From Golf.com Sept. 8th 2025

Fake grass has a real and growing role in golf.

Once largely reserved for backyard short-game setups, it has spread its reach into all kinds of public venues. The most prominent of those projects is SoFi Center in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., the indoor home of TGL. But the synthetic trend has taken (artificial) root at lower-profile playgrounds coast to coast.

The latest? Shortland Golf Club in Portland, Ore.

Shortland is the brainchild of Mike Fritz, a longtime golf junky and former footwear developer for Nike Golf who saw a void in his hometown market. To the east of Portland, some 45 minutes into the suburbs, was a sweet par-3 course, providing quick and easy access to the game.

“But there was nothing really like that on the west side of town,” Fritz says.

What to do about it was another matter. Land for a new course was scarce and expensive.

“I figured the only way to pull it off was to find something that was closing or ready to be sold,” he says.

Fritz found just that in the old footprint of Sandelie Golf Course, a modest 18-hole layout, 30 minutes from downtown, whose owner was ready to retire. By 2022, the land had been parceled and was on the blocks. Fritz acquired a 31-acre quadrant and put a plan in place.

Read the full article at: https://golf.com/travel/shortland-golf-club-portland-synthetic-turf-par-3/