Businesses look to artificial turf as home installations grow

Texas Custom Turf installed this artificial grass landscaping at Westwood Country Club in Austin, Texas. Photo: PRNewsFoto/Synthetic Grass Warehouse Inc.Texas Custom Turf installed this artificial grass landscaping at Westwood Country Club in Austin, Texas.
Photo: PRNewsFoto/Synthetic Grass Warehouse Inc.

The nation’s largest distributor of artificial turf, Synthetic Grass Warehouse (SGW), is relishing its role as head cheerleader for the product in the United States by pointing to independent installers’ projects around the country. Today, the company says, several years of extraordinary growth on the residential side of the business appears to be fueling greater interest among commercial customers.

Based in Anaheim, California, SGW cites Texas as a prime example of the trend, noting that artificial turf installations continue to gain momentum there despite the state’s having experienced some relief from drought over the past few months.

Chris Neighbors, owner of Texas Custom Turf, says business is booming.

“We get busier every year,” Neighbors said. “The past three or four years is where we’ve really seen the most growth.”

Established eight years ago, Texas Custom Turf specializes in residential landscapes, xeriscaping and putting greens, among other services, but Neighbors says the growth of artificial turf is moving the company beyond the residential market.

“We have mostly dealt with residential installations,” he said, “but our last few installs have been commercial properties.”

One of Texas Custom Turf’s most recent commercial projects was an 11,500-square-foot installation of TigerTurf Diamond Light Fescue from SGW at the Westwood Country Club in downtown Austin.

“This install took a little extra TLC and attention to detail,” Neighbors said. “The club has large oak trees all over the property which required a different drainer layer underneath the turf.”

The landscaper is convinced that it’s the growth of artificial turf’s use in residential settings that is fueling customer inquiries on the commercial side.

“We’ll install for a home and then that person will be the owner of a small business or go into work and talk about how great their lawn looks,” Neighbors said.

Like residential customers, he said, businesses appreciate not only the water savings they realize by switching to synthetic turf but also the lower cost of landscape maintenance after artificial grass is installed.

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