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The Golf Writers Association of America has named Global Syn-Turf endorser Bernhard Langer the 2014 Senior Tours Player of the Year. Mr. Langer garnered an overwhelming 90% of the GWAA's votes, and will be honored (along with the Rory McIlroy, PGA Tour Player of the Year, and Stacy Lewis, LPGA Tour Player of the Year) at the GWAA's annual awards dinner during the Masters week at Augusta in April.

Mr. Langer's distinction as the GWAA Player of the Year was well deserved as he had six professional wins in 2014, including the Charles Schwab Cup and the PNC Father/Son Challenge last month, and was named the Champions Tour Play of the Year. Undoubtedly, Mr. Langer's performance in 2014 has cemented his reputation as the most consistent and disciplined player in his class.

As a Global Syn-Turf endorser, Mr. Langer practices on Global Syn-Turf putting greens installed at his private residence in Boca Raton, FL, during the offseason. Having a Global Syn-Turf putting green installed enables him to stay on top of his golf game when away from the greens and at his own convenience -- requisite in acquiring the discipline needed to succeed on the golf course.

Global Syn-Turf sends congratulations to Mr. Langer for his exceptional year, and wishes him luck during the next season.

Global Syn-Turf's putting greens are the number one choice for the professional golfer. Global Syn-Turf's Putting Green Series provides resilience, smoothness and firmness -- which characteristics contribute to the overall speed of the putting green -- and yield green speeds up to 15 with infill and nine to 10 without. Moreover, Global Syn-Turf putting greens have no need for watering, fertilizer, disposal of grass clippings, and best of all, no need for lawn mowers -- all of which free up the golfer's time for practicing his game.

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Shock pads are the ideal way to add safety and resilience to the artificial grass surface. In sports industry, shock pads are often referred as an "insurance policy." According to FIFA-endorsed regulations, the shock-attenuation testing (or G-Max) is recommended for every sports field. You can get a good G-max without a shock pad, but if you like to have safer, more resilient surface, you might consider installing shock pads beneath the turf. Shock pads make sense. Do you want to improve safety? Just lay down the pad before synthetic turf installation. From Astroturf with its nylon carpet, most artificial grass manufacturers turned their attention to infill solutions. Rubber infill lowers G-Max to acceptable levels. When the surface compression is high, the surface feels much softer. It works great for children, but in competitive sports and golf, you need the ball rolling with a certain speed. For example, the acceptable green speed with infill for our putting greens can be as high as 14-15 on the Stimp-meter BRD. On the softer sports fields athletes get more tired than usual. Ideally, the surface must feel normal yet ensure safety. But there is a definite mishap with the infill. It migrates on the turf surface, and the level thins especially in areas with heavy traffic. It is not just about uneven surface. Migration of infill hardens the surface reduces infill compaction and causes the degradation in performance over time. Again, it does not apply to residential or commercial projects where the traffic is low to medium. But in sports industry shock pads are crucial. Shock pads reduce the amount of infill (and subsequent infill "splash") by lowering the height of the fiber pile and increasing the density of the pile itself. The concept of having shock pads inside infill itself had changed due to low shock-attenuation levels and extensive maintenance. Today, most business owners regard shock pads like just like an extra insurance. Shock pads differ in density and thickness. If you are installing putting greens, it is a good idea to install 8 mm shock pad. Important thing to understand about the quality of shock pads is its tear and wear resistance, low water absorption and high shock absorption. In this sense, chemically Closed-Cell Polyethylene Foam is the perfect material for padding. Low moisture permeability and high buoyancy combined with a smooth, delicate feel and superior physical and chemical properties, the foam is the ideally shock‐absorber. Advantages of Closed-Cell PE Foam - Closed-cell, chemically cross-linked structure - Lightweight - Shatterproof - Non-dusting - Excellent buoyancy - Excellent chemical and grease resistance - Superb strength and tear resistance - Low water absorption - Excellent strength and shock absorption - Impervious to mold, bacteria and mildew - Nontoxic ...

Golf is the most prestigious and symbolic for high social status game in the world. There is a big contradictory about its origins, but most golf courses in United States were built based on original designs and ideas from Europe. Top ranked, famous golf courses in America were built in the late 1890s. Most of them remain private, not accessible to the general public. But the history behind oldest golf courses is astonishing. Mysterious challenges of the game were developed in the architecture of natural landscapes by most prolific golf course designers of the last century. Original ideas, history behind the scenes of putting green can amaze the most sophisticated golf enthusiast. (photo: William Poultney Smith, AW Tillinghast and George Crump.) Pine Valley Golf Club Pine Valley Golf Club was ranked highest in Golf Magazine 100 Top Course in United States and the world in 2012. Designed and build by George Arthur Crump Jr. in 1913, Philadelphian hotelier and golf course architect, it is still considered the most challenging golf course in history. Golf fanatic and successful hotel businessman, Mr. Crump with his friend Joseph Baker travelled to Europe to study the most famous golf courses in Britain and the Continent, and by the time of their return George decided to make a significant improvement in the golf industry in his homeland. Most golf courses at this time were built with a minimalistic approach to the site base. Instead, George used European ideas. During his hunting expeditions to New Jersey region, his decided to purchase 184 acres of sandy ground deep in pinelands, where he drained and pulled out twenty-two thousands of stumps with steam-winches and horse-drawn cables. His idea of a golf course was out of ordinary. No hole of his course was laid out of parallel to the next. No more than two running holes can be played in the same direction. You can't see any hole other the one you are playing. Unlike any other traditionally designed golf course, a round of golf of Pine Valley Course required a player to use every club in his bag. George Crump was so obsessed with building his golf course; he died without seeing his project through. Some say; he committed suicide, others reported he died from an infected tooth. Nevertheless, four last holes he never completed was made by other golf course's architects after Crump's death in 1918. The unique in its approach to the game, Pine Valley Golf Course has not been hosted any professional golf tournaments due to its limited space for thousands of spectators. This club is private except for one day in September of every year for general public to watch the Crump Cup, nationally recognized tournament for amateurs. Augusta National Golf Club Augusta National Golf Club was designed by Bobby Jones and Alister MacKenzie and opened for play in 1933. Interesting enough, initially, Alister MacKenzie was not a golf architect. He was a military surgeon in Britain army during Boer War when he became acknowledged with military camouflage. Later on, he said, "the brilliant successes of the Boers [during his service in South Africa] were due to the great extent to their making the best use of natural cover and the construction of artificial cover indistinguishable from nature." After war, MacKenzie left medicine, became a member of several golfs clubs in England, and remained on Green Committees for years until 1930. His modern for his time ideas about golf courses included undulating greens, narrow and long greens angled from the center of the fairway, large free-form bunker shapes, and additional contouring. Those ideas became part of his development of Augusta National Golf Course. MacKenzie's golf architecture was born before the era of massive scale land preparation, and he was seeking to adjust the beauty of natural land layout with the game needs. Augusta National Golf Course was open exclusively for male golfers until 2012, stressing out for 79 years that it is a private club and has the right to defend its membership policies. Cypress Point Golf Club The same golf designer, Alister MacKenzie, who designed Augusta National Golf Course, was the lead architect of Cypress Point Golf Club along with Robert Hunter. Located in Monterey, California, this private golf club is regularly rated among the best golf courses in the world. It has a single 18-hole course, and the 16th is played over the ocean. Opened in 1928, this golf course is another beautiful design idea of MacKenzie naturalistic approach. MacKenzie let the course fall where it does naturally, and the Monterey's coast is the most spectacular place on earth. Falling through the dunes of the coast, the course travels into Del Monte forest and reemerges to the coastline for the most amazing finishing holes. Some say that it is a "truly the Holy Grail of golf." Shinnecock Hills Golf Club Claimed to be the oldest golf club (1891) in United States, Shinnecock Hills Golf Club is located in Southampton on Long Island, New York. It has hosted the U.S. Open four times. Can you imagine, how much the founders paid for 80 acres of land back in 1889? $2,500. The pay-off was quick with $4,400 paid in membership for newly signups. This golf club was originally designed by Willie Davis from Royal Montreal Clubs with 12 holes in 1891. Willie Dunn from Scotland added six more holes, getting the course to 18. In 1985, Shinnecock Hills Golf Club held second U.S. Open. It appears though that the course wasn't challenging enough, and it was abandoned in 1901. In 1937, William Flynn redesigned the course into 6,740-yard configuration. It hosted 2004 U.S. Open only after extension of 256 yards. Shinnecock Hills Golf Club is often called "favorite ladies club" for its acceptable of women golfers from the first day of its opening. The ownership of the land is under a question though. Indian Nation of Shinnecock claims that this land was illegally seized in a white land grab in 1859. Oakmont Country Club Oakmont Country Golf Club is one of the older in United States (opened in 1903). It was built by Henry C. Fownes, former iron manufacturer from Pittsburgh, Philadelphia. His Carrie Furnace Company, sold to Carnegie Steel Corporation in 1896, made him a wealthy man at the age of 40. He spent his retirement years playing golf and investing in his private golf club. His idea of a golf course was simple. He purchased 200 acres of vast farmland, got one hundred and fifty workers, and with two dozens of mule teams, slowly built a link-style course. Today, his golf course is considered one of the most difficult in the United States. It has large, extremely fast, and undulating greens. At those times, Haskell ball became more and more popular, and Fownes build his course to handle this new technology at 6,400 yards. It is 1,200 feet longer than recommended 6,000 yard length. Without today's technologies, bulldozers and earth-moving equipment, Fownes has built Oakmont Country Club relying on the natural landscape. His course originally had 100 bunkers, and fairways over existing hills and swales presented Oakmond's mysterious challenge. Herbert Warren, a famous journalist, called Oakmond "an ugly old brute" in the New Yorker. No long after, the club committee planted trees to make the course look more beautiful, but in the mid-1990s trees were removed due to its destructive effect on the course. The wind is a big factor in navigating the course, and it is no doubt a challenge for golfers. Merion Golf Course (East) Merion Golf Course (Haveford Township, Pennsylvania) is a private golf club founded in 1896 by members of Merion Cricket Club. Designed by 32-year-old Hugh Irvine Wilson, a Princeton University graduate, the Merion East was open in 1912. Hugh was an excellent golfer himself, but he has no idea how to build golf courses. To achieve his goal of building decent golf course, he traveled to Scotland and England to bring back traditional ideas. Distinctive Scottish-style bunkers, we know today as the "white faces of Merion," are the result of this trip. Merion Golf Course hosted 5 U.S. Opens from 1934 to 2013. This club was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1992. Pebble Beach Golf Links Located in Pebble Beach, California, Pebble Beach Golf Links golf course is mentioned among the most spectacular courses in the world. Its wide open views of Carmel Bay on the south side of the Monterey, Peninsula are incredible. Established in 1919 as part of the complex of the Hotel del Monte, it was originally designed as a local excursion route for visitors. One of its designers, Jack Neville, was focused on placing as many holes as possible along the coastline. This created a "figure 8" layout. Various changes to the course were made up to 2014. Pebble Beach hosted U.S. Open five times. The next scheduled time is 2019. Pebble Beach Golf Links is not private anymore. It became public in 2001. Winged Foot Golf Club Winged Foot Golf Club is ranked number 8 by Golf magazine. It is a 36-hole golf course in Mamaroneck, New York. Its architect, Albert Warren Tillinghast was one of the most prolific architects and writers on sports in the history of golf. He designed around 265 golf courses. Shackelford wrote. "Humor and quirkiness abound on his holes, but every course is a strong test of skill from the first hole to last." Tillinghast always felt that greens were essential to any course. In writing about Winged Foot, he said that its "holes are like men, all rather similar from foot to neck, but with the greens showing the same varying characters as human faces." Winged Foot Golf Club had hosted six U.S. Open, two U.S. Amateur, various PGA Championships, and U.S. Women's Open. It is a private golf club for the rest of the year. Sand Hills Golf Club Sand Hills Golf Club was built in 1995 and designed by Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore. It is located in the Sand Hills of Nebraska. Ranked high, this golf club remains unqualified, but claims to be a links course as Pebble Beach Golf Links. When the main design was done, there were a hundred different holes on the course. It was slowly reduced to 18. Sand Hills Golf Club does not have all characteristic of seaside links, but it is one of the most naturally arranged golf courses. There is no better place for a golfer to disappear for a few days due to its remote location. Fishers Island Golf Club The Fishers Island Club is a private country club on the east of Fishers Island, New York. Founded in 1926 and design by Seth Raynor and Charles Banks, it was called the "Cypress Point of the East." This link-style course is only two miles wide and eight miles in length. Accessible only by ferry, Fishers island Club is one of the most prestigious golf clubs in the world. The island itself became very popular among the most affluent New Yorkers who have bought property there in their search for secluded seascapes. It is impossible to play at this golf course for anyone who is not a part of its up-scale community. ...

Chalk up another win for synthetic grass!!!It is always wonderful to log in the morning and find great and interesting news in the in synthetic turf industry! This morning has proven to be one of those days as well. As of yesterday it has been decided that the new playing surface for the newly renovated University of Kentucky stadium scheduled to be completed in 2015 will be..."Drum roll please..." You guessed it, ARTIFICAL GRASS! According to the Lexington Herald, Coach Mark Stoops confirmed Thursday of, "Kentucky's plan to move to a synthetic playing surface at Commonwealth Stadium when the renovations are completed for the 2015 season." All of you manufacturers, retailers, installers, and supporters need to give yourselves a much deserved pat on the back! As well as another feather in your caps! The era of "fake grass" has finally has done what others never expected...the industry has changed the once negative connotation that fake or artificial meant something negative. It appears that fake grass is now the WAVE OF THE FUTURE!!!! Go, Go Plastic Turf! ...

All over the United States but particularly in Phoenix, AZ, when it comes to artificial grass, there are 3 types of customers who are poised to be among the proud, forward-thinking group who desire and demand a todays' modern lawn. 1. Commercial and small businesses. Artificial turf is a preference due to its ability to look good, but without the need for chemicals and fertilizers. Child care facilities like the synthetic grass because of its durability as well as its soft and child-friendly surface. This is why businesses like day care facilities, veterinarian's offices where they cater to animals and children are perfect examples for this category. 2. The second type includes those that are too busy or simply don't want the added cost or responsibility needed to maintain a natural lawn turf. Typically these clients also have smaller areas of grass or lawns. Nevertheless, these individuals are willing to pay an upfront one-time cost in order to have a year round perfectly manicured lawn grass. 3. The last, but certainly not least, are those who are in need of a home recreational section or area. For example, putting greens. This type of putting green turf is a time-saver for the avid golfer who can't find the time to get to the golf course or golf green very often, but more importantly it adds value to the home. ...

Gleneagles is a challenging golf course in San Fransisco that has been struggling with maintenance. This particular golf course has survived many economic issues and has maintained its excellent artificial grass. Many golfers believe that Gleneagles will turn back around. However, the latest increase in water rates has caused the course operator to consider closing the course. Hsieh says that ever since the water bill increased by fifty percent, he has been reconsidering whether or not to keep the course going. He says "We deal with a lot out here, and we've tried to soldier on," he said. "But this water rate raise could be a deathblow." "We adopted a firm-and-fast style of play," says Hsieh. "We use a lot less water than previous owners. We water a lot less in places where the ball should not be. A 'real' golf course would probably use twice as much." "It is real working class: seniors, juniors, every rainbow in the city," Hsieh said. "We're probably at 1,500 rounds a month." Each round is $19. A lot of golfers play, but the low cost makes it, so they barely break even. Hsieh says he can't raise fees without approval from City Hall, and upkeep on a 52-year-old facility is a slow loss. Gleneagles has a different financial setup than other local public courses. The operator rents the facility and is responsible for everything: maintenance, repairs and pub. Hsieh found that out the hard way in 2010 when an insect infestation killed the grass on all the greens. Tom Bastis donated roughly $140,000 to reinstall the nine holes with new artificial putting greens. Hsieh doesn't expect the city to step up and make that kind of investment, but he would like to discuss an arrangement like what the Recreation and Park Department has at its other courses, like Harding Park, where the city chips in for general maintenance. ~SFGate It turns out; water rates are still increasing. Replacing the whole golf course with artificial grass would solve the issue but would also be very costly. Luckily for homeowners, the water bill issue can be solved. Homeowners now have the option to replace their old lawn with elegant synthetic turf. Artificial grass never needs watering and seems even better than a real lawn. Global Syn-Turf offers many different products with a variety of innovative technologies to go along with them. Global Syn-Turf distributes to all states in the U.S and recommends professional installers to make sure your new lawn looks perfect. Tired of paying for high water bills and lawn maintenance? Look into some artificial grass! ...