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 constantly well-maintained. When it comes to natural turf, this demands A LOT of work and that's no easy feat. Conventional turf needs frequent watering, trimming, fertilizing, and pesticide treatment. Artificial turf frees up a lot of time, whether you are looking to add it to your personal or commercial property. Here are some major benefits of synthetic turf for you to take into account.
LOWER MAINTENANCE
Artificial grass is a simple pick for those who are searching to decrease the amount of time and resource spent on green maintenance. Harsh herbicides and pesticides won’t be required. Watering and mowing will be no longer necessary. This will save money long-term because| you won’t have to invest as much into turf maintenance equipment. You will be able to allocate more time on the things that matter more - like improving your golf game!
EASE SEASONAL ALLERGIES
Do you experience seasonal allergies? If you do or know anyone who suffers grass-specific allergies, you know how annoying it can be. Installing synthetic turf can assist you lessen the free-floating pollen and eascut down on typical symptoms like sneezing, itchy eyes, and sore throat. Check out our article on how artificial grass can prevent your symptoms here.
HIGHLY DURABLE
Synthetic greens are crafted to stand up to any weather that comes their way. It will enable you to relish practicing your game all year round in some cases. When you purchase a top-notch turf like Southwest Greens, products are resilient to UV exposure, foot traffic, and play. Our turf products are designed and tested for the best look and performance.
FEELS NATURAL
Again, provided that you invest in a top-notch grass, you can be assured it will feel like traditioanl grass. We’ve partnered with Nicklaus Design to bring you the best golf surface in the industry - Golden Bear. This turf is guaranteed to give you the finest bounce, aim, and roll and a superior overall golf experience.
CONSISTENCY
While the turf itself will not change your swing, you can depend on synthetic turf to offer more consistent practice. It will forever be the prefect length and endure to years and years of play. There’s virtually no downtime once the green is installed, so you can keep practicing during the whole year (weather permitting).
HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT KIND OF GRASS
We offer turf systems specific to your use. Our golf greens are built to look and behave like natural grass; the design of the product mimics a traditionally rolled putting green. It's the same with our tee surfaces and fairway/ fringe material; as they absorb shock and behave exactly like natural club to ground interactions. Here are some other factors to take into account when trying to choose synthetic turf.
BACKYARD GOLF AREA OR COMMERCIAL LOCATION?
Location, location, location. Are you considering installation of a putting green in your Toronto backyard? Looking to upgrade sections of a commercial golf course you supervise? This will greatly affect the type of turf you will need.
WHAT SKILLS DO YOU WANT TO PRACTICE?
The skills you need to work on will considerably affect which turf will be the ideal opyion. 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 objectives.
WHICH USEFUL CHARACTERISTICS DO YOU WANT?
Do you want normal synthetic turf to go around the golf greens? How about a tee box? Will there be any trees or live plants around that the grass will need to be installed around? These are good questions to think about when planning for artificial golf turf.
GOLF GREEN INSTALLATION
Installing golf greens is something we definitely recommend you leave in the hands of pros. Some do-it-yourself projects end up being more difficult than their worth, additionally you can face issues early on, like edges peeling up, lumps showing up in the turf - the list goes on. Here’s a quick list of what installing artificial turfs looks like.
INITIAL CONSULTATION
A green professional should visit your location view the site where you’d like to install artificial golf greens. They can guide you on what type of excavating will need to be done, which green is a good pick, and what your investment estimate will be.
AGGREGATE LAYER
First, any natural green is removed, and the ground is leveled. Then a base of crushed aggregate will be moistened and shaped to form particular features like breaks and bunkers. This aggregate is usually composed of crushed stone.
CUSHION PADDING (select projects)
After the aggregate layer is laid and leveled, a cushion padding is added. Cushion is added to help 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 installed, the grass surface is added. The green is made from high-tech polypropylene and shaped to look like natural grass.
INFILL
After turf surface installation comes the green infill. The best infill will be a combination of fine-coated silica sand to give the synthetic grass weight and that real feel. If you’re opting for a cooling technology like HydroChill®, it's added to the infill before the infill is applied to the grass.
STYLING
The final step of the installation process is brushing or rolling. This is what generates the best turf 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 deeper understanding.
WHAT DO PROFESSIONAL GOLFERS THINK?
PGA Heroes such as Jack Nicklaus, Rickie Fowler, and Anika Sorenstam all use and endorse the synthetic golf greens by Southwest Greens. These professionals all know that our synthetic putting grass 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 putting greens. When you’re prepared to know your estimate, our team of professionals is here to assist. You can schedule a free consultation by contacting us.