Textured Turf

Last spring (2018) I contacted five different companies specializing in artificial turf installations as I was finally ready to treat myself to something that I had been dreaming about having for a while… my own backyard putting green. After speaking with each of them and obtaining quotes, etc., I elected to go with Larry @ Textured Turf. His price was the lowest and while this is not always the best reason to base a decision on it proved to be an excellent choice to go with him nonetheless as Larry’s communication with me, and service in general, from start to finish, was top-notch (including, of course, his workmanship once the project start date eventually arrived).

Initially I had a certain design in mind, patterned after a real-life green from a top-flight course in AB however in the end the space I had to work with proved not to be conducive to going with this particular replica design so I ended up just letting Larry freelance the design based on the size and shape of the available area he had to work with (given that we were also building a deck and adding other landscape features). The result was outstanding, as Larry made great use of the space and gave us a unique and entertaining backyard feature that has proven to be loads of fun for the whole family and for friends and relatives when they come to visit as well.

What he did was to build us a smallish green (but plenty big enough for our purposes, yet not so big that it takes over the yard or overwhelms) with 4 cups, 3 small pins (the kind often found on practice greens, which are easy to pull up) and 1 full-size flagstick with 2 interchangeable flags (utilizing designs that I had requested). He also installed a chipping station and gave me an additional portable chipping mat which I can set down anywhere in the yard in order to chip onto the green without taking a divot out of my freshly laid sod. As we have a stone patio on the other side of the yard, with a water feature in between, I quite enjoy setting it down on the patio and chipping over the water to the flagstick nearest to the front of the green. It’s a challenge, as the green breaks from front to back so stopping the ball short is a must (makes for a nice little chip shot that MOST times doesn’t end up in the water, but admittedly does roll off the back of the green sometimes if I’m not careful; at least my neighbour, Mike, has never had to throw the ball back over the fence yet). :-)

Thanks, Larry, for being so great to work with and for giving us such a fun feature to look forward to using again once the snow is finally gone.

BTW, the green requires hardly any maintenance – just the occasional leaf pickup (or one can use a leaf blower in the fall when that’s starting to become more of an issue); other than that there’s nothing else I need to do. It withstands the elements extremely well and is truly maintenance-free.