During the last ten years in Ireland the demand for artificial grass surfaces has risen quite dramatically. The lottery fund has help many sports clubs and schools install new pitches and surfaces made from various artificial surfaces.
Thornton Sports has reacted to this demand by providing high quality Astroturf and artificial grass surfaces to the whole of Ireland. Astroturf was the original branded name for artificial surfaces and like the dominant brand Hover the artificial grass has come to be known as Astroturf.
However the days of old where Astroturf would shred your legs has long passed. I remember playing on these surfaces more than 20 years ago – they were often slippery in the rain and completely unforgiving under foot in the rain. However the technology has moved on considerably during the last twenty years.
The last time I played football on an artificial surface it was a pleasure, only a couple of years back. Now the synthetic surfaces are generally of a shorter pile, slip proof to a certain extent and have a rubber backing.
The rubber backing and slip proof surface now make this an enjoyable surface to play on – without the terror of being taken down by someone leaving your legs raw and sometimes cut and grazed.
Astroturf was first sold under the name Chemgrass – now that doesn’t sound like a healthy surface to play on. The name was changed to Astroturf in 1966 and since then the sky has become the limit for this all weather surface.
Some notable football teams have installed an artificial surface; Real Madrid was the first in Europe. My days of running about playing 5 a side football are over, but I still love Astroturf for my occasional tennis games.