Synthetic Turf: A History
In the early days of sports, teams played on fields that were seeded with real grass. Unfortunately, the lack of synthetic turf meant that by the end of the season the field was a virtual mud hole rather than a place fit to hold a game. Particularly on soccer and football fields, where the players wear cleats and drive themselves powerfully on the ground, conditions became horrible. Even under slightly raining conditions, athletes playing on real grass surfaces often emerge from the field covered in mud and wet to the bone.
With the advent of the first artificial turf, everything changed. Stadiums and big arenas were quick to convert their fields, providing their players with an excellent new surface that never got muddy and always provided good traction. But there was a downside. This early turf, while it had many benefits, was also notorious for causing abrasive injury. Knees and elbows that met with the early field turf were left with lots of painful scrapes.
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Evolving Artificial Turf
After several years of dissatisfaction with existing turf styles, coaches and athletes finally witnessed a change. Companies began developing more natural grass alternatives, providing the same excellent traction and durability but with a more realistic texture (have you ever known real grass to scratch?).
Today's synthetic turf has a more authentic texture than ever before. It is also safer than ever, and has been installed by many homeowners with children and pets, who never would have risked using older turf styles.
Today's Field Turf
The end result of the continual engineering is the modern playing surface that you see today. Turf can be very creatively designed and built so as to minimize injuries and maximize traction; indeed, artificial turf today has all of the benefits of real grass and none of the drawbacks.
Homeowners, too, can enjoy the benefits of these design innovations by using the same field turf as a lawn or putting green in their own home.