SPORTS TURF Science, construction, and maintenance

• Main Author: Stewart, Victor I.
• Corporate Author: National Playing Fields Association (Great Britain)
• Format: Book
• Language: English
• Published: London E & FN Spon 1994
• Subjects: Athletic fields > Design and construction; Athletic fields > Maintenance and repair; Turf management
• Online Access: Click Here to View Status and Holdings.

 Sports grounds are valuable assets which need to be constructed and maintained properly for the particular sport or sports they serve in order to perform consistently well. This detailed, practical guide, approved by the National Playing Fields Association (NPFA), provides essential information on the construction and maintenance of sports grounds. The book is divided into two parts. Part One is concerned with general principles. It explores the extent to which games differ in their requirements and how these various requirements can be met by growing grass in natural, modified or specifically constructed soils. Drainage design and choice of materials are first fully explored theoretically and this leads to a relatively simple, cost effective approach to design, based on a careful choice of a limited range of precisely designed but readily available materials. In Part Two the general principles are applied to specific examples of modern constructions, described in sufficient detail to form the basis of actual specifications. The examples cover the construction and maintenance of grass pitches suitable for rigorous winter games, such as rugby and soccer, contrasted with construction for golf and bowis where the nature of the game requires fine turf. Hockey and cricket are treated as games somewhat intermediate in this respect. A chapter on hard porous pitches is also included. The Appendices provide practical details of the methods used to select soils, sands and gravels, which conform to the specifications laid down in Part One. Also included is a section describing the mathematical basis upon which the various formulae used to arrive at design details affecting drainage have been derived, a review of the important problem of mat (thatch) control and an example of the usefulness of soil temperature monitoring. This book will serve as a guide for all those involved in the design, construc tion and maintenance of sports grounds, particularly landscape architects and designers, sports ground contractors, and park and recreational professionals: it will also be useful for students on groundsmanship and greenkeeper courses run by universities and colleges.