sportsturf machines

determine what type of equipment should be in any sports turf man-ager's equipment fleet SPORTSTURF magazine asked several industryexperts the following two-part question about what constitutes a com-plete ned;What pieces (and brands) of equipment and tools do you feel are

essential to your job, and why is each piece important:'

Eric Fasbender, head groundskeeper, Schaumburg FlyersBaseball field maintenance is unique ill that only about 30 percent of a turf manager'stime is spent on the turf areas. The infield skin, the mounds and the plate area are whatmy crew and I concentrate on the most. For that reason, some of my most valued pieceshave to do with the day, but all uf the machines that I have playa role.

\-\ie lise a 'foro 31000 Sidewinder to moll' the outfield and foulterritory. 1 love thispiece because it has a single point adjustment for my reels. This makes adjustmentsquid and easy. It also covers a lot of gronnd and provides the high-quality cut that I amlooking for.

The infield is mowed with a 'Ibro 1600 walk-behind grecns mower. This is a greatmachine because lllowing takes half the time when compared with other mowers, and ithas no problem cutting at a height of 1 inch. The fjni~hed cut that the walk-behind pro-vides helps to maintain the playing surface that the players want.

Every other month we aerate with a John Deere 1500 aerator and in the spring andfall we topdress using a Dakota +00 topdresser. These pieces are hOHO\NedIrons II local

28 January 2004

dealer, which has worked out well because normally I Ivould not be able to afford thesegreat machines

Our infield skin and day areas are the most important part of the playing surfacehere at Alexian Field. The maintenance of those areas starts with the Toro Infield Pro30Z0. [can move material around, take down high spots, fill in low spots, nail drag andfinish drag all with the same machine. It is versatile and durable, which saves time andmoney.

I use a Brouwer one-ton roller and a Craftsman hand roller to add stability to theinfield skin and to firm up the players' positions before games. Both pieces are abo use-ful in the spring 10 roll the infield turf area. They work well in getting get rid of those lit-tle imperfections that call create inconsistency

No fleet is complete without a utility vehicle of some kind. The TOTOWorkman2100 is just the thing that gets us through each day. There are times when j wish 1hadthree of them, they are that useful and important Wc use the Workman to haul sand,grass clippings and clay as well as gllrbage cans, hoses and took It is probably the mostimportant piece of equipment in my fleet.

Finally, there are some pieces that TIlaynot fit into the fleet category, but thal doesnot mean they are any less valuable or important to me. These itellls arc a rake, a tamp,and a aile-inch braided hose. The rakes and tamps are important for fixing the moundsand plate area and the braided hose is used all over the field. We me hoses to hand-water the turf and they provide the moisture content that we are lonkillg for in the clay.These are the lools Illy crew uses to make the finishing touches.

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These pieces of equipment help me to provide a great playing surface that playerslove to play on and fans love to look at. While some pieces get more use than others do,they are all important to my crew and myself Each one brings a different function anduse to the trade, but if 1 had to do without any of them my field would ~l1ffeL

Tony Leonard, sports and landscape manager, Philadelphia Eagles

I feel every piece of equipment in 'I•• ;;; .our fled is essential, or else we Iwould not have it. We have had agreat relationship with Textron overthe years, so just ah0111all of ourequipment is Jacobsen andCushman. However, outside of ammower, spmyer, and aerifier, thereare a few pieces that help us reallystrengthen the plant to get usthrough the season,

Like Denver and Pittsburgh, wehave the DD Crasslvlaster system atLincoln Financial Field. Thismakes maintenance a little differentthan what we would typically do atour practice facility. Core aerifyingthe field is restricted, but other cul-rural practices can be used. One ofthe essential pieces in our fleet is aspring tine harrow, This is a rakeused to "scratch" the surface tobreak up any organic matter thatwould build up over time and tostand the Orasslvlastcr fiber to amore upright position. Over thecourse of the season, many cleatmarks drive the fiber into theground, thus burying it below theplaying surface. Our spring tine har-row pulls these fibers up, allowingthe fiber 10 protect the crown andaid in the stability of the field. IIIaddition to using the rake to pull thefiber up at the stadium, it's a greattool for our Sprinturf field in ourindoor practice fieldhouse. '111iswillgroom the field and keep the rubberfrom settling.

\Ve also have a verticutter,which is more aggressive than therake. Vie h<lvebeen using the vern-cutter more often at both facilitiesthan in the past after seeing betterresults each year. We used the vcrti-cutter at our NovaCare Complexthree times this year and twice atLincoln Financial Field. Thisprocess stimulates new grol"..th bydividing the plant into two. It alsoreduces any thatch build up thatllIay result from the more <Iggressivebluegrass used on both sites.

Once we do the raking ann ver-ticutting, we always sweep with aSmitheo Sweeper vac. VoieplH-chased this sweeper about a yearago, and it has worked well for 11S.

The Smithee does a clean lob in

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one pass, which allows the plant to recover sooner, and aesthetically makes the fieldmuch more appealing after verticutting or raking.

Another piece we use often is a spiker. The spiker hooks onto our Cushman'Iruckster in about 2 minutes, and does a nice job on the fields. Each spike is about 5-6inches long and spaced 6 inches apart. The point of doing this is to open up the soil a bitfor air flow and water infiltration. It is also an easy W<lY to promote new roots and shoots

"Get a VersaGradar and you'll wondarhow you evar got; along wIthoUt one."

-Richard~

Like the fax machine, the cell phone and the Internet, once youstart using it, the VersaGrader will soon become vital to yourwork, And it's such a great value - buying a VersaGrader willbe the smartest land maintenance move you'll ever make.

NOTHING IJ:VEI.S YOUR PLAYING FIELDLDU: A VERSAliRADDIOur exclusive, patent-pending Balance Equalizer System keepsVersaGrader parallel to the ground even when the pullingvehicle g08S over a bump. Level the entire field faster than youever thought possible. Then easily maintain it with the optionalrake, broom and sod cutter attachments. Keep your playingfields, lots, landscape and roadways in peak condition with onesuper-efficient piece of equipment. VersaGrader replacespower rakes, rollers, old levelers and more.

VE:~~F::,~~F::,&::IE:J~~The smartest move in land maintenance

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to form a much more stable playing surface in the upper 2 inches of the soil. And thebeauty of the spiker is that no one call tell it was done.

Again, all of OUf equipment is essential, but the pieces of equipment listed abovehelp IlS get over the hump in the latter part of the season. The agronomic value far out-weighs tile economic investment of these pieces of eqniprnent

Jeff Salmond, CSFM, Northwestern UniversityThe John Deere [500 Acrcorc is an important toolin our field maintenance program.With it we are able to hollow and solid tine acrify with lf4-inc:h to 5/8-111Chdiametertines. The 5/8-illch hollow lines <111011'us to pull soil/sand cores and remove J largeamount of material, whereas the 1!4-inch solid tines permit us to poke needle-sized holesbefore an athletic event to help III the removal of excess water. The Aercore can beaggressive, which is why we also usc the Renovator (Cusluuan/Rvnn} for less destructive

measures A tractor pulls theRenovator, and its depth is deter-mined by the amount of weigl]tadded to the rnaclune. TheRenovator can be equipped withcoring tines or slicing knives, Weparticularly like to use it with theslicing knives. 11K slicing knives arcuseful 110tonly for moderate aerifi-cation, but also to sel'er the rhi-zornes of our Kentucky bluegrass inhelping make the turf dense.

A roller (any kind above 'i-ron,pull behind or smooth doubledrum) is good to have for just aboutany athletic field operation, We usca roller to smooth out irregularitiesin the turf and to roll the baseballinfield skin and lips when needed.\Ve may be apt to roll some of oursoil-based fields before a heavy rainto aid in rapid water run-off, Theroller also helps define our mow-ing/striping pattern on our footballfields.

TIle Goossen 'versc-Vac turfsweeper is valuable in cleaning upan athletic field after a game, espe-cially football. \Ve try and sweep upas much loose grass and pulled out

divots as we can, We feel that pick-ing up this extra material allows theunderlying hearty grass to breathand continue to grew. rather than besmothered out and deteriorate. TIleVersa-vac is resourceful in thai il isinterchangeable with rotating rub-ber fingers, polyvinyl brush, or verti-culler attachment. \Ve lise eachattachment depending on a partiru-[ar application. Vveuse the Versa-Vac to pick up cores after uenfica-tion and to sweep up those peskyleaves in the full.

\Ve use a Taro verticutter/seederto cut ill new grass seed in multipledirections ill our worn areas. Whenusing it without the seeder boxattachment, OlH main purpose is toslice grooves mto the turf and soil illassisting Kentucky bluegrass tobecome more aggressive, to nit outany unwanted pcrennialryegrass.and lo add some additional aerationbenefits. vVe may also me it to chopup soil cores if we do nol wish topick them up. When llsing themachine with the seeder box attach-ment, our gO;11is to lise it in combi-

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30 January 2004 SPORTSTURF· http://www.greenmediaonline.com

shovels, measuring tape, water hoses, a powel edger, string line, and loop "scuffle" hoesthat undercut and remove unwanted gr<Jooand weeds in the skinned or w3rning track. Ialso l1S~ 01Tru-Mark line painter to lay down foul lines and coaches boxes. I have amound g;1uge that aids in keeping the pitching mound to the correct specifications, It ishard to single out which tool is the moot important because ~ll of these listed are used ona daily basis during the season. Without these tools, it would he impossible tomaintain a professional field, or any field for that matter.

nation with the aerificatiou equipment in establishing grass seed at different depths with-in the soil profile. After an athletic field has been aerified, the vertiseerler will plant gr~ssseed in the grooves produced by the machine; fall into aerification holes, and, with theremainder of the seed being on top of the soil, generally will be covered up by the soilthat was cut out by the rotating blades.

Jeff Eckert, director of stadium and field operations, Joliet JackhammersWhen T c~TIIeto the [ackhanuners, Ihad the opportunity to acquire all ofthe necessary equipment and toolsfrom my own wish list. \Vc were anew baseball team ill the NorthernLeague in 2002, so I wanted to besure Imade the correct choices oneverytiling 111~tI purchased or did;1trade agreement OT!.

The first and most importantpart in my arsenal is an aerator. inmy opinion, this should be nt thelop of most equipruent lists-ves,even ahead of a mower. You want tohave ahealthv, vigorously growingturf to maintain and, over time,without an aerator, you won't havemuch to plav on or turf to mow.Aeration helps relieve compaction,allows air, moisture and fertilizer topenetrate down to the root system,and also aids in drainage. WheneOlloideriug what type of aerator Ineeded to lmy, Ihad to determinewhat TTl}' budget would allow. Ichose a Millcreek core aerator witha three-point hitch that is pulledwith a tractor. Compared to mostaerators, this fit well within my bud-get and would do 81e job that 1needed, However, Jlthollgh it hasbeen a decent aerator for the past 2years, I am leaning toward a walk-behind greens aerator simply to getthe weight of the tractor off thefield. Everything is trial and errol.

Another uuportant piece ofequipment for me is having a utilitycart. T have two 10)111Deere Carorsthat help haul tools and p<ll:killgmaterials, drag my infield and warn-

ing track, pull lawn sweepers andlop-dressers. and remove debris.Both are equipped with electric bedlifts, which come in handy whendUlllping a heavy load, Icannot sayellough about the importance thatthese carts have in assisting me withmy job,

Other pieces of equipment Ihave that arc just ~s importcmt are aDeere 4600 tr~etor witll a fronlloader, a Deere eOIllrne,ei<J1w<llkbehind, and a Deere Z-Tr~ckmower to maintain berms ~T1dothercommon ~reas on site.

Important toots esselltial for Illyjoh lTl maint[lining a baseball fieldIIlcilide rakes, brooms, hand tamps,

ST

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