Turf, turf, turf. It's the sexiest, most luxurious surface one can play on. Sure, some prefer concrete or pavers but there's no denying the soft, scrunchy feel of the turf has an allure all it's own. It looks great and it plays great.
It has some drawbacks though- namely cost, installation and maintenance, and also some types can become extremely slippery when wet, especially once they're worn in.
I've tried so many types and gotten so many samples it can be dizzying to try to make a choice but I'm happy to report THERE IS A BEST and it is without a shred of doubt in my mind *field hockey turf*! It's got a SUPER tight pile and very thin filaments so it is dense and very grippy, it also has a carpet-style backing so it is extremely beefy and easy to mount on just about anything. The REAL prize though has got to be the wet performance- field hockey specific turf is actually optimized when wet and in an official setting it is actually sprayed down before a game- so those "slippery when wet" packed down turf tees are simply not possible. Most slippery turf has flat filaments as blades of grass, so when it gets stomped down and wet your foot slips on the flat side- with the denser packing, non-flat filaments and wet-biased construction, the difference is incredible and I really just want to spread the word about this stuff so we can stop paying good money for non-ideal equipment.
One try on a wet tee box with the field hockey turf and you'll never even consider the old-school astroturf style stuff again. It's amazing how different it really is!
It has some drawbacks though- namely cost, installation and maintenance, and also some types can become extremely slippery when wet, especially once they're worn in.
I've tried so many types and gotten so many samples it can be dizzying to try to make a choice but I'm happy to report THERE IS A BEST and it is without a shred of doubt in my mind *field hockey turf*! It's got a SUPER tight pile and very thin filaments so it is dense and very grippy, it also has a carpet-style backing so it is extremely beefy and easy to mount on just about anything. The REAL prize though has got to be the wet performance- field hockey specific turf is actually optimized when wet and in an official setting it is actually sprayed down before a game- so those "slippery when wet" packed down turf tees are simply not possible. Most slippery turf has flat filaments as blades of grass, so when it gets stomped down and wet your foot slips on the flat side- with the denser packing, non-flat filaments and wet-biased construction, the difference is incredible and I really just want to spread the word about this stuff so we can stop paying good money for non-ideal equipment.
One try on a wet tee box with the field hockey turf and you'll never even consider the old-school astroturf style stuff again. It's amazing how different it really is!