April 30, 2021

Your guide to understanding how roll works on artificial turf.


The Physics of Golf

Physics. It affects everything in life, and, notably, the wonderful game of golf.

Physics, is the nature and properties of matter and energy: the striking of the ball, the ball’s path through the air, its initial bounce, and the ball’s roll out.

In an ideal situation, the ground in the direction of the shot would be perfectly flat, perfectly uphill, or perfectly downhill would be perfectly flat, perfectly uphill, or perfectly downhill in the direction of the shot. This would make targeting the ball into the hole a simple act and hitting it straight.

Often, you will discover that the ground is sloped. In this case, the ball’s path can’t be a straight line to enter the hole, making it a more difficult task. When this happens, the ball has to follow a precise curved path to get to the hole. Whether the ball is required to curve to the right or left relies on the amount of the slope and undulation of the putting green.

Regardless of if synthetic turf or natural grass is selected to build your dream backyard putting green, the physical attributes of the surface factor into the performance. Southwest Greens of Asheville utilizes a mix of typical golf course tests and our proprietary playability testing.

One common test to test ball roll is the stimpmeter test. Stimp testing is calculated by the distance a ball rolls on artificial turf in meters when released from a one-meter height. The ball-to-surface interaction of the grass is directly correlated to the ball roll distance.

Our proprietary playability testing for roll provides an analysis of the consistency of outputs with a standard putting stroke. Our test analyzes the initial bounce of the club face and the spin to roll transition.

Now let’s take a deeper analysis at the items that influence how a golf ball reacts and rolls on a turf.


Green Characteristics

Product Construction: Extruded, recycled plastics that offered in a mixture of constructions, colors, and lengths. Proper construction is critical in allowing key putting green installation practices; construction will allow turf to be infilled and rolled. Properly rolled fibers will look and play like natural greens.

Pile Height: The grass blades’ thickness and height will provide varying frictions; having an effect on the speed and smoothness of your putt.

Fiber: The composition of the fibers has a sizeable effect on how the golf ball moves throughout the putt. Fiber composition will impact friction and pile lay. How the turf lays impacts how the ball interacts with the surface.

Infill: Integral to the turf system, infill is composed of rounded washed silica. Infill allows ballast and aids drainage. Infill shape is critical to performance; angles and edges create roll disruptions.

Aggregate Base: Stone is compacted to create challenging slopes and undulations; one that performs and drains like a championship golf course.

The science in creating a Backyard Putting Green that performs like a Championship Golf Green combines the perfect raw materials with elite-proven-tested installation techniques. Especially important when you are on the putting green seeking to gently get the ball into the hole.


The Southwest Greens Difference

Southwest Greens has been able to quantify key performance indicators. Because we understand which variables affect performance, we’re able to reproduce natural greens.

With Golden Bear Turf, you’ll enjoy smoother rolls that compare to playing on your favorite championship course. Scientifically tested and designed to reproduce natural grass, from the initial bounce off the clubface... to the spin transition… to the smooth ball roll into the cup...

Golden Bear give you only the best! It’s the perfect backyard practice putting green and offers the most realistic putting surfaces you can find on the market.


Take a look at our Gold Bear Turf, and discover why golfers around the world love Southwest Greens.


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