Tiger, we're not in Augusta anymore.
Natural grass may go the way of the dinosaurs if the world's first 18-hole, par-72 artificial golf course performs as promised. Built for a Colorado resort by TourTurf, a subsidiary of synthetic-surface giant FieldTurf, the unnaturally alluring links sit high atop a bed of geotextiles. First, a choke stone foundation is laid, followed by a porous blanket of polyester fibers. Then it's covered with "dirt," a mixture of cryogenically treated rubber pellets, silica sand, and ground-up Nike sneakers. This anchors the faux grass, which is made of the same plastic as grocery bags. Unlike the shamscaping of yesteryear - basically shag carpet on a rubber mat - the multilayered turf gives a golf ball bounce similar to that of the real thing. Better still, it needs no watering or fertilizers, a shade of "green" that's anything but par for the course.
