World Cup Pitches - Firm & Fast

[Wayne_Kozun]

I don't know if any other GCAers have noticed this but some of the World Cup pitches have a fair amount of brown on them - in fact they look much more like an Open Championship course than ANGC.  This seems to be somewhat affecting play as you can see that players often underestimating the height that the ball bounces which could be due to the Jabulani ball, the altitude (in some cities) or the hardness of the pitch.

I wonder why these pitches are not bright green?  I know that in rugby that South African fields are notorious for being hard and dry, but one would think that FIFA would be pampering these pitches like the ANGC super and many of them have not been used for other purposes for several weeks before the World Cup.  Is this an issue caused by cold weather and frost, is it the wrong types of grasses being used for a winter tournament or is there just not enough sunshine at this time of year in SA to have a field of plush green grass?

[Adam Clayman]

Wayne, The grass is Kikuyu. Appropriate for SA. The greenness, or lack thereof, is hardly noticeable on my 720p HD. Although the spongy nature of KK maybe a reason for so many poor looking shots that go sailing over the cross bar.

[Sean Leary]

Wayne, The grass is Kikuyu. Appropriate for SA. The greenness, or lack thereof, is hardly noticeable on my 720p HD. Although the spongy nature of KK maybe a reason for so many poor looking shots that go sailing over the cross bar.

Adam,

There was a big to do about them NOT using Kikuyu for the World Cup pitches......

[Jason McNamara]

Adam, the deal with the soccer ball's unpredictability is one golfers have recognized for years.

"Gee, the gutty flies farther when it's nicked up!"
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jun/24/sports/la-sp-world-cup-ball-20100624

[Adam Clayman]

I played today with a proffesional 90. I saw no difference in my distances. So the recent discussion on Shaq's site about the no rollback excuses.

[Mike Benham]

The grass is Kikuyu.

I could steal a line from one of the old Saturday Night Live sketches but Adam, I don't think you are right on this one ...



From The Guardian dated November 2009:

"In a major blow to South African pride in hosting next year's World Cup, stadiums used for top matches have been told to scrap their hardy African kikuyu pitches and switch instead to tender European ryegrass.

The decision comes amid mounting claims that the month-long tournament next June will be a "playground for Europeans'', providing scant long-term benefit to the largely poor country.

"FIFA decided that our pre-grown kikuyu pitch was not uniformly dark green enough for television so we have started again with ryegrass seed,'' said Pieter Cronjé, World Cup communication director for Cape Town where one of the semi-finals is due to be played."


From an Oregon Newspaper, dated June 2009 (The State of Oregon is one of the largest turf grass production areas in the world and home to many grass seed companies):

"When play begins in the 2010 FIFA World Cup on Friday, Benton County will be represented both on the field -- in the form of former OregonState University soccer player Robbie Findley -- and in the field, in the form of grass from seed provided by Corvallis' Seed Research of Oregon.

The company's South African distributor, Agricol, purchased about 165,000 pounds of seed for the World Cup, according to Bill Dunn, executive vice president of Seed Research of Oregon.

The company sent four varieties of grass, two of Kentucky bluegrass and two of perennial ryegrass, to South Africa for the event.
Dunn said most of the order was perennial seed, "and most of that was grown right here in Oregon."

At least 8 percent of seed at every site is from Seed Research of Oregon. At some sites, 100 percent of the seed is from the company. The process started last June, selecting the seed lots and arranging shipping. The first shipments went out last July.
...

Seed was planted through about January, so the fields would have about six months of growth. "We've looked at the turf and it really looks great," Dunn said."

[Cory Brown]

I had been noticing the exact opposite during the US-Ghana match.  Maybe there had been rain, but the pitch looked blindingly green and painfully slow.  I don't follow soccer too closely, but from what I have been told it is similiar to golf and firm and fast is much more fun.

[Adam Clayman]

Thanx for the corrections. I was recalling the original turf, and lament the weak stance of yet another committee. Bunch of namby pamby Kikuyu haters.

If FIFA is willing to use technology for their ball, but not instant replay for accuracy on the field, and now to find out they didn't use a native grass because it's an off color green, I can't help but wonder if, it's result manipulation. Or, perhaps just a lack of cajones, hueavos...Speaking of Balls...
 
The ball is suppose to be the perfect ball. If a soccer ball is perfected and it's not the ideal equipment, there's likely a huge connection with the golf ball, in that regard. Perhaps perfect is not the ideal for any sport. The loss of the sewn seams, must make the soccer ball less controllable. Similar to why you could never kick those bombardment red rubber balls with as much control.  They were perfect balls. The new golf ball flies too straight with less spin. Has cost millions upon millions in work for GCA's lengthening and Tiger proofing courses. Out of balance comes to mind as how to describe both sport's authority.