Developing efficient metal detector search pattern strategies is crucial to becoming a successful detectorist rather than relying on dumb luck. Each location has a unique history and distribution of activity. What works at one location may not be effective at another. This is true of tot lots, ballfields, beaches, private lawns and other places.
Some locations such as tot lots and ballfields are easier to decipher due to the fact that children consistently play near the playground equipment and ball games similarly follow consistent game play patterns. Because these hotspots are easy to identify by even the newest detectorists, they are often more picked over than other parts of the field or park.
The most thorough search pattern involves detecting in a straight line at a slow pace with overlapping coil sweeps. Once the desired path has been searched, the detectorist will turn around and follow a line parallel to the first line and close enough to this first line that there is some overlapping of ground that has already been detected. This ensures that there are not small pockets of ground being missed.
Though thorough, this pattern is often the wrong approach to use when metal detecting at a new location. If you are not familiar with this location you may be spending a lot of time searching an area with little to find. It is better to use a slightly quicker pace and to detect in a large zig-zag pattern rather than in a straight line in order to cover as many different areas as possible. The point of this search pattern is not to locate everything at that particular location. Its purpose is to help you to know what portions of the location yield more finds than others.
Once you have a broad understanding of the location, then it is time to pick a promising spot and thoroughly search it using the overlapping metal detecting pattern mentioned previously. By following this two-step approach to metal detecting, you will be able to improve your odds of finding valuable items and coins by focusing on only the most promising locations first and working your way towards less promising sites as time permits.
If convenient, it is also helpful to make several trips to a location on good weather days to see where and how locals use the park on weekends and in the evenings. It is also helpful to ask longtime residents if the layout of the park has been changed over the years. It is quite common for parks to be re-landscaped. Efficiently searching the best spots is the way to become a consistently successful metal detectorist.