How to Build a Putting Green
Building your own putting green is a great way to improve your short game whenever you feel like it without having to pay the golf course or make a trip somewhere else. You will discover that many pros have their own putting greens in their backyards where they practice for many hours a week. Owning your own putting green is one of the best ways to better your score and get rid of your handicap.
When you first mention that you want to build a putting green in your backyard, you are usually faced with dissuasion as they can take a lot of looking after. A putting green is not just a finely cut lawn cut out in a nice shape with a hole in. They are built from the ground up and many factors need to be considered. Here we will go over some important points about what is needed to build and maintain your own putting green.
Drainage
putting greenOne of the main factors when thinking about building a putting green is the drainage. The water needs to be able to evacuate easily, whether it is water from rain or irrigation. If the drainage is poor, puddles will appear, making the green unusable.
The safest way to accomplish this is to build the putting green above ground level. The green should be built in such a way that water is able to run off the green. To accomplish this, it is wise to build the green in a sloped fashion.
Sand
Greens are sensitive to water, as the root of the soil needs to be sandy, using sand means that water will not absorb and sink into it as it would on a normal lawn. The green needs to be sandy to be able to withstand all the foot traffic from people regularly walking on it.
Alternative
One of the reasons that more people do not have their own putting greens is it usually takes someone who is really into their gardening to be able to maintain it. An alternative is to use synthetic material to create the green. There are many companies that specialize in supplying synthetic grass used for this purpose. You will also find that there are golf courses that use fake grass to stand the best chance of having a working putting green all through the year.
How to Go about it
The first decision is deciding on whether you want to build it yourself or employ a company to come in and do it for you. Going the company route can incur high costs, but you will be guaranteed a smooth nice surface to putt on, as they are built by professionals. If you want to tackle it yourself you can save on the labor costs. The professional putting green installers can usually sell you all the materials you need to build it yourself, so when looking for materials they should be the first people to speak to.
If you want to take the do-it-yourself route then the first thing to do is measure the area you have available for the putting green. Using a tape measure, take down the dimensions and pass them onto the supplier so that they can send you enough material to get the job done.
How much will it Cost
Putting greens on a real golf course can cost anything upwards of $50,000. It’s good to know that if you want to build a putting green in your backyard you do not have to spend nearly as much, you could get away with it for a few hundred dollars for a 1000sf grass green.
The putting green will require a layer on its base for the shape of the green you have chosen and a layer for drainage which is usually constructed from crushed stones and PVC piping. Finally, you will need a layer of sand and peat of about 10” in depth to accommodate the moisture.
Other things to consider are sprinkler systems for maintenance or even hiring some else to maintain the green. If you want bunkers surrounding the green, this will obviously cost more.
Maintenance
Be aware that you cannot use a standard rotary bladed lawn mower to cut the grass on your putting green. The blades used to cut a golf green are reel type blades which can cut roll and cut the grass to 3/16”. They use a motion that pinches the grass off instead of slicing it. You can purchase a putting green type mower for around $280 and upwards depending on what you want. They come in gas powered, electric and hand powered versions, so you must make the decision depending on the size of your green.
Other than cutting the green to keep the grass at the correct length you will need to complete these tasks too: fertilization, top-dressing, ridding herbicides and pesticides and aeration.
Using a synthetic grass, you will cut down dramatically the need to maintain the putting green. With advances in technology, this is probably the best route to take. It may cost a little more in the beginning but you will save time and money in the long run through less maintenance. It will also avoid having to overcome pests and decaying problems that can easily arise from using real grass.