JOHN NEYL AN Pictured (from left) are the Penetrometer, Clegg Impact Soil Tester, FieldScout moisture probe, traction device and NDVI meter (front)
Measuring up Sports turf managers have an array of assessment and monitoring tools at their disposal nowadays to assist them with the management of their turf surfaces. But as John Neylan writes, the key to any monitoring program is
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selecting the right tool, knowing what you’re measuring and how you then use that information.
n my many years in the turf industry, the tools available for monitoring the performance and safety of all types of playing surfaces has increased considerably. These include penetrometers, the Clegg Impact Soil Tester (often called the Clegg hammer), soil moisture probes/sensors and traction devices. More recently the use of drones and satellite imagery provide another level of monitoring turf surfaces. The tools are many and it raises two questions – what are the most appropriate tools and why are we using them? From my 40
perspective, monitoring turf surfaces has four clear purposes: l Optimising plant health; l Ensuring player safety; l Optimising surface performance/playability; l A decision-making tool.
SPORTS FIELDS AND PLAYER SAFETY With the AFLW season well underway and an early spate of injuries making the headlines, the causal factors, including the quality of the playing surface, is again debated. Compared to the early 2000s when Andrew
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Peart and myself were monitoring the quality of the playing surfaces for the AFL, it is now acknowledged that there are many factors affecting injury and not necessarily the single factor of the playing surface. The early research of Orchard (2002) increased the awareness of surface characteristics and in particular surface hardness as it related to player health and wellbeing, especially player fatigue and post-game recovery. There was a strong emphasis placed on surface hardness with the Clegg Impact Soil Tester introduced as a regular monitoring tool.
