Here in KSA we have 1 of 4 grass courses in the entire country, at my oil company on the compound. We also have 3 sand courses (not a fan btw). There is a discussion that is somewhat ongoing and being brought up seriously to take out our grass tee boxes and replace them with artificial turf tee boxes. The sand courses all use the old astroturf / range mats btw, so there is a precedent.
The innovator says these won't be mats, but an area of the present tee box would be layed with some sort of artificial turf. Water is a scarce resource here, obviously and this is seen as a cost saving idea for not only the water, but maintenance. I have no idea of the economics as I'm not on the grounds committee, but I was told it is significant if the useful life of the turf is as advertised.
Any thoughts on this from a sustainability perspective? Less water/maintenance is good certainly.
What about playability? How will this be affected. I'm thinking maybe on par 4/5, but keep par 3's grass?
I have no idea of the innovation in this space, although as a former football coach the PR/Sales people for the present Fieldturf product carpeting all HS/Colleges/Pro fields are doing a phenomenal job making traditionally tight entities, write million dollar checks. I have hit off driving range mats, but I'm told this product is significantly better. Not sure what it is.
Thoughts or experiences?