A Brief Guide On Personal Putting Green Construction

This article will provide a general guide on how to and what is required in the construction of your own putting green. It is split into sections, each sections representing one stage of the design and construction of the green.

Design the shape and layout

The first step to take when building your own putting green, is to design it. This will involve deciding on the overall size of the green, its shape, and where you wish to place the holes.

Locate the perfect ground

With our design in hand, we now need to locate an area of ground that will be suitable for our putting green. It needs to be a flat area of ground, or an area of ground that could be made flat with little effort.

Prepare the ground

Next, we need to clear the ground of any obstruction, thus leaving the grass and underlying turf to deal with in a later stage.

Sketch out the putting green’s shape

We now need to use a means to mark out the shape of the putting green. This is done by using a paint spray can on the grass, or some other marking medium that gives the desired clear result.

Top soil and grass removal

The grass and top soil that currently lies within the putting green area will need to be removed. To do this you will need to cut 4 inches deep and remove that grass and soil.

Drainage system installation

With the unwanted top layer removed we now need to implement some sort of drainage system. Obviously, this being a small sized putting green for personal use in your own home, it will not be necessary to install the type of drainage system that exists on golf courses. For the home putting green, all that is needed, is a layer of gravel that has been crushed until it is smooth. With the crashed gravel in place we now need to apply a layer of stone dust and limestone. Note that if your chosen area is below sea level than you will need a proper and very expensive drainage system as the this simple system will not suffice.

Besides ensuring a decent level of drainage, this combination of materials and the compacting of the materials, will also create a nice and firm and robust surface that will be able to handle the many footfalls that it will have to endure during its lifetime.

The putting green’s holes

The putting green uses cups for the holes, and we now need to dig out the holes based on their position in the original design. Once the holes have been dug we need to secure the cups, and this is done by using concrete. The concrete will secure the cups in place.

The final stage – laying the green

Now we are ready for the last stage, the laying of the green itself. Once the green has been laid out, it needs to be secured. This securing is done by the use of sod staples. Note that you do not need to use real turf, especially for a home putting green, as synthetic ones have proven to be very popular and lend to a lot less maintenance. If you wish to take the easy maintenance route than just search out your nearest synthetic grass dealer.

So, there we have it. The many stages of putting green construction in brief, from the initial design and choosing the ground, to ground preparation, and laying the green itself. A more detailed article for each of the above stages or combination of if there is insufficient material for just one of the stages, will be posted in due time.