Greener Golf

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May 20, 2007
War is grueling work, so what is wrong with playing a little golf in Kuwait?

Thanks to an alert professional golfer and Synthetic Turf International (STI), a Jupiter-based artificial turf supplier, soldiers at the US Expeditionary Medical Facility at Camp Arifjan in Kuwait no longer have to play golf on the desert sand.

It all started when a church pastor in Rhode Island told golfer Brad Faxon about the soldiers' plight. Faxon eventually got in touch with STI CEO William E. Campbell to inquire about donating an artificial putting green to the base.

Campbell, who served in the Army Corps of Engineers during the late 1950s, immediately agreed. Faxon covered the cost of shipping the 12-foot by 30-foot green to the Middle East, and also sent golf clubs, putters and balls. In its press release announcing its donation, STI reports that the green was apparently realistic enough that Kuwaiti customs initially thought it was an actual agricultural product, and refused it entry into the country.

"We've had a great response," Campbell says. "Soldiers at the hospital sent us a thank you note and pictures of them putting on the green and holding a sign thanking STI." – Jaime Hernandez



Synthetic Turf of New England can be contacted by phone 1-877-885-6374 or email info@syntheticturfne.com