DIY artificial turf putting green backyard build

[Jraallen]

Not sure if this qualifies as sim, or general golf, or what, but mods please feel free to move if needed.

 

I’ve been doing a bunch of research over the last couple months on installing an artificial turf putting green install in my yard. We have a small section in the back corner of our yard that has been an eyesore for a while so when my wife jokingly said we should turn it into a putting green I jumped at the opportunity. Will be updating this thread as the build progresses.

 

the basics- clear the dead material and dig down about 2 inches, compact and then lay down weed barrier. Since I’m not going too far down I’ll be using a geogrid and then filling with 3/8 crushed stone.

Will compact the crap out of it and start considering the contours and such. Then top it off with decomposed granite to allow proper drainage and create a nice smooth flat surface. Lay the turf over the entire area using 6” landscape spikes and a carpet stretcher to ensure it’s nice and smooth when finished. Finally will brush in the Infill.

 

The extras-

using landscape edging will create a perimeter around the green (maybe 2 ft or so wide) and likely fill with something nicer looking like river round stone so that it all ties in nicely and has a more finished look. 
Wife found a cool garden bench that has a backrest that folds backwards and locks in place making it more like a bleacher seat with a high top ledge behind you, so that will go off to the side a little bit.

Grabbed some moveable flags that have flat bases and don’t require cutting the turf, planning to use these for now until I decide on permanent hole locations (if I ever do)

ordered a used rawhide 3x5 hitting mat I’m planning to cut into two 1.5’x3’ standing strips, then the remaining 3’x2’ piece I’ll cut in half so I also have two 1’x3’ hitting strips that we can move around and chip onto the green.. or any other target in the yard.

Also grabbed a “bunker” style strip of turf, might be crap but we’ll see.

 

basics total cost is coming out just under $1300, the extras so far about $400 even, (not including perimeter stone because not sure if we’re just doing perimeter or perimeter plus some of the flower beds). Tools- another $250 including a power brush for cleaning/infill. All in just under 2k for now. May end up needing more DG and definitely could have spared some of the “extras” if I really wanted to get the number down. If I add in the quote for the nice perimeter stone pathway we’re looking at another $250-400 

 

Pic is the current space

[Jraallen]

Did some prep work today, not sure if I really dug down much at all but got rid of the majority of the weeds/grass and started to get a feel for how things will be laid out. 
 

All the small odds and ends should arrive between this Friday and next Saturday, the 3/8 crushed stone is set to be delivered the Saturday after that, and I haven’t heard on the actual turf yet but when I placed the order it was estimated July 2 as the latest.

 

Should give me plenty of time to figure out what I’m doing with the surrounding area and how I want the green complex to be laid out. Camera makes it look a little small but the green itself is 10’ x 15’.

Planning to have a chipping zone off the right side hitting towards the white fence, off the right low corner with the blue stake, and then a third off the bottom by the little drainage channel. Thinking the chipping locations will be fixed, but the mats themselves will be removable so they can be replaced easily or swapped between locations. Going to use 3’ by 1.5’ strips for standing on and 3’ by 1’ strips for hitting off of simply because 3x5 and 5x5 mats are super common and can be cut into those sizes without waste.

 

 

[Canada8888]

great project

 

keep posting

 

love to see the end game

[Jraallen]

Will be a bit slow waiting for things to arrive but came up with a rough sketch for layout. 
 

basically along the brown fence (side 2) I’m going to build it up a little and try to make a mostly flat/no break 2.5’ wide by 12.5’ length long putt section.

On the right side (side 3) I’ll start in the back by the brown fence where I built up and have a moderate to aggressive slope down towards the yard, again aiming for little to no break serving as an uphill/downhill practice spot.
 

the top half of side 1, and the areas inside the long putt (side2) and hill putt (side 3) sections will gently slope to the collection area which will be level-ish. The space between sides A and B of the collection area and sides 1 and 4 of the greens edge won’t be much..probably 2ft max, likely less, and will guarantee the ball ends up rolling off the green into whatever to we use as a barrier.

 

In theory at least this provides a long flat practice section as well as an uphill/downhill section for putting practice but also doubles as chipping practice from side 4 into the upslope of the hill strip and from side 3 onto the flat strip with room for run out. Chips from side 4 to the collection area should be fairly safe but side 3 will have more danger the closer to side 2 you get since there’s both more ground to cover, and nothing to stop you rolling right off if you over do it.

 

At the end of the day I don’t expect to be able to do this perfectly, and even if I was capable of doing so it could very well end up being too small of a space to incorporate everything once I’m actually doing it..but it’s a starting point at least.
 

[Jraallen]

Quick little check in-

Pretty much all of the odds and ends have arrived, but I’m still waiting on the lawn cart before I start really digging out the dirt.

 

I had to source bagged DG which is costly but none of the bulk supply places I called even knew what it was, never mind had any. If I end up needing a little more I’ll order more, if I need a LOT I’ll probably have to resort to paver base for some areas. Plan is to prioritize the flat areas first, then if necessary use paver base on areas that won’t be as noticeable.

 

Also.. flagsticks that don’t require cutting some kind of hole in the turf are a pain to find..

Also Also.. the “extras” and the stuff to make the area more aesthetic/flow better with the surrounding area/landscaping add up real quick. I’ll do a full price breakdown at the end but I can tell you right now, whatever the total ends up being could be cut in at least half if I were keeping it bare bones

[Pepperturbo]

Recently had a quote done for a putting green, a little larger and kidney shape compared to the OP.  Came in around 15k.  When I saw $1300+ for the OP, I mumbled thank you, CA cost of living. LOL  That bid was from the artificial green company that did Phil Michelson's green.  It may happen, but a jacuzzi on the bluff first.  

[Jraallen]

9 minutes ago, Pepperturbo said:

Recently had a quote done for a putting green, a little larger and kidney shape compared to the OP.  Came in around 15k.  When I saw $1300+ for the OP, I mumbled thank you, CA cost of living. LOL  That bid was from the artificial green company that did Phil Michelson's green.  It may happen, but a jacuzzi on the bluff first.  

Haha, well to be fair I’m sure the pro’s results are better than mine will be, I know they dig down a lot further, use a lot more crushed stone and a lot lot more DG.. and better turf lol. Being in Massachusetts the green is going to need repairs or touch ups due to the ground freezing for winter, combine that with not being very useable in winter to begin with and a pro job just didn’t make much sense for me.

 

Jacuzzi was also on the want list, but we’ll likely add onto the house one day, and it'd make more sense to just incorporate one into that plan. We’re researching those cheap inflatable ones for in the meantime, but reviews are mixed haha

 

 

[596]

I had a 10 person in ground Jacuzzi in our back garden when we lived in Sedona, AZ. Lived there for 7 years  I think I'm was in the Jacuzzi twice 😂 it was extremely expensive to maintain.

[tets]

20 hours ago, TannerTSU said:

Wrapped up my build this week and it turned out better than I expected.

 

[Jraallen]

Quick update- everything has arrived, but it’s been 90+ so I’ve only been working on it a little in the evenings. 
 

I laid out the turf and spray painted final outlines to work off of. Hoping to have the dirt fully dug out by the end of the week so that I can put down the weed fabric and geogrid over the weekend. 
Taking next week off of work but will be doing other summer stuff mon-wed. Weathers looking good Thurs-Sunday so the game plan is to try and finish at least the green by the 13th.

 

[Jraallen]

Thunderstorms held off so I finished the dig out and put the weed fabric down.

 

Theres some pooling by the pop up sprinkler head behind the area in the corner so I’m planning to have someone take a look before I get too far along, but it’s likely just a leaky o ring since it’s only at the base of the head, some of the other heads do it too. Definitely don’t want to build the whole thing though, and then find out they need to get to a pipe (don’t think that’s the case) but I left space around the head to work on/cap later if needed.

 

will likely place the geogrid and put down just enough stone to hold it in place over the weekend, but won’t be putting down DG or turf until the sprinkler guy gives the go ahead. 

[migosham]

I'm doing similar work (sadly, not for a putting green) in my yard...I'm here to show respect for a fellow golfer working around the heat and rain!

[Jraallen]

Back from vacation and made some progress.

 

Ran out of stone so more will be delivered tomorrow and the extra geogrid I needed will be here Saturday.. so hopefully I can finish the base this weekend.

 

Likely will have to pick up some paver base to use to fill in the gaps on top of the 3/8” stone to smooth out the surface as there’s no way I’ll have enough DG, I’ll focus the DG in the flat areas or places likely needing extra help with drainage.

 

Used some string and landscape spikes to mark out the outer perimeter of the chipping area, not 100% committed to that exact layout but something to start with.

 

Moved the hitting net from along the house to in front of the to be putting green. That area is part of the messed up part of yard we want to cover up and it keeps all the golf stuff together so a win win.. except since it gets constant sun we needed some shade coverage. Giant offset umbrella/base should be here tomorrow.

 

Edited July 10 by Jraallen

[Jraallen]

4 hours ago, migosham said:

I'm doing similar work (sadly, not for a putting green) in my yard...I'm here to show respect for a fellow golfer working around the heat and rain!

Summer yard projects are tough haha, but hopefully yours is at least something that’ll make you happy in the end. Makes it worth it

[Jraallen]

Put down the extra geogrid but will cut it at the point where the ramp starts so that it doesn’t cause water to pool and then taper the stone towards the yard. filled it and flattened, then rolled the turf out just to get an idea of how things will play out. so far so good.

 

tomorrow I’m planning to cut the geogrid and taper the stone, then lay out some line levels to make sure the point where it meets the yard and currently has a little ramp ends up being the low point. Then will fill in the rest of the area (need to fully cover the geogrid as right now maybe 1/8 to 1/4 inch is still exposed).

 

once that’s done I’ll roll the turf out again and just stake the corners and mess around on it for some time to get a feel for if there’s any issues, or things to adjust before doing the final top coat of paver base/paver sand and DG.

 

 

But it is starting to come along and actually look like something besides dirt square so that’s good.

[Jraallen]

Trimmed the geogrid and added another thin layer of gravel. Geogrid is now barely visible, covered, or in one or two spots around the edges still showing a touch but I’m not too concerned with the edges at this moment. 
 

re rolled out the turf stretching it as much as I could by hand, for the final install I have a carpet stretcher but no need to use that yet.

 

going to use it as is for the next week or so and make notes of areas that feel low/high or contours that seem unnatural. Also expecting some rain this week so it might help identify any small pits. Once I feel confident in testing I’ll roll it back up, start spreading DG, and get ready for the final install… and then comes all the “extras” to make it all look nice.

[Jraallen]

The flop from hitting net square to green is so hard, the other spots are pretty chill though. Been messing around all week just finding the spots that are weird. It’s not too bad actually, front right and left are both low but I can either just remove a little in the front center to make it a bit of a slope or fill in and it’ll be fine. Still have maybe 1/3-1/2 a yard of crushed gravel I can use to level or finish up the bath behind (also grabbed a few pavers) and have 8 bags of DG for making a nice flat surface once I’m ready. No rush currently, still chilling on it. 
 

and no I haven’t tried to flop from the front yard over the house yet

[Jraallen]

Glow balls are fun

[Jraallen]

Added some stone to the fire pit area but still have a little extra in case.

 

Added mulch and pavers to the back end. Filled in the 2 low points that were identified and re rolled/ re pinned the turf. Doing another round of marking the highs and lows and making notes of what areas roll weird and then it’s time to spread the DG and really smooth it out.

 

definitely rolls a little off due to the 3/8 not having a top dressing, and still shifts even with packing but that should get much better once the Dg fills in all the cracks limiting movement and smoothing the surface. And then.. the infill which I’m pumped for since it’s already holding decent

[Jraallen]

 

 

Glow balls feel super dead when you hit them but they’re fun to watch

[Jraallen]

Originally there was no plan for a fringe but were toying with the idea of a cheap cheap fringe just to place on the 2 yard facing sides and off the corner rather than using larger river round stone but gotta look into that more.

 

we did end up ordering more DG so cost is now 8 bags of DG instead of 4, we used 3 yds of crushed stone not 1, but obviously some was for decorative purposes so not strictly necessary. 
 

Still planning to break everything down in the end by bare minimum, bare minimum plus tools most people we need to buy or that will make things easier overall, and then a third section for decorative/extras… even with the extra 200$ or so in dg and 185 or so in 3/8 (if you call ALL of it necessary) I’m pretty sure the all in on necessary is still around low-mid 2k. It’s was all the fun extras and the cantilever umbrella/base for the hitting mat/fire pit that really caused the total to jump.

[Jraallen]

Ordered a 3x5 rawhide mat to replace the 5x5 gosports in the net area, then going to take the 2 5x5 mats and cut them up to make a little fringe area on the front corner mentioned above.. or.. I briefly talked to a local turf installer about possibly getting some scrap leftovers which seems like a possibility once I know how much I’d need.

 

Went down a huge rabbit hole researching turf bunkers.. very cool but not gonna happen as the cost is just too high.. materials/install are one thing, but broken windows are where they get ya. I do have one of those dual height bristle mats at least for hitting at the net so it’s something.

 

planning to do a big cleanup over the next couple days and finally get a good idea of what the space will look like and how I want to do the chipping areas and what I want to do/could do for filling in empty space somewhat tastefully.

 

ohh and some pokemon garden statues arrived, so those will be hiding in the bushes. Goes without saying the cost of those will be added to the strictly necessary part of the budget