Golf Performers

No, not just a color in your Crayola Box, it is now possible to have your own private putting green in your own yard. For the avid golfer it might seem like a dream come true to have your own green. Do they know what is involved? Let's look at some facts.

Greens are expensive to build and need special maintenance. If you are determined to have one then we will fill you in on some facts. The first thing you ought to know is that taking care of greens will need a great deal of work. One of the first items to be considered is drainage. To maintain a green in good putting condition, the water has to be able to drain off properly. It does need to be watered, but in watering, it also should be well drained. If you want to have your own green, you should be able to spot disease, insect problems, and fertility issues. One thunderstorm can tell you if you have enough drainage. Some greens need to be surrounded by perforated pipes to carry the water to a distance away from the green or to a private stream.

Seeding is a problem, knowing what seed to plant for your location and making it look great is another problem. If you consider using sod, you should know that it is expensive. Seeded greens have to be pampered while the grass is taking hold. There is a fine line between waiting too long to mow and weakening the turf, making it open to blight, and mowing it too soon. The grass could be so young and tender that a regular mower will mash it down.

Green mowers are also an important cost factor to consider. New mowers can cost $5000 or more and used mowers are known to be priced as high as $1000. Toro makes a special mower just for greens.

Controlling such diseases as pythium, sod webworm and cut worm as well as algae and moss has to be done consistently. Regular treatment needs to be applied and if a treatment is missed, you could find your green overrun by disease in the space of one week.

Building a green can be done either by USGA specifications or by using less expensive material and less elaborate drainage designs. USGA specifications can make the cost of your green anywhere from $20,000 to $80,000. A good design is one where the green is above the surrounding lawn area with sandy loam topsoil. It also requires about a one-percent slope for satisfactory drainage. Many experts also recommend an irrigation system so you won't have the inconvenience of watering the green by hand.

What grass do you want for you own backyard green? Again that is going to depend on where you are located. You have to consider if you are in the warm season zone or the cool season zone. There are many basic grasses that are used on nearly any golf course and there are also grasses that have been specifically developed for golf courses.

In the cooler climate, these seeds are suggested for your green. For one hole of golf, in the tee areas it is recommended that you use bentgrass while roughs and fairways require bluegrass. Hazards can also be planted with rough bluegrass and other ground covers.

In the southern or warmer zone, the recommendations are as follows. Tee areas should use Hybrid Bermuda, for fairways Bermuda, Ryegrass, and Zoysia is recommended. Roughs require Bahias, St. Augustine, Common Bermuda, and Ryegrasses.

Another question that you will need to answer is; do I need a special lawn mower? A standard rotary motor is not the right mower for keeping a green. It is important that you use a mower that pinches off the grass rather than chopping it. Look around for the best deal on these mowers.

Maintenance time should not be so time-consuming that you can't enjoy your private putting green. It can give you hours of enjoyment and practice in the comfort of your backyard and if you especially enjoy gardening, it will be well worth the effort. Landscaping and preserving a golf green can be fun and relaxing, and you have the added benefit of being able to improve your game at home instead of going to a course to practice.

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Just because they?re pros doesn?t mean they don?t need practice. And like most of us, what professional golfers usually need to practice most is their short game. After all, landing the ball on the green won?t get the win without the perfect putt. That?s why more than 20 pro golfers depend on Southwest Greens artificial grass ? backyard putting greens and indoor putting greens installed in their own homes to make putting practice as convenient as possible. Since anyone who wants to putt like a pro needs to practice like one, many golfers at every skill level are incorporating Southwest Greens into their homes, and you can be among them.

Having your own golf greens means little if they?re not Southwest Greens ? putting greens made of the finest materials on the market today, customized to each individual?s space and skill level, and installed by experts who have been designing and constructing at-home golf greens for years.

Made of fine synthetic materials, Southwest Greens play like the real thing. And if there?s anyone who should be able to attest to that, it?s a professional who has played on the finest golf courses all over the world. PGA champion Vijay Singh says his Southwest Greens ?perform like a tour a green.? And fellow PGA champ Jim Furyk agrees, saying of his Southwest Greens artificial grass that he was ?surprised just how true the ball rolls and reacts to chip and pitch shots.?

Of course, every golfer?s game is different, as is their home. That?s why Southwest Greens custom-designs its backyard putting greens and indoor putting greens to the golfer?s preferences and specifications. The difficulty level you choose is up to you, as is the location in your home where you want your artificial grass installed. Southwest Greens makes it work, whether it?s an elaborate maze of holes surrounding the backyard swimming pool or a small, one-put green inside the house.

Experts in their field, Southwest Greens has spent many years perfecting the art and science of designing, constructing and installing at-home golf greens. That?s why pro golfers endorse their designs, and countless other golfers at every skill level agree ? they wouldn?t want to practice their putting on anything else. Plus, there?s no squeezing in putting practice sessions away from home. And no watering, mowing and maintaining your backyard putting green. You?ll save time and money ? just like the pros ? while learning to play like one on the finest artificial grass golf greens in the world.

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Putting is a combination of the mind, reading and execution. I have maintained my 12 handicap over the last twenty years simply by increasing my prowess on the green, while age has negatively impacted most of the other parts of my game. This article deals with the second aspect of the putting triad, reading greens.

A golf green is like a book, not a sentence. If you are on a strange course and didn't take a couple minutes on the practice green, it is like you are opening up a mystery novel at chapter 14 instead of the first page. That's fine if you want to learn the "plot" during the next few chapters/greens, but your score and countenance will reflect your early confusion.

Let us assume that you took a little time on the practice green before assaulting the course. Do not try to fix flaws in your putting technique during your few minutes practicing. Instead, determine two things:

1) The speed of the green (stimp)
2) How much the ball breaks at that green speed.

So instead of concentrating on draining putts, get a solid feel for the speed. Try various distances along with uphill, downhill and side hill. Remember how much your ball breaks on your regular course. The amount of break for the same grade on a different course is linear with the difference in speed.

Example: If you have to putt 20% softer on this different course, your ball will break 20% more for a given length of putt. Why? Gravity has that much more time to pull your ball downhill because you had to hit it slower. A ten-inch break on your home course will now break twelve inches.

Ok, we are on the course and you have hit the green with your approach shot. As you walk toward the green, take in the whole scene. Greens are built to shed water, not to hold it and have water pool every time the green is watered or when it rains. There is a scheme to remove water from all greens. Look over the whole green to see where to water will run off. This can be more than one place. Hint: On hilly or mountainous courses, 95% of the time water will flow away from the hill.

If there is a pond, stream, etc. near the green, the water run-off scheme will almost always be designed to allow water to eventually drain to it. Ever hear the phrase, "Breaks toward the water"?

Greens are also generally built to make us feel good, so most will have a slant toward the tee box in order to better hold approach shots. Beware of the slope of the green near greenside bunkers. There will normally be some slope away from the bunker for a distance.

Now you are on the green and "reading". I always walk all the way up the line, read from behind the hole, then walk down the other side of the line and read from behind the ball towards the hole. Your feet and balance during this trek will tell you more than any other thing. If I have any questions remaining, I have no problem trampling right up my line to get a better feel. Let us be honest. When is that last time a footprint deflected your ball?

Hopefully one or more of the other players in your group will have to putt before you. Caution: All putting strokes are different. Some players cut the ball, some hook, some bounce or backspin, some decelerate. But watching all these putts will help you. It doesn't matter if they are on your line or not. The most value you get will be watching what happens to their balls around the hole. Example: If someone putts well off your line and the ball slows quickly, his putt was uphill and yours will have to break toward him at the hole.

Other terrific clues to help you determine the slant of the green along your line are background structures and terrain. Look for houses, lakes, ocean, and horizon. All of these are true to the world.

Early in the day, you may still have dew on the greens for several holes, even after they were mowed. The marks left in the dew by previous putts will help to some extent. You will not be able to tell if these putts were blown by the hole in many cases, so just get the trend from the marks.

We need to address grain of the grass. My opinion of grain: Most announcers love to talk about it on TV because it is a nuance that most amateurs don't think about, care about or know much about. The announcers talk about it like newscasters hype hot stories. The problem is, the more attention you pay to grain, the less attention you pay to factors that actually mean something. When you begin to get helped by dealing with the grain, join the Hooters Tour.

Should you play the wind? Unless it is howling, wind is a very minor factor influencing your ball on the green. Put your hand down next to the green to prove to yourself how much the wind on your face gets knocked down all the way down to the ground. I think you will find the effect will always be less than one inch along a twenty-foot putt.

All of these factors are going to work on your subconscious and you will generally develop a "gut feel". As I talked about in a preceding article, you must not discount this feeling. You can read the green. Begin your focus immediately following your approach shot to the green. Use all the clues and believe in your skill. You CAN read greens!

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Sao Paulo - the heart of industrial, commercial and entrepreneurial Brazil - is also the main reference for Brazilian golf. Sao Paulo has more golf clubs and players than the rest of Brazil put together.

So, if you are planning a tourist or business trip to Sao Paulo, consider using one of its many golf greens. Any reputed hotel will give you the answers you may need for access to local greens.

But... just because Sao Paulo is prominent in the Brazilian golf panorama doesn't mean that there aren't other opportunities to play. The number of Brazilian golf greens is increasing rapidly. You can even play golf in the middle of the Amazon basin.

If interested in grasping the grandeur of the immense rainforest (without forgetting the golf), think of going to Manaus, an unexpected city, born from industrial dreams, but more and more, a big travel hub to the surrounding rainforest. Once there, besides local cruises on the river and visits to the ecological parks, the exploration of forest treks, or visits to the «caboclos» settlements, there is also an opportunity to play golf.

Another major travel attraction in Brazil where there is a golf course is Iguassu, in the mid south, near the frontier with Argentina and Paraguay. Iguassu boasts the world's biggest waterfalls, a natural phenomenon far beyond Niagara Falls («poor Niagara», said Eleanor Roosevelt, when facing the place). The local Bourbon Iguassu Golf Resort hotel has excellent greens.

Rio de Janeiro also has several top greens not far from its southern beaches, and just some minutes away from Copacabana or Ipanema.

Also in the Rio de Janeiro region, you can find golf courses in Buzios - the Saint Tropez of Brazil -, and, in the opposite direction, in Angra dos Reis, a luxury resort, with majestic greens, connected to a top local hotel: Hotel do Frade Golf and Resort. These places are both about an hour's drive from Rio.

Much more to the south, there are the Florianopolis greens. Florianopolis is known as a top international place for sea sports (swimming, diving, and mainly surfing), but it also has excellent golf greens and clubs.

And that's not all, of course. Because it is so big (a country with an area similar to that of the USA) the number of Brazilian golf greens is growing steadily. Amongst the recent ones, we would emphasise a number of courses in Bahia.

Bahia is a northeastern state of Brazil. A state with an insurmountable friendly and musical people, with a set of exotic traditions, and a long coast of thousands of miles, hiding hundreds of beach paradises still largely undiscovered outside Brazil

Bahia encompasses cities such as Salvador, Costa do Sauipe, or Praia do Forte, all with modern golf courses which have been built to satisfy recent demand and the real estate boom (Bahia is also a paradise for real estate bargains...).

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Golf enthusiasts, there is no shortage of golf gadgets for you to reach for in the name of improving your game. While new equipment is great and instructional DVDs are wonderful, the true test of commitment comes in the form of practice time. That's why Northern California's savviest golfers are bringing their short game home with them courtesy of the ultimate golf gadget: a practice putting green from Southwest Greens. Your own personal putting green made from the finest synthetic grass on the market. Eliminate excuses and shrink your handicap through the force of sheer convenience.

Often times the difference between good and great is the will to put in the practice time. Consider a personal practice facility complete with synthetic golf green and chipping capabilities designed to meet your short game needs. Southwest Greens can build you a realistic practice facility literally outside your door. Your short game is sure to benefit as a result of regular practice on your own Southwest Greens golf green.

In addition to a realistic practice facility that reacts like a natural grass green, you as the homeowner and golfer will instantly appreciate the minimal day-to-day maintenance required of a synthetic golf green. No mowing, chemicals, or watering required. Southwest Greens is proud to offer service programs to keep your golf green looking and playing like a real bent grass golf green year after year. An environmentally friendly golf green; one more way to go green in the 21st Century.

Our quality installations are designed to improve your game and to enhance your yard. Southwest Greens is a licensed, insured, and bonded company. With more than twelve years of research and development dedicated to the construction of our installation process, Southwest Greens is currently endorsed by PGA and LPGA Tour Professionals. We invite Northern California residents to call upon our expertise and the high quality turfs made here in the USA for your residential and commercial applications.

For those who are serious about their golf game, bring the game home for the entire family to enjoy. Make your backyard the X factor in your short game; invest in the ultimate golf gadget?? your very own artificial golf green by Southwest Greens. A single digit handicap is within your reach, and just out the back door, with a little help from Southwest Greens.

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The honest golfer knows that the secret to a good short game isn’t a secret at all. It’s about putting the work in, a goal many a busy schedule has curtailed. At Southwest Greens, we invite you to remedy the problem of finding practice time by bringing the game home with you. Our backyard putting greens promise to shrink your handicap through the force of sheer convenience. Custom fit your backyard with a green whose artificial grass incorporates the look and feel of Michigan’s finest courses. And begin the process of making your short game an ally in the pursuit of a lower handicap.

Consider how often the responsibilities and time constraints of everyday living derail your plans to get out to the practice green. Now think of what it would be like having your own putting green quite literally out the back door. Such convenience means that no amount of free time that could be devoted to practice, be it ten minutes or an hour, is wasted. Installing a golf green at your home is a quick and easy process, but not as easy as it will be to access the game you love at a moment’s notice. We’ve no doubt you’ve got the will to work on your game. At Southwest Greens, we aim to show you that where there’s a will there is indeed the way.

There is a practical side to installing a backyard green, and that is in the value and aesthetic beauty it will add to your home as a whole. Instantly you’ll have made your backyard one of the most unique in your neighborhood, while simultaneously creating a gathering place for family and friends. What a wonderful opportunity to share the game you love with family and friends, all in a maintenance free environment in which mowing, watering, fertilizing, and other chores are removed from the mix altogether. All that’s left is to enjoy and, of course, improve.

If you’re serous about bringing out the best your short game has to offer, it makes sense to add convenience of location to your practice equation. Make your backyard the place where your putting and chipping are fully realized, and add value to your home and leisure time in the process. All of the values inherent in your having your own private practice facility make this one a no-brainer. Make it happen today, with a little help from Southwest Greens.

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