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Backyard putting greens have been around since
the beginning of golf. The problem with a natural green is
that unlike a golf course, most residential and commercial
clients have never had the time or money to upkeep a putting
green to make it a worthwhile investment. The daily mowing
and chemicals needed to keep a green in playable condition
far outweighed the ability of the owner to maintain.
In the early 1960's, the artificial surface
commonly known as ASTRO TURF was just being produced, and
someone got the idea to create a putting green out of the
same surface. A number of problems later surfaced and the
product, in general, later was discovered to be an unappealing
surface for that purpose.
Throughout the 1980's and early 1990's, a process
of sand-filling turf (which originated in the college football
arena) was being developed and tested throughout the United
States.
This process, which involved laying turf
with a padded back on a concrete surface and sand-filling
the turf, later proved to have it's own share of problems.
Many college athletes lost a portion of their careers due
to knee injuries that occurred on the slippery surface.
The problems that existed with that field also
became a problem in our business. These surfaces with time
would become hard, and while they would putt OK, were too
hard to provide a realistic chipping surface. Some companies
have a product that instead of using the common fine silica
material, used a product that is more course in nature but
could only be installed in a less dense material.
With
the advent of nylon fibers we were able to move in a different
direction from other competitors in our industry. Nylon and
special blends of Polypropylene and other materials enabled
us to create products that do not require (or have minimal)
sand fill. It is these
nylon
fibers that have given the new age putting greens the
most realistic putting surface, extremely long life and playing
performance that could only previously be dreamed of.
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