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My backyard putting green project

SeeMore Golf
This is by far the best I've seen by a DIY'er. I am amazed at how quickly you were able to get it done and for the most part alone save for the professional install. The painstaking prep work of root and brush removal, placement of concrete retainers, great design. I can see a lot of thought went into the project. I would be interested in how you feel the balls roll on the artificial putting turf compared with actual course greens.
 
Thank you all for the kind words. I didn’t realize so many of you would follow this. It was definitely a physically demanding yet rewarding endeavor. I really had no idea what I was getting myself into when I started this project. It just kept morphing into more at every turn. I tried to chronicle it as best as I could to help someone else if they should build a green. If you have any questions, I’d be happy to answer. The turf rolls amazingly well. I almost went with the ‘Birdie Pro’ at $2.09 /sq ft retail but decided on the ‘Dark Olive’ at $2.75 /sq ft retail. It’s a thicker/ more dense turf. It came in 15’ wide roll so I ended up losing about 2 1/2’ x 24’. I have cut a 3’x4’ piece out of the scrap and use it to chip off of when I want to be further away. Someone asked a while back about the cement blocks and how the are held together. There is a keystone edge on the back of them as shown in the picture. Some friends came over yesterday after golf so I didn’t put the lights in. A few too many beers but a fun time. I’ll do the lights today. Until then DB979986-FE90-4B75-A7F9-5F93CC950D55.jpegAD421CD0-8E67-49A8-B082-FEECA9E635F7.jpeg667E6B6A-2555-40C9-9962-F5DBE1966583.jpeg14B60BDD-E7B0-4CBF-B8A0-6C66AC41E9F7.jpeg 464CB728-98C9-474B-9588-70A1139CA42F.jpeg8771EC33-6CAF-4BEC-8F42-95A56E337779.jpeg
 
Man, that is awesome! Very well done. Would love to have that in my backyard some day. Looks you'll be having many good times out there. Congrats on the finished product.
 
That's fantastic, and all for under $1,000!
 
Finish product looks awesome, congrats on a job well done.
 
Its not cheap. I think I paid around $2500 for 16 x 50 feet of turf and border rock, and misc. Luckily no cutting as I only had to roll out the carpet and secure in place with staples and nails, edging.
 
Thanks for making a thread about your project, it was great to follow along as it took shape and the finished product is amazing! Enjoy the fruits of your hard work, you earned it!
 
Snowman said:
Thanks for making a thread about your project, it was great to follow along as it took shape and the finished product is amazing! Enjoy the fruits of your hard work, you earned it!
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DITTO
 
Thanks again for all the support. I installed some lights. I just got some 3/4” metal electrical conduit. Cut it in about 5’ pieces. Pounded them about 18” into the ground then just stuck the spike from some bright solar led garden lights into them. Not perfect but cheap and simple. They seem to work pretty good. Obviously not as good as daylight but good enough to see the putts. I’ll post the final costs tomorrow. 37729DEE-49C0-4234-929A-C946B3ECE6E4.jpegFB4F2869-EE34-440E-8F06-98AC215CCAD7.jpeg8E920841-9FB4-4E47-AB1F-BDB1AEA385AD.jpeg
 
well pretty sure you win best back yard on THP... at least until someone builds a few par 3's into their back yard! good work sir, i'd say you killed it. Enjoy in good health!
 
Nice job that look awesome.
 
That is an awesome looking backyard, and looks good with the lighting!
 
Nice, that really turned out great!!!
 
Wow!!! Fabulous job. Thanks for sharing your journey.
 
If you could see me now...


Fantastic job!!!
 
Otisdakilla said:
Thanks again for all the support. I installed some lights. I just got some 3/4” metal electrical conduit. Cut it in about 5’ pieces. Pounded them about 18” into the ground then just stuck the spike from some bright solar led garden lights into them. Not perfect but cheap and simple. They seem to work pretty good. Obviously not as good as daylight but good enough to see the putts. I’ll post the final costs tomorrow. View attachment 8960064View attachment 8960065View attachment 8960066
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Ok I'm not sure what picture is more awesome the day or night! You are definitely deserving of some ice cold beverages after that planning working and finishing touches. It's an oasis of fun I'm your backyard. Love the lights and availability for parties no matter the time of day.
 
This is all I can see now when I look out at my backyard 😆
 
This is incredible! Hope you'll keep us updated on maintenance or any repair work it requires in the future. Well done, sir!
 
Thanks very much for all the accolades. Sorry for the delay.I just got back from a week with the wife at Lake Tahoe, about an hour away.
I used an extra piece of putting green to use as a chipping mat. This morning I installed another hole. I used a hole cutter from the local course. It cut thru the turf and DG with some effort. But, there was way too many rocks in the road base. I had to use a hammer, screw driver and old spoon to finish the job. I have four regulation and two 2” holes now. The green rolls really smooth. There is quite a bit of break in it. When I putt lengthwise, a 22’ putt breaks about three feet. My guy is sending me the final bill in the morning. So, I’ll post the final cost tomorrow. I’ve ordered some custom flags that won’t arrive for a week. CB737C42-01DA-4BDE-835C-EF9C072B5C27.jpegECCFCEFE-6F8E-4824-862E-E07BC435A8F3.jpeg3BF838B6-ED68-4174-B922-B6088E8F0521.jpeg
 
Absolutely fantastic. This has been and awesome follow along. Well done!
 
It was a lot of hard work but a really rewarding project. I figured that I had over 60 hours of labor into it.
Now the cost!
Dump run- $50
Concrete blocks- $400
Road base and DG- $400
Turf (green & fringe), sand, adhesive, seam tape, nails...- $1,782
Cups & flags- $150
Lights & poles- $75
Labor- $250
Grand total- $3,050
That’s a lot of money but doing most of it by myself, I saved a bunch of $$ and I was able to design and construct it myself while changing it along the way. I had an estimate of over $10k after I removed the brush and roots. So, definitely a considerable savings. The two biggest obstacles were: the ground wasn’t level, thus I had to build the retaining wall. And, the access to my backyard is terrible. This made moving the concrete blocks and soils tremendously laborious and time consuming.i really don’t think that I would change anything if I were to do this again but time will tell. I don’t get any snow here in the winter but we do get rain. I’m interested to see if the contours of the green change by next spring. I’ll post again every few months to let you all know how it’s holding up.
It was fun, hard, a little stressful and even exhausting at times. I actually thought about this blog while I was doing it knowing you were all watching me. So, I knew I couldn’t screw it up.
Thanks for accompanying me throughout this project. See you all in a few months.
Jim
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words cannot des......no...words CAN and DO describe this!
 
That's a fantastic price for what you have and had done. Just the cost of artificial turf is very high per square feet. Looks excellent and like it would be a lot of fun having a couple friends over and having a putting party.
 
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