The putting green market is going synthetic. More and more putting greens installed each year are artificial for a number of reasons. First, real putting greens require expert maintenance and specialized equipment to manicure the green appropriately. The cost of the expert and the cost of the specialty equipment alone is extraordinarily expensive. Moreover, changes in weather can turn greens to “toast” as one writer from the Charlotte Observer finds. Typically, organic putting greens are installed with specific attention to the surrounding area and average temperature. With major fluctuations in temperature, synthetic putting greens are ever more popular as fluctuations in environment have little impact on the turf.

Synthetic putting greens are far more advanced today than they were a decade ago, providing the lush look and appearance of real greens. Competent installers of synthetic putting greens can provide owners of putting greens with the same attention to detail and performance that people have come to expect from natural putting greens.

Professional installation includes the use of decomposed granite as a base at a depth of 3″ to 4″. The base is graded to the specifications the client needs the slope of the green to be. Putting green turf is thereafter laid down and secured with sod staples. Infill is important with artificial turf installations as it has a major impact on ball speed. Professional putting green installers can add the appropriate amount of infill to match the ball speed required by the client.

If you are looking for a professional putting green, it is important that your installer can provide you with a history of their installations. If at all possible, get a list of their installs and determine if it’s o.k. with the homeowner to look at the installation quality.