Building a putting green is every golfing enthusiast’s dream. After all, who wouldn’t like to be able to play a few rounds of golf in their own backyard? Some putting greens are small in size (personal), while others are larger (commercial).
But, what is involved in the building process?
What’s Involved in Building a Putting Green?
The first step of the process is ensuring that you have the right land you need to build your course. If you’re short on land, an indoor practice putting green may be a good choice for you. Regardless, you will always need to have an idea of where you want your putting green to be installed.
Artificial grass putting greens are more practical than natural grass because they’re:
- More durable
- Require no water, sun or pesticides
- Require little-to-no maintenance
If you’re installing a putting green, you know that maintenance will be required with real grass – there is no way around it. Many professionals recommend installing artificial turf putting greens unless you have enough money to upkeep your current yard.
Once you’ve mapped out your space, you’ll need to start preparing the land (under the assumption that the area will be outside). This will require:
- Removal of all objects on the property
- Removal of all grass on the property
Once the surface is cleared, you’ll need to:
- Slightly wet and compress the soil so that it is firm and smooth.
- Roll out your landscape fabric.
- Edge the green.
- Place your base material evenly over the landscape fabric.
- Install cups in the material by digging holes and installing 2 – 3 cups. Place concrete around the cups and leave 1-inch of the cup exposed.
- Smooth edges and ridges with a shovel.
- Cover the base with sand.
- Layout your turf.
- Using a drop spreader, fill sand over the turf and distribute evenly.
- Remove infills from the green.
- Cut the turf where the cups are installed to expose them.
- Roll the green with a water-filled roller.
All of this needs to be done to install artificial turf putting greens outside.
Here is a great video that goes through the entire process.
Indoor Putting Greens
If you don’t want the outside weather affecting your golf swing, an indoor putting green may be ideal. Most homeowners won’t have acres of outdoor space for their putting green, so you’ll need to find a space that meets your size requirements.
The easiest way to do this is to buy an indoor setup.
Many companies offer rollup or rollaway indoor putting greens, and a lot of them cost under $50. If you want to create your own from scratch, you’ll want to put down flooring that you can safely install your artificial turf on.
Cost Estimates
The cost of your putting green can range from $50 for a small indoor strip to thousands of dollars for an outside setup. If you’re going to have an installer help you, it is estimated that the price will be $15 – $25 per square foot of putting green for an outdoor setup.
You may find slightly cheaper prices available.
If you were to use your existing lawn, the price would drop to between $8 and $12 a square foot. While considerably cheaper, you will need to upkeep the putting green, which comes at an added expense.
A 100 sqft. putting green, the size of a 10×10 room would cost $1,500 – $2,500 based on the figures above. As you can see, even a smaller space can start costing thousands of dollars when installing your own putting green – even without using artificial turf.
Indoor practice putting greens are the most budget-friendly option, but they simply do not have the appeal of outdoor space. While many people choose indoor options, it’s often far easier to purchase an indoor setup than to spend the money to build it yourself from scratch.
Moving to the outside, an outdoor putting green can be placed in even a small backyard, and these putting greens have a price of $15 – $25 a square foot on average.
Installation can be done by yourself, or you also have the option of paying a professional to take care of the installation for you.
