Having spent his career as a greenkeeper, Andrew knows how much work it takes to keep a lawn looking lush and green. There’s the hours spent watering, mowing, and fertilising, not to mention the ongoing battle to keep it bug and bindii free.
It’s a battle that has been waged in backyards across the country for years – but with a shift away from the traditional quarter acre blocks towards lower maintenance landholdings, increasing numbers of homeowners are turning their attention to a very different turfing option.
Once just a mainstay of sporting complexes and childcare centres, synthetic grass is now taking root in suburban backyards and popping up in inner city courtyards.
Even Andrew has downed his greenkeeper tools to take up the banner for the artificial surface, joining forces with his longtime friend Anthony to establish Premier Court Co. Anthony has run a successful synthetic grass and sports surfaces business for more than 15 years and has been building synthetic grass sports surfaces throughout Australia for 20 years.
“We were school friends and played football together. I have a landscaping background, I’m a greenkeeper by trade and have spent my time on golf courses and racecourses, while Anthony has been in the synthetic grass business for many years,” Andrew said.
“We thought we’d combine our skills and this business has been going for two years now. We’re based in Sydney but we work anywhere, we’ve had jobs in Port Macquarie, Wollongong, we’ve done football fields in Perth, and we’d like to get into Newcastle.”
Premier Court Co. provides synthetic grass solutions for both residential and commercial use, with applications including everything from front and back yards to pool areas, courtyards, school playgrounds or even those areas shaded by trees where grass just won’t seem to grow.
“The bulk of the jobs we do are putting in user-friendly lawns that people don’t have to mow,” Anthony said.
“It’s low maintenance, it’s green all year round, you don’t have to worry about bindies, and it’s more environmentally friendly, you don’t have to use a mower, which pollutes the air, you don’t have to use fertilisers or chemicals, and you use less water.”
Anthony said the synthetic grass was far quicker to install than traditional turf and was an affordable option without the ongoing costs associated with keeping your grass green and healthy.
Aside from the standard requests, he said they were happy to discuss more specific requirements with their clients and in the past had installed everything from putt-putt golf greens to a virtual golf driving range inside a house.
Anthony said the business also provides synthetic surfaces for a variety of sports clubs and is the preferred layer of tennis courts in Sydney.
With football participation rates once again topping the list of the most popular sport for children, there has also been a growing demand from parents who are installing synthetic grass practice areas in their backyards.
This is an area Andrew and Anthony are particularly passionate about, with the men sharing a love of football and a desire to see even more children playing the sport in the future. Both have played football at various levels locally, while Anthony spent time playing high-level football in England and Scotland.
“Football’s going to be really big in Australia in the next 10 or 12 years, and parents want a backyard where their kids can have a kick around,” Andrew said.
“We like to create sporting backyards for kids; having played football ourselves we understand what kids want in the backyard, and we try to make it user-friendly for their parents, who don’t want to do any mowing.
“We’ve even marked the white lines on the grass for kids who are using it for football or hockey.”
Outside of “sporting backyards”, the business is also looking to work with sporting clubs to install five-a-side football facilities on their disused areas such as bowling greens or tennis courts.
Anthony said they have already set up a facility for another company in Perth, which was operating very successfully.
Now they are looking for a venue in Newcastle interested in exploring the same concept, with a complete package that includes constructing the fencing, laying the synthetic grass surface, installing the lighting and even operating the facility for the sporting club. For more information contact Andrew on 0423 134 704.
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