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Other benefits of Nylon include:

• Turf is denser than polypropylene
• Requires zero to minimal sand-fill for play
• Resists fading and wear better in all weather conditions
• Stronger fiber than polypropylene
• Excellent shot receiving AND putting performance
• No maintenance required if not sand-filled
• Can be maintained by blowing, sweeping, or vacuuming
• Highly recommended for putting and short chipping

Nylon turf requires greater care in seaming, but proper installation will hide the seam well. It may be installed in many environments, including indoors.

Polypropylene Greens vs. Nylon Greens


One of the biggest mysteries of synthetic greens is this question: Which surface to use for a backyard putting green?  This decision is a lot easier than some will have you believe. In this article we will explore these surfaces to give you a clearer understanding of which of the surfaces will work best for your application.

The first thing to remember that you are making a smaller backyard replica of a real grass putting green like you would find at any golf course.  Real country club greens are from 3000 sqft up to over 9000 sqft.  You are probably thinking of installing a green that is 10% of this size so you will have to dial back your expectations.  Unless you have a perfect shot, a 12’ x 12’ green is not going to hold a ball that is hit from 20 yards away unless you have a great back spin on the ball.  The farther away that you want to hit onto the green from, the larger the green surface needs to be in order to hold the ball on the green surface unless you make a hole-in-one!  Smaller sized greens are best for practicing your short game putts instead of as a target for a long distance chip or drive shot.

Let’s start with taking an up close and personal look at both surfaces.

Sand-Filled Polypropylene Putting Greens: Polypropylene is just a fancy word for a type of plastic. Plastic in this form does not have memory in the fibers. Not having memory in it makes the turf want to lay down (in one direction like a 1970’s shag carpet) which creates an unplayable surface. To correct this, you have to brush ‘infill’ into the turf with sand.

The sand gets packed from the bottom up and in doing so ‘straightens’ the fibers, removing the laying down and getting rid of most of the grain/nap. Depending on the length of the fibers (pile height) you will need anywhere from 3 pounds up to 10 pounds of infill sand per square foot. But, this amount of sand will have a tendency to pack, blow around, or wash out of the green. To avoid this from happening, use a more angular infill product like coal or copper slag (IE: Black Beauty Medium Grit 30/50).  This infill product will not move as easily as plain sand reducing the amount of maintenance required. 

Expect to pay between $2.30 up to $4.50 per square foot for the polypropylene (turf only).

If installed correctly, these greens will roll at 8 – 10 on the stimpmeter and have a 5 year pro-rated fade warrantee.

Benefits: Less expensive than other surfaces.  The amount of sand on these greens allows the green to receive shots from any distance. The sand gives you a ‘beach-like’ affect where the sand absorbs the energy of the golf ball and thus makes the ball stop rolling.  The thicker the sand, the greater distance you can hit on to the green from and still have the ball not bounce off. 

Drawbacks: Harder to install sand-filled greens may need some after care which might turn some golfers away. Some customers have complained that the golf ball osculate (wiggle side to side) on this surface when putting. This is from not getting the polypropylene fiber to stand up perfectly straight.  For fiber lengths greater than ¾”, the density of the fibers is less, which compromises the playability of the putting surface.

Omni-Directional (non-filled) Polypropylene Putting Greens:  This is a newer product to the synthetic putting green market.  One manufacturer has discovered a way to make a polypropylene surface that the fibers stand up without the need of supporting infill.  Each leaf on the grass is now a 5000 Denier which is 20 times thicker and larger than the typical polypropylene yarn. The polypropylene fibers are tufted into a very high density (face weight) which allows the fibers to be very close to each other and you finish up with a product that does not require infill material and has a faster, smoother surface similar to a nylon green.  Since polypropylene fibers are less expensive than nylon, this style green has the playability of nylon, but at a lower price point.

Expect to pay between $3.00 up to $3.75 per square foot for the polypropylene (turf only).

If installed correctly, these greens will roll at 9 – 11 on the stimpmeter and have a 5 year pro-rated fade warrantee. 

Benefits: It is very easy to install this type of surface.  This green has an Omni-Directional ball roll (which was unheard of on polypropylene greens until now).  The surface has better foot traction than traditional polypropylene and will last longer in high use areas.  The new “Spring Set” yarn always looks new & fresh. Sand infill can be added to add ballast to hold the green down in high wind conditions or to conform to undulations in the base.  This surface will hold shots from over 100 yards out with only 2.5 lbs per sqft of 70 mesh (Extra Fine or “00”) sand. (Note: Infill must be vibrated in, not swept like traditional polypropylene greens.)

Drawbacks: Will not hold its' color as long than a nylon green when installed in a sunny location. 

Nylon Putting Greens: Nylon is also a type of plastic but unlike polypropylene, memory can be burned into nylon fibers. With this ability the manufacturers make the nylon where it stands up on its own. Add to this the fact that nylon can be tufted into a very high density (face weight) which allows the fibers to be close to each other and you finish up with a product that does not need infill material and a faster, smoother surface.  How this is achieved is by subjecting the very top of the fibers to a 230 degree heat source for a split second which curls the ends of the fibers creating the “memory” in the fibers.  This memory is what creates the Omni-directional surface that make nylon greens such a desirable playing surface. 

(Note: You may still need about 1-2 pounds of infill material for this surface. This is only to add weight to the turf as ballast or to force the backing to follow the slopes and undulations of your putting green base.)

Expect to pay from $4.50 to $7.00 per square foot for the nylon putting surface (turf only).

This material has a roll out speed (when you open the roll of turf) of 9 -12 on the stimpmeter and has an 8 year pro-rated fade warrantee.

Benefits: The nylon putting surface needs very little aftercare and you will only need a leaf blower to keep the green clean.(At TJB-INC, we use a vacuum cleaner to clean our nylon display green.)  Nylon greens have a smooth Omni-directional roll of the ball and controlling the speed of the green in the long run is easier to maintain. 

Drawbacks: Without infill, this material does not hold a ball as well from more than 30 feet out unless the green is large enough in size to contain ball roll-out.

Special Concerns with Synthetic Putting Greens:  To keep a clean, playable surface year after year, TJB-INC has some advice for you. A hand or backpack blower will assist in clearing off any debris that might have settled on to your green surface each week. I know this sounds funny, but on nylon greens, we use a bag less vacuum cleaner to clean the surface. We found that this method will do a better job of cleaning up stuck debris, but does not remove the in-fill material. If you have any nearby small needled evergreens (spruce, fir, hemlock, etc) or deciduous trees that have catkins (seed pods) in the spring, this cleaning method seems to work better than a blower. A vacuum does a better job of un-sticking evergreen needles & spring catkins. It might look a little strange and your neighbors will think you’re a little eccentric, but it really works!

The putting green surface and infill (if used) are inorganic and will not support weeds.  It is very important to remove all organic debris as soon as it lands on the putting green surface (this includes pollen in the spring especially from White Pine trees).  If organic compounds are allowed to build up, they will decompose and create compost.  Then, any seed that lands on the surface of your putting green now has the ability to root into the compost.  TJB-INC has found that regular vacuuming does a great job of removing organic compounds from the fibers.  If weeds do grow from the surface of your putting green, you can use a product like Round-Up vegetation control to kill them.  Remember to remove the dying plant tissue so it doesn’t decay and turn to compost or you will have bigger weeds with deeper roots the next time around.

TJB-INC suggests covering your green with a plastic tarp during times of high pollen, needle, seed-pod, or leaf drop.  It will help keep your maintenance down to a minimum and allow you to enjoy your putting green. 

For bird & animal droppings, remove the larger clumps. A little warm water will dilute the remaining mess. Use a paper towel to blot up the mess.  A shop-vac would be the best to remove all traces of any organic matter.  To help prevent this, trim back or remove any branches that overhang your putting green that a bird can perch on and release a "dump".

If moss, mold, or algae have started to develop on the surface, you are in for a long battle. First, algae and moss grow on surfaces, not from surfaces. If conditions warrant, they will grow anywhere like patios, siding, roofs, driveways, lawns, and yes … putting greens (real & synthetic).

It does not matter if the surface was a polypropylene, nylon, or a hybrid. If conditions are right, moss, mold, and algae will grow. Try to allow as much sunlight to reach the green as possible. Wind flow is very important as well. Trim back trees & shrubs to allow natural wind currents to dry out the surface area of the green. Many golf courses use fans to keep the surface of their natural greens dry to prevent fungus and mildew.

It is very important to make sure your irrigation system does not wet the playing surface of your green on a regular basis. The continued moist conditions will quickly add moss & algae on your playing surface even in direct sunlight. If moss & algae have become a problem, try using a 10% solution of bleach & water or hydrogen peroxide to kill it.

 
Note: Try a small area first to see if the green surface will discolor.

Garden Centers sell a moss & algae remover that people have said they have had success with.  TJB-INC uses & sells a product called “TerraCyte” that works the best.

If you have had the misfortune of having a burrowing animal tunnel under your green surface or major frost heaves, then more in-depth repairs will be necessary. If you are capable of this work yourself, then roll back the green surface. Re-grade the heaved, or burrowed areas with an iron grading rake. Compact the area with a hand or gas-tamp. Pull the green surface back and check the playing surface. This sounds simple, but can be very involved depending upon the damage done. It might be best to hire a professional putting green installer to do the work.

Remember your synthetic putting green is a form of plastic and will melt if exposed to a high heat source.  These include some reflections from E-Glass windows, hot mufflers, and especially lit cigarettes.  Yes cigarettes!  If some idiot drops a lit cigarette or hot ashes on to your green, you run the risk of the fibers melting and damaging the playing surface.  This cannot be repaired.  Heat damage is permanent! Make your green a no smoking area to prevent this from happening to your playing surface.

Summary: 

We get a lot of questions about chipping on to the green surfaces, and which surface material is the best to purchase.  We advise customers that size of the green is more important than the style of putting green surface. When you play at a golf course, the greens are between 3,000 to 9,000 sqft. There is plenty of room to hold almost any type of shot.  If you install a green in your yard, it will most likely be much smaller in size.  All of our synthetic putting green surfaces will hold a chip shot, but not if your green is 12' x 12' and you are chipping from 150 yds out.  To hold a chip shot from 60 yds out, you should have at least 600 sqft of putting green surface to handle the ball's roll-out (unless you have a perfect back-spin on the ball).  Smaller greens are great for putting practice and Bump & Runs. For long shots, it would be more cost efficient to place a target (broomstick or flag) in your yard and chip to it since you are mainly working on distance & target training. Use your putting green to specifically work on your short game.

 A Nylon surface will always give you the most realistic putting green surface hands down. They are Omni-directional with no grain to affect ball roll. 

 If chipping is important, a nylon surface will accept short shots but because of the limited amount of in-fill used, it will not necessarily hold long shots on to the green. Size of the green is the most important factor. If you install a smaller sized green (15' x 15') and chip from 20 yds, you might have too much ball roll if you do not put a spin on the ball.  The farther the chip shot is going to be, the larger your putting green surface needs to be to contain the roll out or choose a putting green surface that has more infill which diffuses the force of the shot and allows the ball to "stick" better to the green.

 Traditional sand-filled polypropylene greens are great for accepting shots from long distances but in my opinion, you sacrifice some of the putting surface roll.  Traditional poly surfaces have a grain that needs to be removed (straightened) by sweeping infill between the fibers that stand them straight up.  If done correctly, it is an ok surface for putting but excellent for holding chip shots.  Traditional Poly greens are less expensive to purchase but require additional time and labor to install over nylon surfaces.  The latest Omni-Directional polypropylene surface will install & play just like their nylon counterparts but will not last as long as a nylon surface in sunlight. 

 As far as fringe turf goes, a non-rectangle green will have a lot of wasted fringe material over a rectangle shape.  The best way to plan, is by using pieces of paper and make it to scale.  Lay out your green, and then overlay a rectangle shaped paper to simulate the fringe turf. You will find that there is a lot of wasted material when making the green non-rectangle.  But since you are only going to do this once, make it the way you really want it if budget allows.  If you go over budget, then cut back on the fringe material or use natural grass seed or sod as your fringe.  Just pick a type that can handle lower cutting heights (1" - 1¾") and install some sort of irrigation to keep it moist during the hot months..

For indoor applications: Select the 12' wide OnePutt surfaces

For DIY on a budget: Select the 12' or 15' wide Traditional Poly or Omni-Directional 77 Poly

For the best overall putting surface: Select the 15' wide 9/16" Premium Nylon

For Fringe:  Pick one that you like the best!