Putting green turf
A short game you can practice before breakfast
Most of the strokes a golfer loses are inside a hundred yards, and almost nobody practises them. A putting green in your own yard turns that around, because ten minutes at a time adds up in a way a monthly range trip never does.
A green is not a lawn with a hole in it. The base is compacted harder and shaped for pace, the surface is a short, dense, directional putting turf, and the contours are built in on purpose so putts break. Palms Living Oasis builds them for homes, clubs and businesses right across the Dallas metro.
Tell us the corner of the yard you have in mind and we will come and look at it.
What makes a backyard green actually roll true?
Three things, and none of them are the turf you can see. First the sub base: it has to be compacted flat and firm, because any soft spot becomes a dead patch that kills a putt. Second the contours, which get shaped into that base rather than laid on top, so a break is a real slope and not a wrinkle. Third the finish, where the surface is rolled, the cups are set level and the whole green is dressed with the right infill weight for the speed you want. That is the same build discipline behind every job our Richardson turf crew takes on, just to a tighter tolerance.
Can you add bunkers, fringe and a chipping area?
Yes, and it is what makes a green worth walking out to. A ring of longer fringe turf around the putting surface gives you chip and run shots. A sand bunker cut into one edge turns it into a real short game area. Multiple cups let you set different lengths and breaks, and a practice net or a mat handles the full swings.
If you want to understand what green speed and contour actually mean before you decide, the USGA publishes plenty on course care and putting surfaces. Then we build the version of it that fits your yard.
Put a real short game area in your own back yard
Free on-site estimates across the Dallas metro, from a family run crew building outdoor spaces since 2008.
Call (972) 464-7000How much room does a putting green need?
Less than people think. A useful green with two or three cups and some break fits in a corner most families are not using, and we have built them into narrow side yards, walled courtyards and the strip between a pool and a fence. The bigger question is shape rather than square footage: a long, curved green with elevation change gives you far more shots than a flat rectangle twice the size. If what you actually want is a full run of practice surface rather than a putting green, our sports field turf supply covers that side.
How do you keep a green fast in Texas heat?
Upkeep is light but it is not nothing. The surface gets brushed against the grain so the fibres stay upright, infill gets topped up in the lines you walk most, and leaves and clippings get blown off before they mat down. A rinse in high summer brings the surface temperature down and clears dust. Do that and a green holds its pace for years. Let it mat and the ball starts dying short, which is usually what people mean when they say a green has slowed down.
Ask a turf installer
Straight answers about artificial turf in North Texas
How many holes can you fit in a backyard green?
Most home greens run two to four cups. What matters more is putting them at different lengths and on different slopes, so you get a genuine variety of putts instead of the same one four times.
Can a putting green go on a slope?
Yes. We either build the slope into the design as break, or cut and fill the base to level the putting surface and hold the change with an edge. We work that out when we measure the yard.
Does a putting green drain in heavy rain?
It drains through the surface into an open stone base and out to a planned exit point. That is set during the base stage, which is why a green that was shaped properly is playable soon after a storm.
Can you build a green around a pool?
We do it often. Turf cuts cleanly to coping and paving, keeps grass and mud out of the water, and the green fills the awkward strip of yard that pool decks usually leave over.
Do you build putting greens for businesses?
Yes. Hotels, clubs, offices, apartment communities and senior living properties all use a small green as an amenity. The build is the same, specified for more traffic and set out for shared use.
How do I practice chipping as well as putting?
We add a fringe collar of longer turf around the green, and a bunker if there is room. That gives you chip and run shots and bunker shots onto a surface that reacts the way a course green does.