep our edges "naked" until pre-game, so none of that con- ditioner is moving around during batting practice or infield. During pre-game work, we carefully cover the "transition zone" without piling it up. These are some of the methods we use at the professional level. Depending on the amount of crew and time spent maintaining a high school or amateur field, you may not be able to devote this much attention to your edges or lips. However, a little work can go a long way in the prevention of material build up in your lips, which enhances player safety, as well as the overall aesthetic appeal of your field. Not only do clean edges catch the eye of spectators, but player s at any level appreciate when they are not constantly on the lookout for the "bad hop." Every little league coach tells youngsters to "keep your head down" when fielding a ground ball. As a groundskeeper (paid or volunteer), our efforts can go a long way in giving athletes the best chance to succeed. ■ ST Keith Winter is the head groundskeeper at Parkview Field for the Fort Wayne TinCaps. Edging also helps you maintain that "transition zone" so you have a crisp and specific line to work with. If your edge is not distinct, the lip WILL build up in a relatively short period of time.