infield groomer
As an infield groomer and stone picker, the Turf Rake clears stones, sharp objects, and encroaching grass from baseball infields to leave a consistent, safe playing surface. Its tines lift hazards out of the soil while leveling the infield in one pass, so the field plays the same game after game. Here’s how grounds crews keep infields true with it.
Fast & Thorough Cleaning
By digging up to six inches into the soil, the TURF RAKE removes any potentially harmful materials and ensures the safety of the players. And as one of the fastest infield groomers on the market, it can clean a field in minutes, making it safe and fresh for players to enjoy.
Not only an infield groomer
Unlike any other infield groomer, the TURF RAKE can also be used to remove litter and dead thatch from the grass of the outfield by adding optional casters to the front of the machine.
The raking conveyor picks surface litter and dead thatch and deposits it into the hopper. By working as a thorough outfield and infield groomer, the TURF RAKE’s tine raking technology makes it the ultimate baseball field groomer.
Multi-application cleaning and grooming
One of the biggest advantages of the TURF RAKE is that it is a multi-application cleaning and grooming tool that can be adapted for other common responsibilities of municipalities.
It shares a similar design to Barber’s industry-leading beach cleaner, the SURF RAKE, and can be used on other sandy surfaces, like park beaches, volleyball courts, or private verandas.
As previously mentioned, it can also be used for litter collection–not only on baseball fields, but also in parks that see high volume of foot traffic.
In this way, the TURF RAKE can become a municipality or resort’s primary cleaning and grooming tool for all commonly-used recreational surfaces–soil, clay, sand, and grass.
Frequently Asked Questions
The TURF RAKE’s offset tines penetrate the infield surface to extract stones from the top 1–4 inches. Stones are lifted onto the conveyor and deposited into the hopper, while infield material returns to the surface.
Most facilities with significant freeze-thaw cycles treat their infield at least once per season — typically in spring before play begins — with additional passes if stones resurface mid-season. Others will use it weekly to create a smooth, groomed appearance before each weekend of games.
It could, depending on your desired aesthetic. The TURF RAKE handles stone and vegetation removal that standard drags, nail drags, and conditioners cannot perform, and leaves a groomed surface. However, if a different appearance is desired, these drag tools can be used after the TURF RAKE purifies the soil.
No. The TURF RAKE is calibrated to lift stones and solid debris while returning your infield mix, clay, sand, and conditioner, to the surface. You keep the engineered skin and lose only the rock and hazards. On specialty infield blends, we recommend confirming tine depth and screen settings with our team so the material balance stays right.
The TURF RAKE is tractor-towed and pairs with the compact utility tractors most grounds departments already run. Infields need tight turning and gentle ground pressure, so we help you match horsepower, hitch, and hydraulics to your field size before you buy. Send our team your tractor model and field dimensions and we will confirm the fit.
For most parks departments, it can over several seasons, when combined with other parks and rec tasks like litter collection, beach cleaning, or other soil grooming. On its own the TURF RAKE is likely too big an investment just for infield cleaning. A SAND MAN 850 is better suited as a designated infield cleaner. Instead it works well as a multi-purpose grooming & litter collection tool for deployment accross multiple operations. In these instances, it can be a much better, and certainly more effective, solution than relying purely on manual labor – completing regular cleanup & grooming tasks in minutes that would take a manual team hours. Compounded accross multiple applications and seasons, the benefits add up quickly.
Yes. H. Barber & Sons builds the TURF RAKE in the United States and ships wear parts such as tines and belts directly to you. For a grounds crew running the machine across a busy game schedule, that means a worn part will not sideline your fields for weeks. You work with the manufacturer for support and setup, not a middleman.