Distance Learning Sports Turf Course
- How do you manage a Sports Ground or Playing Field?
- Advance your job and career prospects working in the management and maintenance of Spots Grounds and Playing Fields
- A course for parks staff, horticulturists, gardenersa, groundsmen, greenkeepers, turf equipment and materials suppliers, etc
This course assumes a basic knowledge of turf care, either through experience or prior study (eg. Our Turf Care course)
From there it develops your ability to manage the maintenance of sports turf. It is relevant to the maintenance of all sports turf including golf courses, bowling clubs, playing fields, cricket wickets and other sporting facilities.
Lesson Structure
There are 10 lessons in this course:
-
Turf Variety Selection
-
Introduction
-
Turf Varieties in Parks
-
Sowing
-
Feature Lawns
-
Picnic Areas
-
Sports Grounds
-
Gardens
-
Parks
-
Turf Species; bent, fescue, rye, kentucky, couch, etc
-
Turf Cultivar Selection Criteria
-
Mixing Varieties
-
Mowing
-
Introduction
-
Types of Mowing Equipment
-
Mower Types; slasher, cylinder, flail
-
Preparation before mowing
-
How to Mow
-
Leaf Rakes and Vacuums
-
After Mowing
-
Changing Mower Blades
-
Mowing Sports Turf
-
Sports Turf Mowers
-
Problems that can Occur when Mowing
-
Edging
-
Options for Mower Power Systems; 2 stroke, 4 stroke, electric
-
Hover Mowers, Ride on Mowers
-
Choosing a Mower
-
Cultivation Techniques
-
When to Cultivate
-
Methods of Cultivation
-
Spiking, coring, drilling, grooving, forking, raling, air blast, etc
-
Coring and hollow tining for Sports Turf
-
Scarifying (Grooving)
-
Dethatching (Vertical Mowing)
-
Preparing for Play on Sports grounds
-
Introduction
-
Dew Removal
-
Water Removal
-
Combing
-
Vertical Mowing
-
Mowing
-
Rolling
-
Marking for Play
-
Preparing for Play of Greens
-
Golf, Croquet, Lawn Tennis, Lawn Bowls
-
Cricket Wicket Preparation
-
Turf Protection and Preservation
-
Managing Use
-
Minimising Damage on Turf
-
Why Repair Turf
-
How to Repair Turf
-
Reconditioning Soil
-
Reducing weed populations in turf
-
Managing turf Pests
-
Managing Demand
-
Repairing Turf
-
Irrigation and Drainage
-
Introduction
-
Travelling Sprinkler Systems
-
Quick Coupling Valve Systems
-
Manually Operated Irrigation Systems
-
Semi automatic Irrigation Systems
-
Automatic Irrigation Systems
-
Sprinklers, Valves, Controllers
-
Management of Water Features on Golf Courses
-
Improving Surface Drainage after Construction
-
Understanding Soils and Drainage, and Soil Compaction
-
Soil Treatment and Sprays
-
Major Nutrients and Trace Elements
-
Fertilizer Types
-
Fertilizer Application
-
Soil pH and Soil Ammendments
-
Cation Exchange Capacity
-
Pest Control; ants, beetles, caterpillars, grasshopers and crickets, leatherjackets
-
Disease Control; viruses, bacteria, fungi
-
Evaluate Maintenance Facilities
-
Bent Grass for Bowling Greens
-
Couch Grass Greens
-
Analysis of Park Maintenance
-
Park Maintenance Tasks
-
Develop a Management Plan
-
Common Environmental Problems; folia burn, pollution, lack of water
-
Drainage Problems in Turf
-
Frost
-
Temperature
-
Wind
-
Plants have Varying Tolerance Levels
-
Programming Works; maintenance, new works, construction crew
-
Weeds
-
Weed Control Methods
-
Developming a Management Plan for a Specific Site
Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school's tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.
Aims
-
Select turf varieties to suit different sports surface requirements; including different climates & soil types.
-
Select turf varieties to suit different sports surfaces (eg. lawn bowls, fairways, greens, league football, cricket)
-
Identify turf blends, their application and reason for use.
-
Explain alternative procedures for sports turf maintenance, used for different types of facilities.
-
Explain specific wear problems and solutions for the five types of turf facilities
-
Evaluate procedures being used to maintain different types of facilities.
-
Determine the resources required to maintain a selected sports turf.
-
Develop management plans for different types of sports turf facilities.
-
Explain the management of a turf nursery to produce a reliable supply of sod.
-
Explain the irrigation and drainage requirements for sports turf
Tips for Managing the Use of Turf
A major problem for any turf is that people and machines move over the surface, and in doing so, cause damage such as compaction, dislodgment, bruising of turf plants, and so on. It may be that an area of turf suffers wear and tear because people drive cars over it and/or park on it, or because it is used for playing sports on. Different uses will result in different problems. Generally, turf areas are more susceptible to damage when wet. Therefore, if traffic can be avoided when the turf is wet this will help to lessen the damage.
Damage to turf can be affected by both the type of usage and the quantity of usage. Both are, of course, interrelated.
Type of Use
Consider:
-
Weight of people using it (children may cause less damage than adults).
-
What it is used for (a football game may cause more damage than a picnic).
-
Condition of the ground (less healthy turf will be damaged faster)
-
Level of Activity
-
Some types of footwear can cause more damage than others (particularly on fine turf such as golf greens).
-
Some types of tyres, such as those on mowers, are prone to cause more damage than others.
Quantity of Use
Consider:
-
How many people are using an area of grass?
-
Intensity of people (how many people per square metre?)
-
Length of time it is used (if used for a sporting game, how long is the play?).
-
Frequency of use (how many games per week?).
Turf Friendly Footwear
Flat and ripple soled shoes provide less grip on the ground, but also cause less damage to turf. Shoes with spikes have the potential to rip or tear out turf as a person twists and turns their feet, particularly if this happens fast (ie. running and turning increases the pressure way beyond the force created by walking. When walking, gravity is the main factor contributing to the force of footwear on the ground (ie. The body weight of the person is the main influence upon the turf). When a person runs and turns, the force of body weight is increased by extra forces from the muscles of the person as they move.
Golfers may wear any of the following types of shoes:
-
A ripple soled shoe. These cause very minimal injury to the turf but they provide less grip.
-
A shoe with spikes and a shoulder. This causes the most injury because weight is concentrated in the shoulders, creating intense pressure.
-
Spikes without a shoulder. This causes much less damage than spikes with a shoulder.
Machinery Damage
Vehicles can include mowers, tractors, golf carts, and so on. The amount of damage is affected by:
-
Weight of the machine
-
Area which touches the ground: a machine with wide tyres spreads pressure over a greater area, hence pressure and potential for damage is reduced
-
The way the vehicle moves: Quick starts, stops and turns, can result in skidding, sliding or ripping of the turf surface
-
Type of tread on wheels: Wheels with a rough tread have a greater potential to cause damage.
Minimising Turf Damage
In some situations, damage to turf may be minimised by the following:
-
Using concrete/plastic grids buried in ground
-
Chitted seed on sports grounds for instant greening
-
Using covers for protecting turf in wet weather
-
Using very hardy turf varieties
-
Cutting grass a bit taller can increase protection
-
Covering grass during times of heavy use (a party or garden show)
-
Controlling traffic flow by fencing off susceptible areas, putting in a pathway/track for golf carts, and so on.
Preparing for Use
If an area of turf is properly prepared before use, it may be less likely to be damaged.
For example, rolling a green or turf wicket before play will compact the surface and make it more difficult for soil or, sods of turf, to be dislodged. If an area is fed and watered well in the period leading up to a major event, the turf plants will be healthier, stronger, and more able to recover after play.
FREQUENT QUESTIONS
Why Choose This Course
- Unique course materials (developed by our staff) and more current than some colleges (many reviewed annually); as a result, ACS graduates can be more up to date.
- We work hard to help you understand and remember it, develop an ability to apply it in the real world, and build networks with others who work in this field (It’s more than just serving up a collection of information –if all you want is information, buy a book; but if you want an education, that takes learning to a whole new level).
- Start whenever you want, study at your own pace, study anywhere
- Don’t waste time and money traveling classes
- We provide more choices–courses are written to allow you more options to focus on parts of the subject that are of more interest to you; a huge range of elective subjects are offered that don’t exist elsewhere.
- Tutors are accessible (more than elsewhere) – academics work in both the UK and Australia, 5 days a week, 16 hours a day. Answering emails and phone calls from students are top priority.
- We treat students as individuals –don’t get lost in a crowd. Our tutors communicate with you one to one.
- Extra help at no extra cost if needed. When you find something you cannot do, we help you through it or will provide another option.
- Support after you finish a course –We can advise about getting work, starting business, writing a CV, etc. We can promote students and their businesses through our extensive profile on the internet. Graduates who ask will be helped.
- Support from a team of a dozen professional horticulturists, living in different parts of the UK, and in both temperate and tropical climate zones of Australia.
About ACS
ACS was started in 1979 by John Mason, who at the time was a gardening author, horticultural consultant and lecturer in horticulture at several colleges across Melbourne (in Australia). Over the summer that year John discovered that there were thousands of applicants going to be turned away from horticulture courses at Burnley Horticultural College (now Melbourne University). There were simply too few courses being offered for the number of people wanting to study horticulture in Australia. This situation prompted a move to establish a correspondence course at Burnley; but after months of unsuccessful lobbying for support from government; John wrote a course, and with help from a colleague at Council of Adult Education, marketed it.
Standards were originally set in line with what were seen to be the standards of Australia's top horticultural college; and over the years, those standards have never been reduced. This makes our courses longer and more demanding than some other colleges; but it has also led to us building a credibility that stands tall in the horticulture industry across the world.
In the early 1990's John started visiting the UK and becoming involved with the horticulture industry there. Around the mid 1990's ACS began offering RHS courses, and in 2003, John was formally recognised for his contribution to British Horticulture by being made a fellow of the Institute of Horticulture. ACS, as a school, established an office and staff in the UK in 2001, and has expanded considerably since then. Today it is formally affiliated with five other colleges in the UK (including Warwickshire College); all of who license and deliver ACS courses.
A team of leading horticulturists work for the school's horticulture department, including 12 faculty members in both the UK and Australia
How You Study
- As soon as you enroll, we send an email to explain it all.
- We direct you to a short orientation video (downloadable over the internet) to watch, where our principal introduces you to how the course works, and how you can access all sorts of support services
- You are either given a code to access your course online, or sent out a CD or course materials through the mail (or by courier).
- Work through lessons one by one, each lesson typically having four parts:
- An aim -which tells you what you should be achieving in the lesson
- Reading -notes written and regularly revised by our academic staff
- Set Task(s) -These are practicals, research or other experiential learning tasks that strengthen and add to what you have been reading
- Assignment -By answering questions, submitting them to a tutor, then getting feedback from the tutor, you confirm that you are on the right track, but more than that, you are guided to consider what you have been studying in different ways, broadening your perspective and reinforcing what you are learning about
- Other - Your work in a course rarely stops at just the above four parts. Different courses and different students will need further learning experiences. Your set task or assignment may lead to other things, interacting with tutors or people in industry, reviewing additional reference materials or something else. We treat every student as an individual and supplement their learning needs as the occasion requires.
- We provide access to and encourage you to use a range of supplementary services including an online student room, including online library; student bookshop, newsletters, social media etc.
- We provide a "student manual", that is a quick solution to most problems that might occur
Recognition
- ACS has a highly respected international profile: by employers and academics alike. People are more aware of us than many other distance education schools –just do a search for “horticulture distance education courses” and see what comes up on the internet; or search for ACS Distance education on Facebook or Linked in, and see how many connections we have compared to other colleges.
- Recognised by International Accreditation and Recognition Council
- ACS has been educating people around the world since 1979
- Over 100,000 have now studied ACS courses, across more than 150 countries
- Formal affiliations with colleges in five countries
- A faculty of over 40 internationally renowned academics –books written by our staff used by universities and colleges around the world.
Extra Books or Reference Materials
- The course provides you with everything that you need to complete it successfully.
- Assignments may ask you to look for extra information (eg. by contacting nurseries, visiting gardens or searching the internet), but our school's resources and tutors are always available as a back up. If you hit a "roadblock", we can quickly send you additional information or provide expert advice over the phone or email; to keep you moving in your studies.
- Some students choose to buy additional references, to take their learning beyond what is essential for the course. If a student wants to buy books, we operate an online bookshop offering ebooks written by staff at the school. Student discounts are available if you are studying with us. The range of e books available is being expanded rapidly, with at least one new ebook being written and published by our staff every month. See www.acsebook.com
