Coming Soon: The Synthetic Golf Course

imageA new course opening in Luxembourg will have synthetic putting greens, and architect Steve Marnoch says that it is now possible to build a totally synthetic golf course, right down to the bunkers.

“There is gathering interest in such a project,” Marnoch, a senior member of the European Institute of Golf Course Architects admitted. “There would be a huge initial outlay but, against that, there would be relatively little in the way of upkeep. The variety of today’s synthetic grasses is such that we could produce everything, right down to the different grades of rough they use for championships.”

The Kikuoka club doesn’t go that far, and its plastic greens apparently are not up to championship standards, but Marnoch gives them a seven out of ten. Speed can be adjusted by the amount of sand that is raked among the plastic blades of grass.

I actually had an idea for a synthetic, indoor golf course a few years ago when I was driving through Willow Run, Michigan. I had noticed (how could you fail to notice) the massive, empty factory buildings and was wondering what could be done with them. It then occurred to me that they would be perfect for an indoor golf course. They are impossibly large, and the roofs are several stories high. An entrepreneur could gut the insides and build an 18 hole pitch-and-putt or maybe even several full sized holes.

There’s got to be a market for that sort of thing in Michigan.

5 thoughts on “Coming Soon: The Synthetic Golf Course”

  1. I really hope synthetic golf courses are the wave of the future. I assume fairly soon the quality will be there that one wouldnt really “notice” they’re playing on synthetic. Also, considering the lack of maintenance, it certainly seems that long term, these course could charge lower prices. I wonder how well these greens could handle wedges though (how would the balls spin?)

    Also, this seems like it could definitely be good for the environment too. Water and chemically usage would be seemingly nonexistent.

    Reply
  2. Nice post. nice having you around..No problems! biomechanical lab and torture tests on artificial turf.The synthetic grass will be definitely safe for sportsman .

    Reply
  3. I hate to bust your bubble…but, check out the new Pointfive Hybrid “Crossover” Tru-scale golf ball developed for natural or synthetic golf surfaces.

    Reply

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