Golf is one of the most popular sports in the world, often played in the United States, Japan, and of course, its native Scotland. A player does not have to run fast or catch a ball to play this sport, and golf appeals to a wide variety of people today. Whether a player is a pro practicing for a tournament or just a casual player, this golfer will want a good opportunity to practice their game. Often, golfers can visit local courses to log these practice hours, but that’s not always an option. Bad weather might strike, or the course is crowded or too far away to visit for daily practice. What to do? This is where synthetic putting greens can help out, and residential putting greens and artifical putting greens can really make a difference. If a golfer cannot visit the course to practice, they can install artifical putting greens as backyard putting greens and take the course to them. What should someone bear in mind before installing artifical putting greens? This will take some work, but if done correctly, artifical putting greens can be quite useful.
Building A Backyard Golfing Green
It might go without saying, but a golfer should only modify their back yard if they own their property rather than rent it. Once the golfer has chosen a large enough area in their back yard to convert into a golf green, they can assemble some tools. A rake, a shovel and hand trowel, safety glasses, a hand tamper, and more will be needed for this. Now, the golfer may choose a fairly level part of their back yard that is not part of a depression or drain way, then roll out a green grade check and similar hardware. This is to ensure that the chosen ground does not rise more than 2″ over the length of 10 feet. Now, a weed eater can be used to define the boundaries of the green, and safety glasses should be worn for this.
Rakes can be used to smooth out this area further, and all grass is removed in the designated area. Crushed rocks and other materials can be used to create a solid, flat foundation. The green area should be designed so that it has a very gentle slope that allows rain water to flow off of it, and the solid bases underneath prevent too much rain water from soaking in. Otherwise, the soil gets heavy and may sink inwards, disrupting the green.
The artificial turf can be put down, and the golfer will also have holes installed in the green’s foundation, with the location and number of holes being a matter of preference. As a bonus, flags can be set up to mark each one, like at a real golf course. Now the golfer may use this green as desired to practice their putting technique or try out new putters that they have bought recently. But what if a golfer is expecting bad weather, and they would rather practice golf indoors? This can be done, too.
A Golf Simulator
For those unable to build a backyard golf green, they can set aside a room in the house as a golf simulator zone. This means clearing out enough items to make room for the tee-off turf, the TV or digital projector that creates the image, and enough room to actually swing some golf clubs. This requires assembling some hardware and software, such as a simulator program that will show a 3-D style image of a golf course. This simulator will run on a laptop or a PC that is plugged into an HDTV or a digital projector, creating the image on a flat wall.
The simulator will also need some nets that are set up on either side, to catch flying balls and make those golf balls easier to find and retrieve. The golfer may also set up a patch of tee-off green where they can place their golf tees. With all this working in tandem, the golfer can practice their game on a variety of simulated golf courses, and while this is not a 100% accurate reproduction, it is pretty useful if a real golf course cannot be used. And simulators can be used in any weather.
