With so many changes in technology surrounding the various ways in which sporting fields are being surfaced it is little wonder that sporting prowess is being affected. In a good way, that is. There are many new types of artificial turf surfaces being created for all types of sports and the result is a playing surface that is more reliable and easier to play on than ever before.

Apart from the fact that an artificial grass surface is smooth and flat and the footing is dependable, synthetic grass stands up to adverse weather conditions far better than natural grass. After a week of heavy rain most playing fields still retain a lot of the moisture that has fallen on it and even if they are not underwater the ground is so soft and shifting that by the end of the game the field is virtually destroyed.

By making synthetic grass playing fields available to all players there is a far greater opportunity to train through all times of the year no matter how bad the weather has been.

One of the sports that look to be benefitting greatly through the use of artificial turf is golf. For many years driving ranges have featured artificial turf, although this has only been to a minimal extent in the mats off which the ball is struck. This is expanding to artificial putting greens that are being created using materials that have become extremely similar to the putting surfaces used on golf courses. Again, the artificial surface provides owners with a low-maintenance product that can be used at any time and by as many people as you like without having to worry about degradation of the grass.

Because of the huge dependence that golf has on grass and the various types and lengths of grass on a golf course there is a lot of potential for replacing parts of the golf course with a synthetic alternative. The greens of a golf course are hardly naturally occurring features and they are manicured to the point where they look and act like carpets anyway. So an artificial putting green is hardly going to be a change that is beyond the realms of possibility. The main feature that they should be able to do is handle a ball that strikes the green from longer approach shots.

It is unlikely going to be too far down the track that we will begin to hear that more golf courses are being designed with greens that are made from artificial grass rather than real grass. Maintenance costs would be greatly reduced as will initial installation costs and the playability of the course would be greatly increased when the weather is less than perfect.

It will be interesting to see whether traditional golfers will accept the idea of playing on greens that are artificial rather than real.

There are two main types of artificial putting greens based around the material used for the grass fibers. You can choose between nylon synthetic grass and polypropylene as the major types that are available.

To put it very simply, nylon is the superior material of the two, however there are some very valid reasons why you might choose a putting green made from polypropylene.

If you want an artificial putting green that appears more like real grass you would choose nylon. It looks and acts very much like real grass for shots that are played to it from a short distance. This includes the putting process. When chipping to an artificial green made with nylon it will provide consistent holding ability over the short distance. Anything beyond around 30 yards will have the ball bouncing too much.

Nylon synthetic grass does not need infill for the grass to be operable. There are some instances where you might use infill on a nylon putting green. The first might be to change the speed of the ball’s roll. The second is to provide the green with the ability to hold the ball better for approach shots.

Using polypropylene is the cheaper choice of materials. Polypropylene is a type of plastic and can look like it too. It is used with infill to help the grass fibers stand upright. This is the material that you would use if you were planning on using your artificial green for longer chipping practice. The polypropylene fibers along with the infill will hold a ball struck from a longer distance well. When putting on a polypropylene green you will notice that the fibers will lie in a certain direction creating a grain effect. This will make putts in one direction quicker than those in the other direction.

Before you dicide on the type of artificial putting green you are going to buy you will have to decide on the primary reason for its installation. If you are going to use it as a full-on putting green you will probably go with a nylon artificial grass whereas if you are planning on doing a lot of chipping you may decide that the polypropylene synthetic grass is a better option.

The original products that were used as artificial putting greens have changed significantly in recent times with a far more advanced product now readily available. Rather than looking and feeling like a green carpet the artificial grass used for practice and backyard putting greens looks very much like a championship golf course.

The benefits with installing a putting green made from synthetic grass are extensive apart from the obvious one of convenience. The surface that you have available will be very similar to the type of surface you will be used to playing on at better golf courses. Maintenance is low, although not completely eliminated, and will provide you with a consistent practice surface that will be able to be used all year round.

As long as you will be able to find the time to walk out into the backyard you should find that your golf game will improve enormously. At the end of the day, when you install a backyard putting green your ultimate aim is to have the opportunity to practice in conditions that replicate the golf course. Through this you want to see improvement in your game and your own putting green outside the back door is going to provide you with that opportunity.

It is possible to design your own putting green so that you will have a say in exactly how it is set up. This will include the length of the grass fibers, giving you the chance to make it as slow or as fast as you like – just remember that once you have made your decision it will be a costly exercise to replace short grass with long grass. You might also like to put a gentle slope in your green or the odd mound to allow you to practice putting downhill and across the slope.

There have been threats of potential law suits for a while with the use of artificial grass but it is still seen as an option that could save a lot of money and hassle. It should be remembered when preparing to buy synthetic grass that there are a number of factors that must be taken into consideration and they will be included in the overall artificial grass price.

For manufacturers it is a case of turn the other cheek. By all reports dogs and cats have no problem playing and enjoying their surroundings after they have been placed on synthetic grass. If a company wants to appear the least bit environmentally friendly, they do not want to be seen to be pumping water into the ground. I think that there is a reason to say what I mean when that puts forth the idea of synthetic grass so well.

So the bottom line is that artificial turf is not a cheap option but it is probably going to work out to be cheaper than having to maintain natural grass over the long term. The case for or against artificial turf may ultimately come down to a matter of cost as you have to not only compare the initial cost of the purchase and installation of the turf but also the expense of the artificial turf maintenance. I hope this was constructive.

There is still a fight for synthetic grass in residential front yards to be accepted, even by the local councils around the country. A Dallas man who lives in the Old East Dallas neighbourhood lost his appeal to keep his artificial grass after it was ordered to be removed by the Dallas City and the Landmark Commission.

The man had resorted to installing synthetic grass after repeated efforts to grow real grass had failed in his tree shrouded front garden. The commissioners ordered the grass removed citing that it was incompatible with the standards of the historic district.

According to the city staff, it wasn’t a matter of whether the synthetic grass looked good or bad, it was about whether it preserves authenticity in a historic district. When the city found out that the artificial grass had been installed they ordered it be removed which prompted the man’s appeal to the Landmark Commission who upheld the initial ruling.

It’s a situation that has prompted a lot of interest from local residents with most of them in support of the man and his attempts to make the appearance of his yard as good as it could be.

As a result of the ruling the man has given up with any more appeals. He has also given up on trying to grow grass in the 930 square foot yard and, instead, is going to leave it as dirt.

It’s a classic lose-lose situation, but at least the bureaucrats of the city of Dallas can look upon the bare dirt with the satisfaction of knowing that they have had a win.

Synthetic lawn is not a standard type of artificial grass, not all synthetic grass is the same just like real grass. Different manufacturing techniques are used to produce the grass and different companies adopt materials and styles that make them unique to other brands. Everyone is going for a product that will deliver quality at a reasonable price.

Some synthetic lawn characteristics that are different include the infill. Some synthetic grass does not require infill, instead it uses tight curled polyturf threads that hold the grass strands upright and give the look and feel of dry grass underneath the top surface. The alternative to this is an infill of some sort, possibly sand, crumb rubber or a new thermoplastic infill product.

Synthetic grass may be closely stitched or more sparsely depending on the required density of the grass strands. A synthetic lawn will typically be denser to give the look and feel of a well-grassed lawn while a sports turf will be spaced further apart and will be cushioned by the infill granules.

Just as with the different varieties of natural grass, synthetic grass can be bought at different heights. In other words you can choose a grass that is 3 inches high or a grass that is 2 inches high, depending on what you want the grass for.

All of this adds up to the term pile density which is a measure of how much yarn is used within each square yard of the grass. The higher the pile and the closer each tuft is to each other, the higher the pile density will be. Again, all of these factors can be chosen when you come to buy your synthetic lawn.

You actually have quite a lot of decisions to make when trying to decide what type of synthetic lawn you want to install in place of your natural grass lawn. It pays to have done some research before hitting the stores where you will have to make your final decision. Work out exactly what you want to achieve with your new lawn and how much you expect to pay to have it installed.

It’s a couple of days before the weekend and the prospect of the kids playing soccer is looking particularly bleak with a couple of days of rain closing the playing fields yet again. So the story in today’s Sydney Morning Herald is particularly timely.

Finally the first council owned football field in Sydney is about to be converted to synthetic grass. Arlington Oval in Dulwich Hill is going to get the synthetic grass treatment to help solve the chronic shortage of usable sporting fields in the area. Just like my own local ground, the oval turns to a quagmire every year after a few days of rain and no one is allowed on to play.

Predictably the usual ignorant wowsers come out of the woodwork with their uninformed concerns about the health safety of synthetic grass even though study after study has proclaimed it safe. Soccer pitches all across the UK have been converted to synthetic grass for years now and, as long as the crumb rubber infill is not used, there is little to be concerned about.

A Marrickville councillor even turned to the rather pathetic argument that laying synthetic grass on the ground would dramatically reduce the heritage character of the oval. My Gawd! The heritage character of a footy field is all well and good when no one is able to walk across the grass because it’s all mud.

Dickhead councillors aside, with any luck other local councils will see their way clear to installing the odd synthetic grass pitch or at least, meeting costs with football clubs in some sort of deal.

With the increase in popularity and acceptance of synthetic grass as an alternative to natural grass, there is a growing demand for synthetic grass installation professionals. It’s an industry that is going to continue to grow in the near term. Due to this increased demand there has been more pressure put on the installers who are already qualified with demand outstripping supply.

To address this, Horizon Distributors, Inc will be hosting classes for landscape professionals lead by the Association of Synthetic Grass Installers (ASGi.us).

The classes are led by experienced ASGi certified trainers who are experienced licensed contractors in their own right. The course runs over 2 days and teaches students how to select, design, estimate and install the perfect lawn or landscape using artificial grass solutions.

Anyone who is looking to find out more about these courses can visit the ASGi website where there are registration details and more about where specific courses are being held. Looking at the site there are courses planned so far for the next 4 months to October. It will be worth checking back to the site periodically for updated details.

Here is an interesting use of synthetic grass in the Netherlands as one of the country’s biggest synthetic grass suppliers teams up with a non-frozen skating rink supplier. The press release gives the full details.

“The internationally renowned supplier of synthetic grass, GreenFields BV, has set up a strategic alliance with Glice International BV. Glice, located in Heerenveen, the Netherlands, is an innovative supplier of non-frozen skating rinks. This alliance will create new opportunities in the area of multi-functional sports fields for sports associations, schools and municipalities.

The organisations share the vision that sports provide a valuable contribution to today’s society. It is hugely important, for example, for youngsters to engage in physical exercise in order to counteract obesity and excessive gaming.

Young people want to be able to choose from a range of sports in the same location. The solution offered by the two organisations meets with this need by presenting a concept that can be used for different summer and winter sports. The patented product comprises plastic plates that are easily installed. These plates are laid with invisible joints and covered with artificial grass to form a multifunctional playing field. In the summer, the field is used for ball sports and roller and inline skating; in winter, it serves as a skating rink. The concept offers youngsters ample opportunities to participate in a wide range of sports and exercise.

The joint international venture provides a perfect match for the global network of GreenFields BV.”

As I said, an innovative use of synthetic lawn and a great way to get year round use out of your playing fields.

Fortunately the number of artificial grass makers entering the market with synthetic turf products that are comprised of 100% polyethylene fibers is mounting. When used in union with non-rubber infill products such as a thermoplastic product the health concerns are more or less entirely answered. The only difficulty that in fact is left is how these products will go in the years to come because they are so new, we don’t know for sure if or how they will break down.

It is heartwarming to see the steady push to find superior products to solve the concerns that have been raised about fake lawn. Not only does polyethylene grass resolve many of the health concerns but the material is also more beneficial environmentally because possible bacteria growth isn’t promoted because the water drains away just like natural grass.

A further positive for this new generation synthetic grass product it is made out of entirely recyclable materials an extra bonus over nylon fibers. With a bit of luck this new know-how in the fake grass industry will help the reputation of a product that brings numerous advantages. It is to be expected that more people will be inclined to buy synthetic grass based on these facts.