Update to my backyard green/bunker/teebox

[505]

[quote name='jon2' timestamp='1297470155' post='2969506']
As usual, this thread delivers...

Forgive my ignorance, but how do you hide or cover the seams?
[/quote]

You join them with a thin piece of fabric and 2 beads of construction adhesive... 1 bead per side. To be more specific, you butt the backing of the 2 pieces up to eachother and then stake it all down. In my case the sand is helping them stay put. Then you flip up the 2 pieces and glue the joining fabric to them. After the glue is fully cured, you roll it with a water drum and then brush it. Literally disappears.

Will be using basically the same process for joining the fringe to the green, and after that the fringe to the rough. This way I can have nails only around the border, and you can hit shots from anywhere without worrying about catching a hidden nail.

[505]

[quote name='DavePelz4' timestamp='1297470521' post='2969524']
You are my hero! Clearly you have a gift for design through delivery...have you had any thoughts about doing this as a business?
[/quote]

Haha... yeah actually... been kicking that idea around with one of my buddies that has helped me out the most throughout the whole project.

We got paired up with a lady last week that already wants us to put one in her yard. We were talking about it during the round and she was interested, so she stopped by to check it out afterwards and she loved it (was not even close to finished but the turf is really THAT nice). I told her after mine is done we could talk.

We shall see.

[Talon_Bomber]

The yard really looks great! You're gonna have it finished just in time for the warm weather next week! Awesome job!

[505]

[quote name='Talon_Bomber' timestamp='1297472523' post='2969617']
The yard really looks great! You're gonna have it finished just in time for the warm weather next week! Awesome job!
[/quote]

Thanks bud. We gotta figure out a time to meet up soon.

[Talon_Bomber]

[quote name='505' timestamp='1297472838' post='2969625']
[quote name='Talon_Bomber' timestamp='1297472523' post='2969617']
The yard really looks great! You're gonna have it finished just in time for the warm weather next week! Awesome job!
[/quote]

Thanks bud. We gotta figure out a time to meet up soon.
[/quote]


Definitely. I'm gonna try and make it out to the course or range tomorrow. If you're not working on the yard, maybe you can join me.

[TML]

that is sweet! I went against adding a putting surface into a backyard reno in AZ....I have a friend there that has one if I need to practice, but we play so much golf when we stay in AZ, the last thing we need to do is practice. I am adding artificial turf and nat. gas firepit. Looking forward to your finished pics!

[505]

[quote name='Talon_Bomber' timestamp='1297473053' post='2969634']
Definitely. I'm gonna try and make it out to the course or range tomorrow. If you're not working on the yard, maybe you can join me.
[/quote]

Sorry missed this last night... was out there working most of the day anyway. I'll be able to get out sometime next week for sure.

Got the first 3 pieces of fringe joined to each other and to the green. Also got the seam in the green glued. Will snap some pics tomorrow after the rest of the fringe is joined to the green.

[professor_doom]

You, sir, are a true American hero. I can't get over how real it looks, especially with the bits of sand looking just like a green in the middle of August.

And living out in NM, you have no right to complain about snow. At least you've seen a golf course in the past two months.

[Talon_Bomber]

[quote name='505' timestamp='1297566075' post='2972101']
[quote name='Talon_Bomber' timestamp='1297473053' post='2969634']
Definitely. I'm gonna try and make it out to the course or range tomorrow. If you're not working on the yard, maybe you can join me.
[/quote]

Sorry missed this last night... was out there working most of the day anyway. I'll be able to get out sometime next week for sure.

Got the first 3 pieces of fringe joined to each other and to the green. Also got the seam in the green glued. Will snap some pics tomorrow after the rest of the fringe is joined to the green.
[/quote]

No worries. Didnt get as much time as I had hoped today, just went to the range for about an hour. Cant hit the driver all of a sudden, really frustrating.

I'm off work this week, leaving town on wednesday. If you want to join me for a round on Tuesday, let me know. All my playing partners will be at work.

[505]

[quote name='TML' timestamp='1297473712' post='2969659']
that is sweet! I went against adding a putting surface into a backyard reno in AZ....I have a friend there that has one if I need to practice, but we play so much golf when we stay in AZ, the last thing we need to do is practice. I am adding artificial turf and nat. gas firepit. Looking forward to your finished pics!
[/quote]

Man that's a rough problem to have... playing so much golf you don't need to practice. lol. Wish I could say the same. I was toying with the idea of a fire feature in the middle of the waterfall but decided not to. Guess we kinda went reverse-o on those eh?

[505]

[quote name='professor_doom' timestamp='1297570031' post='2972218']
You, sir, are a true American hero. I can't get over how real it looks, especially with the bits of sand looking just like a green in the middle of August.

And living out in NM, you have no right to complain about snow. At least you've seen a golf course in the past two months.
[/quote]

Haha. Thanks bud. Yeah it really does look like bentgrass in person. Everyone that has seen it up close has remarked about how much the turf looks like a real green. Compared to the old straight blade poly I had back there, it is super high tech.

I <3 atpg1.

[505]

[quote name='Talon_Bomber' timestamp='1297570424' post='2972235']

No worries. Didnt get as much time as I had hoped today, just went to the range for about an hour. Cant hit the driver all of a sudden, really frustrating.

I'm off work this week, leaving town on wednesday. If you want to join me for a round on Tuesday, let me know. All my playing partners will be at work.
[/quote]

Sounds good I'll try to clear the schedule then.

[ItsMeKO3]

That is unreal. Awesome job!!

[505]

I was out rolling some putts and decided to snap a few pics. My camera sucks at taking flash pics of the yard at night for some reason... photography is definitely not one of my strong suits so it's probably just user error. I tried some with manual focus and without flash, but ran out of battery after only a few since it was already low... 20 second exposures to get 'em bright enough seems to zap the battery pretty hard. So in the end I only got a few usable ones and one "good" one.

 

 

In the above pic you can also see how much the seam in the green disappeared just by butting up the backings and gluing it together. It runs right between the 2 nails on the right side and the 2 nails on the left side of the pic. After getting a little more sand in there, rolling it with the heavy drum, and then brushing it, the whole thing will hopefully go away completely.

 

The others are pretty meh but oh well. I'll post em up anyway.

 

 

 

 

The fringe joints are already almost gone, and I haven't been able to even hand brush it yet because I need to wait for the glue to fully cure before chancing any movement. Since the carpet all came in giant rolls, the fringe turf was pretty "crushed" down and grainy so it makes it easier to see where the seams are. After it's all powerbroomed and the piles are standing up straight they should all disappear.

 

[2bGood]

Cool, keep the updates coming.

One question is the green flat and level? or do you have some break in it?

[505]

[quote name='2bGood' timestamp='1297577042' post='2972439']
Cool, keep the updates coming.

One question is the green flat and level? or do you have some break in it?
[/quote]

Overall from end to end it has a 1.5* slope with the high side by the pond/deck and the low side by the bunker. Originally I was going to keep it all generally flat with the slight slope, but decided that it would get boring having the same breaks everywhere. So I mixed it up a little here and there and ended up with everything from almost flat to just under 3* depending on the spot.

Hitting from the side by the house towards the side by the garden has a pretty good overall break to it and you have to aim a couple feet outside right over a 20 foot putt. The cup closest to the pond is 2.5* degrees at the cup so it's great for those testy little 3-4 foot breakers where you have to aim outside the edge. There are several that are generally straight-in both uphill and downhill, and a couple of kinda hidden breaks that you can't really see, so overall it is a nice variety.

The slight general slope will act as a gigantic rain catcher that moves water away from the house and pond and feeds into the bunker, which will have a 4" perf-pipe drain in the bottom feeding the garden.

[BdWhitty]

Finally looked through the entire thread so I thought I would leave my first post. Really enjoyed the pics of the tree removal, it is still strange to not see it out there. Loved the ones with just a few straggler limbs on top. I need to send you the pic of the ring of fire that I got though. I also liked the uncut square green turf as I was not there that day. Just hope you don't mind me stopping by early mornings to use her once its all done.

Would like to say, although I do not have a ton of experience on artificial greens, this green reacts to incoming shots and rolls amazingly well. Before the sand went down it had a bit of a "hop" on the first bounce but now feels like a real green. It is too addictive! Once I start hitting shots I never want to stop!

You have done an amazing job with the whole project and I look forward to being a helping hand the rest of the way.

[505]

Thanks buddy you know you can come use 'er whenever. All the major helpers (basically you and chris) get a lifetime pass.

[505]

Hmmm... just got all the rough laid out and I'll be needing to revise the plan a little. None of the pieces are wide enough by themselves for the area over by the house. Looks like I'll be needing to use all of the old green carpet back there... was planning on using one of the pieces for a small lawn up front, but I'll need to use it over by the back gate now instead. No biggie, should still work out fine.

[505]

The weather here has been so nice that I haven't felt like working much. Haha. Played a little golf this week and got some other things done around the house, but with the little time that was spent out there the green is now almost completely done. Got the rest of the sand down and actually ended up needing even more, so I got 3 more 100lb bags. That brings it up to 1500lbs of #5 silica for the top dressing.

 

 

 

 

For one of the finishing steps I rented a sod roller, which is basically a big drum about the size of a beer keg with a push handle on it. You fill it up with water and it gets super heavy, and then use it to roll the green and smooth it out. This thing is like glass now and the seam where the 2 pieces of carpet were joined is totally gone. It is rolling at about a 12 and pitch shots behave EXACTLY like a real green.

 

 

 

Cutting the last few holes with the green fully top dressed was hell on my blades, that sand really dulls them out quickly. I got to the last hole and had one blade left in the box, but didn't quite get it fully cut to size before it was too dull to work. After I get some more blades and get that last hole done the green will be totally finished. Then it's on to the rest of the fringe gluing, which I can start on tomorrow since the area that stays in the shadow of the house all day is finally thawed and dry.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the fringe is all glued to the green, it's on to the rough and teebox/bunker area. I'll be digging the bunker back out, setting up the drainage into the garden, and then I can do the garden wall. Also getting started on the pond setup so there is a lot going on out there for the next couple weeks.

 

 

 

Hopefully I can find some time to build the cup plugs before the flagstick arrives this weekend, but it's not a huge priority right now since there are good lines to every cup. I ordered a blank flag and am taking it to a local shop to get my 505 logo embroidered on it. Also got a par-aide bunker rake and a pair of tee-markers to finish it all off. :)

 

Hope ya'll are still enjoying the progress pics.

[oregongolf]

Wow! That is fantastic... it's virtually done.

What a great project. Thanks again for highlighting the whole adventure.

[Guia]

Very nice job. Do you plan on throwing a tarp over this when it snows or rains (Which is very rare)?

[505]

[quote name='jon2' timestamp='1297904259' post='2985109']
Wow! That is fantastic... it's virtually done.

What a great project. Thanks again for highlighting the whole adventure.
[/quote]

Thanks bud. It's been a lot of work to get to this point, but it feels really good to have the green basically finished. Hope ya'll don't mind me sharing the rest of the yard build now that the green is done... it has been a pleasure to share it all with you fellow golf nuts.

[505]

[quote name='Guia' timestamp='1297905757' post='2985188']
Very nice job. Do you plan on throwing a tarp over this when it snows or rains (Which is very rare)?
[/quote]

Nope... the rain will not hurt it at all and will mostly run off into the bunker and then through the drain pipe into the garden. Snow accumulation won't hurt it either, but the little that we do get I'll probably shovel off so I can keep putting. Haha.

[Guia]

I was also thinking about discoloration from the sun.....we have lots of sun. You did a fantastic job.

[Blakester]

This thread ROCKS! Keep the pics coming. I want to see the whole yard completed!

[jon0105]

I thought it was all real till I keep reading, wow that look good.

[505]

[quote name='Guia' timestamp='1297910486' post='2985498']
I was also thinking about discoloration from the sun.....we have lots of sun. You did a fantastic job.
[/quote]

Thanks. Even with the sun beating on it, it should last at least 10-15 years. Maybe more.

[505]

[quote name='Blakester' timestamp='1297911823' post='2985594']
This thread ROCKS! Keep the pics coming. I want to see the whole yard completed!
[/quote]

Haha ok will do.

[505]

[quote name='jon0105' timestamp='1297912073' post='2985609']
I thought it was all real till I keep reading, wow that look good.
[/quote]

Thanks. If you thought it looked real before, just wait til it's done. With how I plan to do the bunker and teebox (which is now basically turning into a mini fairway instead), it will hopefully look like someone went and chopped the green portion off of a full golf hole and moved it into my yard. Haha. Most people have a "practice green"... I wanted mine to look more like the real course.