Artificial grass putting greens allow you to pursue your golf hobby at home. The advantage, apart from convenience, is that artificial grass putting greens are all-weather surfaces. If you want to be out in the rain, you can be. Short of installing real putting greens, what can you do to make your artificial grass putting greens feel more natural?
Use a Nylon Surface with Lots of Fibers
Your artificial grass putting greens will feel more natural if you use a nylon surface. You want one with a great deal of fibers on the mat; the more it has, the better the ball will roll, and the more the nylon will replicate the feel of natural grass.
What you'll find is that the ball will move quickly initially, then slow a little over time, much as you'd get with a real green. AstroTurf is cheaper, but you won't find it as responsive to your playing, and you won't achieve a very real experience.
Increase Speed with Sand
You can increase the speed you achieve on artificial grass putting greens by using dried kiln sand. In fact using this sand with nylon greens can increase the stimp speed of the green by up to two grades. Depending on the brand, you can use quite a bit of sand to alter the speed.
Use a Surround
You can improve your experience with artificial grass putting greens by using a surround. By using artificial grass around the green, you'll also be able to work on your chipping. Most artificial grass putting greens come with optional surrounds where the artificial grass is longer.
Place Rubber Mats Underneath
Having rubber mats under your artificial grass putting greens will make it seem more like a real surface. The rubber can absorb impact when you chip onto the green, for example. The rubber mat also gives the kind of heaviness you find with real grass.
All of this helps you have a much more realistic experience, which is what you want from artificial grass putting greens. Bear in mind that it's possible to have artificial grass putting greens that are as small as 15 feet by 15 feet. You won't be able to move the hole and cup, of course, but with a good mat you can bring in the sand and the mat to help alter the feel and speed of the green. This can be good if you often play on a fast course.