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Installing
a backyard
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So you are going to install a backyard putting green. The way you see it is, "it will provide a great place to practice my putting any time I want" , " it's a great way to expose my kids to the game, we can have backyard putting tournaments and by making an artificial turf synthetic putting greens I won't have to ever worry about maintenance." (Maybe you should do your entire yard, then you can have a perfect maintenance free green lawn year round !)
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Assuming you realize that nothing is maintenance free, your artificial surface is going to need some vacuuming or sweeping, washing (I understand bird's love them) and how are you going to handle tears ? I know the manufacturer points out that this stuff is so tough they play NFL football on it, well there is a huge difference between 13 year old boys and NFL players as to the damage they can do. For pure destructive powers I'll take the 13 year old hands down. No children or grandchildren to worry about any longer well what about your neighbor Harvey, after a few drinks and a missed 3 feet putt for the championship of the world do you think there is a chance at a slight over reaction ? Alright so you are not going to buy my crap and you're going to go ahead with installing a backyard synthetic putting green. That being the case a least take a few minutes and go over this little checklist that will at least will save you some degree of aggravation in the future and maybe even leads to a successful installation that provides years of pleasure for you and your family. |
Where are you going to locate your new putting green ? Some things to consider.....
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The surrounds. Unless your are going to do your whole yard consider the surrounds. It may look great in the middle of your yard but are you adding extra labor to taking care of the rest of your yard by installing it there. You may want to consider a back corner where where you can plant the surrounds with some wild flowers or perennials and allow some natural vegetation and landscaping to take hold. How about some kind of feng shui garden landscape design ? (Hmmm.... Feng Shui and Putting, Unlock the secret to lower scores.)
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Other location considerations. Stay clear of any under ground infrastructure in your yard. Examples include irrigation system piping and wiring, buried electrical and phone lines, water mains and of course you don't want to put this baby on top of your septic tank or leech field. Be sure also to think about your privacy. Do you really want Harvey coming by because he "saw you were out" every time you want to take a few strokes or spend a few minutes putting around with the kids. Oh yeah we almost forgot, if you are going to include a bunker for a little sand practice its location in relationship to your putting green and your neighbors house is something you may want to think about. (can you say low screaming rocket).
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One final location consideration is drainage. Yes even though you are installing a synthetic putting green, drainage is still important. You don't want puddles on your surface, and you don't want it draining into your neighbors garage or basement.
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Now that you have thought about where you can install your new practice green, it's time to think about what you want.
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To build or buy, not an easy decision but if you give a few things some thought your best decision will become clear.
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Do you want to build it yourself ? If you do, have access to the equipment, supplies, the skills and patience then the decision is a no brainer. Online there is a ton of installation info and instructions and you'll find it to be an interesting and satisfying endeavor that should give you not only hours of fun and pride of the "I build this variety", but the knowledge you'll pick up along the way will surely give you a greater appreciation of effort by those who built the putting greens on your favorite golf course.
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If in doubt don't .Keep in mind that this is a major project that will takes many days of really hard labor to complete. If you are not into it, it will become a nightmare that haunts you. There are a growing number of contractors that can perform the installation for you and a quick glance at a few of their references an putting green installations will tell you all you need to know.
To
learn more about installing
a backyard synthetic putting greens continue your search here.....