We have installed backyard putting greens for as little as $4K, as much as $105K and everything in between! If you are wondering how much to budget for your own outdoor green, you come to the right place…
The following is a list of the most important variables that should be aware of, and how they will impact the final investment of your putting green:
- The dimensions of the Green: it’s important to keep in mind that artificial grass and putting turf only comes in 15’ wide rolls. (A full roll is 15×90’ and can be cut to any desired length). Therefore it will be most cost-effective to install within multiples of 15’. Each additional piece, however, adds a seam to your green and this adds more labour and these may be barely noticeable as there are zero margins of error in a putting green seam. The average putting green we install is around 15×20’ which is big enough for 4 cups/flags.
- The fringe around the green: The fringe is simply the layer of longer artificial grass that surrounds the putting green. On a real golf course, there is one layer of shorter “fairway grass” and then a layer of longer “rough” grass. Going with the 2 layers of fringe looks amazing aesthetically, however, there is double the labour involved. Also because the turf rolls come in a rectangle shape, the bigger the curves, the more turf that will be required to account for un-reusable cutoff pieces.
- The grade of materials: Not all turf is created equal, especially when it comes to putting turf. I have another blog post here on the 3 different grades of putting turf. To keep things simple, the more realistic the appearance and performance, the more you can expect to spend. The less expensive materials are perfectly fine for the occasional recreational golfer, but to a pro golfer, realistic performance is everything.
Logistics of the Installation: One other thing to take into consideration is the logistics of how we pull this off. A backyard putting green will require a drainage base to be constructed which means transporting several tonnes of material back and forth from the street or lane. This becomes much more labour intensive when we have limited access to the area or if the property is on a slope. It helps if we can get our machine excavator in the yard which need a 3’4” wide clearance.
