INFIELDS
be smoothly remolded around players ’ cleats , rather than “ chunking out ” or shattering into chips . This delivers the coveted corkboard surface , and minimizes the number of imperfections that could cause bad bounces ( as shown in Figure 4 ). The second reason is that if a ball does hit one of the cleat marks , the soil will readily deform again — allowing the ball to continue its initial path . Plasticity provides the “ give ,” which makes well-watered soil so nice to play on .
Plasticity alone is not enough . Most fine-grained soils are plastic at high water contents , but many lose their shear strength when so much moisture is added . Such a soil can never provide stable footing if watered to a plastic condition — the players will sink and slide , leading to injuries . Other materials retain more stiffness when wetted above
Figure 4 : ( A ) This “ corkboard ” infield will not affect ball path because of its plastic-yet-stiff consistency . ( B ) Large , ragged cleat marks may cause erratic bounces , leading to errors or injuries .
24 SportsField Management | March 2021 sportsfieldmanagementonline . com