Maintaining a golf course is no small feat: there are the greens to tend, the fairways to keep lush, and bunkers to rake, not to mention sustaining a delicate balance between surfaces that are fit to play on and wildlife conservation. It’s little wonder, then, that many golf course owners are opting for artificial grass areas over natural grass in order to make the task of keeping their course fit for purpose simpler.

Why use artificial grass?

It’s best to start small, laying artificial turf for putting greens and leaving the fairways natural. This immediately cuts down on upkeep of the greens, as artificial grass doesn’t need mowing or watering. The smooth, clean surface is designed to mimic a professional standard green and enables balls to roll easily over the grass. These days artificial putting green is so advanced it can run to whatever speed on the stimp metre is required.

One of the biggest challenges of owning and running a golf course is keeping pest control to a minimum. The use of artificial grass means that burrowing animals such as moles, rabbits and rats cannot ruin the surface of your course. Trulawn grass uses a sub-base of type one limestone aggregate, providing a porous base for water to drain away easily, but stopping pests from destroying the surface.

Artificial grass will last up to 15 years, making it an effective long term solution for a golf course. Because players are asked to respect certain rules when on the course, there is never a consistently high volume of traffic over the greens, and scuffs can be kept to a minimum. What’s more, there’s no need to feed, water or weed artificial grass, so your golf course will look pristine year-round.

Considerations

There are, of course, considerations to bear in mind when deciding whether to use artificial grass, one of which is cost. Although there may be an initial outlay that seems expensive (depending on how much of the course you wish to transfer to artificial grass and whether you change your driving range or practise greens) the maintenance costs are vastly reduced.

Many golf course owners will want to consider the environmental impact of using artificial grass. The good news is that by using fake turf, the damage caused by fertilisers and pesticides that are used to keep natural grass looking great disappear. Not only is the soil underneath the grass no longer being bombarded with chemicals, there is also a reduction in carbon emissions created by mowers. On top of that you will alleviate the need to water the greens, saving a considerable amount of water each year.

The final consideration is quality. The best artificial grass is up to 95% as good as regular turf on putting greens, but in order to ensure this quality it is vital to choose a reputable producer and a surface that has been tested and approved. Trulawn has developed fake grass that is specifically designed to go on putting greens at public courses, and installed by an experienced team. Very little maintenance is necessary besides keeping the surface clear of debris.