There are two types of golfers, the kind that have a backyard putting green installed at their home and the kind that want a backyard putting green installed at their home. This is because there is simply no more convenient way to practice your putting that having the green only steps from your living room. For avid golfers who want to improve their short game, it is obvious that hours upon hours are going to need to be spent practicing. If is necessary to train your eyes and perceptions so that you can judge distances and angles appropriately, as well as learning to read the subtle shifts in the ground that will cause a ball to not roll in a straight line, no matter how perfectly you strike it. These are the differences between a winning game and a losing game, and when you need to drive all the way down to your local golf course just to practice, you are going to limit the amount of practice you get no matter how much you love the game. This is why so many golfers will have backyard putting greens installed into their yards, so they can simply pick up a putter at any time and go practice for as long as you like. The personal putting greens that are typically installed in residences are made from artificial turf due to the difficulties of keeping grass trimmed and sculpted well enough to use for putting practice. As opposed to learning landscape maintenance, golfers you install artificial turf putting greens learn to improve their game. The process is much the same as a typical artificial turf installation, only substituting the longer turf typically used for a specialized synthetic grass that is created specifically for this purpose. More time is spent forming and shaping the ground under the turf to assure an even pitch and a level surface, and the compacted materials that are typically installed under artificial turf to create a spongy effect are installed differently, along with a seed barrier, in order to create the effect of a natural putting green instead of a lush yard.
If you have a putting green already installed, you probably practice during the day because the lighting is better, and shadows make it difficult to judge distances appropriately. The latest trend in landscape design is to install specialized putting green lighting that will allow you to practice at night as well as during the day, the lights keeping the area bright and looking like it is daytime. These lights are installed on posts around the perimeter of the putting green, so the installation will bury the wires for the posts around the green itself if it already exists, or directly under it if it is a fresh install. If you are interested in extending your practice time on a putting green that you are installing, make sure you ask about the installation of putting green lighting previous to the install. If you already have a green and would like lighting installed, give us a call. Either way, your game will improve!