User Management

The active management of users and usage which takes place on a sports pitch, golf course, field or amenity area. User management might involve redirecting walking routes between greens and tees on a golf course; the use of winter greens; restricting the number of golfers allowed on the course during certain ground or weather conditions to reduce wear and compaction; the spreading of games around different pitches on artificial surfaces to ensure an even amount of use takes place on each pitch, for example, with several 5 or 7 aside football marked out over a full sized pitch ¯ this will help ensure the carpet wears at a more uniform rate; the use of match cancellation policies to protect the playing quality of natural turf surfaces (especially football and rugby) and ensuring the carrying capacity is not exceeded; and more.

One of the aims of good user management is that of providing a fairly consistent playing experience through the entire playing season, or year. Where user management is not taken seriously or not carried out, a typical situation can arise whereby early on in the season a pitch might play to a good standard, but management decisions are not taken to help reduce wear when unsuitable ground conditions arise and so usage continues and excessive damage is done to a pitch which cannot be repaired until the end of season, resulting in poor quality experiences and increased match cancellations for a significant part of a season. This will mainly be due to increased waterlogging and surface ponding, as well as reduced ground cover resulting from incorrect use in the wrong conditions by failing to manage users appropriately.