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: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/251524
26 SportsTurf | February 2014 www.sportsturfonline.com Field Science what one(s) worked best for our fields. I wanted to test them all throughout the spring and summer and see which clay held up the best in the conditions we have here in Oklahoma. I also wanted to see which conditioners worked the best for the different types of clay we were trying. Most of our events are youth tournaments that start on Friday and end on Sunday. During these events we re-pack all the clay on Mon- day. We have four fields here and all four receive the same attention on Monday. We don't do much, if anything to the pitching circles again until Thursday. On Thursday morning, we start managing the moisture again and adding water/conditioners as necessary. Friday morning we check all the areas to make sure they are safe and ready for the games, which typically start around 10. Friday night after the last game we re-pack all the clay and have them ready for Saturday morning. Saturday's games usually start at 8:30, so we try and get everything done the night before. After the last game on Saturday, we repack the circles again and have them ready for Sunday's games, which usually start at 8:30. If during the days any of the circles be- come unsafe with large holes, we will repack in between games. Dur- ing the College World Series and the World Cup, we re-pack the circle between every game. How do you keep the rest of the infield skin safe, firm and resilient? Schneweis: Moisture control is the most important, and chal- lenging, part of maintaining our fields. On a typical Saturday, when we are hosting a tournament, the games run from 8:30 am until 11:00 pm, or later. Games usually last an hour and a half and we have 10 minutes, at the most, to do all of our work: drag, chalk lines/batters boxes, etc. So trying to keep water on them in July in Oklahoma when it's 100 degrees is nearly impossible. We have irrigation heads behind the pitching circles that do a pretty good job of getting some water out, but usually we don't have enough time to do more than just settle the dust down. We try and keep a layer of conditioner (about ½ inch) on top of the fields to help hold some moisture in. Obviously, weather conditions determine what we can, or need, to do for moisture. If there is no rain forecasted, we will start putting water on the dirt on Wednesday. We soak them all on Wednesday af- ternoon. We then monitor the fields all day Thursday and add water if necessary. Our goal is to have moisture throughout the profile by the time we leave the complex Thursday night. Friday morning we will check them all and determine if more water needs to be added. During the day on Thursday, we also try and nail drag and roll the fields. This doesn't always happen; sometimes because of time con- straints and sometimes because they don't need it. Rolling the fields with a ½-ton roller has allowed us to be able to seal off the top and hold some of the moisture in. It also "tightens" up the dirt, so it doesn't get as chewed up during play. Combs: We maintain our infield skin daily with your standard in- field maintenance equipment to ensure the safest surface possible. We manage our firmness with moisture and rolling the infield skin with a roller. We cover our infield skin with an amendment layer. DeMink: We nail drag our skin daily; it helps fill in all those cleat marks. We also use a rain groomer on a Workman vehicle to level any high or low spots around first and second bases. If needed, we will roll the infield skin with a 1-ton roller. And we chain drag and use big brooms daily. Also we will broom twice during games to keep playing surface level and safe during games. Seybold: The amendment that is currently being used helps retain moisture as well as provide a medium to slide and play the game. The surface is nail dragged at 1/8 inch to try to mitigate as many cleat marks as possible and a 1-ton roller is used sporadically during the season to aid in tightening the top quarter inch of material that is dis- turbed from the barrage of practice and games. Clay: Our skin surface is evolved into a complex hybrid mix of several products over the past several years. Our last renovation in- cluded the addition of 30 yards of 70:30 (clay:sand) mix. This mate- rial was tilled into the existing ag-lime and then graded respectively. Moisture and continual maintenance are the two most important fac- tors to keeping our skinned surfaces resilient. The use of amendments allows us to control our moisture levels, as well as keep the field firm and playable through the winter months. Once a low-spot is identi- fied, address the issue as soon as possible and begin adding material to it. Based on soil composition and condition, tilling of the existing surface before, or during addition of material may be required. This will prevent the scope of your off-season renovations, as well as keep your surface safe and playable. It is a good idea to save and store some extra material for the maintenance of your skin surface throughout the playing season. Following activity, based on the field conditions, spike or nail drag the skin to break down any chunks, a major disruption. If conditions permit, follow spike/nail drag with a matt/chain drag, allowing skin material to move and redistribute itself into low-spots much more ef- ficiently. When dragging is completed, we remove any debris and for- eign materials gathered by our drag mat. Once satisfied with the turnover, soak your skin surface to promote any re-bonding. Allow adequate time for material to settle before next activity. Additional fine tuning will be required around bases and one rake width around the surrounding edge of the skin. Using a vehicle with worn or bald tread tires will act as a roller and allow the compacting of any loose material. To get optimal firmness and bonding, use a 1-ton ride on roller to compacts any loose mate- rial. Follow the process, Drag-Water-Roll-Repeat. Common spots we check are the lead-off/running lanes by all three bases and all position spots. The most observed traffic areas decrease respectively as you move from first base to third around the infield. Sticking to our main- tenance program, as well as avoiding activity when conditions are wet and soft, allow us to maintain a resilient surface with a level grade. What are your short and long term solutions to lip build-up? Schneweis: Short term, we blow out the lips every Monday. Some weeks we use a backpack blower, others we use a 1-inch hose and wash them out. Once a month we try and "hard rake" them out. We take