Creating a practice green in your home can be easy and doesn't necessarily need heavy equipment. You can create any size, any shape of PG for your home in 10 easy steps.
Equipment you will need: measuring tape, some sort of marker like a non-toxic spray paint, sod cutter (if applicable), shovel or excavator, wheelbarrow, rake with a metal head, compacting tool, hammer or drill, hose or a way to bring some water to the site, trimming scissors.
Materials you will need: 6"x6" treated lumber, 3/4" gravel, coarse sand, galvanized tie plates, screws or nails for plates, your choice of artificial turf, seam tape, other turf installation equipment (follow the instructions of your specific turf manufacturer), landscape fabric, glue.
Items you would need from Home Golf Supply: Depending on the size of your practice green, you will need various amounts of the following: cups, poles/markers, flags, cup stabilizers, and cup covers.
The equipment and materials above are just a suggestion. You can design your PG to be leveled with the surrounding areas instead of above ground, like illustrated here. It is going to be a little more difficult to excavate and might need heavy duty equipment, but it would allow more freedom to create dynamic shapes. Using the treated lumber saves time on labor but limits you to have straight lines. Decide what you want for your own yard and what fits your lifestyle.
To install the Practice Green, follow the steps below:
1. Choose a leveled, open area, away from branches and leaf foliage.
2. Measure out your location. The size of the practice green will depend on the artificial turf size and/or the size of treated wood.
3. If your area is bigger than your artificial turf you would need to join the seams. You can do that by using seam tape. Ensure you give yourself enough time for the seam tape to dry.
4. For the purpose of this blog we used 6”x6” pressure treated wood for the frame of the green. Most lumber comes in two foot multiples of 2 (8’, 10’, 12’, 16’, 18’, 20’ and longer). You will also need galvanized tie plates to hold the 6x6’s together and that can be found at the local hardware stores.
5. Place your lumber and install the galvanized tie plates to hold them in place.
6. Remove all vegetation in your practice green area.
7. Add about 1” depth of 3/4” gravel and level it out. Determine where you want your cups to be and place them. Optional: You can use our cup stabilizer to create additional support for your cups. Once the cups are in place, add another 2” of gravel around the cups; level out and compact as you go.
10. Install a landscape fabric on top of the gravel.
9. Add 2-3” of coarse sand or until it reaches the top of the cups. You can dampen it with a hose to make it more pliable and moldable. Make sure you compact and level the sand as much as you can.
10. Lay out the turf. You might need to leave it spread out for a day or two to flatten. Trim the turf as needed and carefully cut out the holes for the cup.
Tip: You can add a little but of glue at the trimmed edges to prevent them from fraying.
*NOTE: You may need nails or other hardware. Please follow the instructions of your specific artificial turf manufacturer.
Fig. 1: Illustration of Practice Green Installation Layers
Fig. 2: Finished Practice Green Installation
We hope this article was useful and inspired you to build your very own Practice Green at home! Please let us know in the comments below how it went and if you are enjoying your practice green!