putting green

[newtractorowner]

does anyone know how to construct a putting green? I have an area about 35' in diameter scraped down to the hard pan clay. I wonder if I can just put top soil over the top of the clay. How much slope to the hole? Any help would be great.

Thanks

 

[hess]

A friend of mine worked on a grounds crew, and we discussed this topic a few years ago.
Once you have a compact, graded surface (your clay), dump approximately 6-8 inches of #2 stone, which is then topped with quarry dust and packed down firm. This apparently provides a stable, yet porous base, allowing your topsoil to drain.
According to my buddy, this is where you will shape the surface of your green, by providing the undulations/breaks, etc.
You will then top your green with 10 inches of the finest topsoil that you can afford. There are a number of varieties of grass that work well in different areas of the country.
For drainage, remember: the slope of the clay should reflect where you want the water to drain. Good luck.

 

[hwwalden]

Check out the USGA Green construction section at:
http://www.usga.org/green/coned/index.html

and this site has a good forum for folks that have or desires to have their own greens: http://www.putting-greens.com/info.html

Also another alternative is to build your putting green with synthetic grass (astro-turf).
Lots of sites from Yahoo search:
http://search.yahoo.com/bin/search?p=putting+green

Good luck.

 

[JerryG]

newtractorowner,
Check with Murf over on the Compact Tractor Board. His company builds golf courses in Canada and the northern U.S. http://www.jplan.com