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/34725
system. The panel expressed more concern about the number of sticks and sunflower seeds and god-knows what else that regularly must be removed from these fields. Mahonski said at Towson that outside groups, particularly soccer and lacrosse leagues, renting his facility sign for responsi- bility if the field needs to be cleaned after they use it. The bill to clean the field? Ma- honski said about $1,700. He recommended everyone put language doing the same in all their contracts. Mahonski said he knows a guy who grooms his field every day and that he’s wear- ing out the 4-year-old field. Cook said manufacturers’ manuals most often recommend grooming every 4 to 6 weeks. The GreensGroomer product was mentioned for the second time by an audi- ence member as being an effective groomer. This one said he saves his field from wear by setting the brush height differently and light- ens the setting on his machine and also by adjusting the tension. The panel recommended removing leaves ASAP, using air such as a pull-behind blower, to get them off. Handhelds work too, no matter what leaves need to “leave” in a hurry. A machine from Redexim Charterhouse also was mentioned by an attendee who said its rotary brush helped bring the rubber and debris up off the surface and the rubber is then shaken back out, which works for him. A panelist recommended a magnet attach- ment to pull out metal, and showed a slide with more than a handful of hairpins and worse pulled from the surface. STUDIES ON PROLONGING LIFE? The panel said that infill material gets harder over time and the carpet fibers wear, though it was noted that the newer fields’ fibers are wearing better while some ques- tions remain as to their longevity. Cook said, “After 4 or 5 years, I recom- mend that once a year you spend the $5,000 it costs for a professional, deep-cleaning serv- ice to help prolong your field’s life. You should work this cost into the budget for the project upfront.” This deep cleaning also includes tining of the field and added infill to bring down Gmax numbers. A growing number of con- tractors nationwide are getting into the busi- ness of cleaning the ever-increasing number of synthetic fields being built annually. The panel cited it is important to have strength and other coaches rotate the spots they use repetitively on the field. Another point was made on the wisdom of a $15,000 fence to protect a $750,000 investment in a synthetic field. Companies are happy to re- place damaged, or as in the case in Canada recently stolen, turf but it will cost you. An audience member said he knew of a 6- year-old field in New Hampshire that had been dragged in the same direction the entire time and was left with a “not good” situa- tion. He recommended changing it up, going corner to corner, side to side, north and south, and don’t set the machine to go too deep so as not to disturb the seams, whether glued or sewn. ■ www.stma.org SportsTurf 27