Synthetic Grass Turf

A Product History

Artificial grass turf is a man-made surface manufactured to look like natural grass.

David Chancy is the man long credited with creating the first generation of artificial grass turfs. Artificial turf had its commercial birth in 1965 when it was installed at the Astrodome in Houston, Texas (Astor-Turf). The use of artificial grass turf became more wide spread in the 1970s and was almost exclusively limited to sports applications in both indoor and outdoor stadiums. By the 1980s artificial grass turfs were installed at a number of soccer (football) fields throughout Europe. First generation artificial grass turfs earned an infamous reputation because of their unforgiving nature leading to serious joint injuries and their “unrealistic” look.

However, by the mid 1990s as the technology used in the yarn extrusion and tufting process improved artificial grass turfs began to gain momentum again leading to the manufacturing of 2nd generation artificial turfs. These artificial grass turfs were made with polypropylene yarns – a transition from the tradition nylon yarns.

By the turn of the century new artificial turfs using sand and/or rubber infill were undergoing development – and manufacturers began using polyethylene yarn materials. These “next generation” or “third generation” artificial grass turfs are often virtually indistinguishable from natural grass and are generally regarded as being as safe to play on as a traditional natural grass surfaces – perhaps even safer in cold weather conditions. In fact, the latest iteration of artificial grass turfs, installed with rubber-coated sands, have better fall test ratings than natural grass surfaces! The latest generation artificial grass turfs are now used in all weather training facilities, professional sports facilities, school facilities, and more recently in private and commercial landscaping applications as synthetic sods!

Artificial grass turfs were used in the last two Summer Olympics and artificial turf will be used in the upcoming 2010 World Cup.

For more information contact your GreenTurf representative or email us at: info@greenturfsolutions.com

Today’s advancements in synthetic turf manufacturing offer you more than ever before!