Help Me Design a Basement Putting Green

[Big Lex]

3 minutes ago, the fish said:

Last crazy idea--make eccentric feet that rotate to achieve different height.  You could make this pretty simply from wood, with a bandsaw and drill press (or a jigsaw and hand drill if you don't have the others). Pardon the lousy sketch, but something like this...

 

doc00277020160412121851.pdf

Cool idea.

 

[Big Lex]

25 minutes ago, Ernest Jones said:

The pulley system would necessitate some kind of guide track as well or the platform would have too much swing to it. 

I guess you could use the pulley just to be able to conveniently lift the platform. Then you put blocks under it at the proper height.

[bmartin461]

When in doubt, borrow an existing design:

https://www.restorationhardware.com/catalog/product/product.jsp?productId=prod7720007

http://www.theonlygreen.com/

Pretty simple in concept, you have a frame 17X5 or whatever with a default flat inner step which holds the plywood sections which the green this then laid upon.

These plywood sections are not secured down and are adjusted by levers on the outside that raise up blocks to build height either on one side (for breaks) or both sides (for uphill/downhill)

The second link has a video that shows it in action.

 

 

[Ernest Jones]

41 minutes ago, bmartin461 said:

When in doubt, borrow an existing design:

https://www.restorationhardware.com/catalog/product/product.jsp?productId=prod7720007

http://www.theonlygreen.com/

Pretty simple in concept, you have a frame 17X5 or whatever with a default flat inner step which holds the plywood sections which the green this then laid upon.

These plywood sections are not secured down and are adjusted by levers on the outside that raise up blocks to build height either on one side (for breaks) or both sides (for uphill/downhill)

The second link has a video that shows it in action.

 

 

Wowsers, they are asking for some serious scratch for those things! Biggest one is 11 grand!

[pumaAttack]

Just make a giant sandbox and cover it with the putting surface.  Then you can make any breaks you want!

[jamo]

1 hour ago, the fish said:

Last crazy idea--make eccentric feet that rotate to achieve different height.  You could make this pretty simply from wood, with a bandsaw and drill press (or a jigsaw and hand drill if you don't have the others). Pardon the lousy sketch, but something like this...

 

doc00277020160412121851.pdf

I actually really like this idea.

[JonMA1]

The simplest method that I can think of is the concept of how a board, such as a 2x6, when laid on it's side  is at 1.5", but when rotated 90° is at 5.5". I'm not saying just lay boards on the floor and rotate them, but I thought that concept could be used to elevate the different parts.

[14ledo81]

Remember this game?  Not sure if there is a way to make something like this work, but it would certainly be cool.

[Pretzel]

8 hours ago, iacas said:

I'd be interested to see what you could come up with. The above may or may not be too much - I don't know if I'd find the right kind of steel beams, etc. Let me know what you come up with?

I'll be happy to share the CAD files and images when I've finished. I do have a midterm exam tomorrow so I may not be able to create it tonight, but once I'm finished with the exam I'll have much more free time on my hands than before. 

8 hours ago, iacas said:

Some sort of screw system seems like it could work quite well. Across 7' or even 6', 5" of slope change would be enough to create a 6% slope.

This is what my design would use: lead screws that would go through a nut on some sort of gimbal. You turn the lead screw to may that corner rise or fall. If you wanted to make it  fancy, you could even add a motor that would drive it and allow you to move it up or down at the push of button. If you wanted it really fancy, you could use encoders to preset varying slopes that it could automatically return to when you push a button.

[iacas]

9 hours ago, the fish said:

Are you referring to a pin you would insert at different heights (similar to how you insert a pin in weight machine to select different weight, or in this case height)?  If so, when you are at the low height, this would leave your adjusting "track" above your putting surface.

Not necessarily, if the rods are toward the bottom of the thing. So the little towers might be the same height as the overall "box."

8 hours ago, Big Lex said:

If you put a hole at each end, you only need to be able to move one side and you would still have putts breaking in both directions.

I don't really want a hole at each end. Then you end up standing on them, or worrying about them, and you give up space from where you could be putting. I don't see the point in only being able to move one side. If I put in a screw in each corner, for example, why not put them in all four instead of just two?

8 hours ago, Big Lex said:

The other thing you could do is use the wall to create anchor points that you lift the green surface to....or a pulley system mounted on the wall. The latter would be a cool way to do it, but would look stupid and probably wouldn't be wife-approved.

Yeah, not gonna happen. I'd like to be able to move it. I might even put it against the back wall instead of sticking out sideways like in the OP.

8 hours ago, bmartin461 said:

When in doubt, borrow an existing design:

No real plans to do that. Those putt oddly, don't break a ton, and aren't super secure feeling to walk on. You're really not supposed to walk on them, actually. That's why you stand on a block to the side. I've seen them at the PGA Show for the past few years.

5 hours ago, JonMA1 said:

The simplest method that I can think of is the concept of how a board, such as a 2x6, when laid on it's side  is at 1.5", but when rotated 90° is at 5.5". I'm not saying just lay boards on the floor and rotate them, but I thought that concept could be used to elevate the different parts.

Yeah, but there's just the two breaks. I'd like 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 perhaps. Or an infinite number (like you'd get with a screw). But yes, at its simplest, I might just lift up an edge and put something beneath it to prop it up. That's the KISS approach.

1 hour ago, Pretzel said:

I'll be happy to share the CAD files and images when I've finished. I do have a midterm exam tomorrow so I may not be able to create it tonight, but once I'm finished with the exam I'll have much more free time on my hands than before.

No rush.

1 hour ago, Pretzel said:

This is what my design would use: lead screws that would go through a nut on some sort of gimbal. You turn the lead screw to may that corner rise or fall. If you wanted to make it  fancy, you could even add a motor that would drive it and allow you to move it up or down at the push of button. If you wanted it really fancy, you could use encoders to preset varying slopes that it could automatically return to when you push a button.

I think the screws might work well (on those little circular feet), but no… I'm not automating anything. I'm keeping it MUCH simpler than that. KIRRSS. RR = "really really."

 

 

[Big Lex]

10 hours ago, iacas said:

I don't really want a hole at each end. Then you end up standing on them, or worrying about them, and you give up space from where you could be putting. I don't see the point in only being able to move one side. If I put in a screw in each corner, for example, why not put them in all four instead of just two?

19 hours ago, Big Lex said:

The other thing you could do is use the wall to create anchor points that you lift the green surface to....or a pulley system mounted on the wall. The latter would be a cool way to do it, but would look stupid and probably wouldn't be wife-approved.

Yeah, not gonna happen. I'd like to be able to move it. I might even put it against the back wall instead of sticking out sideways like in the OP.

Yeah that makes sense.

I think what I would do is use those car scissor jacks. They are easy to move and easy to crank. Your child could easily manage it. If the platform is moveable and both long edges are "exposed," (short side against the wall) all you'd have to do is place the scissor jack on whatever side you want and crank to the appropriate height, block it, then remove the jack. Use the jack again later to lower it, etc. I would fashion the platform such that it would 1) withstand the full weight of the person(s) putting without bending in any way, and 2) have a way to securely accept blocks that would change the height of one side and not slip off them, wobble, etc. Then you just use the scissor jack to raise the platform, attach the blocks, then lower until the blocks are on the floor, remove the jack, and putt. I think you could use a standard car-type scissor jack, but you'd have to modify it. The bearing surface of a scissor jack is going to be 6-10 inches above the ground, so you would need a way to connect that bearing surface to the underside of the platform. Either some sort of Z-shaped piece of metal that gets under the platform and on top of the jack, or maybe something on the side of the platform where you can attach an upside-down L shape piece that would sit on top of the jack. .

[Big Lex]

Using screws/bolts would of course work and allow infinite slopes. You would just have to find a way to attach the bolts so that they were easy to access and easy to turn. Trying to picture using a large socket wrench to turn a bolt that raises the platform, and get a feel for how difficult that would be, how you would protect the floor or carpet underneath, whether the bolt would protrude above the putting surface and whether or not that is a problem, etc.

Yes KISS RRS

You could have holes in the platform at all four corners. On the underside, in the 2x4's at the corner, you could countersink a large nut at each corner. To raise, you insert a bolt at that point, then turn the bolt with a socket wrench, and the platform rises. Put a block under it, remove the bolt. Repeat on the opposite corner. Or, do this JUST in the center of the long side, then put the blocks under each corner.

 

Edited April 13, 2016 by Big Lex

[Big Lex]

Sorry to inundate the thread....but this is fun.

For the "blocking", an easy solution is to simply use a forstner bit to drill flat bottom indentations in the bottom of the frame. After you jack it to the proper height, you just take large bolts, and put them underneath into the indentations. Say, a 1 inch diameter indentation, maybe half a inch deep. Then you get 5/8 diameter hex head bolts of different lengths. You jack up the platform, then insert the correct height bolts into the indentations. They stay secure because they are in a hole in the wood, and the weight of the platform is bearing down on them. To remove, jack the platform up slightly and just take them out.

[jamo]

3 minutes ago, Big Lex said:

Using screws/bolts would of course work and allow infinite slopes. You would just have to find a way to attach the bolts so that they were easy to access and easy to turn. Trying to picture using a large socket wrench to turn a bolt that raises the platform, and get a feel for how difficult that would be, how you would protect the floor or carpet underneath, whether the bolt would protrude above the putting surface and whether or not that is a problem, etc.

Yes KISS RRS

 

The one downside that I can see to anything "infinitely adjustable" is just that. If you have screws under all 4 corners it's going to be difficult to ensure that all 4 are at the same height when you're just looking to hit straight, flat putts.

Even if you're just putting bricks under the corners, you can at least do the math out and know that, say, 1 brick under each of the two corners on the right means a slope of 4.

[Big Lex]

2 minutes ago, jamo said:

The one downside that I can see to anything "infinitely adjustable" is just that. If you have screws under all 4 corners it's going to be difficult to ensure that all 4 are at the same height when you're just looking to hit straight, flat putts.

Even if you're just putting bricks under the corners, you can at least do the math out and know that, say, 1 brick under each of the two corners on the right means a slope of 4.

Yeah. The screws could be used in combination with blocks. You have your preset height blocks for setting height. You use the screws simply as a means to raise the platform easily, and then you place the blocks underneath, and remove or back the screws out enough so that the blocks are supporting the platform.

Edited April 13, 2016 by Big Lex

[bmartin461]

How about 4 trailer jacks, one in each corner, easy to adjust and would allow for uphill, downhill and left/right sloped.

http://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Jack/Pro-Series/PS1400300303.html?feed=npn&gclid=COrH1u_yi8wCFYqPfgodsHMLYg

[Big Lex]

4 minutes ago, bmartin461 said:

How about 4 trailer jacks, one in each corner, easy to adjust and would allow for uphill, downhill and left/right sloped.

http://www.etrailer.com/Trailer-Jack/Pro-Series/PS1400300303.html?feed=npn&gclid=COrH1u_yi8wCFYqPfgodsHMLYg

Yeah. Way better than a scissor jack. Had no idea these existed. All he needs to do is have an attachment to the side of the frame. Use this jack to easily raise the platform, then block it to the correct height, then lower and remove the jack. Easy for anyone to do, easy to engineer.

[14ledo81]

I don't think you would even need to block when using the trailer jacks.  I think they would easily hold the weight.