Synthetic turf innovations help improve the golfing experience
14 Oct, 2011 By: Rick Doyle, Synthetic Turf Council Athletic Turf NewsFrom serious golfers looking to fine-tune their scoring skills to players experiencing the game for the first time, a growing number of people are using synthetic grass to improve their golfing experience. During the past year, Synthetic Turf Council members have unveiled creative installations and innovations that have changed the way golf is played on courses and at home.
While synthetic turf is typically identified with athletic fields or landscaping, golf applications are a
rapidly expanding sector of our industry. Traditional golf courses and backyard greens have been
incorporating synthetic grass to create an attractive, environmentally-friendly solution.
Enhancing golf courses
Although many golf courses are recognized for their spectacular landscapes, concerns have been raised about the amount of water needed to keep venues green. A June 2008 National Public Radio story called “Water-Thirsty Golf Courses Need to Go Green” reported “Audubon International estimates that the average American golf course uses 312,000 gallons of water per day. In a place like Palm Springs, where 57 golf courses challenge the desert, each course eats up a million gallons a day. That is, each course each day in Palm Springs consumes as much water as an American family of four uses in four years.”
As Andy White of Challenger Industries explains, “more golf facilities are turning to synthetic tee lines
to save water and create relief for natural grass that can’t sustain daily play.” He cites the example of Signal Mountain Golf & Country Club in Tennessee, whose switch to synthetic grass tee lines has made the driving range more usable for all players.
Synthetic grass has also been used to improve the aesthetics of high-use areas. Pebble Beach Golf Links in Monterey County, California, host of five U.S. Open Championships, is considered to be one
of the greatest public golf courses in America. When the worn car path behind the 18th hole needed
to be modified prior to the mid-August start of 2011 Classic Car Week, they turned to Synthetic Turf International to match ground colors and install synthetic grass in the area, reducing maintenance needs in the process.
Installing backyard golf facilities
Any golfer will improve his or her game with practice. Now a growing number of enthusiasts are installing synthetic grass greens in their back yards to increase practice time without leaving the comfort of home.
“While most homes will buy a 1,000- to 1,500-ft. green, we are now installing 50 to 60 full-blown par 3s a year with proper tee boxes,” notes Henry van Antwerp of Synthetic Turf International, which has
installed about 4,500 backyard golf facilities. “This trend represents how serious golfers will customize their ultimate practice experience in the future.”
TurfDIRECT in Scottsdale, AZ, recently helped a client turn non-usable areas of his back yard into
an entertainment complex for the whole family. They built a complete par 3 course, with a 72-yd.
approach shot from the tee box. Adding lush synthetic grass to the desertscape has also allowed the
family to enjoy activities like volleyball and bocce ball.
A growing selection of portable synthetic grass golf greens appeal to players at all levels. SYNLawn has partnered with golf researcher and teaching professional Dave Pelz to create a line of do-it-yourself putting greens to allow users to practice their short game in their home or office.
Making golf accessible
Synthetic grass installations and innovations are making golf accessible for more people. Last year,
Heavenly Greens completed a 12,000 sq ft installation for the Golf Learning Center at Visitacion Valley
Middle School in San Francisco. The first of its kind nationwide, the Learning Center was purposely built in one of San Francisco’s most under-served communities to help bring golf to inner city youth as part of the First Tee Program of San Francisco. Based in San Jose, CA, Heavenly Greens calculated that as of 2010, its synthetic turf golf and landscape installations have conserved 1 billion gallons of water in Northern California.
UltraBaseSystems of St. Petersburg, FL, works with Adventure Golf Services to convert under-
utilized tennis courts into golf facilities. Take Fort Sill, OK, for example. The military base wanted
to create more recreation opportunities for on-site military and their families. Within a day or so,
they were able to convert unused tennis courts into a golf practice and teaching facility that can
accommodate 20 people at once instead of just four tennis players.
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