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An indoor putting green that’s like the real thing

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There’s nothing golfers enjoy more than perfectly manicured putting greens.

You know the ones — the silky smooth surfaces that are usually reserved for pros and top private clubs.

But no matter what course a golfer plays, his or her greens are never pristine year round. Maintenance and climate take a toll on even the best natural greens.

Yes, synthetic putting greens have improved significantly in the last decade, but the ones that most closely mimic real greens are complicated to install and require constant maintenance. Well, not all of them, actually.

Meet “The Only Green,” a standalone, no-maintenance indoor putting green that allows golfers to raise individual parts of the green’s surface to create different combinations of breaks. Its 4-foot-by-20-foot green has 3 million different break configurations, which means a golfer could putt on a slightly different green every day for about 8200 years.

Tim Ummel, co-founder and managing partner of The Golf Tank, the company that owns The Only Green, says the secret to the product is its special construction that not only allows golfers to quickly and easily create putts with different combinations of breaks — its proprietary surface allows the ball to roll in a way that’s indistinguishable from the best greens in the world.

Ummel and Golf Tank partner Mike Helfrich are golf industry veterans — Ummel has spent 20 years in various golf businesses, while Helfrich was one of the original employees of HotStix, a Scottsdale-based custom club fitting facility.

Their deep rolodex of industry connections led them to form The Golf Tank in July 2012, which was inspired by the ABC reality TV show “Shark Tank.” The Shark Tank features a panel of entrepreneurs, headlined by Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who invest in the products and businesses of other entrepreneurs.

Like Shark Tank, Ummel said The Golf Tank plans to invest in ideas and companies where they see growth potential. The Only Green, for example, ranges in price from $3,295 to more than $10,000, which differentiates it from other indoor putting greens.

“We know how to market to those kind of customers, Ummel said. “We’re also looking for equipment that everyone has got to have . . . products like the Olimar Trimetal that completely revolutionized things.”

The company’s first order of business was purchasing a company called “Dream Green,” which was the The Only Green’s old name. Dream Green inventor Rocklin Duffy actually began making his high-end indoor putting greens in 1989. But he was the only one making the greens, so production took seven to nine weeks. That meant that Dream Greens were largely a secret in the golf world.

In September 2012, The Golf Tank officially purchased Dream Green from Duffy, 67, and his wife Lisa. The founders then spent four months creating tooling that kept the greens the same, but allowed them to be produced much faster — in about seven days.

The Only Green launched in January and is sold out of The Golf Tank’s 4000-square-foot Scottsdale-based headquarters, a discreet facility located nearby the Scottsdale Air Center. It’s is available in four different sizes that take their names from famous golf architects: The Ross (2×8), The Old Tom (3×12), The MacDonald (4×12), The Tillinghast (4×16) and The MacKenzie (4×20).

The 2-foot-by-8-foot model will set golfers back $3,295 with a hard maple or ash wood base, while darker natural woods such as cherry, walnut, hickory and bubinga cost $200 more. The MacKenzie, the largest model, has a starting price of $9995. For all the models, custom lengths, headboards and enamel paint logos are available for additional charges as well.

Ummel said that he is pleased with sales of The Only Green so far, and has interested buyers that range from homeowners who want one unit to high-end department stores that are looking to purchase several hundred units to put in the men’s sections of their department stores.

Check out the photos below we shot of The Only Green at The Golf Tank’s headquarters.

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3 Comments

3 Comments

  1. David Lindholm

    Feb 27, 2013 at 11:17 am

    Still have found nothing that compares to Big Moss Golf greens. Have had mine for 8 years and no tracking, great product…does not cost thousands of dollars.

  2. Vitor

    Feb 17, 2013 at 11:27 am

    What are those numbered marks for?

  3. Couples fan

    Feb 16, 2013 at 2:27 pm

    That’s really nice, but when u start talking prices like that, def not in my budget for a practice green. I think I would get a membership at a nice private club and do my practice there. But you can’t have beautiful weather everywhere, so I can understand why some would want.

    Just my opinion….

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Whats in the Bag

Jimmy Walker WITB 2024 (March)

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Driver: Callaway Paradym Ai Smoke Triple Diamond (9 degrees @8)
Shaft: AutoFlex SF505 XX

3-wood: Callaway Paradym (15 degrees @14)
Shaft: AutoFlex SF505 XX

5-wood: Callaway Paradym (18 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Ventus Black 8 X

Irons: Titleist T200 (3, 4), Titleist 620 MB (5-9)
Shafts: True Temper AMT Tour White X100

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (48-10F, 54-08M), WedgeWorks (60-L)
Shafts: True Temper AMT Tour White X100, True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Putter: Scotty Cameron GSS prototype

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Ball: Titleist Pro V1

Check out more in-hand photos of Jimmy Walker’s clubs in the forums.

 

 

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Whats in the Bag

Thorbjørn Olesen WITB 2024 (March)

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Driver: TaylorMade Qi10 LS (10.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei AV Raw White 65 TX

3-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 High Launch (16.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei CK Pro White 80 TX

5-wood: TaylorMade Qi10 (18 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Tensei AV Raw White 85 TX

Irons: TaylorMade P790 (3), TaylorMade P7MC (4-6), TaylorMade P7MB (7-9)
Shafts: Project X 125 6.5

Wedges: TaylorMade Hi-Toe (56-10, 60-10)
Shafts: Project X 125 6.5

Putter: TaylorMade TP Reserve B11

Grips: Lamkin

Check out more in-hand photos of Olesen’s clubs in the forums.

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Equipment

From the Forums: How are you liking TaylorMade’s Qi10 fairway woods?

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In our forums, our members have been discussing TaylorMade’s new Qi10 fairway woods. WRXer ‘ace036’ plans on testing them in the next few weeks, saying: “from how they look from address and frame the ball is much more appealing to my eye versus my current Paradym fairway woods.” And our members have been sharing their positive feedback in our forum.

Here are a few posts from the thread, but make sure to check out the entire discussion and have your say at the link below.

  • Edwardsr: “I got fit into the Qi10 core model with Ventus TR Black 8X and it’s absolutely amazing for me.During the fitting with my 12-15 swings with it, it was the most efficient combo I’ve ever tested, tons of 1.48 smash and 3 or 4 1.49 smash (which I don’t think I’ve ever gotten on 3 wood on a launch monitor).”
  • MiloMalt: “No complaints and so far only high praise for my Qi10 Tour 3 and 5 wood. I’m getting great numbers and a nice penetrating ball flight with great height whereas with my old TSi2 4 wood it was spinny and ballooning and short because of that.”
  • courcy75: “The Qi10 Tour 3 wood I just put in play has been outstanding for me. Finally found something I like as much as the 07 burner tp.”

Entire Thread: “From the Forums: How are you liking TaylorMade’s Qi10 fairway woods?”

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