The Reef Palms course in Australia is built along the Queensland coastline. It has perfect fairways and pleasant views-with magnificent views of the ocean and islands. The most significant difference between this course and many golf courses is that it is a 100% artificial grass course and the first 18-hole artificial golf course in the world.
In areas with frequent droughts and saline soils like Queensland, artificial grasses have solved the big problem of water.
Ten years ago, when building this course, course owner Chris Dassin said, "We are going to create a very special course. A standard 18-hole course requires 4 million liters of water a day during peak summer hours. This kind of us The alternative is also quite environmentally friendly, because we don't need fertilizers and pesticides. "
For golf course owners and developers, they all face the pressure to reduce the environmental impact on the one hand and control the increasing maintenance costs on the other. In fact, you can completely change your mind to solve the problem. If the golf course uses artificial grass, it is not only conducive to the sustainable development of the earth, but also for the purses of the bosses.
According to the Association of American Golf Course Administrators, the total area of all golf courses in the United States exceeds 2.2 million acres, of which about 1.5 million acres are natural grass and high maintenance costs. In addition, according to the international environmental organization Audubon International, the average golf course in the United States uses more than 300,000 gallons (about 1.14 million liters) of water per day (the desert course uses 1 million gallons per day). This number is equivalent to the amount of water used by American households for more than a decade.
Cristina Milesi, a former NASA environmental scientist and director of the Evalstat Institute of Research, said, "Golf courses are landscapes that are centrally managed. In addition to requiring a lot of water, they often use pesticides and fertilizers, and they often enter the river with rainwater. Adverse impact on the ecosystem. "
In addition, the fastest-growing areas of golf are usually hot and dry, just like the southwestern United States. These areas have become high energy-consuming industries due to the cultivation of excellent natural grass.
Today's artificial turf (usually a combination of polypropylene, polyethylene, and nylon) is no longer the early hard version. Many golf driving ranges use Synthetic Turf , and some professional golfers also practice artificial grass at home. In areas where the climate is not friendly, Synthetic Artificial Turf can maintain consistent performance. For example, stadiums in Luxembourg and Alaska have been covered with artificial grass on tees and greens.
