{"id":3213,"date":"2026-10-20T08:42:59","date_gmt":"2026-10-20T06:42:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/staging.topgreen.de\/ratgeber\/hockey-artificial-turf-requirements-surface-types-and-construction\/"},"modified":"2026-10-26T12:42:56","modified_gmt":"2026-10-26T11:42:56","slug":"hockey-artificial-turf-requirements-surface-types-and-construction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/topgreen.de\/en\/ratgeber\/hockey-artificial-turf-requirements-surface-types-and-construction\/","title":{"rendered":"Hockey artificial turf: requirements, surface types and construction"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group tg-box tg-box--answer\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p class=\"tg-box__title wp-block-paragraph\">In brief<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Today, hockey is played almost exclusively on artificial turf. Typical features include a <strong>very short, dense pile<\/strong> that allows the ball to roll quickly and evenly. The main distinctions are between <strong>watered pitches<\/strong> (water-based) for elite sport, <strong>sand-filled<\/strong> and <strong>sand-dressed<\/strong> surfaces for club and school sport, and newer <strong>dry, unfilled systems<\/strong>. International requirements are defined by the FIH, the world governing body for hockey.   <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hardly any sport depends as much on the surface as hockey. The small, hard ball requires a level, fast and predictable surface. Here you will learn how hockey artificial turf is constructed and what variants are available.  <\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What sets hockey artificial turf apart<\/h2>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>very short, dense pile for fast, flat ball roll<\/li>\n\n<li>high levelness \u2013 even small uneven areas deflect the ball<\/li>\n\n<li>consistent <a href=\"https:\/\/topgreen.de\/lexikon\/ballrollverhalten\/\">ball roll<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/topgreen.de\/lexikon\/ballsprungverhalten\/\">ball bounce<\/a><\/li>\n\n<li>sufficient grip for rapid changes of direction<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Common surface types<\/h2>\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table tg-table\"><table><thead><tr><th>Type<\/th><th>Features<\/th><th>Typical use<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td>Watered artificial turf<\/td><td>unfilled, very short, watered before play<\/td><td>Elite sport, international tournaments<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Sand-dressed<\/td><td>pile partially filled with sand, fibre tips remain free<\/td><td>Club and league sport<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Sand-filled<\/td><td>pile largely filled with sand<\/td><td>School and recreational sport, multisport<\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Dry, unfilled systems<\/td><td>playable without watering and without sand<\/td><td>newer development, water-saving<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You can find more on the topic in the glossary under <a href=\"https:\/\/topgreen.de\/lexikon\/hockey-kunstrasen\/\">Hockey artificial turf<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Construction of a hockey pitch<\/h2>\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>load-bearing subgrade with <a href=\"https:\/\/topgreen.de\/lexikon\/drainage\/\">drainage<\/a><\/li>\n\n<li>base layer, finished to a very even level<\/li>\n\n<li>often an <a href=\"https:\/\/topgreen.de\/lexikon\/elastikschicht\/\">elastic layer<\/a> for cushioning and <a href=\"https:\/\/topgreen.de\/lexikon\/kraftabbau\/\">force reduction<\/a><\/li>\n\n<li>hockey artificial turf with tufted-in or cut-in <a href=\"https:\/\/topgreen.de\/lexikon\/linierung\/\">line markings<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The water issue<\/h2>\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Watered pitches provide a particularly fast, consistent game, but require suitable irrigation technology and water. Against this backdrop, dry systems are becoming more important. For clubs, choosing the surface is therefore also a question of usage profile, budget and water availability.  <\/p>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Maintenance of hockey artificial turf<\/h2>\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>regular blowing off of leaves and dirt<\/li>\n\n<li>machine brushing to distribute the sand evenly<\/li>\n\n<li>periodic <a href=\"https:\/\/topgreen.de\/lexikon\/tiefenreinigung\/\">deep cleaning<\/a> to prevent compaction and moss<\/li>\n\n<li>inspection of seams and lines<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group tg-box tg-box--tip\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<p class=\"tg-box__title wp-block-paragraph\">Our offer for clubs<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">We clean hockey, football and multisport artificial turf using our own equipment \u2013 nationwide. <a href=\"https:\/\/topgreen.de\/lexikon\/kunstrasenreinigung\/\">More about artificial turf cleaning<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Frequently asked questions about hockey artificial turf<\/h2>\n<div id=\"rank-math-faq\" class=\"rank-math-block\">\n<div class=\"rank-math-list \">\n<div id=\"faq-question-1\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">Why is hockey played on artificial turf?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>Artificial turf provides a level, fast and predictable surface on which the small, hard hockey ball rolls evenly. On natural grass, the game would be significantly slower and more unpredictable. <\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-question-2\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">Why are hockey pitches watered?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>Water makes the surface faster and more consistent, reduces friction and is gentler on the skin in falls. Watered pitches are used mainly in elite sport. <\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-question-3\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">What is the difference between sand-filled and sand-dressed?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>With sand-filled artificial turf, the pile is largely filled with sand. With sand-dressed artificial turf, only the lower part is filled and the fibre tips remain free, enabling a faster game. <\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"faq-question-4\" class=\"rank-math-list-item\">\n<h3 class=\"rank-math-question \">Can you play football on a hockey pitch?<\/h3>\n<div class=\"rank-math-answer \">\n\n<p>In principle, yes\u2014for example on sand-filled multisport surfaces. However, dedicated hockey surfaces are optimised for hockey and are only suitable to a limited extent for football with studded boots. <\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hockey artificial turf explained: watered, sand-dressed, sand-filled or dry \u2013 surface requirements, hockey pitch construction and maintenance tips.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2994,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[100],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3213","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports-commercial"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/topgreen.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3213","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/topgreen.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/topgreen.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/topgreen.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/topgreen.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3213"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/topgreen.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3213\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3215,"href":"https:\/\/topgreen.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3213\/revisions\/3215"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/topgreen.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2994"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/topgreen.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3213"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/topgreen.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3213"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/topgreen.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3213"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}