by Haley Armand Tarasiewicz
Imagine being able to walk outside and practice your chipping and putting any day of the week.
It doesn’t have to be a dream – it’s easier than you think to make a putting green part of your home’s landscape.
People tend to think of landscaping as purely aesthetics with ornamental trees, perennial plants and shrubs, but with the right planning and design, a putting green can be a unique added feature to your yard’s landscape. They are practical and provide at-home recreation for any golf enthusiast.
“If there was ever a perfect place for synthetic turf, a backyard putting green is it,” says Richie Everage, Design Consultant with Landscape Management. “Once installed, artificial greens are nearly maintenance free. Surfaces are now almost indistinguishable from real grass at any distance, and balls react almost identically to synthetic turf as they do to the real thing. That’s why most professional golfers choose to install synthetic greens to practice on at their own homes.”
Backyard putting greens are not only a handy way to practice, Everage says they also make attractive landscape features that will withstand hot and cold temperatures, wet conditions and drain easily. “The synthetic turf also adds manicured beauty to any yard,” he says. “It accentuates the existing landscape, leaving a breathtaking outdoor space and your own, private facility on which to hone in on your golfing skills. Plus, since your goal is to be a scratch golfer and not a groundskeeper, you’ll enjoy that putting greens require no watering, no mowing, no fertilizing and no aerating, just the occasionally leaf blowing of debris.”
While the size of your lawn will play a role in how large your putting green is, Everage says you can make the best of the space you have and create the type of green you want – the size of your putting green is completely up to you. “If your short game is what you need to work on, a small compact area will serve your needs nicely. If you have the area and want to create a putting paradise, we can design the green to accommodate a wide variety of shots, from short and long putts to traps and uniquely shaped greens with different obstacles. We can create a miniature golf playground if that’s what you want.”
For more information about home putting greens, call Landscape Management at (337) 478-3836 or visit www.landscapemanagement.org.