Backyard Golf Course

[Zxc]

So, a year has passed. Have forgotten to post here about the course. Final layout is like this:  

The rectangular bunker is actually a beach volleyball court and these 2 sand traps are being constructed at the moment.

As my home is a holiday center/ guest  house, we have to keep the lawn as small as possible so it would be nice. That height is ok for fairways(could be better, but whatever). At the moment all the area is mown  with the same height, but i will try to have 2 different lenghts: the usual height that we have been using and then 1-2cm higher rough. All the  lawn around the houses is always low, so there is no chance of having multi level lawn.

 The condition of the greens could be better but I hope that with warmer temperatures, they will get thicker and nicer. Will add some photos later!

[Sunburst42]

Good luck on your project!

[dagolfer18]

I’m going to start this topic up again by describing my backyard course, which I believe I’ve mentioned before. We have a decent amount of land (~10 acres), But we have to use foam practice balls on the course. Working together, my dad and I have been able to build three greens: one ‘central’ green and two others. I’ve got an 18 hole course, 13 of which go to the central green.

My second green has three of the other holes, and my third green, which is in a secluded corner of the property, has the final two holes. The greens are just AstroTurf that we bought at a hardware store, and they’re not all that big (probably 100 sq ft at most). 

Now for the course! As I said, it’s an 18 hole layout with Pinehurst-style “crowned” greens, so it’s very difficult to hold them. The course record is currently an even-par 70. I have five par 3s and three par 5s. Hole-by-hole:

No. 1, Par 4 “Road”: A pretty easy start, but your tee shot needs to be slightly right of center to have the best angle into the green.

No. 2, Par 3 “Short Forest”: One of several holes where you tee off in the woods. This hole goes over the driveway, on the other side of which is the green. One of the toughest holes on the front.

No. 3, Par 4 “Angle”: The first of the three holes that goes to my second green. You’re teeing off from an interesting angle, and you need to dial in the distance on your tee shot, or you won’t have a good shot in.

No. 4, Par 4 “Chance”: A tough hole, but a fun one. You basically have three options; safe, semi-aggressive or aggressive. Either of the first two options means almost no chance at birdie, so going aggressive is the only way to give yourself a good look. The green is behind some trees, and the aggressive play is the only one that takes them out of the equation.

No. 5, Par 4 “Roughage”: The first true birdie chance. It’s a drivable par 4, but you need to hit your tee shot over a sliver of rough to get to the green in one. Laying up short of it is the safe play, and you still have a solid chance for birdie.

No. 6, Par 4 “Slice n’ Dice”: The second hole that goes to my second green. Again, there’s a safe play, but that limits your chance for birdie. The aggressive play, as the name of the hole suggests, is to slice your tee shot. The semi-aggressive route, which is my go-to strategy on this hole, is probably the most fun. As this hole is along the side of the house, you can bank the ball off the house and have it come back to the fairway (now you see why we use foam balls!)

No. 7, Par 5 “Valley”: Another good shot at birdie. Your tee shot goes down a hill and then back up a hill, which is why the hole is named Valley. Your second shot will also he played from around the fifth tee, one of a few cases where the hole routes overlap.

No. 8, Par 3 “Valley, Part 2”: The final hole going to my second green, which lies at the bottom of the “valley”. From the tee, it’s tough to hold the green, so the best play is to run it in.

No. 9, Par 4 “Free Fall”: The only hole on the course that plays significantly downhill. If you hit your tee shot straight, you’ll have a short chip or pitch into this hole. Stray the slightest bit, however, and par is all of a sudden an excellent score.

No. 10, Par 4 “Risk”: This is another drivable par 4, but you need to hit it perfectly to have a chance. This hole plays steeply uphill and has a sharp dogleg to the left that goes to my third green. If you take the risk, the reward is a birdie or even an eagle. The risk is a bogey if you miss, because trees do their best to keep you from making the green.

No. 11, Par 3 “Short”: Another good birdie opportunity. Not much to say here, as it’s the shortest hole on the course and just requires a short pitch. 

No. 12, Par 5 “Long Forest”: Probably my favorite hole on the course. Trees guard the left side, so the play is a slight draw. Then the hole doglegs right and the trees in front of the green come into play again. Two well-placed shots provide an excellent birdie chance.

No. 13, Par 3 “Redan”: This was kind of a surprise. When I designed this one, I didn’t realize it looked exactly like the template hole. The only difference is instead of a bunker, there’s our man-made well guarding front left. But a spectacular hole, and definitely my favorite of the five par 3s.

No. 14, Par 4 “Way Back”: The first of five very tough finishing holes, so I’ve put the birdie opportunities early on the back nine for a reason. This one brings the driveway very much into play, and you need two extremely accurate shots, or else you’ll have a tough time making par. A five here feels like a par.

No. 15, Par 4 “Up & Over”: The easiest of the last five holes, but still no pushover. As long as you hit a solid tee shot, you’ll clear the corner of the dogleg and have a good shot in. But coming up short almost guarantees bogey since trees punish weak tee shots.

No. 16, Par 3 “Bermuda”: This one plays slightly downhill, but it doesn’t help much. Like the 8th hole, the best play is to run it in.

No. 17, Par 5 “Alps”: Easily my signature hole, this was a par 6 when I first designed this course. It starts at the very bottom of the driveway, and winds up it, making for a very difficult first two shots. Like the 14th hole, your first two shots need to be dead accurate. If either one is off, your chance for par is out the window. Very few birdies are made here.

No. 18, Par 4 “Victory Lap”: The final hole goes to my secluded third green. Not near as difficult as the 14th and 17th holes, but still a challenge. Your tee ball needs to slightly cut the corner over the house, but you can take a direct line and go all out. If you take that route and succeed, a birdie is likely.

So there ya go! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve come into the final few holes under par but failed to stay there. In fact, I think when I shot the record score of even par (70), I was two under going into the last five holes. Never played that stretch under par, but I have gone even. Hope you enjoyed!