how to build a golf course green

1. Choose a location. Your green should be built on a spot that has sandy soil, plenty of sun and good drainage.
2. Excavate the area of your golf green to a depth of 20 inches (51 cm). ...
3. Design the green. It should have a variety of slopes to challenge you, but ultimately slope away from the center.
4. Install the drainage system in 8-inch (20 cm) trenches to ensure that water will drain away from the center.
5. Put in an irrigation system if necessary. Keep in mind that adequate, even irrigation is the key to keeping turf healthy.
6. Cover the area with a 4-inch (10 cm) layer of pea gravel. ...
Add 2 inches (5 cm) of sand on top of the gravel and compact it.
Top the sand with about 14 inches (35 cm) of topsoil that consists of 60 percent sand and no more than 20 percent clay.
Seed or sod your green. Sodding often results in an uneven green, so seed instead if you have the time and patience to care for the grass until it ...
Mark the edges of your green by sodding the perimeter with rougher grass. ...
Buy your cups, pins and flags from a supplier of golf course equipment. ...

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How to build a synthetic Golf Green?

Apr 18, 2011 · Steps Download Article 1. Choose a location. Your green should be built on a spot that has sandy soil, plenty of sun and good drainage. 2. Excavate the area of your golf green to a depth of 20 inches (51 cm). Be sure to remove all the existing sod so you... 3. Design the green. It should have a ...

How to build the perfect home putting green?

Aug 01, 2016 · Many golf enthusiasts build golf greens in their back yards so they can practice putting without traveling to a golf course and paying fees. While you can ...

How to build a putting green in 2 days?

Sep 18, 2015 · COURSE CAREA Guide To Creating The USGA Putting Green September 18, 2015. A Guide To Creating The USGA Putting Green. For more than 40 years the USGA recommendations for green construction have been the most widely used method of green construction throughout the United States and in other parts of the world. When built and …

What makes a golf course 'green'?

May 02, 2017 · A green and its surrounds can have a major influence on a player’s overall tactical approach to a hole. On many well-crafted greens, different pin positions demand different strategies. Consider the 5th green at Chicago Golf Club, a Seth Raynor design. Its main features are a false front and a pronounced knob in the middle.

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Columns - Design Concepts

On a recent flight, the guy next to me asked what I did for a living, and upon finding out, started asking questions, including, “So, just how do you design greens?” He figured it would be an easy answer. This got me thinking. As important as green design is to golf, I haven’t ever covered it in this column, perhaps because of complexity.

The Big Picture

My green designs begin with the big picture – Is it a private, upscale public, resort or municipal course? The varying (assumed) average quality of golfers, rounds played, maintenance budgets create different starting points and limitations.

Variety

I initially review potential basic designs for all 18 greens, trying to create a general concept that makes each one different. I believe small greens ought to intersperse with larger ones, wide with deep, etc.

The Approach Shot

Then, I design the green itself. We consider the lay of the land, the approach shot and even the tee shot strategy, if we didn’t consider it when studying variety.

What is the first task of an architect?

Most architects aren’t afforded that type of land, so their first task is selecting the green sites during the routing process and creating greens that blend into their natural setting. It’s wise and preferred for architects to use the natural land movement to build contours that move with the land.

What is the difference between a green and a pin?

One aspect that an architect has to keep in mind when constructing a green is the amount of the green that can be used for a pin position. A green full of massive slopes that only allows for two or three different pin positions will get boring quickly. On the other hand, a green filled with subtle slopes or many different pockets allows for the Superintendent to change things up on a daily basis.

What were the tools that architects used after the Great Depression?

Bunkers and water hazards were popular tools that architects used after the great depression to obstruct a player’s path to the pin. In recent years and during the golden age of architecture, there was less use of these manmade features and more emphasis on contours and run off areas. These features create a much more natural look, lower construction and maintenance costs and promote the ground game and different playing options around the green. These areas stimulate thought and create doubt for better players as to what club to use, while the average golfer can easily play from them with their putter and avoid big numbers.

Bunkers

Are they attractive? Is there any variety in their placement? All too often, and many clubs do not realize it until pointed out, you go from hole to hole and see a round green with bunker left and bunker right, bunker left, bunker right, bunker left, bunker right, and so on. Very little variety.

Putting

Is there any variety in the green shapes, or are all the surfaces round? Are there flagstick locations available behind bunkers? It is very rare that I look at a set of old green plans where all of the greens were designed round. However, after a number of years of routine maintenance, they all wind up round.

Size

Is a green designed for 5,000 rounds of golf annually going to continue to support 30,000 or more rounds? How do you keep the character of an older course and dramatically enlarge the putting surfaces? When done properly, it is feasible to enlarge putting surfaces without making them appear too large.

Surrounds

Are the slopes around the putting surface too severe? Are the walk-ups between the bunkers too narrow, causing undue wear? Are there any chipping areas? All too often, designers compromise design due to traffic flow from the cart path to the putting surface.

Consider All Golfers

While working in the preliminary stage, the designer will also have to consider that many of the golfers will not be able to execute the preferred shot to a particular green. Alternate routes are always a good idea.

Playability is Key

Green contouring is about as individual as fingerprints. However, all successful greens must have one thing in common. They must be playable. We have all encountered putting surfaces that are marginal, and probably even unplayable, but those are the exception rather than the rule.

Select a Site

No surprise here. If you want a putting green, you’ll need a place to put it. It doesn’t have to be an enormous plot of land — around 1,000 square feet is a manageable size that will still give you plenty of room to roll your rock — but it should be in a place that gets a reasonable amount of sunlight and doesn’t feature any severely steep slopes.

Start Digging

You don’t need to go extremely deep. Around 10 inches will do. You’re basically gouging out what amounts to a shallow bathtub (a cake pan is another way to picture it) that covers the entire footprint of your green. You’ll be filling it in with sand (and a few others things) before you cover it with grass.

Add Some Contour

You’re not trying to replicate the greens at Augusta. But you do want your putting surface to have a little lilt. If the ground doesn’t have any natural contours, you’ll need to add them, and now’s the time.

Install Proper Drainage

Without it, you’ll wind up with a soft and spongy green, prone to disease and no fun to putt on. Four-inch perforated drainage pipe is the industry standard.

Cap it with Sand

And not just any sand. Golf course sand. Sand that drains. Sand that meets United States Golf Association specifications. Any self-respecting home improvement store should be able to provide you with it.

Seed it or Sod It

You could go either way. Sodding is easier in the short run. But in the long term, Werline says, seeding will likely give you better quality turf. What grass varietal you plant will depend largely on where you live; different strains do better in different climates. Consult with a lawn care expert when making a selection.

The Final Touches

Now that you’ve got a green, you’ll want to cut some cups. Buy a hole-puncher (they’re available new and used online, though Werline says it’s worth asking your local golf course to see if they’ll sell you an old one; on golf courses, the standard cup depth is seven inches, but putting greens often have shallower cups).