WHY SYNTHETIC TURF FOR GOLF?
From club to club and green to green, there is one single thing that all courses, putting surfaces, and driving ranges have in common; it’s always well-maintained. When it comes to organic turf, this needs A LOT of work. It’s not an easy feat. Natural grass needs regular watering, trimming, fertilizing, and pesticide treatment. Artificial turf frees up a lot of time, whether you're looking to add it to your personal or commercial property. Here are some important advantages of artificial grass for you to take into account.
LESS MAINTENANCE
Artificial grass is a comfortable pick for those who are searching to reduce the amount of time and money spent on grass up-keep. Chemical herbicides and pesticides won’t be necessary. Watering and mowing will be a memory. This will save money over time because| you no longer have to spend as much on turf maintenance equipment. You’ll be able to spend more time on the things you care about - like enhancing your golf game!
REDUCE SEASONAL ALLERGIES
Do you deal with seasonal allergies? If you do or know someone who suffers grass-specific allergies, you know how annoying it can be. Installing artificial turf can help decrease the free-floating pollen and alleviate common symptoms like sneezing, itchy eyes, and sore throat. Read our article on how synthetic grass can reduce your symptoms here.
HIGHLY DURABLE
Synthetic greens are developed to manage any weather that comes their way. You’ll even be able to have fun while practicing your game year round in some cases. When you purchase a superior-quality grass like Southwest Greens, products are durable to UV exposure, foot traffic, and play. Our turf products are designed and tested for the best look and results.
FEELS NATURAL
Once more, if you purchase a high quality grass, you can be assured it will feel like organic grass. We’ve partnered with Nicklaus Design to get you the finest golf surface in the industry - Golden Bear. This turf is guaranteed to provide you the finest bounce, aim, and roll and a world-class overall golf experience.
CONSISTENCY
While the grass itself will not change your shot, you can depend on artificial turf to provide more consistent practice. It will constantly be the prefect length and endure to years and years of play. There’s practically no downtime once the green is installed, so you can keep practicing year round (weather permitting).
HOW TO PICK THE CORRECT KIND OF GRASS
We offer green systems specific to your application. Our golf greens are manufactured to look and play like regular turf; the design of the product mimics a regular rolled putting green. The same can be said for our tee surfaces and fairway/ fringe material; as they soak up shock and behave exactly like natural club to ground interactions. Here are some other factors to take into account when trying to select artificial grass.
BACKYARD GOLF GREEN OR COMMERCIAL LOCATION?
Location, location, location. Are you considering installation of a putting green in your Naperville backyard? Looking to upgrade sections of a commercial golf course you administer? This will majorly affect the type of grass you will require.
WHAT SKILLS DO YOU WANT TO PRACTICE?
The skills you need to work on will hugely affect which turf will be the correct choice. Are you interested in a putting surface? Driving range? How about a chipping area? Bunker escapes? We have a variety of green designs, lengths, and colors to meet your needs.
WHICH PRACTICAL CHARACTERISTICS DO YOU WANT?
Do you want normal artificial grass to surround the golf greens? How about installing a tee box? Will there be any trees or live plants in the area that the grass will be required to be worked around? These are great questions to contemplate when planning for artificial golf turf.
GOLF GREEN INSTALLATION
Installing golf greens is something we definitely suggest you leave in the hands of pros. Some DIY projects end up being more work than their worth, additionally you can face problems early on, like edges peeling up, lumps appearing in the green - the list goes on. Here’s a quick look at what installing artificial turfs looks like.
INITIAL CONSULTATION
A green professional should come out to inspect the site where you’d like to install synthetic golf greens. They can help advise you on what kind of digging will required to be done, which green is a great selection, and what your investment estimate will be.
AGGREGATE LAYER
First, any regular grass is removed, and the soil is leveled. Then a base of crushed aggregate will be moistened and molded to form specific features like breaks and sand traps. This aggregate is commonly consist of crushed stone.
CUSHION PADDING (select projects)
After the aggregate layer is laid and leveled, a cushion padding is added. Cushion is added to assist playability and provide added shock absorption or deflection. Pad is added based on the application and wanted outcomes.
TURF SURFACE
Once your aggregate and cushion are added, the green surface is added. The turf is developed from high-tech polypropylene and shaped to look like real grass.
INFILL
After turf surface installation comes the grass infill. The perfect infill will be a combination of fine-coated silica sand to give the artificial turf weight and that real feel. If you’re interested in a cooling technology like HydroChill®, it's added to the infill before the it's is applied to the grass.
STYLING
The final stage of the installation process is brushing or rolling. This is what creates the best grass effect on a putting green or the lush lookaesthetic of landscape, adding to the realism. Depending on fringe cuts, sand traps, bunkers, etc., this part of installation varies.
You can see a video of our installation here for a more thorough understanding.
WHAT DO PROFESSIONAL GOLFERS THINK?
PGA Champions such as Jack Nicklaus, Rickie Fowler, and Anika Sorenstam all use and endorse the artificial putting grass by Southwest Greens. These experts all know that our artificial putting turfs are the best on the market. Find out why in this article.
GET A QUOTE
We hope this article has been helpful if you’ve been taking into account artificial golf greens. When you’re ready for a quote, our team of experts is here to guide you. You can book a slot for a free consultation by contacting us.