Synthetic putting greens are manufactured with several different materials. Two of the most common materials are polypropylene and nylon. A green made with nylon typically does not take an infill product, whereas a polypropylene green does. It is this "infill" process that determines whether you birdie or bogey your game because of the advanced way that a surface, with infill, reacts to your golf ball while putting and chipping onto the green. Non-filled putting greens obviously do not require an infill. These greens are typically made of nylon fiber. Nylon is what you see on football and soccer fields.

Disadvantages Of Nylon

Problems with Nylon putting greens:

• Nylon, a more porous fiber, will absorb water, retain odors, and lead to mold, mildew, and fungus growth.

• Because a nylon green does not normally take an infill material, the fibers will "mat down" over time. When that happens the ball roll becomes very fast and there's nothing that can be done to control the speed of the green. In an attempt to resolve this issue, some companies will add infill to the turf, but because nylon is not designed to take an infill product, it just doesn't work. Many companies claim nylon fiber is "heat set" with "memory" and will not mat down. It simply makes sense that if there is nothing to support the fibers upright, they will mat down over time. Also, read the "fine print" of these companies' warranties on their nylon greens. "Normal matting or compression of fiber or compression of rubber and foam backing or padding is expressly excluded from the warranty".  Draw your own conclusion from such contradicting statements.

• Nylon is a stiffer, more rigid fiber. A rigid fiber can also make the ball "bounce" or "hop" and not hold the green well. Furthermore, it has to be virtually flat for a nylon green to hold a golf ball.

• Although nylon greens should be installed over a concrete slab, you might as well just take your penalty stroke and start over. Concrete will always crack or will always need joints for contraction and expansion. Joints and cracks will eventually agitate the green's surface creating visible ridges. Vice-versa, nylon turf with urethane backing will actually "crawl" across the surface creating wrinkles. A latex backing won't do this, but it will retain water and odors, and lead to mold, mildew, and fungus growth. For sure Stimp speed is not adjustable and undulations are almost nonexistent for a green built on a concrete slab.

• A concrete slab must have a slope for water drainage. The slope has to funnel water somewhere, which usually means toward the putting holes or all to one side of the green, resulting in puddles of stagnant water, again leading to rot, mold, and growth of fungus. If the nylon turf has a latex or rubber backing or padding, the problem is compounded.

• Rubber padding will compact and break down, forming irregular dips in the green, similar to what happens to an old worn-out couch cushion. Stagnant water can accumulate under those, too. Add that to the matted down fibers and you've scored a "double-bogey" of a problem.

• Nylon fibers tend to be darker. A darker color gives the surface an unnatural blue-green appearance. Don't take our word for it. Go on the internet and look at the "photo galleries" of companies selling nylon greens. You will notice greens that are abnormally dark or greens that actually look blue-green. Putting greens should "accentuate, enhance, and blend" into the surrounding landscape, not detract from it.

• Nylon has "streak lines" caused either by inconsistencies of the dye lot or during the shearing process, which runs the length of the turf and can seriously hamper true ball roll.