Putting Greens News & Blog

Putting with the Rich & Famous

Tuesday, January 17th, 2006

Michael Jordan, Celine Dion, Justin Timberlake and Vince Gill are just a few of the high-profile individuals committed to improving their golf games at home.

Arizona Diamondback and two-time Cy Young Award winner Randy Johnson is a self-professed golf “nut who installed a putting green in his backyard in Scottsdale, Arizona. Acclaimed actor Samuel L. Jackson is another home putting green owner. Since installing an artificial turf putting green in his backyard he tells one synthetic green manufacturer, “I read breaks quicker and with more accuracy. I also adjust to speed better and three-puts are now a thing of the past. It’s my best golf investment since golf school.

Super Bowl quarterback and Fox Sports commentator Troy Aikman also has noticed a change in his game. “With the ability to practice regularly on such high-quality and realisitic conditions, not to mention the convenience of it, my short game has greatly improved. It’s also become a favorite activity when I invite my still-competitive former teammates over for get-togethers. And, yes, there’s something to be said for home-field advantage.

PGA members are an obvious choice for at-home putting greens. And with so many advances in the quality of artificial grasses, players are more willing to not only endorse but actually practice on them. John Daly installed an artificial green behind his house in Arkansas. About his personal synthetic putting green, Vijay Singh has said, “Putting and chip shots react as they do on the natural grass greens I see each week on tour.

Says golf legend Hale Erwin, “Being a professional golfer, I want to practice my short game on a golf green that simulates the conditions on tour. Fred Couples says his putting green helps him “improve my short game, yet its fun for our entire family and it looks great in our yard.

Other fans of the personal putting green are business people who cannot find the time to hit the links but who want to practice at home. Business Week magazine profiled Jerry Jurgensen, Chief Executive Officer of Nationwide, based in Columbus, Ohio, who signed a five-year, $50 million deal to succeed Buy.com as the umbrella sponsor of the PGA’s developmental tour. Given the demands of his current job, (he plays) mostly weekends and partial rounds after work. To keep his short game tuned, he installed an artificial putting green in his backyard in Columbus.

And, of course, there is President Bush, who practices is short game on the putting green at Camp David installed by the late President Dwight Eisenhower.

You don’t have to be a professional golfer or celebrity to have your own putting green. But if you do have your own home putting green, you are in great company.