Actually I paint on this paper professionally with synthetic brushes all the time. The thing to remember is that every watercolour paper has it's own characteristics and it's pretty common to use half a pad just learning to effectively use that paper even if you are accomplished with watercolour. I find this paper very good BUT there are quirks. It is not as nice to paint on wet on dry, it seems to grab the paint. The workaround is to damp the paper and paint wet in wet and you will get beautiful flat washes that way. You will get horrible brush marks if you try to do flat washes wet on dry. If you prefer painting wet on dry then Fabriano artistico will suit you better as it has longer working time. SW is known for having a gritty feel under the brush which I noticed the first time I used it. But after using it for some time I have adjusted my technique and getting very good results on it changing my opinion of the paper. Watercolour is frustrating for any beginner (its not an easy medium) but the best thing you can do is buy professional paper from the start and stick with it until you get your technique down pat on that paper.

The big mistake all beginners make is to use a cheaper paper or spend inordinate amounts of time and money trying to find a cheaper paper to use. Its a waste of time. Just spend the money, get professional paper from the start and learn that way. It is worth more for improvement than hours of practice.