Your customers aren’t coming to your establishment to admire the lawn, but having one filled with weeds, bare patches, or dead grass is certainly a turn-off for any business.
To keep the grass around their offices, stores, and pools looking fantastic all year round, more and more business owners are opting for artificial turf.
It’s becoming common to see fake grass all over the place, from small strips next to sidewalks to large sports fields.
Trying to decide if an artificial grass installation will work for your business?
Read on to see what makes artificial grass so perfect for a myriad of commercial applications.
Commercial Artificial Turf Applications
Recently, artificial grass has become more and more popular — likely because it has become more realistic looking, thanks to advances in manufacturing technology.
Those improvements have resulted in artificial turf products that look incredibly close to a variety of natural grass species.
The low requirements for maintenance and water has led business owners throughout Texas and across the U.S. to weigh the benefits of fake grass vs. real grass.
And much of the time, fake grass comes out ahead.
Fake grass is ideal for businesses large and small in a variety of industries.
Below, we’ll review the most common commercial artificial turf applications.
1. Dog Parks
In the last few years, more and more building contractors, city officials, apartment managers, and HOAs have installed pet-friendly artificial grass in dog parks and designated dog potty areas.
Unlike natural grass, artificial turf is immune to many of the problems that dogs pose, such as creating brown urine spots and digging holes.
Cleaning up messes on fake grass for dogs is a cinch — just pick up the solid waste (which can’t get lost or stuck like it does in overgrown grass) and rinse away liquid waste with a hose to prevent odor and bacteria build-up.
2. Driving Ranges
The maintenance profile of golf courses is enormous — so much water and mowing!
While replacing traditional grass with artificial turf on an entire golf course might not be practical, it can be a major win for driving ranges.
When comparing artificial turf vs. real grass putting greens, artificial grass is much easier to maintain than natural grass, as no mowing or watering is necessary to keep the green, well, green.
By choosing a durable, long-lasting artificial turf product, you can lower your maintenance costs, keep the driving range looking fabulous, and raise your bottom line.
You may even be able to increase your business hours, as you can spend more hours open if you don’t need to close for maintenance.
In mild climates, you may also be able to extend your season, since your grass will be green during every month of the year.
3. Mini-Golf Courses
Many (if not most) mini-golf courses install artificial grass putting greens.
Artificial grass is much more practical to maintain in the small, oddly-shaped spaces you see at mini-golf courses.
(Mowing and weeding around castles and windmills would be obnoxious at best and hazardous at worst.)
This is true for both commercial mini-golf establishments as well as backyard putting greens.
Fake grass gives you a smooth playing surface that will optimize an outdoor game of putt-putt or the time you spend working on your short game in the comfort of your backyard.
Regardless of the putting green design, fake grass is an ideal way to keep that even, manicured look without all the maintenance.
4. Playgrounds & Children’s Play Areas
Park managers and principals are opting to install artificial turf as a kid-safe play-area ground cover for parks and playgrounds.
Artificial turf is durable and holds up well to the high traffic from children’s feet much better than natural grass, which is prone to ruts and holes.
It’s also possible to install a foam layer underneath synthetic grass, which provides extra cushion in case of falls or trips.
Additionally, many pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers are necessary for keeping natural grass looking nice, but many of these are toxic to children.
For these reasons, using artificial turf as a ground cover is often the safest option for playgrounds and children’s play areas.
5. Sports Fields / Inlay Logos
It takes many hours, multiple machines, a team of landscapers, and a whole lot of fuel to make the green playing fields you see under the Friday night lights.
Teams from football to softball, from little league to pro are choosing artificial turf over the real stuff.
One of the most obvious benefits of artificial turf is that you can redirect the resources (money, people, water, etc.) devoted to greening up the turf to more important things.
Another unique benefit to synthetic turf it it’s customization capability.
Artificial grass offers your sports’ program endless creativity for branding and can be made to match your school’s colors or display a custom inlaid turf logo.
This makes a huge impact on fans and visitors to your field.
After all, who can forget the iconic blue “smurf turf” of Boise State University?
With synthetic turf, you won’t need to spray paint the field with your logo after every mow.
Instead, emblazon your school spirit on the field permanently in artificial grass.
6. Doggy Daycare Facilities
Natural grass won’t stand a chance at keeping up with the high canine traffic at doggy daycare facilities.
Only artificial grass will look green and pristine after 7 days a week of running and romping from dozens of dogs.
Not only is artificial grass durable and long-lasting enough to avoid the ruts and holes dogs make in real grass, it saves water and fuel costs.
Also, fake grass doesn’t require fertilizer or weed killers, which can be toxic to dogs.
Synthetic grass is much cleaner than natural grass, in that there is little to no mud in yards with artificial grass — a huge convenience for dog boarding facilities
Artificial grass is also less likely to harbor pests like fleas and ticks than traditional grass, making synthetic turf an ideal option for doggy daycare businesses.
It’s for these reasons and more that one of the most popular residential turf applications is as a ground cover when creating a dog-friendly backyard.
7. Office Buildings
Business owners install artificial grass at office building sites, both for the interior and the exterior.
Outside, artificial turf is fantastic ground cover for hard-to-mow areas, such as next to sidewalks, in parking lots, or near curbs.
Fake grass is also ideal for areas that receive too much shade or water for natural grass to thrive.
Nowadays, many companies are taking artificial grass a step further and decorating the inside of their offices with it.
Natural grass could never grow on a wall or under tables or in the office cafeteria, but many avant-garde interior decorators are using fake grass to add a spritz of green to rooftops, patios, walkways and more.
Artificial grass provides a fresh, organic feel, whether it’s indoors or out.
8. Swimming Pool Decks / Pool Areas
Commercial properties including water parks, community pools, and apartment complexes often install fake grass on swimming pool decks and in pool areas for many reasons.
Artificial grass around swimming pools:
Because it reduces the risk of burns and falls that you’d get with a smooth surface like concrete, artificial grass also reduces your liability as a business owner by creating a safer environment for pool-goers.
9. Gyms / Athletic Facilities
To simulate outdoor workout conditions, many gyms and athletic facilities install artificial grass in workout areas.
Fake grass provides traction and durability for soccer sprints and football blocking drills.
Synthetic turf also absorbs more shock than traditional commercial flooring and can be combined with a foam pad underneath for additional cushioning power.
This is especially important for athletes practicing high-impact sports like wrestling and martial arts.
The durability of fake grass allows it to stand up to abuse from dropped weights, heavy equipment, and high foot traffic.
10. Rooftops, Decks, Balconies, Outdoor Living Areas
The owners and property managers for apartment buildings often install artificial grass on balconies, decks, patios and outdoor living spaces.
Each type of location enjoys a different benefit from natural-looking, synthetic grass.
Artificial grass installations on decks, patios, and balconies at the office break up the stereotypical, sterile environment of short-pile carpet and cubicles, producing a more organic ambiance that gives space for collaboration and creativity.
11. Veterinarians
Veterinarians know that nervous pups need to “go” before they come into the office, so the landscape around the office is likely to get used as a bathroom quite often.
They also know that anxious dogs will pace or dig when they’re in a new, scary environment like a medical office.
For these reasons, veterinarians install artificial turf in many places both in and around their facilities.
Additionally, fake grass at a veterinarian’s office produces the following benefits:
Artificial grass can go where no mower can, especially in enclosed dog runs or doggy potty areas.
Fake grass is the perfect solution for providing dogs with a clean, safe place to run around or do their business at a veterinarian’s office.
12. Apartment Complexes
Oftentimes, apartment complexes have small patches of grass in parking lots or between buildings that are difficult to maintain and awkward to mow.
To deal with this problem, owners of apartment complexes and property managers can install artificial grass in or around apartment buildings.
By opting for artificial grass, owners and property managers:
And as a bonus for tenants, no sleep will ever get interrupted by a noisy mower cutting the grass outside the apartment.
Wrapping Up the 12 Most Common Commercial Turf Applications
Artificial turf can’t be installed everywhere — but it comes close.
Fake grass is a great solution for greening up areas where having real grass would be difficult or impossible.
Whether your establishment is a waterpark, an office building, or a sports arena, the low-maintenance profile and durability will boost your business and increase your bottom line—all while reducing the hassle and expense of maintenance.
If you want to know how installing artificial turf can add beauty and functionality to your office or business, give the team at Ideal Turf a call today.
You can get your FREE artificial grass design and/or installation estimate by clicking the “GET A QUOTE” button, or feel free to give us a call at 800-204-4650.
