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Guides · Putting greens

Backyard putting greens: speed, roll and the grade under them

Speed, break, cups, fringe and chipping: how to plan a backyard green you’ll actually use.

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Putting greens · the guides

Eight questions, each answered up front.

Each short answer is right here. Open a guide for the full explanation and its sources.

  1. Guide

    Backyard Putting and Chipping Green Layout

    Can you chip onto an artificial putting green, and will it hold the ball?

    Yes, if the green is built for it. What stops the ball is sand infill in a sand-filled green or a pad under a nylon one. Around the green you need fringe and rough to chip from, and a landing area on a base that Northern Colorado clay and frost can’t push out of shape.

    Inside

    1. Will an artificial green hold a chip, and what makes it hold?
    2. Where do you chip from: the fringe, the rough or a hitting spot?
    3. Why does the landing area need the smoothest base in the yard?
    4. Do chips play differently in a Northern Colorado winter?
    5. What should I ask an installer about a chipping green?

  2. Guide

    Backyard Putting Green Cost: What Moves the Price

    How much does a backyard putting green cost, and what makes one cost more?

    It depends on the green and the yard. What moves the price: a base deeper than a lawn’s, often on clay, with break shaped in; the surface, where one infill maker puts a professional-style green at 20 to 50% more than a recreational one; fringe and cups; access and soil haul-off; and HOA or town review.

    Inside

    1. Does a bigger green cost more, or less per square foot?
    2. Why does the base under a green take more work than a lawn’s?
    3. Which surface, fringe and extras add the most?
    4. How do access and haul-off change the bill?
    5. What do Firestone’s permit and HOA review add?
    6. 2 more sections

  3. Guide

    Backyard Putting Green Design: Contours, Cups, Fringe

    What goes into designing a custom backyard putting green: contours, cups, fringe, bunkers and how it ties into the yard?

    Break is shaped into the compacted base before any turf goes down, with contours that shed water two or more ways and near-flat ground at each cup. Cups go where they give different putts, a collar steps the green down to the yard, and a turf bunker skips the sand Front Range wind scatters. Check the HOA’s submittal rules first.

    Inside

    1. How is break built into a green, and what does Northern Colorado ground do to it?
    2. Where should the cups go?
    3. How should the collar and fringe meet the rest of the yard?
    4. Should a backyard green have a sand bunker, a turf bunker or neither?
    5. Where does the water go when it runs off the contours?
    6. 2 more sections

  4. Guide

    Backyard Putting Green Maintenance, Season by Season

    How do I maintain a backyard artificial putting green through the year?

    Keep the sand even and the surface clean, and re-test the roll each season. Spring: brush out winter debris, then top up sand once the green is dry. June: blow cottonwood fluff off on low. Summer: check the sand after downpours. Fall: clear leaves before they rot. Winter: let snow melt or push it off with plastic.

    Inside

    1. What does a backyard green need, season by season?
    2. How do I bring a green back after winter?
    3. How do I clear cottonwood cotton and fall leaves without blowing the sand out?
    4. What do summer heat and storms do to a green?
    5. Should I shovel snow off a green or wait?
    6. 2 more sections

  5. Guide

    Backyard Putting Green Size and How Many Cups

    How big should a backyard putting green be, and how many cups does it need?

    Size it by the longest putt you want to practice, not square footage: medium putts need a line of about 21 feet to the cup. One builder says most backyard greens run 300 to 800 square feet. Plan a cup for each kind of putt, each with a flat 3-foot radius around it and 3 feet clear of the fringe.

    Inside

    1. How long does the green need to be for the putts I want to practice?
    2. How many cups does a backyard green need, and how far apart?
    3. Should part of the green be flat?
    4. How much fringe goes around the green?
    5. What limits the size of a putting green in Northern Colorado?
    6. 1 more section

  6. Guide

    How Much Slope Can a Backyard Putting Green Have?

    Can I build a putting green on a sloped backyard, and how much slope is too much?

    Yes, if the ground around each cup ends up nearly flat. USGA Green Section guidance keeps most of a green at 3 percent slope or less and calls 3 percent too steep for a cup on a green rolling 10 on the Stimpmeter; faster greens need flatter cups. Steeper ground gets cut and filled under the cups.

    Inside

    1. How much slope can the ground around a cup have?
    2. How does slope change the speed of a putt?
    3. How do I measure the slope in my yard?
    4. What if my yard is steeper than that?
    5. What changes next to the house and on Northern Colorado clay?
    6. 1 more section

  7. Guide

    Putting Green Lighting: Night Putting and Local Rules

    Can you light a backyard putting green for night putting, and what do Northern Colorado outdoor lighting rules allow?

    Yes. Light the green low and from its edges with shielded fixtures, so small slopes cast shadows you can read, and run the wire before the turf goes down. Expect warm (3,000 K or less), fully shielded fixtures: Fort Collins' residential code and Timnath’s require them, Loveland limits exterior lighting after 10 p.m., and many HOAs need approval first.

    Inside

    1. What kind of light lets you read the break at night?
    2. Where do the fixtures and the wire go on a turf green?
    3. Does lighting a green need an electrical permit?
    4. What do Northern Colorado town and county lighting codes allow?
    5. What will an HOA or metro district ask for?
    6. 1 more section

  8. Guide

    Putting Green Stimp Speed: Target and How to Measure

    What stimp speed should a backyard putting green run, and how do you measure it?

    Aim for the speed of the greens you play most. The USGA says course greens generally read 7 to 12 feet on a Stimpmeter, and that faster isn’t better. To measure, roll three balls one way along a level stretch, three back along the same line, and average the two distances. Do it on a dry, calm day.

    Inside

    1. What does a stimp number actually measure?
    2. What speed should a backyard green run?
    3. How do you measure green speed the USGA way?
    4. What makes a synthetic green read faster or slower?
    5. When should you re-measure a green in Northern Colorado?
    6. 1 more section

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