DIY putting green/short game area.

Or actually plant one. If mine has survived the snow and then torrential rain then I should get my first use this spring after building and planting it last year.

If it was astroturf then you could have brushed the snow off and been practicing all winter instead of waiting untill the better weather comes and you want to be out on the course. Bit silly if you ask me.
 
I am seriously considering getting one installed. I want to put down artificial grass as I hate gardening and would prefer to clean my eye balls with a wire brush than do the gardening. If I do put some artificial grass down then I am very tempted to get an artificial putting green installed also..

http://www.huxleygolf.co.uk/golf-at-home/greens/installed-all-weather-greens
 
If it was astroturf then you could have brushed the snow off and been practicing all winter instead of waiting untill the better weather comes and you want to be out on the course. Bit silly if you ask me.

Wow! Really? Silly to replicate the surface you actually play on? Can't argue with a well thought out rebuttal like that. I'll have an ounce of what you have been smoking. I don't play on many astroturf greens. And having seen many they are, invariably, flat. I have not made it flat as I don't play on many flat greens either.
Dunno if it's just me but I was always taught (and practice this at work) that the best way to practice anything is to to try and replicate the conditions you would experience for real as closely as you can.
I know, lets just scrap practice areas and ranges and just use these wonderfully accurate simulators...
I also don't spend all of my time on the course, if you do then lucky you. But I have a home life too so being able to nip out for half an hour and practice on REAL grass with proper slopes and grain appeals much more than flat, dull, Astroturf.
Each to their own though if you feel that that kind of environment helps you reach your 2012 target...

On the point of hassle, well that's just endemic of today's society. I think you mean WORK, it's got WORK all over it and yes, it certainly has. But nothing has to be more work than it needs to be as long as it's planned properly.
Doesn't really surprise me that people would prefer to cut corners, quick fix society and all. Thankfully I spend my working hours problem solving around the need for quick fixes...
 
I am seriously considering getting one installed. I want to put down artificial grass as I hate gardening and would prefer to clean my eye balls with a wire brush than do the gardening. If I do put some artificial grass down then I am very tempted to get an artificial putting green installed also..

http://www.huxleygolf.co.uk/golf-at-home/greens/installed-all-weather-greens

I've got artificial grass , looks great (wasn't cheap) but all the frogs have buggered off from me pond , to long to putt or anything on though , I love looking out the window at the garden and hey , nothing needs doing , excellent
 
Wow! Really? Silly to replicate the surface you actually play on? Can't argue with a well thought out rebuttal like that. I'll have an ounce of what you have been smoking. I don't play on many astroturf greens. And having seen many they are, invariably, flat. I have not made it flat as I don't play on many flat greens either.
Dunno if it's just me but I was always taught (and practice this at work) that the best way to practice anything is to to try and replicate the conditions you would experience for real as closely as you can.
I know, lets just scrap practice areas and ranges and just use these wonderfully accurate simulators...
I also don't spend all of my time on the course, if you do then lucky you. But I have a home life too so being able to nip out for half an hour and practice on REAL grass with proper slopes and grain appeals much more than flat, dull, Astroturf.
Each to their own though if you feel that that kind of environment helps you reach your 2012 target...

On the point of hassle, well that's just endemic of today's society. I think you mean WORK, it's got WORK all over it and yes, it certainly has. But nothing has to be more work than it needs to be as long as it's planned properly.
Doesn't really surprise me that people would prefer to cut corners, quick fix society and all. Thankfully I spend my working hours problem solving around the need for quick fixes...


I have had a go on good quality artificial grass putting greens and they feel great. I am not on about those cheap things they have in the golf discount stores. Even if you lay a real grass green in your garden it does not really mean it will be the same as what you are playing on. I have found that 2 different courses play the same on the greens. So for me I am just as well off laying a good quality artificial grass and using that to practice my technique as I am not bothered about having humps and bumps all over it.
 
Wow! Really? Silly to replicate the surface you actually play on? Can't argue with a well thought out rebuttal like that. I'll have an ounce of what you have been smoking. I don't play on many astroturf greens. And having seen many they are, invariably, flat. I have not made it flat as I don't play on many flat greens either.
Dunno if it's just me but I was always taught (and practice this at work) that the best way to practice anything is to to try and replicate the conditions you would experience for real as closely as you can.
I know, lets just scrap practice areas and ranges and just use these wonderfully accurate simulators...
I also don't spend all of my time on the course, if you do then lucky you. But I have a home life too so being able to nip out for half an hour and practice on REAL grass with proper slopes and grain appeals much more than flat, dull, Astroturf.
Each to their own though if you feel that that kind of environment helps you reach your 2012 target...

On the point of hassle, well that's just endemic of today's society. I think you mean WORK, it's got WORK all over it and yes, it certainly has. But nothing has to be more work than it needs to be as long as it's planned properly.
Doesn't really surprise me that people would prefer to cut corners, quick fix society and all. Thankfully I spend my working hours problem solving around the need for quick fixes...


Load of tosh mate. Do you have the knowledge to build and maintain such a perfect putting green, will you be able to sand and core it, treat it, feed it, apply the correct pesticides, apply the correct nurishment at the correct time? Do you know when to roll the green and when to cut the green? Do you have the correct equipment to do this "project" correctly? Do you have a proper hand mower that is capable of cutting down to 1/8th of an inch? Do you have a hole cutter to put holes in correctly?

Do you honestly believe that in Fife, given the Scottish climate and weather that your effort will be fruitful and viable?

Is your turf or seed the same that is used by your home club? Is the construction and drainage the same as your clubs greens????


As MadAdey says the artificial ones are excellent. The one at the indoor golf academy in Glasgow is absolutely superb.
 
Load of tosh mate. Do you have the knowledge to build and maintain such a perfect putting green, will you be able to sand and core it, treat it, feed it, apply the correct pesticides, apply the correct nurishment at the correct time? Do you know when to roll the green and when to cut the green? Do you have the correct equipment to do this "project" correctly? Do you have a proper hand mower that is capable of cutting down to 1/8th of an inch? Do you have a hole cutter to put holes in correctly?

Do you honestly believe that in Fife, given the Scottish climate and weather that your effort will be fruitful and viable?

Is your turf or seed the same that is used by your home club? Is the construction and drainage the same as your clubs greens????


As MadAdey says the artificial ones are excellent. The one at the indoor golf academy in Glasgow is absolutely superb.

Yes, actually I do. I do "projects" for a living and I am pretty good af them. I also build project cars yet am not a mechanic. I research everything thoroughly beforehand. I aquire the correct tools required for the job. As I say, the key to successful output is prepearation. Drainage is in the smd style with 5 x 7" channels dug to 14" lined with 1/4" pebble and permeable pipe. The hand mower was aquired from a grass machinary specialist and modified to cut from 1.5 to 3mm, seed was aquired from our head greenkeeper at cost, needs to be rolled not immediately after cutting but soon after while the cuts are fresh.
There are hundreds of golf courses that survive the Fife climate.


If artificial is so damn good, I wonder why golf courses still bother with grass...?
Also, as most kn here love doing as the pros do, I cant say I have seen many pro's gaffs with artificial greens installed.

But hey, I'm more than happy to be the singular loon on this. More than used to it.
 
But hey, I'm more than happy to be the singular loon on this. More than used to it.

That's Ok then, because I think you are. 'Proper' greens seem like a huge amount of work! I'd stick to artificial for home use. A practice bunker, on the other hand, would probably be maintained better than those of most club's ones!
 
That's Ok then, because I think you are. 'Proper' greens seem like a huge amount of work! I'd stick to artificial for home use. A practice bunker, on the other hand, would probably be maintained better than those of most club's ones!

Its as much or as little as you want to make it. Planning and preperation and process control. Do that and its as difficult as washing the car or painting a wall.

As I said for those that get artificial I hope it works for them and doesnt turn out to be a bit of an Elephant. I habe heard that doing anything with it once it's laid is "challenging".
Good luck to them all though.
 
You couldn't use the artificial grass in the original link - way to coarse and the ball just wouldn't roll anything like a green. It needs to be very short and close together to stand any chance of working.
 
I 've artificial grass in my back garden, you could practice irons or drives all day long into a net if you wanted, but its no good for putting on , but then thats the type i picked .
The reason i installed artificial stuff [ which was very expensive btw ] was if my new dog was left for a moment on my old real lawn , she had some mad idea that she was a incontinent rabbit or a miner and would dig holes and pee all over my previously perfect lawn, which i could putt on with no problem.
ps
lawnmower for sale
 
Do the people who like plastic lawns go the whole hog and have plastic flower borders as well.

Out of interest I built the UK's first artificial grass golf range. It was 250 x 150 yards and mounded and shaped.
That was in 1990 and the surface was expected to last 15 years. I looked at it last year and it was still in very good shape. It has paid for itself umpteen times over.
 
Do the people who like plastic lawns go the whole hog and have plastic flower borders as well.

Out of interest I built the UK's first artificial grass golf range. It was 250 x 150 yards and mounded and shaped.
That was in 1990 and the surface was expected to last 15 years. I looked at it last year and it was still in very good shape. It has paid for itself umpteen times over.
no petal
 
That's Ok then, because I think you are. 'Proper' greens seem like a huge amount of work! I'd stick to artificial for home use. A practice bunker, on the other hand, would probably be maintained better than those of most club's ones!

Your not wrong there at all. Too many people think it's easy to have a real putting green in their back garden but fail to construct them properly or maintain them anywhere near well enough to be of any use other than a pretty lawn with a few flags sticking out within a year or so.
I could spend the next hour typing how this is done but have a look at this site and you will soon see it takes many hours to build and maintain a real putting green that you could be using to practice the putting you so desire.
http://www.complete-putting-greens.com/
This will show you construction, maintainance, equipment, irrigation and drainage. There is some work with an artificial putting green but nothing like the relentless hours required to keep a real green even useable.

From the site.
How do you do that? Firstly, implement a good cultural program. This means regular aerating (2 to 4 times per year depending on thatch and compaction) and regular topdressing, cutting at least 6 times per week when it is growing strong. Move the cup around to prevent wear, especially if you are putting a lot. Follow a fertilizer program based on weather conditions and soil tests. Make sure the watering is done only to replenish what is lost due to evapotranspiration, which means not overwatering or underwatering. Maintain reasonable cutting heights, a backyard green should never need to go below an eight of an inch. Normally 140 to 160 thousands of an inch should provide a nice surface with a very healthy plant. If the green is struggling, raise the height
This is just to keep the green alive let alone give you time to enjoy it. Cutting it SIX times a week for around 6 months of the year. Say it takes 20 minutes to cut it each time then that's 61 HOURS of practice gone. That's without watering, hollow tining, dressing, weeding, moving the hole and testing the soil so you give it the right fertilizer. You will need at least 2 mowers, hire someone in to hollow tine it, pay for top dressing, fertilizer and petrol for the mowers and that's without chemicals if you have a fungal problem on the green.
Keeping a real green is going to cost more than the fuel to go to your own club to practice your putting there if not the same as your subs for the year.
 
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You couldn't use the artificial grass in the original link - way to coarse and the ball just wouldn't roll anything like a green. It needs to be very short and close together to stand any chance of working.

The grass in the OP wouldn't be the best but you have to brush sand into the grass to make it stand up and make it more compact. The more sand you brush in the shorter the grass and the quicker your green will be.
 
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