Civil Engineer to Backyard Green Engineer: My Journey

[bendiebeer]

Greetings, fellow golf enthusiasts!

I’m embarking on a journey to transform my garden in Crosshaven, County Cork, Ireland into a golfer’s retreat, and I’d love to share my progress and gather your collective wisdom.

Background: With a civil engineering background, I’m no stranger to groundwork and drainage. Yet, the challenge of creating a putting green has been a humbling experience. I’ve scoured the internet for turf management resources and USGA guidelines, which led me to a pivotal realization: building a backyard green is a marathon, not a sprint.

Progress So Far:

Drainage (Completed 02/2023): Battling Ireland’s persistent wetness, I installed a perimeter cut-off drain to protect my future green from waterlogging.

Sand Importation (Upcoming) The clay-heavy soil in my garden is a drainage nightmare. My plan? Introduce 100mm of clean, free-draining sand and integrate it with the existing soil through rotovation, aiming for a 200mm depth to enhance drainage.

Seeding (Upcoming): A mix of bentgrass and fescue will soon take root, following expert recommendations.

The Road Ahead: This project is a test of patience and planning, with timelines and budgets intricately linked. I’m charting a course through this green-building odyssey, and I’m eager to exchange ideas with those who’ve navigated similar paths.

Have you constructed your own backyard green? I’m all ears for your stories, tips, and, of course, photos of your verdant victories.

Let’s tee off this conversation and help each other create our personal patches of golfing paradise!

Edited April 24 by bendiebeer
Took away an accidental emoji created within the text

[ejgaudette]

This sounds like a fun and time consuming project but I love it. I have thought of putting a green somewhere in the yard but seemed a bit tough to do.

Would love to see picture of how it turns out. Also what are the plans to mow it short enough?

@Tom the Golf Nut just built a green in his backyard as well last year if I remember right.

[revkev]

I have no skills in this regard but had to pop in to say hi as a third generation Irishman from an entire family of engineers - somehow that aptitude skipped me - both my grandpas were engineers, my Dads Dad was from Newry, btw abdni have family there. 
 

I hope you find some discussion partners in this thread. I would enjoy reading along and following your progress. I’ve been trying, unsuccessfully, to convince my wife to allow us to put in a green in the backyard for the past couple of years. 
 

I just changed clubs to one that put in new greens last summer. It’s a ton of work and expense. I was on the wait list for five months and have been following the progress. Floridas growing season starts soon so the hope is that they will begin to fill in and nature over the summer months.  I’ve read that a green takes about two years to truly perform properly,

Best of success with your project

[Josh Parker]

Awesome project!  I plan on doing this as well in our backyard but it will be artificial turf.  

The biggest challenge is drainage and it sounds like you have a solid plan for that. 

Can't wait to see some progress photos. 

[GolfSpy_APH]

Will be following along for sure!

Sorry don't have a ton of advice but when it is ready I will be sure to look at coming to visit and give it a round or two!

[ILMgolfnut]

Interesting project. At one point I was looking into creating an artificial turf green in my backyard, many many moons ago, but the expense and disapproval of the then-spouse nipped that idea before it ever reached the bud stage. Never would have thought of constructing a real grass green. Anxious to see how it goes

[Shapotomous]

This will be an exciting project to follow!  We have a synthetic green in our backyard which like yours has heavy clay, poorly draining soil.  Our solution was to create a raised green with a layer of 2" stone topped with a layer of 3/4" stone topped with crusher run topped with stone dust.  A swale behind the green catches surface water and routes it to a small waterfall stream beside the green. 

It has been there over 10 years and works very well, only the heaviest rain has any puddling on the green and it drains away within 30 minutes.  Obviously your top layers would be different for real grass but you may want to consider some stone layers at the bottom to promote drainage.

I will say this was a great project for us (me!) as it gets a lot of use throughout the year.  It is fun to clear it of snow in the winter and hit some putts on a warmish sunny day in February with snow all around you!  It has a rubber membrane under the grass layer that can accept wedge shots without bouncing like they hit concrete.  So I can practice up to 60 yard shots which gets me to the edge of the trees on the other side of the yard.  It was worth the $$ to put in and has cost me less over its lifetime than a boat or motorcycle would have!   

 

 

[Nick_D]

Excited to follow along with this! I've followed a bunch of different threads/video series on backyard green projects in all sorts of different forums or on youtube. I had done a deep dive and planned to do one in my backyard, but eventually decided against it due to the major time commitment it takes. Depending on the green site drainage is important, but it seems you have that figured out already! Curious what mower you have or are planning to get? We love shiny (or dirty/used) new things!

[buckpillar]

4 hours ago, bendiebeer said:

Greetings, fellow golf enthusiasts!

I’m embarking on a journey to transform my garden in Crosshaven, County Cork, Ireland into a golfer’s retreat, and I’d love to share my progress and gather your collective wisdom.

Background: With a civil engineering background, I’m no stranger to groundwork and drainage. Yet, the challenge of creating a putting green has been a humbling experience. I’ve scoured the internet for turf management resources and USGA guidelines, which led me to a pivotal realization: building a backyard green is a marathon, not a sprint.

Progress So Far:

Drainage (Completed 02/2023): Battling Ireland’s persistent wetness, I installed a perimeter cut-off drain to protect my future green from waterlogging.

Sand Importation (Upcoming) The clay-heavy soil in my garden is a drainage nightmare. My plan? Introduce 100mm of clean, free-draining sand and integrate it with the existing soil through rotovation, aiming for a 200mm depth to enhance drainage.

Seeding (Upcoming): A mix of bentgrass and fescue will soon take root, following expert recommendations.

The Road Ahead: This project is a test of patience and planning, with timelines and budgets intricately linked. I’m charting a course through this green-building odyssey, and I’m eager to exchange ideas with those who’ve navigated similar paths.

Have you constructed your own backyard green? I’m all ears for your stories, tips, and, of course, photos of your verdant victories.

Let’s tee off this conversation and help each other create our personal patches of golfing paradise!

I got a project going on for an artificial install, high winds took out our pool, so I got a good base to start. I got to find a way to drain the area after all the heavy rains we get. 

I cant wait to see how yours turns out, good luck.

[Samuel09152]

While I'm just trying to get grass in my yard instead of weeds and clover, your over there doing what I hope to accomplish one day!  Please post pictures, and keep us up to date. I will need a blue print for when i try lol 

[Rob Person]

This is awesome!  Good luck on this project and look forward to the end results!