Home >  Local News >  Neighborhoods

Sunday, April 20, 2003

By David Templeton, Post-Gazette Staff Writer

It was the day before the Masters Golf Tournament and my putting was -- what's the right word here? -- askew. What's a troubled golfer to do, so close to a major?

Well, I headed straight to Kevin Varley's backyard in Nottingham.

	Seldom Seem, David Templeton's whimsical perspective on life and times in and around Washington County, appears weekly in Washington Sunday.

In truth, my putting always has been, and always will be, askew. Not even tap-ins are sure things. If I were standing in North Dakota and putting to Texas, I'd be satisfied if the ball avoided the oceans and Caribbean. I'd be happy with Kansas.

When I three-putt, I pump arms and strut.

So, OK, the Masters had nothing to do with my visit to Kevin's house.

I was pretending.

But there I stood on his new artificial putting green in his back yard, tuning up for my imaginary Masters. And what hack golfer would not want a green outside his or her back door? This was hacker heaven.

Don't tell my editor, but for a half hour of company time, I chipped and putted on Kevin's green and watched in horror as most of my chips and putts went radically askew. With three holes on his green, I often came closer to holes I wasn't aiming for.

But I played long enough to realize that Kevin's new company, "Fore! Your Home," can provide the ideal way to get the stutter out of the putter and the yoke off the stroke. It's the perfect way to allow the duffer not to suffer.

That's because he can build synthetic putting greens -- durable, realistic and easily maintained putting greens -- in your back yard that can include everything from the predictable straightaway to fast and furious undulations. The speed of putts on All Pro Putting Green fiber matches what one might experience on the nation's best courses.

Kevin, 35, is employed in computer security at UPMC Health Systems. He has played golf for 15 years and owns a 17 handicap. For years, he has wanted to start a business involving golf.

But there's a secret reason behind his new venture.

Each year, he and 11 friends compete in the Bull Moose Open. The winner pockets $700, gets his name inscribed on the BMO trophy and gets custody of the trophy until the next tournament.

The group has played the past two years in Myrtle Beach, S.C., with plans someday for a trip to Scottsdale, Ariz. Last year, Kevin finished seventh. So he decided he needed an edge. And while searching eBay, he hit a hole-in-one when he spotted a backyard putting green for sale. A subsequent Internet search turned up five companies that manufacture synthetic turf.

This was it. Kevin soon launched a sideline business: backyard putting greens.

He purchased turf from All Pro Putting Greens in Ringgold, Ga., ordered tons of crushed stone and bags of coal slag dust, watched the videotape and read the instructions, and built himself a marvelous backyard green a quarter the size of a full-sized natural green.

"It's a simple process but time-consuming and labor intensive," he said. "You can do it if you are not afraid to move 20 tons of sod and crushed stone."

Once the sod is removed, a weed barrier is applied, followed by crushed stone tamped to the desired green contour. The turf is installed and held in place with coal slag dust that is spread over the turf, disappearing between the fibers. The dust makes the fibers stand straight to mimic the texture of a natural putting green.

Seams must be done skillfully to prevent a ridge that will affect the putt. Holes, made with quick-drying concrete, are permanent.

His 1,000-square-foot green required 65 man-hours of labor. He can chip onto the green from 20 yards away and putt to three holes. In just three weeks, he has improved his short game. His wife, Jill, and sons Alec, 6, and Ryan, 3, also spend time chipping and putting on the backyard green.

Kevin charges $8.50 per square foot -- $8,500 for a 1,000 square-foot green. But he said it will get as much use as a swimming pool, entertainment center or home theater. It's a home improvement for those with disposable income who desire fewer strokes per round.

"I'm coming from a skewed viewpoint because I like golf so much, but if you go to a golf course any morning, it's packed," he said. "People who play here in the summer go to Myrtle Beach to play in the winter. It's a cruel joke of Mother Nature that we can't play golf for six months."

The synthetic green can be used year round. The golf fanatic can surround the green with sand traps and even build a 150-yard par-three hole with a synthetic tee box, grass fairway and synthetic green. Golf course owners strive for courses so perfect they look synthetic. The goal for the synthetic green is the natural look.

Golf industry revenues last year totaled $20 billion, with synthetic putting greens emerging as one of the fastest-growing market segments. Nicole Pilon, spokeswoman for All Pro Putting Greens, said her company experienced 260 percent growth last year. That's because synthetic greens are similar to natural greens but cheaper to install, with a fraction of the maintenance costs.

Pilon said All Pro manufactures and sells polypropylene fiber, designed exclusively as a putting surface. To date, All Pro fiber has been used to build more than 4,000 greens. With the short game responsible for 62 percent of all strokes in golf, synthetic greens are helping to trim scores.

So there I was, chipping and putting behind Kevin's new house with more desire than skill. The speed of these greens is faster than public courses but akin to professional ones. Suffice it to say, my initial chips and putts ended up in the Atlantic and Pacific. But near the end, I began landing a few in Oklahoma, New Mexico and Louisiana.

And before leaving the handsome little Nottingham green, I buried a circuitous 15-footer dead center -- downtown Austin, Texas.

David Templeton can be reached at dtempleton@post-gazette.com or 724-746-8652.