The boys at Latrobe Golf Park had an unsightly area to the side of their newly revamped Pro-shop. What to do with this area?
Easy. Install an all-weather, low maintenance synthetic golf green. These guys were a pleasure to do with. Aaron actually flew to the Sunshine Coast to meet with us and gather all the information he could about our Supreme Green – and give mine a test drive in the process. It’s easy to deal with a client when they’re informed and take the time to understand the different products on the market and what separate the typical grass (usually cheap stuff from China or lawn bowl grass) from the premium variety.
Side note: Supreme Green grass is the only synthetic golf grass on the market made exclusively for golf.
It was a horrible day when I visited (the Melbourne weather certainly turned it on!) and there had been a lot of rain, but the green was still running nice and fast and true. The Supreme Greens are low maintenance. I recommend that these guys brush their green weekly – this is more than usual but they do get a lot of foot traffic. The green has been designed for the serious golfer, with the ability to work on both the long and short putts as required. The green has plenty of break and there’s certainly some tricky putts to get your attention.
Short game area:
We also added a great short game area at the edge of the range. This consists of a target green – it looks like a real green but it’s a lot softer (and slower) than our usual synthetic greens so the range balls will stop on them. They aren’t really made for putting, but ideal for approach shots.
There’s also a bunker with a nice lip. The lip helps to keep the sand in the bunker while simulating conditions on a real golf course. We like to use a nice white washed sand – you can pack it down for a firm shot or fluff it up to give yourself a tricky (or even buried) lie.
The best bit could be the chipping/pitching area. Situated behind the bunker, there are two grass types – a lighter “frog hair” and a thicker variety. Golfers of all abilities can now practice their short game all year round. Previously this was an ugly and unused area of this driving range.
I even managed to get a video of Aaron, the manager, pitching onto the green. His game needs a little work, but now he has no excuse! But on the second shot you can see the ball land and stop nice and quickly. It’s not a bad thing considering he’s hitting those rock hard range balls. You can also hear the soft thump he gets from the chipping ground – it’s not too hard or too soft. These fringe areas look great and we’re now adding them to almost all of our installs because they look fantastic and give another dimension to your golf green.
Here’s an image of the target green…
If you’re in the area please check out this fantastic golf complex. The boys have done an amazing job. This place was run down and it’s now looking awesome! The driving range has new mats and they don’t mess around with the balls – they are all new! Plus, you just might like the Putt Putt course. There’s 36 holes and lots of fun. I’m sure you’ll have a great time. The Latrobe Golf Park is located at,
906 Plenty Road, Bundoora. If you want more you can visit their website here.