Precision Greens

Although it is common place for commercial establishments like casinos and strip malls to fashion artificial turf in the US, it has not yet become common place in Metro Vancouver. Cascades Casino decided to take a chance. The median outside their hotel and casino was a gray, unattractive, strip of pea gravel bound together with two curbs and decorated with periodic paving stones for functional decoration.

Precision Greens removed these items, except for the curbs of course, and filled the median in with a specially formulated aggregate material that hardens almost to the density of cement but allows water to perculate through at 27" per square yard per hour. This brought the height up and took away the height of the curb which was always a tripping hazard. We then surfaced the median with Marquee Pro from our Pro Series line. This created a clean, usable space that accents the outside of the building and brings a greenspace in close to the building.

Note: All Precision Greens employees resisted the urge to gamble during the making of this project!

In addition to the most output of projects this year we also endured a bit of an evolution in the type of projects we were involved in. On the golf side of things our products are now being designed as the focal point of residential landscapes. These are more than just practice aids, they are now relaxing, inviting, attractive and functional landscape pieces. They complement all else in an established landscape such as water features, gardens, trees, patios, hot tubs, pools, etc... It took over a decade of working at it but Precision Greens and our designs have earned the respect of Vancouvers most sought after landscape architects and designers. It does our product well to be placed in such beautiful surroundings.

As for the grasses, it has become what was the missing element in an otherwise flawless yard and landscapes. It ties everything together in a seamless manner. The aesthetics of a perfect lawnscape arouse the senses and bring peace to an otherwise frustrating and "never complete" portion of our lives. Granted it takes a certain type of budget to afford artificial grass on a large scale but to those who can justify the expense, and sometimes the value is not understood fully until after completion, it puts to rest the aggravation of maintenance and your grass. What to do with the moss, weeds, dry, spots, drainage problems, grubs (Chaffee beetles), unfocussed gardeners, and the strain of deciding what to do with these problems are the reasons for the switch on such a large scale.

So we ask you to help us in creating the newest and most unique modern landscapes with the inclusion of our artificial turf golf greens and lawns. A little secret, we are still looking for the first person to want to mimic the par 3 17th hole at TPC Sawgrass. The island green. Who's game?!?!

With all of this being said, it is the small projects that have made and will continue to sustain our business in the long run so anyone that feels their idea won't be worth a call because it is too small, don't feel that way. We truly appreciate any and all work we are involved in.

Thank you!

Our busiest year to date in 2011 brought on the design and construction of 32 artificial turf golf greens and the installation of 46 synthetic grass installs in British Columbia and Greater Vancouver. For the first year, the artificial grass installations surpassed the number of golf greens. We expect this trend to continue due to the practicality of the artificial grass and it's many applications.

Precision Greens hopes for another busy season and are putting systems in place to help put our installations in more efficiently while maintaining the unequaled level of workmanship that has earned us our superior reputation.

Thank you to all of those who stayed patient during the summer rush in 2011. With lead times of up to 5 weeks we genuinely appreciate your patience, I hope that it was worth the wait!?!

As it always has been it is our goal in 2012 to focus on one project at a time and continue the tradition of beautiful workmanship, the worlds best grasses and a focus on design, function, environment and all of the other little things that go into a Precision Greens installation.

I am submitting my thoughts as a Synthetic Turf Golf Green installer of more than a decade as to the differences in a Nylon Golf Green and a Sand-filled Synthetic Surface.

First off, I would like to note that many companys Nylon product are being replaced with a Polyethylene. It is the same tufting techniques and construction method. The end product is almost identicle to that of the Nylon and the product durability is equalled. This being said I will hereon refer to Nylon Golf Greens as Polyethylene.

Polyethylene Golf Greens

Cost

Installed $16-18 per square foot Product $5-8 per square foot

Putting

There is no break-in period needed, the ball runs end over end as there is no “grain” to this material. It runs at a stimp speed of approximately 9.5 and can be increased to 11 to accommodate a faster ball speed if desired.

Because there is no sand in-fill there is no inconsistencies in the ball roll. This product will run just as true after 15 years as it will the first day it is installed.

Chipping and Pitching

This product will not hold average golf shots from over 40 yards (unless the golf green is over 1,000 square feet). From within 30 yards, the action on the golf ball is uncanny to that of a natural golf green. When properly chipped onto the ball will take one bounce then check up and then roll out, just as it should. The ball will mirror the action put on it by the golf club.

Overall Assessment

Precision Greens made the switch from sand-filled golf greens to a Polyethylene Technology in the year 2000. The reason for this was obvious; Our original install was at our home office in South Surrey and it was a sand filled golf green. After two years, depressions formed in the areas we would stand the most, most typically right beside a hole after you would pull a ball out. The in-fill became inconsistent and rolled at speeds that were almost uncontrollable. The in-fill hardened so much that it could not accept shots or even chips. It would be like playing on your garage floor. We then rolled a nylon (polyethylene)surface out over top of the old one and the difference was like night and day. The playability is unparalleled.

We have now seen the polyethylene product installed for a decade and they are smooth and functional and beautiful, just like day one. For 99% of the applications we highly recommend the polyethylene surface.


Sand-filled Golf Greens

Cost

Installed $15-17 per square foot Product $$4-7 per square foot

Putting

There is a 4-8 week break in period for this product for it to start putting reasonably well. There is great potential for this product to run smooth but it takes great care and attention. The ball will always follow a “grain” as the fibres will generally bend over in one direction more than the other creating the bent grass look. If you continually broom the green followed by a few passes with a 500lb + roller, this will create the ideal putting surface. This process will keep the in-fill even and then bend the fibres back over for smooth putting.

The problem with this process is the attention it takes. If these care and maintenance steps are not performed then the sand in-fill will bind together creating an inconsistent putting surface. When this happens, the sand-filled golf greens will not absorb shots from any distance and it will roll at an uncontrollable speed, making it unrealistic for both putting and chipping.

Chipping and Pitching

If your sand-filled green is well maintained, you will be able to hold shots from longer distances. 100 yards and sometimes farther depending on the shot maker isn’t unheard-of. From within 30 yards it is somewhat unrealistic, creating a ‘false sense of security’ to the shot maker as the golf green will stop a shot immediately. This is unrealistic for most golfers.

Overall assessment

This product can be good. If one is to continually maintain this product it should hold shots for 3 to 4 years before having the sand in-fill bind together too much to keep working. There will always be a grain to the product and it will never putt quite as smooth as the Polyethylene products.

The biggest problem reported from a sand-filled golf green is moss and weed growth in the fibres. Sand is a place where growth can be prevalent if you do not keep an eye on things. Precision Greens has been assigned to semi-annual maintenances of other company’s sand-filled golf greens (and our own from 1999/2000 when we installed this technology). This includes pressure washing, de-weeding, removing moss, and topping up with fresh sand and a total cleaning of all of the fibres. This process fails to get the green in its original condition.

I recommend this product for target greens and pitch and putts. I do not recommend this product for the average backyard golf green.

I would like to say that I write this blog with the most humble intentions. We at Precision Greens are not pretentious or big headed, we simply believe that we are the most qualified company to design and install synthetic golf greens in BC and this is how we intend to get potential customers to understand.

We at Precision Greens are confident in saying that we are the best at designing and creating the best synthetic surfaced golf greens in British Columbia. It is hard to say without an egotistical undertone but by all intensive purposes I truly do believe that we are arguably the best at what we do in North America and perhaps the World.

What makes us the best is the result of the final product. A fully functional, semi-natural golf green that has a shape that is attractive, topography that is challenging yet fair in terms of ball roll and bounce and contrasts’ in fringe/putting surface color that is realistic and aesthetically pleasing. All of this with the best products available, at the most competitive prices with flawless workmanship.



Precision Greens certainly does not have the catchiest name (we thought of it when we were very young) or the best marketing strategies or the most recognizable brand, and for good reason, as we are not a corporate structure with marketing plans, branding campaigns and professional sponsors. Precision Greens is and has always been two guys getting our hands on the best products we can, doing the best we can to create something unique and installing it with due care and attention. I believe it is because we have kept our business small and manageable that we still build the best products.

Precision Greens has never signed contracts or created partnerships with US Franchises promising to bring us big dollars. We have not partnered with other small companies of who wanted to build a larger presence. We chose not to go this route for a few reasons; One, the decision making process is tough enough when there are only two minds involved. Two, Franchises usually have a relationship with only one manufacturer so we would inevitably be held to their quality and price of product they are selling. No thanks. And as for other small companies, I would rather our name not be tied to anybody else’s workmanship. Building a beautiful product is hard and if another company becomes lazy for any reason it isn’t tough to make a mistake that blemishes the entire project. Right now Precision Greens has relationships with 4 different manufacturers. It isn’t difficult for us to have our manufacturers compete with each other on price and quality. Not signing into a franchise was the best decision we ever made.

To date we have built projects for Vancouver’s’ biggest builders and landscapers. The reason I mention this is that it acts as a signpost to understanding our quality. Big builders, designers and landscapers absolutely WILL NOT hire a company that makes their end product look bad, that’s just bad business. I am proud to say that Precision Greens is trusted by these people and I am not too shy to say that we earned it. We were not put on these projects by default; these companies have done their research. Some of the builders/developers are names such as: Matcon Construction, B&B Construction, Bosa Developments, Northland Developments, Southwest Contracting, Bastion Developments, Polygon Developments, Empress Construction and more. Some of the landscape designers/contractors that have chosen us are: Jovak Landscaping, Heartwood Landscaping, Houston Landscaping, GSU Landscaping, Paraspace Landscaping, Pacifica Landscape Works and more.



Precision Greens will ALWAYS be competitive from a pricing standpoint. As I said, we have minimum overhead, no corporate franchising fees, no pro endorsements to pay for and no big advertising campaigns. As far as I know we are always at par or under competitors pricing. Sometimes I feel this hurts us as there is a market out there that will automatically believe that paying more will get you more. The reason we are not far less expensive than our competition is that we pay for good product. We could install something functional that looks good upon installation for half the price we pay now but durability and longevity are important to us as we are residents of the Greater Vancouver Area and do not expect to change careers and do not want to have to deal with unhappy customers.

Precision Greens has never tried to pressure anyone into buying our product, we have always simply presented the product to them with a design and a price and let our customers make up their own mind as to whether or not it is worth the purchase. Who are we to tell you what to do with your money? If you decide that a Synthetic Putting Green is something you would like to explore then please understand that we are grateful to those that would like to be educated on our services and appreciate business we generate in the future and are certainly grateful to the over 300 customers we have behind us to date.

Precision Greens looks forward to the possibility of creating a project in your backyard!

Thank you for reading,

Scott McCartney Precision Greens

Here’s an interesting one. Our Landscape Grass is literally “Space Age” technology. On set at the Vancouver Film Studio is the television spin-off of Battlestar Galactica known as Caprica. Our grass is used to simulate a futuristic sports field. To score you must jump off the trampoline in the middle of the arena and throw the ball through a small hole on the wall. One must complete this task without getting mauled by your opponent. Vancouver Film Studio has chosen Precision Greens Synthetic Grass products for their unparalleled realistic look and feel.

Once a year we at Precision Greens make a bit of an escape to a golf tournament on the amazing Salt Spring Island. For the many years we’ve been going there have been many good times shared with friends old and new. On this particular year in 2009, the field at the tourney was strong and the red wine was stronger. I found myself playing very well, the best I have in a few years. As I completed the second round I was +4 for the tournament. I walked to the scoreboard to find that I came in second, losing by two strokes. What’s funny about this is that I found the person that came in first and it was a man that I installed a putting green for the year prior. Why did I install a green for THIS GUY! I told him congratulations and he looked down at his putter and said “I didn’t miss a putt all day.” ARGH!

I came in second at the golf tournament that year but I feel I can also be credited with helping this person finish first through the installation of a custom made, synthetic turf professional training aid! Am I resentful of this installation? No. This customer has had us back to install a patio, water feature and a few hundred square feet of artificial turf. If I was going to finish second to anyone, I was glad it was him.

Thank you Dave!

Dog Runs are quite possibly the most well used application for our synthetic landscape grasses. The grass is a perfect complement to your furry friend. They cannot damage it, their pee does not stain it and it does not allow for muddy paws. And it has the added benefits of awesome drainage and being maintenance-free.

It’s a good feeling when the owners of the dog play areas look at you with total satisfaction and elation now that there is a place for their pet to play without the worry of damaged lawn or muddy paws.

Upon request I can give you a recommendation from all of our pet owning customers complimented by a backing from Vancouver’s own “See Spot Run!! Canine Services”.

Precision Greens can also customize puppy pee areas for balconies and patios. A little green space is nice even if you are on the 10th floor!

Doing the Work There is no mind calming substitute to being outside and working hard. To this day the original owners of Precision Greens, Shaun and Scott, cannot seem to pry themselves away from the job site. Upon many recommendations to delegate some of the labor work out to younger, more fit personell, we are slow to follow this advice.

Perhaps we are scared to leave the work to others as we don’t know how they’ll do? Maybe we are afraid of becoming complacent behind an office desk? What I think it is more than anything is that it feels good. Doing the work is meditative to some degree. The worries in your business and personal life take a back seat to getting this wheelbarrow full of gravel up your driveway and into your backyard.

As the grunts from getting in and out of the truck get louder with each passing year, the more one thinks that the benefits of having some “hired strength” would pay dividends. I believe I’m writing this blog because the time is near and its our way of letting go of the fun we have had getting dirty. The surfacing and detail work will always be ours, as owners, to perform because it is our detailed workmanship that has set us well apart from the competitors that have come and gone from the Greater Vancouver Synthetic Turf Arena. The wheelbarrows however can be handed over.

So please take it easy on us if you see Shaun or myself telling the young guns where to dump the wheelbarrows as opposed to seeing us ‘old timers’ struggling to do the hard labor ourselves. 10 years of this stuff wears on a guy. Rest assured, the passion has not and will not stop as “doing the work” is still the best part of owning this business.

If you have a passion for golf then odds are you’ve altered your yard, or the yard of someone close to you, to allow for a modified version of the great game. For me it started nice and easy, the small tree in the front yard was the first hole, the electric box on the other side of the front yard was the second hole, the sprinkler that layed in the middle of the backyard was the third hole, play these three holes 6 times and you have yourself 18 challenging holes. Equiped with a pitching wedge and a few wiffle balls it wasn’t long before the challenging “sprinkler hole” soon turned into a two shot hole…just close the face and rip a draw around the chimney and tap it in for a deuce, no problem.

While using my imagination was fun it would soon lead to trouble. Whiffle balls were soon outdated and the real deal Pinnacles were brought into play, still with a PW in hand I realized that all of my neighbors had trees and sprinklers too. Before I knew it I had 54 of the most challenging holes in the entire South Surrey area. I couldn’t imagine any other course designer in all of Greater Vancouver coming up with a better layout. My course was soon shut down due to some sort of red tape that I call parental zoning restrictions. It seems adults dislike dents in their cars or as I liked to call them, metal hazards (no penalty, free drop). I might have gotten away with it had I not tried to teach myself the flop shot. So I returned to Backyard Golf and Country Club. I took it to the next level when I removed Moms weed whacker from the shed and carefully shortened the grass on the west side of the backyard to create my very first, fully functional, putting and chipping green. It turned out splendidly, I even found a small coffee tin and dug it into the ground, with a hole in the bottom I jammed a broom handle through and tied an old rag from Moms shed to the top. Voila! It didn’t roll very fast….or very true, nor did it look real sharp, in fact it was not a good golf green, but it did make one helluva chipping green. That was until a day or two later when the grass was burnt to a crisp from me weed whacking the life out of it.

As adults, my best friend Shaun and I discovered that somewhere on our continent people were having synthetic turf golf greens installed in their backyards. Could it be? Are there others like us that love golf so fiercely that they would convert a portion of their valued home and garden into a golf play space?! A maintenance-free, perfectly functional version of what I desired to have as a wee child?! We researched the idea, the products, the building techniques and crafted our very first backyard, artificial turf golf green in the summer of 2000 at Mom and Dad Golf Club. It was great. That summer and the years that followed there were endless contests’, course records, night golf, bets won and lost and innumerable victories over the Tiger Woods. My imagination still plays a vital role in my personal golf entertainment.

Since that time, Shaun and I are still doing what we love. A decade later we have over 300 synthetic golf greens installed all over British Columbia. Mostly very customized residential greens but our product is now seen on roof tops, patios, offices, resorts, seniors living complexes, golf courses, driving ranges and common areas in townhouses. We’ve even done about a half-dozen front yards.

Running a business is sometimes not easy but when we are in a backyard on a sunny day having nowhere else to be, there is no better feeling than using our creative potential to mindfully create the breaks of the green, craft its shape, think strategically about pin placements and give a golf green a life that compliments the home it belongs to. We feel happy and honored when the phone rings for us to build another one.