home outdoor putting greens

Hello, All.

I'm a newbie to this discussion board...what a great forum!

I live in Toronto, Canada. I am thinking about having a artificial putting green with a bunker installed in my backyard. Has anyone here done this or looked into it or otherwise have any insights to pass on? I'm wondering about (i) type of surfaces available, (ii) how realistic their playing characteristics are, (iii) ease to maintain, (iv) cost, (v) minimum size, (vi) design elements (e.g., contouring and whether to add a bunker) etc., etc.

In particular, does any know about the surfaces marketed as "softrak", "southwest greens" or "sport court"?

TIA for your responses.

Cost is enormous compared to the use you will get out of it. If you traveled to your range that has the putting green and bunker every day for a Canadian season (what 5 months?) You will have 2 things:

More money in the pocket and
The desire to practice with more purpose while there.

The thing that I see with most people (and you might be different) that start up a practice routine in the back yard, is that they get easily distracted because they are at home.

When you go to a facility that is away from the distractions of home, you concentrate better and have more purpose for the time you are there.

Plus, most putting greens and bunker play is free. The good ones cost a little like 3-4$ for the hole day.

__________________
I'm a golfaholic, no question about that. Counseling wouldn't help me. They'd have to put me in prison, and then I'd talk the warden into building a hole or two and teach him how to play. ~Lee Trevino

I've seen sport court, but I've never seen it for golf. Basketball, tennis, even soccer, but not golf. It's basically an interlocking rubberized tile system, IIRC.

http://www.golf-tuition-online.com/v...ead.php?t=1528 (Huxley Golf Greens)

Check out this thread,

I have one from www.huxleygolf.co.uk


It will improve your short game.


Ian.

I have found that an indoor putting green is much more valuable. In the Toronto area I assume your season runs from April to October. If you are like th rest of us, you are begging for golf to come back in November. I found I can work on my putting in the house all winter.

If practicing outdoors in the summer, I have also found it much more helpful to not worry about putting, but chipping. I created 5 closely mowed target areas in my yard the size of a car tire, which can be moved by simply mowing a different area. Hitting from one of the target areas, I take 4 balls and hit 1 ball to each area, only trying to land the ball in each area. When I go to the range facilities, I get a good idea of how fast the greens are running by doing some putting and then I work on my chipping. Once you know how far the ball will run, you will know where to land the ball. From there, you can read the green as to where the ball will run once it lands. Then all you have to do is hit the target, which you have been practicing at home!! After doing this a few times out to the range you will rarely two putt after a chip.

__________________
Gord

Quote of the month:
"It's easy to see golf not as a game at all but as some whey-faced, nineteenth-century Presbyterian minister's fever dream of exorcism achieved through ritual and self-mortification." ~Bruce McCall

How do you get your closely mown area, Gord? Do you just drop the mower to the lowest level and just let the blade whirl? Or do you have something that'll do the job?

Exactly. The other thhing ot remember is to have them scattered - don't have them equal distances from each other. The whole purpose is to see a target and be able to judge the distance, if you are hittingthe same distance to all the spots, you aren't accomplishing anything other than learning one specific distance.

Thanks for everbody's views.

The idea of an indoor putting green is intriguing, but I don't think my spouse would let me get away with it.

There is definitely a cost/benefit issue here but we are in the process of doing a landscaping plan for both our front and backyards. Both our yards are currently a mess, so if a putting green doesn't go in the backyard, we will be spending money on something else.

Our golf club is less than a 5 minute drive away. So, having access to somewhere else to practice isn't really the issue. It is that, on days when I practice after work, I can do some at home rather than heading to our club and coming home just when the kids are ready to be put to bed.

Also, I thought it would be a fun way to give my young kids the chance to develop parts of their golf games as they got older without taking them out to the club.

Thanks, again.

My putting green is not a permanent set up. You can get some cups from Golftown, or anywhere that sells sporting equipment. You can strategically place them around the house (only works on carpeted areas) and create a mini golf course. I was even able to get my wife interested in playing a couple times!!!! If you do not live in a brand new house, you will notice that there will even be breaks (especially in the heavy traffic areas) to keep you on your toes.