Turf Concerns ...

[ArmWhip]

Do any of these natural fill materials (coconut, olive, etc.) help reduce the extra bounce I see on rubber crumb turf fields?

When the college I worked at bought their turf I was told there were 3 types to chose from, short blade which was fast, long blade which was slow, and a medium. The company also said that the infill's job was to support the blades, and the blades job was to keep the infill in place. After two years we had the company come in and clean the turf with a vacuum/sweeper, another part of keeping up the warranty. We also had a turf soccer/lacrosse field. The machine swept up the infill, ran it through a screen and dropped it back on the blades. I could not believe the junk that collected in the turf after only two years, leaf debris, grass clippings and other natural stuff that blew onto the field. The really surprising part was the amount of human hair, and hair ties, clips, pocket change, etc. I don't know how they clean the natural infill.

 

[Northball]

When the college I worked at bought their turf I was told there were 3 types to chose from, short blade which was fast, long blade which was slow, and a medium. The company also said that the infill's job was to support the blades, and the blades job was to keep the infill in place. After two years we had the company come in and clean the turf with a vacuum/sweeper, another part of keeping up the warranty. We also had a turf soccer/lacrosse field. The machine swept up the infill, ran it through a screen and dropped it back on the blades. I could not believe the junk that collected in the turf after only two years, leaf debris, grass clippings and other natural stuff that blew onto the field. The really surprising part was the amount of human hair, and hair ties, clips, pocket change, etc. I don't know how they clean the natural infill.

Maybe they don't clean it, just replace it and start a compost pile since it should be biodegradable.

 

[The Man In Blue]

Do any of these natural fill materials (coconut, olive, etc.) help reduce the extra bounce I see on rubber crumb turf fields?

I've not been on a field with those (amazing sounding!) solutions, but I did work one in Mississippi that used treated wood shavings instead of rubber pellets. It did play "more naturally" and lacked the bounce. It was also an easy 20 degrees cooler.

 

[The Man In Blue]

I could not believe the junk that collected in the turf after only two years, leaf debris, grass clippings and other natural stuff that blew onto the field. The really surprising part was the amount of human hair, and hair ties, clips, pocket change, etc. I don't know how they clean the natural infill.

I can only imagine and it is disgusting. I know what I sweep up in my classroom on a daily basis, so the idea of what is on that field scares me.

(Side note: I am a terrible person. I have dubbed the hair that I sweep up every day "tumbleweave.")

 

[Rolling Hard]

Do any of these natural fill materials (coconut, olive, etc.) help reduce the extra bounce I see on rubber crumb turf fields?

I would rate the newer well maintained artificial fields as true (no bad bounces)but slower than a good clay field. Some of the older turf fields are super fast with weird kangaroo hops.

 

[ArmWhip]

I can only imagine and it is disgusting. I know what I sweep up in my classroom on a daily basis, so the idea of what is on that field scares me.

(Side note: I am a terrible person. I have dubbed the hair that I sweep up every day "tumbleweave.")

The other thing that I forgot to mention was that they put six huge sprinklers, and I mean huge, (I was a golf course superintendent, I know about big sprinklers) around the perimeter of the soccer/lacrosse field. They told us that if the field was being used regularly and hadn't been rained on in over a week that we should use the sprinklers to wash down the turf because the Gatorade, sweat, spit and other bodily fluids would build up in the surface and that 'turf burns' on the skin from sliding contact could become infected.

 

[RADcatcher]

The other thing that I forgot to mention was that they put six huge sprinklers,

They told us that if the field was being used regularly and hadn't been rained on in over a week

that we should use the sprinklers to wash down the turf because

the Gatorade, sweat, spit and other bodily fluids would build up in the surface and that 'turf burns' on the skin from sliding contact could become infected.

important issue for people to be aware of!

Thanks for commenting @ArmWhip!