Synthetic turf is quickly becoming the standard surface material for installation in high school sports fields. It increases play time, morale, reduces injuries and maintenance, and saves money.

One high school in Lee County is witness to the tremendous benefits that installing synthetic turf in a high school sports field can yield to the school's teams and coaches. The high school's football coach says that the synthetic turf has made the field look beautiful all the time, no matter the weather. Furthermore, he says that his team has sustained less injuries because the field's lack of divots and ruts.

The synthetic turf has allowed all of the high school's teams and organizations to use the fields consecutively, one after another, day in and day out, with no wear or intervals in between sessions for maintenance and repair. This was unheard of when the field had natural turf installed.

The soccer team's coach says that the synthetic turf is imperative if the team wants to be able to compete against the other teams in their region. Half of the teams in their region have synthetic turf fields. Synthetic turf guarantees that their team gets sufficient practice time in and then some. This increased practice time results in higher confidence and morale, which in turn results in more wins.

Artificial turf is a new hit among baseball players. One high school team in Nevada had artificial turf installed in their baseball field and the players and coach love it. It cost the school a quarter of a million dollars to install the turf. This initial cost will be recouped later on in money they save on maintenance. The coach says that he's wanted to install the artificial turf in the baseball field for years.

The main reason they installed the artificial turf is the weather. During the stormy spring season, for example, the team had to spend countless hours waiting for the field to be repaired after rainfall. Now that they have artificial turf installed, they can be playing on the field in as little as an hour after rainfall.

The players love it too. The shortstop says that the artificial turf gives the field a uniform surface so that he can anticipate where the ball is going to go and how it will bounce on the field. No more bad hops. Also, when sliding into the base, he says it's like sliding on really nice grass every time.

The coach expects the artificial turf field to last 12 to 14 years.  

Turf Experts

Immediately following Governor Jerry Brown's announcement that a 25% reduction in California's water usage is mandated, a good number of residents and homeowners in California agree that the state's approval of artificial grass is the beginning of a larger wave to come in the future. During his initial announcement, Governor Jerry Brown stated that the idea of having a nice little green grass lawn getting watered every day is a thing of the past.

The California Water Resources Control Board is scheduled to release its proposal for how they will achieve a 25% reduction in two weeks. The restrictions are to take effect on June 1, 2015.

Many are now not only open to but keen on converting their lawns to artificial grass. One homeowner in Orange County, for instance, says that she and her mother have been living in a house with a real grass lawn for 60 years. But as they went shopping this weekend they walked by an artificial grass supply store and her mother declared that artificial grass is the yard surfacing material of the future. Both she and her mother are open to installing artificial grass if keeping their current real grass lawn becomes unsustainable.

However, she said that she and her mother are not willing to go so far as to install drought-tolerant xeriscaping like cacti, etc., in their yard, because it doesn't provide the functionality that a fake grass lawn provides as far as being a suitable surface for the kids and the whole family to play and supporting physical activities.

Amazon.com, electronic commerce company, has expanded its services to include connecting homeowners with landscape contractors. The site, Amazon Home Services, launched earlier this month and allows based businesses to sell their services through the website.

It may be in the very near future when artificial grass installers, too, are connected to homeowners looking to save money and water on their lawn care through Amazon's new portal. Amazon is already a seller of physical products, artificial grass being one of them, but now they're trying to make way into the services marketplace, competing with such companies like TaskRabbit, Angie's List and Uber.

For example, for roughly $120 you can have your lawn mowed by an Amazon-approved lawn maintenance contractor; and if you live in the appropriate service area, you can have your goat grazed it you so fancy. Amazon's revenue model is that it takes a percentage commission from all of the services sold through their site: 20 percent from the sale price of standard services, and 15 percent from custom services.

Will Amazon become the go-to website for artificial grass installers to connect with potential clients? Perhaps.

Sean "Diddy" Combs (also known as Puff Daddy and P. Diddy) has just listed his New Jersey home for $8.5 million. And, in the character of a true connoisseur of fine living and luxury real estate, the home has a coveted putting green installed in the back yard of the property.

Whoever buys this bad boy will have access to its swimming pool, two waterfalls, lighted tennis court, two story grand foyer, fire places, sweet mahogany-paneled library, seven bedrooms, 10 bathrooms, home theater, six-car garage, indoor racquetball court, and professional-grade gym.

And of course, this exquisite home just wouldn't be complete without an artificial grass putting green for the homeowner to enjoy at his fancy. A putting green is a good investment for homeowners. It increases property value, saves money on maintenance, and can be repurposed for a myriad of activities, including entertaining guests and playing with the kids or pets.