Back Nine Greens creates golf lovers’ personal playgrounds

When does the tournament begin? For anyone who follows the Masters, the answer is: The back nine on Sunday. That is the inspiration behind the handcrafted backyard putting greens and pitching areas created by Back Nine Greens. Not merely designed for enjoyment of the game of golf, they’re also created so users can appreciate the magnificence and stunning beauty of the course on which it is played.

For many, the vision of a dream home includes a golf course view, an idea central to the team of craftsmen at Back Nine Greens in all they do. “We think of it as ‘golf art,’” says CEO and owner Dominic Nappi, who founded the company in 1997.

Back Nine Greens does not simply install practice greens of artificial turf, but transformative landscapes where greens and even tee boxes become natural features of the terrain as they would on an actual golf course, including surrounding fringe, rough, and bunkers if desired.

The quality simulated grass he uses today is a far cry from the original AstroTurf people may imagine when they think of artificial grass. This is not green carpet or points of prickly plastic. Not only are there varying lengths, the individual blades in the best of today’s products are buttressed with thatch just like living grass. While homeowners may initially be enticed by their beauty, the greens respond and roll like the real thing, a necessity for the serious golfer. Nappi takes great pride in the fact the company’s clientele ranges from celebrities Cindy Crawford and Mark Wahlberg to professional golfers Ken Venturi and Dave Stockton.

It is not the quality of the material alone that gives Back Nine Greens their true performance. Equally important is the quality of the installation. This is landscape architecture of the highest order, which requires meticulous attention to every detail from the planning stage through design and final execution. The craftsmen at Back Nine Greens are masters at all three.

“Every design is unique, so the first step is getting to know our clients and their vision,” Nappi explains. “Our clients’ trust is essential to our doing our best work, and once we get the green light, we give it our undivided attention.”

The obvious advantage of synthetic turf over real grass is that it requires no water and only minimal upkeep. That ease of maintenance, plus golf’s tremendous allure and its aura of leisure and luxury, has brought Back Nine Greens numerous commercial clients as well. The company has created everything from putting courses to major practice facilities for hotels, office parks, and high-tech driving ranges across the country.

Still, the team at Back Nine Greens takes the greatest pleasure in working with individuals to make their vision of perfection a reality — transforming backyards into golf oases of sculptural beauty. backninegreens.com