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/517437
www.stma.org June 2015 | SportsTurf 29 bar in an effort to level out our conditioner after adding new mate- rial or after a big rain. When teaching our method, we preach to be patient and go slow to achieve the smoothest infield surface that our players deserve. With our new guys, we like to go with the 4 to 6 inch rule off the edge until they are comfortable getting closer. KEITH WINTER, Head Groundskeeper Fort Wayne TinCaps On our infield, we use a 2 x 5' piece of steel mat that is welded to a frame that we lift hydraulically with our Smithco three-wheel groomer. During our in-game dragging, or in situations where we can't get the machine on the field, we use the same mat drag that is attached to a 1 x 4 composite board. We finish our baselines and home plate area with drags that are longer but constructed out of the same steel mat. On our mound, we finish with the back side of a soft-bristled broom. I am not a fan of cocoa mat, because I don't believe it does any good in terms of leveling and evenly moving the conditioner around the infield/skin. A part of the equation would be what kind and how much "conditioner" you are using. We use about ¾ vitri- fied and ¼ calcined clay and cover our infield base on the "lighter" side. All materials require different methods of maintenance. MATT GERHARDT, field maintenance supervisor Pittsburgh Pirates Here at PNC Park, we have a wide variety of drags for our playing surface. Every day, conditions are different with weather issues, so we have drags for every occasion. The amount of moisture in our skinned area dictates what we use. When the playing surface is dry enough and allows, we use a 4' stiff drag for our baselines, home plate and all our edges around our skin. (Although we do have and will use a 4' wide cocoa mat drag when the conditioner is wet.) This work is all done walking and pulling by hand. For our actual skin surface, we use a 6 x 4' regular steel drag pulled behind by our 3-wheeler We have an 11-man game staff and during the game, we drag after the 3rd and 6th innings' we have an eight-man drag team and three guys that rake around and change bases. We typically use a 4' wide cocoa mat drag with an open back. Although this year, we are having sponsorship logos placed on our field materials, so we are switching to 4' wide cocoa mat drags with a rubber backing (where we will apply our sponsor logo sticker to the back). Again, what we use and when we use it is all dictated by the play- ing conditions. JOSEPH E. BARR, Sports Turf Technician Milton Hershey School (PA) In 2014, we were fortunate to purchase a Sand Pro 5040 with a Rahn infield groomer attachment. We do make every effort to drag our fields before and after every game and practice. If you don't, the foot marks and holes can harden or turn into mud bogs over- night if it rains, requiring us to work harder the next day. Nobody wants that. Our process includes removing the bases and anything notice- able left on the field. Rake down the high areas around bases, using the back of edge of a 24" field/aggregate rack. Next we will use a plastic leaf rake to pull back any infield mix/ dirt that was thrown into the grassy areas. This includes the base paths, home plate area, infield and pitching mound. Also using the plastic leaf rake, I like to lightly rake back the infield mix, away from the turf about 12" (both these processes are to avoid lip build up). Now we start to drag the infield using the heavy-duty scarifier to loosen compaction areas. Then using the springtine scarifier both only going about ¾" deep into the infield. I recommend that when dragging infields go slow. This loos- ens the surface and aids in moving material to low areas and away from high areas. Always drag at least 6 inches from the grass edge to prevent lip build up. Alternate dragging patterns to prevent high and low spots, especially where you stop. Most important, never pull your drag over your lip into the turf. Stop short and pick up the drag mat. We then finish with the brush broom for a smooth playing surface. This provides players with better and safer playing condi- tions! For the base paths we use a 24" field/aggregate rack and finish with a 3'x 5' steel drag mat, working it from home to first base and home to third base. Never go side to side. That will create a lip. For the pitcher's mound, I prefer an all-hands on method, using the 24" field/aggregate rack 10" x 10" tamp and plastic leaf rake. Batter boxes and home plate area are also completed by hands-on methods using the 24" field/aggregate rack, 10" x 10" tamp and 3'x5' steel drag mat. At the high school level it is extremely rare we get called upon to do anything to the fields during a game. Rain could play a part in this issue, however schools do not play through light rain like they used to. The trend has become to avoid injuries and postpone for better playing conditions. I agree with this as player safety should always be our top priority GREG BURGESS, Head Groundskeeper Greenville Drive Before and after games we use a rigid 6' hand drag for basepaths, 1st & 3rd cutouts, and homeplate. We use a Deere 1200 drag for infield, which gives a nice uniform grooming finish to the calcined infield conditioner. The hand drag allows us to get into tighter areas. During games we use the same 6' rigid hand drags during our infield drags (five of them). We have knots in the ropes to allow us to drag with only the end of the drag mat in wetter, stickier conditions. ■ ST