So what’s the best synthetic golf green design for your backyard?
It’s a very good question and I’ve been running into a common problem the last few months. What is it?
Golfers are trying to make their golf green too extreme. They want to have too many breaks and undulations. Some guys even want tiers and humps and bumps. But here’s the problem.
Most backyard golf greens are small. They are less than 50m2 and if you go too severe your golf green design will be useless. You simply won’t be able to keep your ball on the green.
Listen up.
The biggest mistake I see are golfers who try too hard to replicate specific breaks and borrows. While this is admirable, your biggest concern with your golf green design is drainage. You need to allow water to run off so when it rains, water doesn’t pool on your green. You essentially need to treat your golf green like a slab of concrete…
… when concrete is laid there’s always a small amount of slope for run off. It almost looks flat, but it isn’t.
And let me tell you.
If your golf green is under 30m2 in size, this small amount of break will be more than enough to keep things interesting. In fact, this kind of break will closely match the real kind of golf greens you play on during the weekend. While normal golf greens can be large and have all sorts of breaks, tiers and borrows, in almost all situations, the hole is cut in a fairly flat portion of the green.
I know there are always exceptions to this rule. But please hear me loud and clear. If you want the best synthetic golf green design don’t get too carried away. Keep the green relatively flat, aim for a 1.5-2% variation at most. A 3% gradient can be quiet severe and chances are it will be way too much.
Are there any variations to this rule?
Yep. If you have the budget for an exceptionally large green you can go a little bit more crazy. Just don’t overdo it. I hate to repeat myself, but if you get this part of the design wrong, you won’t be a happy camper. My strongest recommendation is back off a little and err on the side of caution.
If you have any questions about your golf green design then please contact me. I encourage all DIY clients to send me a mudmap of their green and I can best advise on what you should be doing. If you have any questions whatsoever, please let me know.