brian

there is actually one in the planning phases as outlined in a golfweek article recently.

there is a a golf course in colorado that has gone all field turf...

http://www.echobasin.com/golf.htm

No, and I hope not...

Artificial turf should be considered more damaging to the environment than the living organism that is grass. Plus to put articial turf, you need a 6 inch gravel base underneat.

You can imagine the cost...

Huck,

After a while, I'd suspect that the turf would get worn spots. And if grass divots are any indications, SOMEBODY will find a way to take a turf divot.

The Future of artificial golf will likely look this way (color)



Unless they have perfected keeping the pigments in the material, or constantly coat with a UV protector.

If an artificial turf could be invented that mixed with grass on greens would have interestiing potential in places subject to frost delays and temporary greens in the winter. The premise being similar to the over seeding of bermuda. During the warm times of the year the grass mix would bloom and dominate. During the cooler times of the year the artificial turf would be the surface with the natural grass in a dormant state. Use could also be on tee boxes. Leave the fairways grass.

I believe the Echo Basin project has been delayed, as reported in the Aug. 20 SuperNEWS - the owner discovered inconsistencies with the uniformity of the artificial blades of grass.........also, he wasn't happy with how mid-iron shots he struck reacted when they hit the synthetic grass putting green on his resort. He said the surface was too hard to absorb high-trajectory shots...........sounds like a John Cleese NXT commercial

According to their website, the Echo Basin course is using ground up Nikes under the top layer of fake grass.

We have just put Field Turf on our main game field at the HS where I teach and coach; an area approx. 140 yds. x 70 yds. cost over $300,000.  I'm sure there would be economies of scale, but I can't imagine that this would be cost effective for a full size golf course.

However, it is wonderful stuff, by and large.  NFL players rate it very highly, and our kids like it.  I had read last year that the NFL players listed Field Turf surfaces as 6 of their 10 favorite fields around the league, with natural grass being the other 4.  The only drawbacks are the heat here in GA (approx. 15 extra degrees in summer weather) and the rug burns, though they are not nearly like the old astroturf burns.

We did it only because we were spending $25,000 a year resodding, and at that the spring sports teams were playing on dirt.  We don't anticipate doing anything to it for about 12 years, at which point another dose of the ground up rubber would be applied.  At today's prices, that would run about $100,000.

I haven't tried hitting golf balls on it; the head football coach (who is a golf buddy) would either have a heart attack or shoot me, or both!  However, some ranges at local courses have put in strips of varieties of this, and it is pretty good.
Still, I have a hard time imagining this working from either a cost standpoint, or the aesthetics.  Certainly, it wouldn't work well for greens.

A.G.,

The high-schools in my hometown recently added that turf, but found a unique way to pay for it...let the cellular carrier do it.  In exchange for allowing the light standards to double as cellular towers, the cellular company offer to give the district the money for the fields.  I'll bet a golf course could  do something similar, as I've seen cellular towers made to look like large pines....ok, it's noticable, but not obnoxious.

btw - that new turf that looks like grass is 1000% better on your skin when you fall....much better than the stuff that used to give us rug-burns in the Pontiac Silverdome.

- Low maintenance costs

Is this correct? A number of artificial turf sports facilities use it because it is better for them than grass, despite being more expensive to maintain!

There is an indoor 7000 yds course being designed and built for a casino in MS.  I think near Tunica.  If you do a search there is an article.  The dome will be transparent.  I am unsure if they are using real grass or not.  A canadian outfit is doing the project and investing.

Cliff, I was actually looking for this Golfweek when I saw the title of this thread, before I read your post.

Unfortunately I just threw that issue away this week.  They are going to grow real grass on the course, the domed roof is going to be something like 1/4 mile wide by about a mile long, and will be 40 stories high.  The course will be part of The XXXXXX Golf & Botanical Resort and Casino (I cant remember the name).  The artists rendering showed a large hotel casino  along one side of the dome, pretty cool looking.  As an engineer I am looking forward to seeing if they can do this.

The story hinted that the permitting is mostly done, the other casinos in the area have approved the expansion/new casino, and it is supposedly pretty much a go.  

They said the dome roof will be translucent teflon, and will be supported by air pressure.  When you look up the sky inside the dome will be pretty close in color to what the sky is outside.

Only in America.  I bet they arent thinking of doing this at Falluja Golf & CC.