BACKYARD PUTTING GREENS-THINK BEFORE YOU LEAP

©2005-2007
S. Barry Hamdani

It's the hottest craze in golf. Open a golf publication and chances are, you will see five or six companies offering backyard putting greens & all are successful.

Many golf industry professionals like the idea, others do not. Some consumers think the idea is the best thing since swimming pools, others had no idea what a putting green was, until recently. Now, home putting greens are the subject of every golfer conversation.

Why such a strong up-trend?

Golf is a most rapidly growing sport whose interest among youth has catapulted in a most fascinating way. The USGA has done a wonderful job inspiring youth through The First Tee program, 1^st GreenÈ and via its support of The Tiger Woods Foundation. The face of golf is changing, swiftly. There are many notorious young golfers who are doing well on tour. Consider Ty Tryon, Aaron Badley and a host of up and comers, all inspired by Tiger Woods. Young people are actually watching TV golf.

This astonishing trend, coupled with the current uncertain state of the economy (in the minds of some of us; perhaps, perception is reality), we want to stay home and enjoy our families. Consider, the increase in stock performance among movie stocks, alcohol and pharmaceuticals sectors during war- time, anywhere. People may very well need to walk (or putt) on the lighter side of life, right now, thus the increasing popularity of home entertainment of which the backyard putting green is its offspring.

According to BEHRÈ the average person spends thirty- two hours green thumbing (planting, shrubbery, etc,), and 61 hours mowing the lawn. If you have a green thumb, you may very well enjoy the labor of joy surrounding a real grass putting green; however, water restrictions will influence the size and maintenance of your green. You might consider the Dual Miniature Green©, or a similar surface.

Before jumping into the water to do it yourself, and before hiring a landscape contractor, there are 7 things you need to know and 8 things you need to do.

For every expert golfer whose advice is against building backyard putting greens, there are two who are for it. One will support the authentic grass green, the other prefer synthetic grass. One is thinking water restrictions; the other is concerned with true ball roll which authentic grass provides. One is thinking maintenance. The other reasons that if she is going to practice, she may as well practice the right thing - she putts on real grass, only.

Take Sports Systems of Gaithersburg, Washington, for example, owned by Til Jones. He established the very first synthetic putting green in his region. Mr. Jones, in my opinion is one of the best in the business. "The synthetic green is nice," he says, "but it doesn't putt like a real golf green... But, it beats nothing."

There are, also, significantly viable social, and environmental aspects of the game:

Dr. prescribes outdoor putting greens over medication for kids suffering from ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder).

Dr. Frances Kuo and Professor Andrea Faber Taylor, and William C. Sullivan have conducted many studies about the effect of environments on the capacity to concentrate and perform mental task. The results are overwhelmingly favorable to outdoor activities, especially as it pertains to children. Kuo sums up the paper,

"The advantage of green outdoor activities was observed among children living in different regions of the United States and among children living in a range of settings, from rural to large city environments... overall, our findings indicate that exposure to ordinary natural settings in the course of common after-school and weekend activities, may be widely effective in attention deficit symptoms in children." Dr. Kuo is co-Director, Human Environment Research Laboratory, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. As you are beginning to see, it is not simply about golf, but focus, concentration and the improvement of motor skills.

Regarding motor skills and cognitive skills, Dr. William Greenough a researcher at the University of Illinois who put forth Chess, Putting Greens and cross word puzzles as tried and proven stimulants, that work. It's simple, he says, "Use it or lose it."

Now that we've established some of the socio-psychological benefits of a putting green, let's explore the pros and cons based upon many years of collective industry experience and observations.

During my latest conversation with the USGA, they yet, discourage people from trying to build a USGA green at home due to the horrible expense and expertise required. Mr. Snow is right. There is a world of difference between USGA greens and backyard greens. A book will be released this spring, entitled, How to Build A Putting Green,©2006Hamdani. It is the first of its kind. The book covers everything you need to know to build a backyard green. It also, clearly distinguishes the USGA green from other types of putting greens. The Greens Superintendent career is the result of at least, a four-year degree, ongoing education and training, and years of aprentice-ship. Knowledge of the Backyard GreenÈ is considerably easier, provided one knows the critical difference between the two. The book explains these factors, in a language you can understand.

7 Things You Need to Know

(1) There are many operators experimenting with these phenomena, but have little or no professional training. Public demand for putting greens is outrageous. Tread carefully.

(2) USGA Standard greens are not appropriate for backyards. A good backyard greens keeper and a good green superintendent at a golf course are two completely different animals. One is well educated and trained in the science. The other has a basic understanding or related experience. The green superintendent as the book describes, is working on 19 greens daily. These greens that cost about $30,000.00 each to establish. The Backyard green keeper, works on one green, virtually free of chemicals.

(3) Know your cost. You can build a real grass putting green at home, for $15.00 Per sq. ft. to $25.00 per sq. ft. Synthetic greens will run from $25.00 to $35.00 per sq. ft.

(4) Grass putting greens are made up of primarily two types of grass: Bermuda or bentgrass. Bermuda is easier to upkeep in warm climates. Bentgrass is a bit more temperamental, especially during warm nights. We have recommended all the right seeds and sod for the at-home green.

(5) Decide whether you want a grass green, or an artificial green. Do you have a green thumb? If the answer is no, use a synthetic green.

(6) Don't hire anyone who claims they will build you a USGA professional quality green, unless you know they are a USGA greens superintendent. Most of these people will send you to www.puttingathome.com We can show you and landscape designers how to build a beautiful green, With a great professional image, but it will not respond in terms of speed, uniformity, true roll and holding ability like a USGA green.

(7) Before investing your money, acquire information. Attend a "free" seminar given by experts and decide if this is right for you.

Here's a general maintenance synopsis. Water and Mowing/Cutting is the most critical area of creating and maintaining a putting green in your backyard. Do not attempt to do it yourself before understanding the principles of managing water and grass height. Again, acquire information. This can be fun.

Here's the concept and procedures. You are working with science and art. Science will dictate much of the when and how in terms of fertilizer sand nutrients.

Art where it relates to putting greens, is the result of experience and observation that will eventually give you and idea of the effects these amendments have upon the playability of the green. Science provides the amendments, but the artistic touch of the greenskeeper will provide a better idea of timing.

8 Practical steps
to developing and maintaining a quality putting green in your backyard.

(1) Choose the right location. Build at the highest elevation for function, good health, and visibility. Establish proper drainage. Build-up your green in a way the water runs away from the green.

(2) Mow/Cut to the proper height. USGA greens are cut as low as 1/10". Usually your green, at-home, will be kept nearly an inch in height.

(3) Mow at least three times a week. Daily mowing is better, even if it's only for 15 minutes. Cut the green in a different pattern at each mowing. This prevents running the wheels in the same spots and direction, which creates compaction. This method also, provides a more attractive putting green, contrasting in color to the lawn.

(4) Fertilize three times over a period of 6 weeks. If you are in-experienced, and are not using a landscape artist trained in putting greens, use a basic fertilizer. Many are described in detail, in the book.

(5) Apply fungicides to prevent grass disease.

(6) Apply dressings and mixtures three times a year. This will stimulate root development, maintain a cleaner surface, and produce an attractive green.

(7) Always, add a 2lbs bag of lime at the beginning of each season. If you are inexperienced, do not add lime after the first week of summer.

(8) Although, you may like the shape, size, and texture of other greens, know that what worked for a backyard putting green in Chicago, may be different in Atlanta. See the native grass reports and suppliers in the book.

S. Barry Hamdani is founder of Putting At Home, Ltd. and author of the highly acclaimed new release How To Build A Putting Green ©2006 , and Backyard Greens ©2006, the maintenance manual. He has been ordained the "Godfather" of backyard putting greens for which he is the nation's leading authority. He can be reached at www.puttingathome.com ore email www.byrohamdani@yahoo.com For free seminar registrations to the public, and advisory to landscape designers, builders and architects email: puttingathome@thegolfchannelclub.com (770) 896-4295 Putting At Home, Ltd., 6050 Peachtree Parkway, Bldg 240, Ste. 241, Atlanta, GA 30092-3336