The Ohio State University

The Ohio State Turfgrass Program has a new class!  HCS 370 "Sports Turf management" is a class offered spring quarter. It is offered as a night-class and is open to both students and local industry professionals that can take the class through Continuing Education. Before being granted official class status this year, the night class has run for two years as a group studies course.

The sports turf management class is a mixture of site visits and practical sessions. Students visit local athletic fields, such as Columbus Crew, The Clippers, and Ohio Stadium. The practical sessions include using sports field maintenance equipment and creating field lines and logos, such as the "Block O" pictured left. As a side note, this shot is one of the many O-H-I-O pictures the university is archiving.

 In addition to visits and practical sessions, the students work with Columbus Public School to renovate a local high school field. Last year the group renovated Brookhaven High School's baseball field and learned how to mark out the field, re-set homeplate and build a pitchers mound.  This portion of the class makes it unique and offers students a chance to help out a local community at the same time as learning new management techniques. Next years project has yet to be decided but may involve the renovation of a local football field.