How to Build a Putting Green that is Eco-Friendly

Knowing how to build a putting green is not too difficult, but building an eco-friendly putting green requires some eco-friendly knowledge. If you have a large garden and enough room to build your own green putting surface you can do so quite easily. Golf, by nature is a relatively eco-friendly game because it contributes to nature, by default. Building your own eco-friendly putting green requires some special equipment.

Step 1 - Stripping

Use the shovel to take off the top layer of soil or vegetation from the area of ground you have ear marked for your putting green. Use the chalk spray to mark your preferred shape of your putting surface and use the white lines as guides to dig inside, with the shovel. Remove no less than 1 inch of soil from the top. Check for roots, weeds, large pebbles, jagged rocks and other articles that might affect the flatness of the surface.

Step 2 - Tilling

Use the soil tiller to turn and loosen the soil. Set it to a depth of around 3 inches to make sure the soil has fully been turned over. Make sure you repeat this 2 or 3 times to eliminate large soil clumps, particularly in clay ridden soil areas. Once you have tilled the soil, rake it flat.

Step 3 - Protection

Use eco-friendly weed killer and fertilizer on the marked area. Water it with a hose or watering can and leave it over night.

Step 4 – Rolling

Use the water roller to flatten the soil area out. Some small ridges might be suitable if you want a more challenging putting green, but keep it as flat as possible. For a two-tier putting green you can add a level of top soil to one half, so that the ball will roll up hill or down to the hole.

Step 5 – Quality of Seeds

The quality of bentgrass seed that you buy will have a direct effect on the quality of your putting green. The velvet bentgrass seeds are the best and they offer that soft pile carpet feel to the grass.

Step 6 – Planting of Seeds

Use the seeder to plant a thick layer of bentgrass seeds. Bentgrass is a thick and durable putting grass which needs to grow in extremely close proximity to get a more dense surface. It needs a very high rate of germination in order to be thick and carpet-like. Plant the seeds at a rate of 2 pounds of seeds for each 1,000 sq foot of putting surface.

Step 7 - Raking

When you have spread the seeds, rake over the surface of the soil very lightly. Some seeds will remain on the surface of the soil and that is preferable. Those seeds will germinate faster and encourage growth of the rest of the grass.

Step 8 - Watering

Water the seeds at least once a day and keep them moist. Do not over water them and do not let them get too wet. In hotter climates, keep an eye on the growth and the soil on a daily basis and make sure the putting green has enough moisture.

Step 9 – Fertilizing

Spread eco-friendly fertilizing products on your grass as the seeds start to grow. Good drainage is also important, so make sure the surface is raised enough that excess water flows away.