Your guide to understanding how roll works on artificial turf.
The Physics of Golf
Physics. It impacts everything we do, and also the wonderful game of golf.
Physics, is the nature and properties of matter and energy: how the club impacts the ball, the ball’s flight in the air, its initial bounce, and its concluding roll out.
In a perfect world, 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 getting the ball into the hole a simple matter by hitting it along a straight line.
However, at times, you’ll see that the ground is sloped. When this happens, the ball’s roll cannot be a straight line to the hole, meaning it’s a more complicated task. The ball has to follow a precise curved path to enter the hole. How much the ball has to curve to the left or right is dependent on the amount of the putting green’s slope and undulation.
Whether artificial grass or natural turf is chosen to create your perfect backyard putting green, the physical characteristics of the putting surface affect the performance. We employ a combination of typical golf course tests and our proprietary playability testing.
One typical test for ball roll is the stimpmeter test. Stimp testing gives the calculated distance a ball rolls on artificial turf in meters when released from a height of one meter. The ball-to-surface interaction of the grass is directly related to the distance the ball rolls.
Our proprietary playability testing for roll analyzes the consistency of standard putting stroke outputs. This test analyzes the initial bounce of the club face and the spin to roll transition.
Now let’s take a harder analysis at the components that affect how a golf ball reacts and rolls on a turf.
Green Characteristics
Product Construction: Plastics that are extruded and recycled and come in various combinations of constructions, colors, and lengths. Proper construction is critical in ensuring key putting green installation practices; construction will enable turf to be infilled and rolled. Properly rolled fibers look and play like natural greens.
Pile Height: The thickness and height of the grass blades will provide differences in friction; having an effect on the speed and smoothness of the putt.
Fiber: Fiber composition will have a notable effect on how the golf ball will move throughout the putt. Fiber composition influences friction and pile lay. How the ball interacts with the surface is influenced by how the turf lays.
Infill: Essential to the turf system, infill is made of rounded washed silica. Infill gives ballast and helps drainage. The shape of the infill is vital to performance; angles and edges disrupt roll.
Aggregate Base: Stone is compacted creating challenging slopes and undulations; the result 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. Very important when you are on the putting green attempting 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 are able to reproduce natural greens.
With Golden Bear Turf, you will experience smoother rolls that feel like playing on your favorite championship course. Scientifically tested and developed to replicate 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 best backyard practice putting green and offers the most realistic putting surfaces you can find on the market.