My DIY Backyard Putting Green

[VetteRon]

During COVID lockdown I bought a net and made a hitting mat so I could hit some balls.  We had this fugly 21’ round pool that we rarely used since the kids moved out.  Spring came around and I was tired of maintaining something I rarely used.    Then I got the bright idea of putting in a putting green.  The pool was on a giant concrete slab with a slight slope away from the house.  I did a bunch of searching online and couldn’t find anybody who installed a putting green directly on concrete. But there were tons of people who put them in on compacted bases that looked like they were nearly as firm as concrete so I decided to give it a shot.  Here are the steps I took.  (sorry I couldn't figure out how to place the pictures with the appropriate step.  You'll have to figure out which is which.)

Step one, figure out what turf was available and how much it cost.  Having someone else install it looked to be prohibitively expensive, so I decided to do it myself.  I got quotes and samples from a couple of different companies and estimated it would cost about $3k.  OK, I can do this.  So I got to work.

Step two: get rid of that damned pool and pressure wash the concrete.

Step three: what to do about holes?  I decided to core drill 4 ¼” holes and bought some 6” regulation cups and pins off amazon (kingtop).  I had to buy the drill bit and drill adapter online, but was able to borrow the drill from my father-in-law.  The maintenance guy at work suggested building a moat around the hole with clay and run water in it to help lubricate the bit.  I also made a jig to keep the bit from wandering when I started.  It took about 30 minutes per hole including rest stops for my aching back.  They turned out pretty good, but not perfectly level.  In hindsight I should have bit the bullet and rented a core drill with stand from the local equipment rental shop.

Step four: decide which turf to go with.  I narrowed it down to a few I liked.  I wanted to have a putting surface and a fringe.  So I took my favorite sample to my local course and laid them on the practice green to see which matched the best.  The samples I chose were almost a dead match for the real thing.  I placed my order and waited patiently

Step five: The turf arrived and I enlisted my neighbors and the truck driver to get the rolls off the truck.  I ordered 3 rolls, one for fringe and two for the putting surface, all 15 feet x 28 feet. The fringe roll weighed 250 lbs. and each putting roll weighed 210 lbs.   There was no way I was doing this myself.

Step six. Roll out the rolls to let them stretch out and make some rough cuts.

Step seven: make some final cuts and seam everything together using seam tape and adhesive.  The seams didn’t turn out perfect, but they aren’t bad enough to affect the ball roll so I’m good with it.  My wife and I did this and we did our best.  Some areas of the seams disappeared while others are clearly visible.  To me this was the most difficult part of the operation.

Step eight: Add sand.  I ordered enough green sand from a local company to have 2 lbs. per square foot for the fringe area.  The turf sales rep told me the putting surface would run at about an 8-9 on the stimpmeter without sand.  So I decided to forego adding sand to the putting surface just n case it was too fast.  Turns out it’s pretty fast without the sand, about the same as my local course.  I ended up purchasing 850 lbs. of sand in 17, 50 lb. bags.  I applied the sand using a drop spreader while my wife came behind me with a broom to brush it all in and stand up the fibers.

Step nine: time to cut the holes.  I very carefully went cut through the turf following the edge of the holes in the concrete.  I trimmed any hanging fibers with scissors.  Then I put in the cups and pins and waited patiently for my custom flags to show up. 

Step ten: Finally, my flags arrived and Margarita Links was officially opened!  While I was installing the putting green the cottonwood decided to start blowing like a blizzard.  I ended up buying a cheap vacuum from Walmart to “mow” the green.  My wife wouldn’t let me use her Dyson.  I can’t blame her.

Step eleven: I had planned on putting my hitting mat directly on the fringe in the area I designated as the driving range.  But, The fibers held the mat up so when I stepped on it the mat would move.  I could actually walk it across the fringe by stepping on it repeatedly.  So I decided to cut in the matt by removing a section of the fringe and filling it in with some remnant putting surface.  I had to patch it in because I didn’t have a large enough remnant to cover the entire area in one piece.  It’s good enough but not perfect.  The mat I bought is a 5’ x 5’ real feal golf mat and is excellent.  I left enough space around the matt to hold a golf ball tray and my skytrak simulator.  Since it’s a square matt I can rotate it if it starts showing signs of wear and I can put the net in a couple of different directions.  Then I drug the net into place an voila, now I’m really done!

Costs?  With sand, seaming tape, drill bit, shipping, tax, etc. my total cost came to $4,127.17  for the putting green and fringe.  The driving range including the mat, net, and ball tray came to $681.48.  Waay cheaper than it would have cost to have someone install it for me. 

It looks incredible and I’m so glad I’m done.  It’s awesome to be able to chip and putt anytime I want or to hit the “driving range”.  I doubt my game will get any better because I’ve been playing a long time and I still suck.  This is mostly for my wife and my personal enjoyment.

 

 

[Nolan220]

Looks great ! 

[fozcycle]

That looks great! What part of the country do you live?

[RollingGreens]

That’s awesome! Love the creativity to transform the backyard. That’s a backyard I could get used to using

[cnosil]

Looks much better than the pool.  Nice work!

[Shapotomous]

That is a great transformation of the backyard!!!   

[MattF]

Great work!

[Lacassem]

I would miss the pool....but not for long having that in its place! That’s sweet!

[juspoole]

Very nice - thanks for adding all the detail.  Would love to some day have a putting green in the back yard, but probably won't be as fortunate to have it as large.   

[VetteRon]

7 hours ago, fozcycle said:

That looks great! What part of the country do you live?

Western Washington State

[VetteRon]

4 hours ago, juspoole said:

Very nice - thanks for adding all the detail.  Would love to some day have a putting green in the back yard, but probably won't be as fortunate to have it as large.   

I admit I got a little carried away.  total finished size is about 1100 square feet.

[Shapotomous]

"carried away"  is the only thing in this thread I disagree with, it looks about right to me!!    

[Chris Fecko]

Looks great!