Creating a short game area in my backyard

[lonemedic]

Creating a golf chip and putt area in my backyard

Hi there.  First time posting. Long time lurker. Love this site. 

I have about 3/4 of an acre I want to convert into a golf short game area. It currently has some undulations (which is close to what I want for my golf area) and is covered with barnyard grass, fescue grass and broadleaf weeds. The ground also feels like it has a lot of bumps when I walk on it. I live in Michigan and I talked with a local golf course super and he recommended that I just go with perennial rye grass for everything (green, fringe, and rough).

My question is, what is the best way for me to convert what I have to what I want? My priorities are cost and time. I want a good value and I don't want it to be a huge project. I have a full size John Deere 2030 tractor with a brush hog and a scraping blade. I plan on getting a utv. I am willing to rent or buy additional attachments for both for this project. I also have a zero turn mower. I think I will get a push mower for the greens(the special low cut green mower). I am hoping I can use the same push mower for the fringe (if it can cut that high). And then use my zero turn for the rough.

My thinking is, I don't want to Roundup everything. The ground will then take forever for it to be ready to accept the rye grass seeds(it will have to wait for the Roundup to fade). Could take 3 to 6 months and then I have to deal with bare dirt for a long time. I was thinking I would aerate what I have now, then roll the grass to even out the bumps. Then use the special green mower to cut the existing grass super low. Hopefully the existing grass dies, then I just seed with my ryegrass. Will that work? Let me know what you guys think is the best way to go about this. Much appreciated in advance!

Best,

Mike from Michigan

[boogielicious]

On 5/11/2016 at 0:47 AM, lonemedic said:

Creating a golf chip and putt area in my backyard

Hi there.  First time posting. Long time lurker. Love this site. 

I have about 3/4 of an acre I want to convert into a golf short game area. It currently has some undulations (which is close to what I want for my golf area) and is covered with barnyard grass, fescue grass and broadleaf weeds. The ground also feels like it has a lot of bumps when I walk on it. I live in Michigan and I talked with a local golf course super and he recommended that I just go with perennial rye grass for everything (green, fringe, and rough).

My question is, what is the best way for me to convert what I have to what I want? My priorities are cost and time. I want a good value and I don't want it to be a huge project. I have a full size John Deere 2030 tractor with a brush hog and a scraping blade. I plan on getting a utv. I am willing to rent or buy additional attachments for both for this project. I also have a zero turn mower. I think I will get a push mower for the greens(the special low cut green mower). I am hoping I can use the same push mower for the fringe (if it can cut that high). And then use my zero turn for the rough.

My thinking is, I don't want to Roundup everything. The ground will then take forever for it to be ready to accept the rye grass seeds(it will have to wait for the Roundup to fade). Could take 3 to 6 months and then I have to deal with bare dirt for a long time. I was thinking I would aerate what I have now, then roll the grass to even out the bumps. Then use the special green mower to cut the existing grass super low. Hopefully the existing grass dies, then I just seed with my ryegrass. Will that work? Let me know what you guys think is the best way to go about this. Much appreciated in advance!

Best,

 Mike from Michigan

Welcome to the Sand Trap. I'm not sure if many of the Sand Trap members have done this. I would recommend what the course folks said in terms of grass. The other thing I would add is a bunker. Unless you wanted to build a green, you maybe better off making a smaller one with regular grass and just cut it short. 

For the rest of the area, I would start with cutting it short and just use it as is for simulating rough. The type of grass/weeds you describe would be a good simulation of different types of rough. Keep it a bit long, 3 to 4" too.

[ZappyAd]

41 minutes ago, boogielicious said:

For the rest of the area, I would start with cutting it short and just use it as is for simulating rough. The type of grass/weeds you describe would be a good simulation of different types of rough. Keep it a bit long, 3 to 4" too.

I would agree about not worrying too much about the quality of the grass in general - for myself having a perfect lie every time wouldn't be as useful as getting some random variations.  That at least is what I get mostly out on the course!  And a sand pit is a great idea plus maybe adding some 2-5' mounds so you can practice upslope/downslope etc - that might be as simple as dumping a ton of soil in a pile and then compacting it down and covering with seed.

Having a 'green' would be useful I think to practice watching the ball run out.  I chip in my backyard which is fine until the ball hits the grass but then it tends to stop rolling more quickly than it would on a green.  Perfectly manicured grass is an option but I've often thought that an artificial surface or even compacted sand / earth might work - probably depends on your climate and might not work in Michigan.  If you want to practice putting then this obviously might not be ideal but for me I would just be interested in chipping because I don't think I could maintain a green to a high enough standard to make putting close enough to the real thing.

[Patch]

If it were me, I would build a green, add a bunker, or two, and just leave the rest as it is. Of course, I would cut some of the "rest" to a usable height. 

I would add grass seed to the whole area. Over time it should mix well with the existing grass/weeds. Maybe add some fertilizer to help thicken everything up. 

Maybe add some sod to a few areas, as hitting stations. 

Something else you might want to explore is a DIY, no/low maintenance, synthetic green. This would be handy if, at a later date, you want to change how your green plays. Another plus is your stimp would mimic more closely what you might see when go to a real course. I had a green in my back yard, and over time I got to where I'd miss very few putts since I was so familiar with it. I'd roll up parts of it, add material, to make the gree roll differently. Just make sure you have proper drainage for it. 

And of course you might want to add a full swing, longer club, practice net area. You have plenty of room. 

I am assuming irrigation for the area has been already taken care of. 

[lonemedic]

Thanks for your responses everyone.  

I think I am way over my head if I have to mow it everyday. I was thinking twice a week.  I like the idea of using a synthetic green if this is the case. Then just keep what I have surrounding it.  That way, I dont even have to get a special mower just for the green.  

Yes, I will definitely add a bunker or 2.

Thanks for helping me work this out.  

[boogielicious]

1 hour ago, lonemedic said:

Thanks for your responses everyone.  

I think I am way over my head if I have to mow it everyday. I was thinking twice a week.  I like the idea of using a synthetic green if this is the case. Then just keep what I have surrounding it.  That way, I dont even have to get a special mower just for the green.  

Yes, I will definitely add a bunker or 2.

Thanks for helping me work this out.  

We want pictures of course!!!

[lonemedic]

Absolutely! 

[WUTiger]

Here's a short-game area I prepped for partial wedges and chips:

 

[Hacker James]

On 7/22/2016 at 4:21 PM, WUTiger said:

Here's a short-game area I prepped for partial wedges and chips:

 

Gonzo like it!  I've a little bit similar in "Improved Practice Area"

[Joey G]

Anyone have experience playing on Tour Green or other artificial putting/chipping green surfaces?

I am considering the same thing as you, but am leaning towards using a large artificial green/fringe with multiple holes and artificial tee boxes from different approach distances and angles...maybe even a sandtrap or two.

Seems like low maintenance would give me more time to just practice.

Something like this but with multiple flags and tee boxes. Image stolen from Internet, not mine.

Edited November 13, 2016 by Joey G

[Joey G]

 

Like this, with a couple of additional boxes. Just looking for feedback on the playing surfaces by Tour Greens.

[Pretzel]

Depending on what is underneath the synthetic surfaces I've found that they can sometimes be "bouncy", in that a golf ball will behave as though the green was ultra firm (because it is if they compact the sand too tightly underneath it or if it's installed with minimal padding over concrete). Biggest factor I'd be concerned about would be the quality and durability of the hitting surface.

The top setup looks like a broken window waiting to happen if someone tried to flop it and bladed it instead.

[iacas]

Any of the companies can do something outdoors. I recommend you check out SynLawn in particular.

[Hacker James]

6 hours ago, Pretzel said:

Depending on what is underneath the synthetic surfaces I've found that they can sometimes be "bouncy", in that a golf ball will behave as though the green was ultra firm (because it is if they compact the sand too tightly underneath it or if it's installed with minimal padding over concrete). Biggest factor I'd be concerned about would be the quality and durability of the hitting surface.

The top setup looks like a broken window waiting to happen if someone tried to flop it and bladed it instead.

I layed in artificial turf in the back yard. 15 x 45. The hardest and most labor intensive was prepping. I had to dig out all the existing bermuda, till and roll several times. It is recommended that you have a base of DG about 4 inches and compacted with power compactor. (I didn't). It looks fine, and you could hit off it, but it is really too hard as mentioned above. As far as complete weed abatement, and if you could wait about 60-90 days in hot weather, use a solarization technique where you stretch clear vinyl over the area. This will kill all vegetation including roots, but you need to do it in summer months. or you might consider laying in rolls of sod.  There are some more photos/mods under thread Dec 2015 "Improved Practice Area"

 

lawn prep #3.htm

lawn prep#2.htm

Edited November 13, 2016 by Hacker James

[Ernest Jones]

On July 22, 2016 at 7:21 PM, WUTiger said:

Here's a short-game area I prepped for partial wedges and chips:

 

Lol. Love the tee box markers and that you have the option of playing from the "tips"!

[woodzie264]

2 hours ago, Ernest Jones said:

Lol. Love the tee box markers and that you have the option of playing from the "tips"!

ahahahahaha

[Hacker James]

32 minutes ago, woodzie264 said:

ahahahahaha

yah, on my rinky dink practice station, I had to illegally straddle the line to set up between my Christmas tree ornament markers owing to the width of the mat.  It was an optical delusion. 

Edited November 14, 2016 by Hacker James