Ballpark Estimate: $1,000 to $5,000 for a DIY Kit; $7,500 and $12,500 for a professional
Residential Putting Greens
You may have a consistently strong drive and your chipping skills may be top notch, but if your putting ability is weak, your golf game is sure to suffer overall. Many golfers get around the problem by practicing regularly in the convenience of their own yard. You can do this too when you build your own residential putting green or have one professionally installed. The newest types of synthetic putting greens closely replicate the conditions on the golf course. You can even simulate the breaks and slopes you might encounter on your favorite hole. Better yet, synthetic putting greens don’t require the maintenance you would need with natural grass turf, giving you the benefits you seek without all of the related upkeep that grass involves.
Putting Green Materials
When it comes to artificial turf, there are two main types from which to choose for your home putting green.
Nylon
A nylon putting green is a very popular option that many people select for their home putting green. This is a durable choice that isn’t affected by weather conditions and it doesn’t require much in the way of maintenance. When this type of putting green is created, the nylon fibers are secured by heat in order to prevent them from becoming matted down when you play. This ensures that the surface keeps its shape. Nylon is a good choice for a small (up to about 30 feet by 30 feet) home putting green that will offer a realistic recreation of playing on a real golf course. The only real downside to nylon turf is that it can be affected by heat and humidity, causing it to expand and shrink. Using a thick nylon backing can help to compensate for this problem.
Polypropylene
A polypropylene turf is a good option when you want to work on our chipping skills. It also has a sand fill, which works well for long shots, allowing the ball to land on the green well. A polypropylene putting green is less expensive than nylon but it requires more upkeep than a nylon putting green, too. However, if mastering the art of chipping is important to you, the trade off can be worth it.
Other Considerations
When you decide you’d like to build a home putting green, you’ll want to assess your landscape to determine how the putting green will best fit into your yard design and space and how large it can be. Most putting greens should be located on level ground and slightly raised in order to ensure proper drainage and to allow rainwater to run off properly. How you design the putting green should also address your specific golfing strengths and weaknesses. Do you want to work on your long putts, shorter putts or practice chipping onto the green? Some golfers have a specific goal, while others want to just work toward improving their game overall.
In addition, you can decide to handle a home putting green yourself from scratch or purchase a kit that contains the pieces you need to put it together. These two options can be cost-effective. Or, you can spend more to hire a professional who can create a putting green for you to your exact specifications.
Where to Find
When you’re ready to shop for a home putting green, you can ask high-end landscapers if they can handle the project or can refer you to a putting green expert. You can also ask family and friends for recommendations. Or, you can look in your yellow pages for landscape design companies that offer putting green installation. You can also do a search online for companies that sell home putting greens. A few of the types of places to try include IllusionPuttingGreens.com, TJB Landscaping, Inc., In the Hole Golf, and BackyardPuttingGreen.org. You can also shop for ready-made indoor/outdoor putting greens (or buy the materials to build your own) at places like Home Depot, Amazon.com, and Nextag.
Costs for a Home Putting Green
Home putting green costs are pretty straightforward. The price will depend mainly on the type of surface you want, the size of the putting green and whether you plan to do it yourself or hire a company to handle the project.
To build a home putting green yourself, you can expect one made from polypropylene will cost between $3 and $5 a square foot for a polypropylene. The cost for a nylon putting green is between $4 and $7 a square foot. For the sake of calculation, we’ll look at a 500 square foot green (although you can purchase home putting greens in any shape and size so you might go much smaller or larger, depending on your needs). This means that the price would be from $1,500 to $2,500 for a polypropylene putting green that you build yourself, while the cost for the material for a nylon turf putting green will be from $2,000 to $3,500. These prices don’t include delivery or installation. If you want to have the green professionally built, or you want to use a more sophisticated material for your putting green, then you can spend between $15 and $25 a square foot. For a 500 square foot home putting green, this means it would cost between $7,500 and $12,500. If you opt for professional installation, you may want to get an even bigger putting green and add some extra features in. For top of the line custom home putting greens, many people spend as much as $15,000 to $25,000.
You can also purchase a putting green kit that comes with all of the pieces you need so you can put it together yourself. These come in a wide range of sizes and prices, but you can find many for between $1,000 and $5,000.
So you can spend as little as $1,000 for a D-I-Y home putting green kit or materials or as much as $25,000 for a high-end custom putting green professionally installed in your yard. Most people spend somewhere in the middle of the range.
It’s also worth noting that if you’re considering going with a natural grass home putting green, the price can be comparable to that of a synthetic one, but the natural grass requires regular maintenance that can be quite time consuming and also quite expensive, costing as much as several thousand a year to keep it up. As a result, most homeowners opt for a synthetic putting green instead.
Professional Tour-Level Putting Green
If you think that the cost for a residential putting green sounds steep, it can help to put it into perspective by understanding that creating a tour-level putting green on a golf course can cost $60,000 or even much, much more.