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Don’t lockdown your turf management

January 21, 2021/in News, Press Release/by Amy Stinton

Don’t lockdown your turf management: While golf courses are facing unprecedented times, greenkeepers are being urged to keep on top of maintenance to ensure courses are in good condition for when golfers return. Colin Mumford, technical manager at Bayer, says that seasonal conditions, such as plummeting temperatures and excess rainfall, combined with the challenges posed […]

Quality sand = healthy sports pitches

January 21, 2021/in News, Press Release/by Lucy Nicholls

Quality sand = healthy sports pitches: A high-quality sand is vital to the overall health and performance of a sports pitch and Gary Cunningham, Football & Golf Sales Representative for Mansfield Sand, explains why. Mansfield Sand has pioneered the development and production of premium silica sand-based products for over 170 years. The company provides a […]

Don’t lockdown your turf management

January 21, 2021/in News, Press Release/by Amy Stinton

Quality sand = healthy sports pitches

January 21, 2021/in News, Press Release/by Lucy Nicholls

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Don’t lockdown your turf management

January 21, 2021/in News, Press Release/by Amy Stinton

Don’t lockdown your turf management: While golf courses are facing unprecedented times, greenkeepers are being urged to keep on top of maintenance to ensure courses are in good condition for when golfers return.

Colin Mumford, technical manager at Bayer, says that seasonal conditions, such as plummeting temperatures and excess rainfall, combined with the challenges posed by Covid19, have affected many courses.

Don’t lockdown your turf management

“Previous lockdowns prevented planned work from going ahead, and once the courses were open, golfers returned in their masses making the management and maintenance of courses very challenging,” says Colin.

He adds that the cold and wet conditions we’ve experienced this winter could also contribute to long-term turf damage. “Despite being in another lockdown, it’s vital that greenkeepers do all they can to start the year with ‘stress free’ turf, as a healthy course will be less susceptible to weeds, pests and diseases,” says Colin.

Unlike previous lockdowns, at the moment, greenkeepers can undertake maintenance work, which should allow them to catch up from last year, weather permitting.

“Preventative disease methods should be undertaken now to reduce the risk of disease appearing later in the year,” says Colin.

“Keeping surfaces dry by switching or brushing dew off the playing surface should be done daily to help reduce disease outbreaks and ensure a cleaner cut when mowing. And if plant health is a concern, the height of cut (HOC) can be raised slightly, but be mindful that courses may open at short notice, and may require a rapid return to the original HOC which isn’t ideal,” says Colin.

“If it isn’t too wet, aeration or verti-draining can help remove below ground compaction allowing water to move more effectively through the rootzone, preventing waterlogging and surface damage to the course.

“Another job that can be done, is cutting back overgrown trees on the course to minimise shaded, damp environments in these areas,” he adds.

Colin warns that golf courses have been one of the first venues to open following a lockdown and therefore temporary courses may need preparing if the weather is still poor. “Letting players onto frozen courses that are beginning to thaw can result in roots breaking due to surface movement, leading to long-term course damage.

“It’s also worth considering re-routing player traffic flow around the key areas of the course and roping off any high traffic areas to avoid turf getting churned up,” adds Colin.

“Turf stress at this time of year can put the plants under pressure, leaving them more susceptible to problems later in the year, and therefore it’s important to try and keep courses as healthy as possible from the outset,” he says.

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Quality sand = healthy sports pitches

January 21, 2021/in News, Press Release/by Lucy Nicholls

Quality sand = healthy sports pitches: A high-quality sand is vital to the overall health and performance of a sports pitch and Gary Cunningham, Football & Golf Sales Representative for Mansfield Sand, explains why.

Mansfield Sand has pioneered the development and production of premium silica sand-based products for over 170 years. The company provides a wide range of innovative products for sports, landscaping, and equestrian uses. These include stadium and training ground facilities; championship golf courses and world class show jumping arenas.

Quality sand = healthy sports pitches

With a wide range of sand-based products available, it can sometimes be difficult to know which one will be most suitable. So, what should we be looking for in a good sports pitch dressing?

“Ideally a good quality silica sand dressing, aerated into the surface is all winter sports pitches require,” said Gary. “However, it is important to select the right industry grade of sand which is suitable for sports dressing application.

“A quality washed sports grade silica sand will be graded between 30 and 45 and each grade will be proceeded by two letters which designate the quarry they are supplied from. The lower the number, the coarser the sand is and vice versa – the higher the number, the finer the sand.

“There are also some sands that are unsuitable for winter sports pitches,” continued Gary. “Generally, you need to stay away from fine and coarse/grit sands. Finer/building sand will in effect seal up the surface while coarser products can destabilise the surface over time. Any reputable supplier of sports sand products will be able to provide you with a product grading and technical sheet.

“At Mansfield Sand, we predominately provide two grades of silica sand to the sports market, MM35 and MM40 – which are sourced directly from the company’s Two Oaks quarry in Mansfield.”

Gary spends most of his days travelling up and down the country visiting a variety of sports clubs from world class stadia through to grass roots. The most popular choices are 29 tone and 20 tonne loose tipped deliveries for full pitch dressings and 1 tonne bulk bags for when a little is required for touch up’s and divots.

Gary further explained best practice when it comes to divoting and touch up’s – particularly in goal mouth areas.

“Post-match divoting is best done with a fork by teasing the surface back together with a light dusting of sand to aid surface levels. For bigger deeper scars, a small amount of sandy rootzone mixed with a little seed can be used to add a little body to prevent it being kicked out. As only a small amount/hand full of rootzone are being used, it is possible to ensure it is stone free.

“Goal mouth areas are one such area needing extra attention – no amount of aeration and dressing will stop the grass thinning out on a sand soil surface. In severe situations if wanting to level the surface you can dig out the compacted rootzone and replace with a depth of fresh rootzone or even a reinforced product. If the area is just experiencing general wear, then a normal renovation sand dressing can be OK with an overseed.”

Gary also claimed that there can sometimes be some confusion between a rootzone and a pitch dressing.

“I quite often get asked for a sand soil dressing or a rootzone product to be spread over a pitch, but this always sets off alarm bells as this is not what rootzones are designed for,” he said.

“Rootzones are manufactured products of differing sand soil blends to be used in pitch construction as the growing medium for the grass. Rootzones all contain small stones which when spread over the surface can damage mowing machinery or cause player injury.

Mansfield Sand sieve down to 6mm for rootzone products.”

Gary recommends somewhere between 60-90 tonnes of sand for an end of season renovation on a full-sized playing area but stressed the importance of applying it properly.

“It will be important not to spread to much sand so as not to smother the grass plant or have a lot of sand laying over bare areas. It is good practice is to aerate during the sand dressing process, working the material into the upper rootzone profile.”

For more information visit www.mansfield-sand.co.uk

You can also follow the company on Twitter – @MansfieldSand and Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/MansfieldSandSportSurfaces/

For the latest industry news visit turfmatters.co.uk/news

Get all of the big headlines, pictures, opinions and videos on stories that matter to you.

Follow us on Twitter and Instagram for fun, fresh and engaging content.

You can also find us on Facebook for more of your must-see news, features, videos and pictures from Turf Matters.

Half Sized Blog Element (Single Author Style)

Half Sized Blog Element (Multi Author Style)

Don’t lockdown your turf management

Quality sand = healthy sports pitches

Don’t lockdown your turf management

Quality sand = healthy sports pitches

Full Sized Blog Element (Big Preview Pic)

Don’t lockdown your turf management

Don’t lockdown your turf management: While golf courses are facing unprecedented times, greenkeepers are being urged to keep on top of maintenance to ensure courses are in good condition for when golfers return.

Quality sand = healthy sports pitches

Quality sand = healthy sports pitches: A high-quality sand is vital to the overall health and performance of a sports pitch and Gary Cunningham, Football & Golf Sales Representative for Mansfield Sand, explains why.

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