The Different Types of Artificial Putting Greens

Not all artificial putting greens are the same, just as not all types of grass are the same. Manufacturers are able to create different types of putting greens using a variety of different materials and the properties of these different materials will give you a different use for each.

You may either want a putting green in your backyard to practice putting on exclusively or, if you have more room, an artificial green that can be used to chip to. Because of the different ways in which they can handle the roll and bounce of a golf ball they may be made using one of two materials.

The first is nylon. Nylon fibers more closely resemble grass fibers and the way they are manufactured means that they can be used without necessarily using infill. That being said, infill is occasionally use with nylon artificial grass. A putting green that is installed using nylon is generally for putting and short chipping. The ball will roll in a manner that is very similar to real grass and will hold as well as long as the shots are from close range.

The other type of material is polypropylene. This is essentially a type of plastic and it can be quite obvious that it is made of plastic when you look at it. Because of the nature of the material it requires infill to help the grass fibers stand up. This infill and the nature of the material makes it suitable for holding the ball when it is chipped from longer distances.

Out of the two types of artificial putting greens the one made from polypropylene is going to be cheaper. In some respects it will prove to be just as useful in terms of allowing adequate practice to take place. For many of us, the quality of an artificial putting green is going to be light years ahead of any of the public golf courses we have to play on.