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Message
It just pisses me off everytime I look that the painted green field and then look at Georgia, Auburn or Mo State's fields.
0
Posted on 12/12/08 at 3:35 pm to tacotiger
Posted on 12/12/08 at 3:44 pm to Tiger 79
You got me. I have not seen this. But reading how to literature doesn;t get the job done.
I think most of you are right in that the expertise is not there to manage the playing surface as well as it could be.
And I really question the shade issue because of the upper decks. The most torn up part of the field is the middle, which gets the most sun.
The best bermudagrass I have in my yard at home is in the shade and doesn;t get but a few hours of sun every day.
And by the way. I know four of the guys who wrote the guide, so I will contact them and find out what the problems are.
I think most of you are right in that the expertise is not there to manage the playing surface as well as it could be.
And I really question the shade issue because of the upper decks. The most torn up part of the field is the middle, which gets the most sun.
The best bermudagrass I have in my yard at home is in the shade and doesn;t get but a few hours of sun every day.
And by the way. I know four of the guys who wrote the guide, so I will contact them and find out what the problems are.
This post was edited on 12/12/08 at 3:48 pm
Posted on 12/13/08 at 11:02 am to tacotiger
It all boils down to the people in charge at LSU. No other school has this type of problem and they keep making excuses because they don't know what they are doing. Pay attention to the turf at the new Alex Box. Once Ronnie H. and Todd J., our wonderful people in charge, take control it is going to look just like the football field.
Posted on 12/13/08 at 11:26 am to thegrassman
Been around this business for awhile in golf. Some thoughts: never should have been sprigged, it should've been sodded. No way you can grow the root system enough, let alone the top to withstand the season from sprigs in a few months. The typical hiring you would imagine of the athletic fields manager, happened. It's not what you know, but who. LSU's educational turfgrass program is horrible as far as colleges go. They should hire a Miss St, Mich St, Penn St, or maybe aTm grad with extensive experience and quit brother in lawing the job. It's an important one. Everyone thinks they can do it, but few really can. There's a lot more science and chemistry involved than you'd ever know.
Posted on 12/13/08 at 11:30 am to thegrassman
I hate to be as deservedly harsh as BandAlum82 and grassman,etc..
But, LSU's field issues have been a bad joke all my life, and especially so once LSU has rejoined the elite of NCAA Football and been on primetime tv now for the past decade. And as much as the poor turf, the lime-green colored LSU in the endzones gives me the red@ss every game, it's as awful in person as it is on tv, paint it the right color and/or in depth, or not at all. I'm jealous when visiting The Swamp or Auburn or MSU.
LSU's decades old excuses for these issues have always been so typically well..LSU and La.
But, on a positive note, LSU the University, landscaping, the Athletic Dept, PMAC renovations/practice facility addition, new Box, Tiger Park, new East Upper(despite exposed insulation and plumbing elbows,etc..,) are clearly on the case today, which is a vast improvement from former aloof eras, where the facility needs were obvious, the voices heard, yet much went continually neglected.
Cut Alleva and the Ath-Dept some slack fellas, they are on the case, and I trust will correct many issues in the coming years. But must agree, if hiring from within, there should surely be an MSU, ATM,etc..grade landscape grad on staff at LSU making the turf maintenance calls. Hell, bring in George Toma as a consultant.
But, LSU's field issues have been a bad joke all my life, and especially so once LSU has rejoined the elite of NCAA Football and been on primetime tv now for the past decade. And as much as the poor turf, the lime-green colored LSU in the endzones gives me the red@ss every game, it's as awful in person as it is on tv, paint it the right color and/or in depth, or not at all. I'm jealous when visiting The Swamp or Auburn or MSU.
LSU's decades old excuses for these issues have always been so typically well..LSU and La.
But, on a positive note, LSU the University, landscaping, the Athletic Dept, PMAC renovations/practice facility addition, new Box, Tiger Park, new East Upper(despite exposed insulation and plumbing elbows,etc..,) are clearly on the case today, which is a vast improvement from former aloof eras, where the facility needs were obvious, the voices heard, yet much went continually neglected.
Cut Alleva and the Ath-Dept some slack fellas, they are on the case, and I trust will correct many issues in the coming years. But must agree, if hiring from within, there should surely be an MSU, ATM,etc..grade landscape grad on staff at LSU making the turf maintenance calls. Hell, bring in George Toma as a consultant.
This post was edited on 12/13/08 at 11:38 am
Posted on 12/13/08 at 11:51 am to TheRoarRestoredInBR
Im just curious, can't they buy sod?
Posted on 12/13/08 at 12:05 pm to drewb808
Yep they had the option to sod($200K), and chose to sprig($20K). I suspect the people who are above Ronnie H. chose the cheap route, rather than the best one.
Posted on 12/13/08 at 12:30 pm to thegrassman
quote:
No other school has this type of problem and they keep making excuses because they don't know what they are doing.
quote:
They should hire a Miss St, Mich St, Penn St, or maybe aTm grad with extensive experience and quit brother in lawing the job.
quote:
But must agree, if hiring from within, there should surely be an MSU, ATM,etc..grade landscape grad on staff at LSU making the turf maintenance calls.
LSU is NOT the only school with turf issues. Check out this video of LSU recruit Russell Shepherd in a playoff game at Kyle Field. Doesn't look like something LSU should emulate.
Texas A&M Field
Posted on 12/13/08 at 7:49 pm to Tiger 79
quote:
Go get Mo State or Auburn people to figure it out.
We did bring in an MSU person to help out...and I believe he is now back at MSU. Was he run out? Did he see the futility and leave? ....makes you think
quote:
Yep they had the option to sod($200K), and chose to sprig($20K). I suspect the people who are above Ronnie H. chose the cheap route, rather than the best one.
A couple of years ago when they re-did the drainage (as we were told the drainage was the problem)...didn't they re-sod at that time? I am almost positive we did. But they effed that up big time and only 2 years later we had to do something else...and we chose an even cheaper route - sprigging.
Posted on 12/13/08 at 9:00 pm to philter
if you are going to spring the field why do it in june, why not in march???
Posted on 12/13/08 at 11:10 pm to philter
quote:
A couple of years ago when they re-did the drainage (as we were told the drainage was the problem)...didn't they re-sod at that time? I am almost positive we did. But they effed that up big time and only 2 years later we had to do something else.
They did install new sod (Mississippi Choice) when they installed the new drainage system (see photos below). Also, they did bring a Mississippi State turf manager to maintain the field at the same time. Maybe he isn't there anymore because he screwed up the field?
Posted on 12/13/08 at 11:16 pm to adognamekoda
quote:
if you are going to spring the field why do it in june, why not in march???
Based on this following information from the LSU Ag Center website, they planted it when they should have.
quote:
We recommend seeding or sprigging turf bermudagrass when soil temperatures at the 2-inch depth approach 70 degrees F or better. This will be around mid May or June 1 with a cutoff date of July 15 for seeding.
Posted on 12/14/08 at 12:53 am to GeauxTigerTM
I'm shocked and disgusted at how many of you are in favor of fake turf.
That's just freaking blasphemous.
That's just freaking blasphemous.
Posted on 12/14/08 at 9:23 pm to AlejandroInHouston
Tallahassee and Jacksonville are at about the same latitude as Red Stick. I guess Jacksonville being on the coast may moderate its temp some but shouldn't be too dissimilar. Anyone know how the turfs at Doak Campbell and Alltel stadium are?
It's hard to believe this is that difficult. The turf at TS is the same family as that used on golf courses (Bermuda, Tifdwarf, etc). Grass technology for golf courses has advanced things. Turf is engineered for golf courses taking into account seasons, sunlight, shading (due to trees). Surely there already exists a match or one could be engineered.
I much prefer real grass in TS.
(Maybe it's the pied-in music that really did us in this year?)
It's hard to believe this is that difficult. The turf at TS is the same family as that used on golf courses (Bermuda, Tifdwarf, etc). Grass technology for golf courses has advanced things. Turf is engineered for golf courses taking into account seasons, sunlight, shading (due to trees). Surely there already exists a match or one could be engineered.
I much prefer real grass in TS.
(Maybe it's the pied-in music that really did us in this year?)
Posted on 12/15/08 at 7:26 am to mikethetiger
hey mike the guy they hired that you say was a Turf manager did not screw up at all. He turned the practice fields around so much that it caught Les Miles attention where Miles asked why the practice fields looked and performed better than Tiger Stadium. They recieve much more abuse on a daily basis throughout the year verses 6 or 7 home games on TS. He was given the title of Horticulturalist and did a great job. He was put under one of the assistants that was later fired for some nonesense. Coach Paul Manieri begged him to stay as well as a few others before he had enough and left. Now the problem with Tiger Stadium lies solely on the names mentioned earlier who manage the field and the problem will not be resolved until they are no longer in "Power"
Posted on 12/15/08 at 8:47 am to tigerturf55
I've been in this business for 30 years. The only fault I find is sprigging instead of sodding. At the time they did it, I assumed it was sodded. Now I understand why it wasn't as tight a cover all season.
June or July is when you sprig, so the ground is warm enough to prompt immediate growth, otherwise you can lose some of the sprigs.
If the field only gets 6 hours of direct sunlight, bermuda will live, but it will take at least 2 seasons to fill in fully.
This second year should take the turf from looking full to actually being a tight cover. That is, with plenty of intertwined surface stems making for a solid mat. This year it seemed every hard cut pulled up grass, which happens when the grass does not have enough root attachments per square inch.
There is a lot of science behind turf establishment, They saved money in the wrong place by not sodding. That said, they got a lot of growth from sprigging.
June or July is when you sprig, so the ground is warm enough to prompt immediate growth, otherwise you can lose some of the sprigs.
If the field only gets 6 hours of direct sunlight, bermuda will live, but it will take at least 2 seasons to fill in fully.
This second year should take the turf from looking full to actually being a tight cover. That is, with plenty of intertwined surface stems making for a solid mat. This year it seemed every hard cut pulled up grass, which happens when the grass does not have enough root attachments per square inch.
There is a lot of science behind turf establishment, They saved money in the wrong place by not sodding. That said, they got a lot of growth from sprigging.
Posted on 12/15/08 at 9:46 am to Lou the Jew from LSU
LSU should hire the staff that maintains Soldier Field...it looked like it was holding up great last Thursday night. 
Posted on 12/15/08 at 10:48 am to d6k
Seeing how crappy the turf was made me think of the scene in Caddyshack where Chevy Chase was inside Bill Murray's pad and Bill told him he was studying to be a head greenskeeper. Somehow I think Bill Murray's character would be an upgrade... 
Posted on 12/15/08 at 11:19 am to mikethetiger
do yall think the snow we had this winter effected the turf?
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