Backyard putting green questions

[DoubleAces]

I'm looking in to having a synthetic turf putting green installing in my backyard. I've had a few companies out and both sound like good options. One main difference that I have found between various options is having a sand filled green versus a non-sand filled green. Is there any benefit to one over the other? I'm inlined to go with the non-sand filled option as it has little to no maintenance required. Other than putt on the green, all i would do is chip to it. I don't have a giant yard to practice my 50 yard approaches, haha. 

If you have looked at it or have one installed, what are the questions I should be asking? Any tips on which way to go?  Thanks!!

[Hacker James]

Infill, whether silica or other substance is used in lawn turf to have the blades of "grass" stand up. It is usually raked in with a special nylon/plastic broom.  If you are using a true putting surface, I would imagine it would not require any infill as it is already dense.  I have turf in my backyard, it is very natural looking, but really not suited for putting. 

[Golfingdad]

33 minutes ago, Hacker James said:

Infill, whether silica or other substance is used in lawn turf to have the blades of "grass" stand up. It is usually raked in with a special nylon/plastic broom.  If you are using a true putting surface, I would imagine it would not require any infill as it is already dense.  I have turf in my backyard, it is very natural looking, but really not suited for putting. 

Yeah, mine is like this as well.  I think there is some sand and synthetic stuff in mine.

One thing I didn't consider was my neighbor planting trees just on the other side of the fence from mine.  Mines become a little bumpy and I assumed it was from gophers passing through but somebody else suggested it might be from the neighbors tree roots. :(

[Hacker James]

9 hours ago, Golfingdad said:

Yeah, mine is like this as well.  I think there is some sand and synthetic stuff in mine.

One thing I didn't consider was my neighbor planting trees just on the other side of the fence from mine.  Mines become a little bumpy and I assumed it was from gophers passing through but somebody else suggested it might be from the neighbors tree roots. :(

For gophers, you need lay in a layer of wire screen mesh prior to rolling out the turf.Some lay it in before the underlayment base. Also, in SOCAL, the soil has a lot of clay and unless you lay in an underlayer of decomposed granite as a base, the ground will swell and contract after rains, leaving undulations and dips/bumps. I didn't however, but I dug out all the grass, roots, and compacted the heck out of it with heavy roller. It looks natural, but I can see a bit of shifting sometimes. Then again, natural grass is not always perfectly level either. The correct way is to lay in about four inches of DG and use a plate compactor.

Edited August 13, 2017 by Hacker James

[Patch]

Which ever choice you go with, make sure it will drain excess water. 

[Hacker James]

6 hours ago, Patch said:

Which ever choice you go with, make sure it will drain excess water. 

"ditto" on that. Otherwise it will puddle if the built in drain holes are not sufficient. Do not use the cheap poly shield plastic, they do not have drain holes. Use landscaping covering which is perforated.

[DoubleAces]

All good comments, thank you! I can be a handy man at certain things, but this falls out of my comfort zone to install myself and will be brining in a company to lay it. Both companies i've talked to have different ways to approach water from excessive rain (which we tend to get in Houston). One guy uses plastic panels that fit together under the green with many drain holes that they use under athletic fields. However, one mentioned that he only installs sand filled greens and the other says that there's no need for sand filled because of extra maintenance. 

All i've really heard is that sand filled is better for hitting longer shots (20+yards) in to and also comes with more maintenance. This is mainly for putting and chipping, so i'm inclined to go the non-sand filled route. Just wanted to see if there were other questions I should ask.