Sports turf management has become an expert area at both elite level sport and amateur locations across the country. With innovation and technological advancement, plus the standards that both regular players, punters, and elite-level sportspeople demand from the surfaces being played on, the industry has had to improve standards year-on-year. Whether you are discussing the putting greens and fairways of a golf course for an upcoming tournament, a local cricket pitch that is played on regularly throughout the summer, or a professional football club and its training pitches and home stadium turf, it’s important to understand what goes into creating tournament-ready turf.
The proliferation of elite level sport in the UK
The UK is the home of many internationally-renowned sports, and with the eyes of the world on many different sports events, it is no wonder that it is a country that continues to innovate in terms of sports management and the quality of turf management and playing surfaces that are available. Whether you talk about the quality of the turf at the Grand National, Ascot, and the Cheltenham Gold Cup in horse racing, Lords, the Oval, Headingly, and Old Trafford in cricket, Wimbledon and Queens in Tennis, Twickenham and the Principality Stadium in rugby, or the multitude of top class Premier League football stadiums, the standard of playing surfaces in all of these sporting venues has significantly improved in recent years. Poor pitches could lead to player injuries, so professional clubs invest heavily in turf management for a reason. This is down to a combination of greater turf management techniques and processes, and the investment and innovation in high-quality turf management equipment and machinery.
The evolution of mowers for sports surfaces
In simple terms, a sports playing surface made of grass must always be cut to fit the needs of the players. This would have necessitated the use of scythes centuries ago when cutting any expanse of grass. The invention and evolution of the mower has helped to cut grass ever more efficiently over the decades, since the first patented cylinder mower from 1830, which produced a clean cut with spiral blades instead of just tearing at the grass. From its simplest form, the mower has evolved over the years to include automation and different cutting methods and techniques to ensure pristine conditions at elite sports venues.
Understanding how a surface ‘plays’
Depending on the type of sport, the surface must be prepared in a different way, with different types of turf management equipment and machinery. The bounce of a ball is important in football and cricket, whereas a golf course surface must ensure consistency, so each ball runs true and smooth.
From football pitch maintenance equipment to the intricacies of golf course green maintenance and everything in between, there are many challenges and pressure points to creating tournament-ready turf for turfcare professionals every single day. The world of turf management continues to evolve every year, with the pressure of delivering an exceptional surface that not only looks and plays great on day one of a tournament but delivers a consistent playing surface every day. This is required along with the challenges of the modern world we live in and the need for sustainable working practices, such as not using too high a level of water in turf management.
