The greens with no grass: How an Auckland golf club switched to all

Tapora Golf Club on the Kaipara Harbour north-west of Auckland is a grassroots sport story with a difference – it has become New Zealand's first golf course with totally artificial greens.

The 18-hole, par-72 course is open for business after a major redevelopment over the past four months, highlighted by the installation of artificial greens.

The conversion to an all-weather playing amenity cost the club in the region of $500,000, which it estimates will eventually pay for itself over five years. That includes reduced greenkeeper's wages and lower operating expenses for specialist green lawnmowers, turf maintenance machinery, grass fertiliser, weed control and irrigation.

Club spokesman Greg Inger said: "The artificial turf which has been laid down is ’next generation’ in terms of the playing experience it offers players.

"We’re not talking about teeing up on mini-golf style carpet here, but a simulated artificial grass surface which plays just like a normal green… except that you won't find pitch marks or annoying weed growth coming through."

The new artificial turf – comparable to sports surfaces already now widely used in New Zealand for hockey and football pitches – has an estimated life of up to 15 years if maintained carefully.

Construction of the greens encompassed excavating nearly a metre of subsoil, which was then backfilled with free-draining rocks, followed by a layer of smaller gravel, then topped off with sand – all of which was compacted with heavyweight rollers normally used for roading construction.

The new greens replicate holes golfers would expect to find on a typical course – with gentle undulations, some slopes, and in some cases two-tiered greens. Each hole features multiple pin placements which can be changed on a regular basis.

Inger said Tapora Golf Club – 100km from the Auckland Harbour Bridge – was now a genuine playing option for those struggling to find tee times in city courses.

"We expect that the attraction of offering all-weather greens on a predominantly sand base soil structure – the only ones of their type in New Zealand – will really come to the fore over winter when rain impacts on the playing viability for many courses."