Summer Sports - Tennis
How a grass court should be constructed - ours don’t even come close!
amongst the best in the world by players, governing bodies and sponsors, so there must be something in what we are doing! We genuinely believe that a lot of our success has been down to how we have managed soil moisture in relation to drying down /rolling. We put out a tweet last year (via our twitter account @epcgroundsteam) which alluded to this, even if it didn’t quite blatantly say it! That moisture through the profile, when consistent, literally does act like glue, in that it holds the soil together. It doesn’t matter whether it is the expensive stuff on centre court that has been imported and should bind every time, or the native stuff on our practice courts that is far from ideal - if it is too dry, it will not hold together. It’s also important to get the roots down as deep as possible, to hold the profile together and prevent layering, hence our belief in the benefits of Primo Maxx (though we won’t open that can of worms right now!).
So to summarise:
• The thatch has got to go - leaving it in is like laying a sprung floor
• Root depth is vital and encouraging it should not be underestimated. Dense, deep roots hold our profile together and contribute to giving a ‘hard’ surface
A tweet from June 2015 New Air 2G2
• Don’t let things dry too much. Consistency through the profile is the key - if it’s too dry, the soil will be unstable and will absorb bounce - if it’s too wet, it will do
the same thing. Finding the optimum level is the key
• Every surface is different, whether it’s our centre court compared to our practice courts, or high quality county standard pitches compared to the local village square. Everywhere will have variations and everyone’s optimums will be different. The important thing is finding these optimums and, in turn, comes the consistency
So to three final points. The first regarding testing equipment itself. We use a Clegg hammer, which we know (at the best part of £2,000) is out of reach of most venues budgets. However, there are alternatives. For example, whilst attending the All England Club Groundsman’s Seminar, we were shown some of the ways they measure ball bounce. The Clegg hammer is in their arsenal, but they also record ball rebound percentages. The method for this is to drop the ball which would be used for play at a height of two metres, recording the rebound height, and then converting it to a percentage. The test equipment consisted of a washing line pole with a tennis ball tube taped to the top and a bit of string to release the ball, with a tape measure on the side of the pole so the user could see the height. We suspect a piece of home-made kit like this would be far more accessible to most venues, but still gives you some valuable information. After all, if it’s good enough for Wimbledon!
Air is everything to anything that lives
• No surface disruption • Create air flow from the bottom up
• All processes automatically controlled by the push of a button
Call: +44 (0)1260 224568
email:
info@campeyturfcare.com web:
www.campeyturfcare.com
88 I PC APRIL/MAY 2016
TERRA CLEAN 160 & 100
Two extremely efficient artificial turf maintenance machines. Both lift litter & debris then return infill to the surface. The Terra Clean 160 brings brand new cyclone technology.
Collects fine dust using double sieve action and three cyclone separators. 1.6m wide. From 18 Hp. The entry-level Terra Clean 100 needs no PTO, hydraulics or electrics. Smooth and quick. 1.2 m wide. From 12Hp.
OR CALL 0141 814 3366 Follow us on Twitter @WIEDENMANNUK
VISIT
WIEDENMANN.CO.UK
AVAILABLE NOW
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