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My backyard putting green project

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Otisdakilla

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Hi all, I just joined this group. I have a Skytrak golf simulator in my house since December and now I’m going to attempt to install an artificial turf putting green in my backyard here in Northern California. I’m going to do everything except lay the turf. I’m going to start by hacking back the rosemary on the right. I can’t go too far as the slope falls off abruptly.
I’m thinking 9’x18’
I’ll keep a daily update. D5CE4E40-12CA-42AE-8CDE-463AFDE26832.jpegF27C503E-1E92-48FF-835D-B82F321BC860.jpeg3A1041EE-D1BC-42BA-865B-7F477BCFB0CB.jpeg
 
Look forward to see the steps involved and how your project turns out!
 
Welcome aboard!

Looking forward to seeing your progress!
 
That is a daunting task. Prep work is quite labor intensive or at least in my case as I first had to remove the St. Augustine grass which have a horrendous root system. Hacked away with maddox. Then had to roll out the soil, compact over and over again, covered with construction ground cloth. I should have used a base of DG and a plate compactor. I then rolled out a 16 ft by 45 ft artificial turf, turf nails every foot or so, edging and staples on the perimeter.lawn pep#5 - Copy.jpglawn prep#1.jpgrock ready 001.JPG
 
That looks the perfect size for a putting green and it should have some break to it also.
 
Wow, that’s huge! I love it.
My soil has shrub/tree roots and is very rocky. I have to dig with a small jack hammer.
I’m planing on road base followed by DG then sand. Access to my area sucks. I live on a hill. Wheel barrow only.
Is the construction cloth needed. If so, what does it do?
Thanks
 
Otisdakilla said:
Wow, that’s huge! I love it.
My soil has shrub/tree roots and is very rocky. I have to dig with a small jack hammer.
I’m planing on road base followed by DG then sand. Access to my area sucks. I live on a hill. Wheel barrow only.
Is the construction cloth needed. If so, what does it do?
Thanks
Click to expand...
If you are going with road base and DG, you would not need construction cloth. I used it to help prevent any weed regrowth and it is permeable enough to allow draining and mitigate pooling. Mine is not for putting, just artificial turf. I can hit off it with no problem and the turf is very life like. I still use mat for hitting surface as the turf leaves residue on the sole.
 
pinseeker said:
If you are going with road base and DG, you would not need construction cloth. I used it to help prevent any weed regrowth and it is permeable enough to allow draining and mitigate pooling. Mine is not for putting, just artificial turf. I can hit off it with no problem and the turf is very life like. I still use mat for hitting surface as the turf leaves residue on the sole.
Click to expand...
obviously, you don’t have a dog 🐕 LOL
 
Definitely gonna be following along throughout your journey. I would love to be able to do this in my backyard one day.
 
Jesus, that's a hell of a indoor setup let alone the new outdoor setup!
 
I cut the shrubs back further then I got the ok from the wife to rip out all the rosemary today. I grabbed my chainsaw and didn’t give her a chance to change her mind. Tomorrow, I’ll rip out the roots. Then I’m going to have to build a small retaining wall. This is becoming more and more involved than I anticipated, but I’m committed now 728AC1D8-6DA6-430E-8B59-B5C347BC0E4D.jpegbut728AC1D8-6DA6-430E-8B59-B5C347BC0E4D.jpegF72E70CB-B2E6-4D34-9A9D-71D361F71665.jpeg70CC0759-5FAB-443D-A9F1-60E37651DF35.jpeg
 
Wow! Project just got a whole lot bigger!! Definitely going to need that retaining wall... and I’m sure you’ve already considered slope for drainage...

Great progress!
 
wow! that's going to be a bit rough going. Kudo's in advance.
 
Thanks for the encouragement. I spent ALL day ripping the roots out and hauling off the shrubs. 3E051A0C-25F8-40D2-997D-7B7E0A5F6825.jpeg858DB408-97B8-42C8-9666-C374997B99A7.jpegI laid down a block to give myself an visual. The green line is simulating where the fringe will be.
Lots of work ahead.
 
This is gonna get interesting, keep the updates and pictures coming!
 
looks like you need to bring in quite a bit of soil owing to what looks like pretty severe slope. Otherwise, you are going to need one heck of a stint meter. Hard to tell from photos. It might even out once you get to raking and shaping. Whatever you do, do not use sand. It will shift around too much. Another trick is to use water compacting, thouroughly soak and cover, the water will compact the soil as it seeps into the ground displacing air pockets. Rinse and repeat.
 
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Great info. Thx.
I was planning on using road base followed by decomposed granite. Compacting after each.
 
I think this would have been much easier if I wouldn’t have made it wider thus going down the slope. But, I hate to admit, I might have gotten carried away with the bigger is better theory. I think it’ll be better in the long run. But a lot more work for myself.
 
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