[TrickyDick]

I know there are a few of you that do some sports field work. We've been offered the maintenance contract for a fancy private school where we did an installation last year. They liked our work and want us to take over the maintenance. It is not a huge place but there are about four acres of sports fields (a soccer filed and practice field). They are far from pristine- the fields are pretty lumpy and they have no irrigation so this isn't exactly Fenway Park but it will still need to be kept at playing height with one cut a week. It is currently cut with a walk behind Locke (takes the guy three days) and I don't think it is possible to cut it close enough with our zero turn to keep it playable for a week, especially considering the lumpyness.

What do you typically use to mow sports turf when it is done once a week? Is that even reasonable or should we propose to mow twice a week when it's growing fast? Anyone use the tow-behind reel mowers? Anything else I'm missing?

I'm in the process of moving right now...I have to come to the coffee shop with free wireless internet everyday to check email and stuff. Starting to get annoying.

[Dale Wiley]

Off season is once a week mowing. We start twice a week mowings on our football fields about July 1.

Sports fields are irrigated. You have a utility area that is used for sports activities.

Pretty lumpy ?? Sports fields are not "pretty lumpy". I would make damn sure you note all this in a contract proposal, so when some kid breaks an ankle, you don't get sued.

Reel mowing would best be used on an irrigated, properly cared for field. The situation you have a rotary would be just fine, keep the heights at 2.5 inches or higher and hope for the best.

Trying to keep it cut close enough like you are describing is just not possible int he situation you describe.

Professional specs call for 3/4 inch height on baseball and footaball fields. That's a 3 time a week cut with a good reel mower and a flat 1.5% grade with no lumps at all.

Be very carefull....

[TrickyDick]

Around here irrigation is pretty rare even on most high school sports fields. Even most college fields for that matter. And yeah I will be careful about liability but like I said....it ain't Fenway Park. You can call it what you want but it's got kids running around it in uniforms kicking balls into nets so, at least in as far as they're concerned, it's a sports field. This is not the World Cup...they're 12 year old kids.... they just need to be able to kick the ball and not have it stop six feet from them like they are playing on the prairie.

You have to understand that we do not have a dry season here. We will sometimes have a month or so in summer when cool season grasses go dormant but other than that even unirrigated turf is usually nice and green and growing.

It has been cut short with a reel mower for years so, while it may not be ideal, it seems to be possible. People also mow a lot of estates here with reel mowers at 1" and no irrigation. I'm trying to figure out if I can maintain a playable surface with a rotary mower or, alternatively, if any of the tow behind reels will work getting pulled by a zturn. I'm thinking we may have to propose mowing twice a week at 2" or so.

By the way the head grounds guy at Fenway Park gave a talk at the Rhode Island trade conference a few years ago and he said that when Garciaparra was playing shortstop they cut the infield at 4".

[cutntrim]

Originally posted by TrickyDick

By the way the head grounds guy at Fenway Park gave a talk at the Rhode Island trade conference a few years ago and he said that when Garciaparra was playing shortstop they cut the infield at 4".

That's funny. I think they oughta do that in NY for A-Rod. He could use the help.

I used to have the contract for the Catholic schools here and we cut everything (sportsfields included) with Z-turns. I'm sure it'd be fine for you as well, given your description of the site conditions and usage. 2x/wk wouldn't hurt in May/early June, seeing as you could probably get away with bi-weekly in July/early August depending on the weather.

[TrickyDick]

My partner spoke to a Toro rep who thought that getting some used heavy duty golfcourse tow behind reels would be the best bet. I think that may be a good option. Maybe just stipulate a charge for second weekly mowing when necessary.

The Fenway guy had some great stories...like when the Charles River flooded and backwashed dead fish onto the field. Said they have to mow left field in the winter a few times cause of the reflected heat from the green monster.

[Dollar Spot]

If you use reel mowers on the fields you'll find out that they require a lot more maintenance to keep them cutting properly. Sharpening them will require an expensive machine or you'll have to ship them out. They'll also need constant adjustment throughout the season. These might be a few things to think about when you price the job.

[TrickyDick]

Thanks. After a few more conversations we decided to just keep the blades on the ztr sharp and cut it a little low with an option for a second cut during the week if needed.

[Dale Wiley]

Good call.

You should do it just fine.

We use an Exmark mulching mower, cutting a sand based field 1 time a week at 3 inches, then take it down to 2.5 inches twice a week July- November.

[D. Adams]

IUsed to work caring for a private high school we used to use rotary three deck gange to mow ball fields and then found it was just as quick to use zero turns with 60 or 72 inch decks and try mowing your playing surface a half or evan a full inch shorter then the outer field macks for a great look

Originally posted by Dale Wiley
Off season is once a week mowing. We start twice a week mowings on our football fields about July 1.

Sports fields are irrigated. You have a utility area that is used for sports activities.

Pretty lumpy ?? Sports fields are not "pretty lumpy". I would make damn sure you note all this in a contract proposal, so when some kid breaks an ankle, you don't get sued.

Reel mowing would best be used on an irrigated, properly cared for field. The situation you have a rotary would be just fine, keep the heights at 2.5 inches or higher and hope for the best.

Trying to keep it cut close enough like you are describing is just not possible int he situation you describe.

Professional specs call for 3/4 inch height on baseball and footaball fields. That's a 3 time a week cut with a good reel mower and a flat 1.5% grade with no lumps at all.

Be very carefull....