Install Process

So, you've made the first step in providing yourself with a great golf training aid that enhances your yard and will stay green all year long.

Using the same base preparation as laying brick pavers, you can install your putting green and be on your way to playing more golf in your yard, and less working in it.

Your putting green kit comes complete with the following:

• Putting green turf

• Chipping mat

• 3 cups

• 30" T-handle pole with red flag

• Step-by-step written installation instructions

• Step-by-step video installation instructions

Materials needed:

Most of the materials needed for this project are common household items.

• Push broom

• Rake

• Tape measure

• Shovel and hand shovel

• Garden hose with adjustable spray nozzle

• Utility knife and new blades

You will also need the following materials, which you should be able to find at your local home improvement store, tool equipment rental store, sandblasting supply store, and rock quarry.

• Tin flashing (used only if you have make a seam)

• Coal slag infill, has to be 30/35 medium; or 40/60 fine grit (the finer, the better)

• 1/4" minus, unwashed, crushed stone sub-base material

• Vibratory plate compactor, gas tamp, or ride-on roller

• Drop spreader

• Weed barrier

• Fast drying concrete mix

  Notes:
  You can find the coal slag infill at a sandblasting supply store.

  It has to be "medium" or "fine" grit or it will not sweep properly into the fibers of the green. The formula to determine how much coal slag needed:

  Total square feet X 3.5 = number of pounds of coal slag required

  Example: You will need 26 100-pound bags of infill for a 24x30 foot green. Cost is about $8 per 100-pound bag. We recommend using black coal slag. If black is not available, copper or nickel slag works well.

  The crushed stone sub-base material can be found a local rock quarry or gravel pit.

  It has to be 1/4" minus, or less, and has to be unwashed. This will ensure proper compaction. Other common names are: granite crush and run, manufactured sand, screenings, disintegrated granite, crushed fines, or stone dust. The formula to determine how much sub-base you'll need:

  For every 12 x 6 foot area, or every 72 square feet, you need 1 ton or 1 yard

  This gives a 4 inch compacted depth, which is the minimum you should build.

  Example: You will need 4 tons for a 12x24 foot green, 5 tons for a 12x30, and so on. Cost is about $10-15 per ton delivered.

  The plate compactor, sometimes called a gas tamp or one-ton ride-on roller, is used to compact the sub-base. Ride-on rollers are more efficient so if your base is 500 square feet or larger, we recommend one because it will compact the base solidly and quickly. Cost to rent a plate compactor is about $45 and about $80 for a ride-on roller. 

  The weed barrier stabilizes the sub-base so it does not sink into the ground. It also helps keep weeds from growing up through the putting green.

  The turf. You want to unroll the turf and give it time to flatten out after being packaged. If the temperature is 40¼F or warmer, you can lay the turf on a hard surface, like a driveway, and let it warm in the sun for about 45 minutes.

  Place some bags of infill on one end and pull from the opposite end to stretch out small wrinkles, creases, or bubbles. Then place some bags on the opposite end to keep tension on the green. The turf can warm while you are preparing your yard for your new putting green.

Installation Instructions:

Step 1
If you have not done so already, determine the size of putting green you want by laying out an extension cord in the general area and shape you desire. Turf comes in widths of 12 feet, so think in multiples of 12 when designing your green, or refer to your brochure of diagrams for sample designs. The length can be cut to any desired length. Pitch and chip golf balls to the area to make sure the green is big enough for your yard.

Next, take a can of spray paint and mark the entire perimeter of the shape of your design. Use this mark as a reference point where your weed barrier and sub-base material will be placed.

Step 2
You have two options when preparing the sub-base.

Option 1, Remove the sod: 
If you would a more natural look to your green that blends into and with your surrounding grass, you will want to remove all the existing sod. This means your putting green will stop where your natural grass starts.  

Option 2, Scalp the grass down to the ground:
Using a weed eater, scalp the grass down to the ground and then lay out the weed barrier over the area where the green will be placed. This is the ideal base preparation if you would like to surround your green with curbing, a retaining wall, mulches, flower/plant beds, etc. Be creative!

Step 3
Distribute the sub-base material evenly, except in areas where you desire extra depth, contour, slopes, or breaks. With the rake, rake the material until have contoured the surface to match your design. Use a shovel to move large amounts of material to desired areas and the flat side of the rake to smooth out any rough areas. There must be a slight slope to the sub-base to ensure proper water drainage occurs off the top of the green and not through it. Drainage through the green will eventually deteriorate the packed sub-base leading to a host of problems later.

Step 4
Compact the sub-base. This is one of the most important steps in the entire installation process. You have to compact the sub-base completely and properly or else it will settle. If it settles, irregularities will form in the surface of your putting green. Irregularities adversely affect the roll of your ball when putting.

With your garden hose, wet the sub-base thoroughly, but do not saturate it. Now compact the sub-base several times the length and width of the area to ensure a solid compaction. If there are any small bumps, ridges, or irregular dips remaining, smooth them out with the rake or shovel. You will notice low spots or areas that are not as smooth as the surrounding sub-base. You will need to add material to even out these areas. You want a consistently smooth and solid surface.

Understand that the green will fit like a glove to the surface you put it on. If you have too much slope, the ball will roll very fast and may roll right off the green.

Good guideline: for every 10 to 12 feet in length of sub-base, drop the slope 1 inch.

Take your putter and golf ball and putt on the surface. The ball will break the same on the sub-base, as it will on your finished putting green.

Make sure your sub-base is a minimum of 4 inches when compaction is complete.

Step 5
Install the cups. Determine where you want your cups located. To do this, arrange them on the sub-base where you think you'd like them. Move them around until you are satisfied with their placement. Mark the final cup locations by pressing firmly on each cup and rotating it. This will make a small indentation that you can use as a reference point.

Step 6
Use a small hand shovel to dig a hole that is at least 2 inches bigger around than the cup. Cups are 6 inches tall so unless you have made a sub-base thicker than 4 inches, you may have to cut into the weed barrier. The cups should stick out ¼ inch above the top of the sub-base. Fill the hole with loose dirt if you have cut down too far.

Add fast drying concrete mix powder around the entire perimeter of the cup. Use your hand shovel to pack down the mix. Leave about 3/4 to 1/2 inch of the cup exposed. Add water to the mix until saturated. Then add sub-base material around the exposed part of the cup and compact it again until you have solid foundation. Run the compactor directly over the cup. This automatically makes the cup flush with the surrounding sub-base. Repeat for each hole and cup.

Note: Placing loose change in the cups makes them easier to find with a metal detector once you lay the turf over the sub-base.

Step 7
Make sure the sub-base is exactly how you want it. Now is the time to add or take away slopes and contours. You must completely compact the sub-base after any change you make. Once the putting green is laid down and infill added, it is extremely difficult to adjust the sub-base.

Step 8
Seaming two rolls together.

Note: If you order a green that is 12 feet wide, you can omit steps 8 - 11.

You will need black seaming tape strips and commercial strength outdoor adhesive (both of which are provided with your kit) and an 1/8 inch notched trowel or similar tool to spread the adhesive, and tin flashing.

You will notice that the fibers of the putting green turf are slanted and have a slight grain running the length of the roll. Make sure the grain of each roll is running in the same direction.

Roll the turf back up on the core and move it to the sub-base. Place the green on the edge of the sub-base and roll it out. Notice the black strip running the length of each roll.

Lay one roll over where the seam will come together so the black backing is facing up. Use a utility knife to cut between the first and second row of stitching along the length of the roll. Be sure not to cut into the stitching. Do this for only one of the rolls where the seam will be joined. (Cutting between the stitching provides you with a guideline and removes the back strip off one roll.) This will give you a tight fit and a perfect seam when the rolls are joined together.

Step 9
Overlap the rolls about 2 inches the entire length at the seam so the roll with the black strip still attached, is on top.

Place the tin flashing under the bottom roll that is being overlapped. The flashing provides a solid cutting surface so you do not disturb the sub-base. 

Next, place bags of infill every 5 feet on both sides the length of the seam. The weight of the bags helps keep the turf in place during the seaming process. Start at one end of the seam and cut the top overlapped roll of turf by following the edge of the bottom roll with your knife. Continue along the full length of the seam.

Replace your blades every ten feet of cutting. You want to cut the turf, not rip through it.

After seam is cut, join the two pieces together to ensure a tight fit before gluing the rolls together.

Step 10
Lay each piece of turf over at the seam. Position the black seaming strips on the sub-base where the seam will come together, making sure there are equal amounts of black stripping on each side of the seam. Spread the adhesive over the entire surface of the black strip. Make sure the adhesive gets no thicker than 1/8 inch. Allow 15 minutes for the adhesive to set before seaming.

Step 11
Join the rolls together. Starting at one end of one roll, lay the turf onto the adhesive and seaming tape the full length of the seam. Lay the second roll over as you join the two rolls together. Press the seam in place as you go, applying pressure to ensure good contact of the turf backing to the adhesive. When the entire seam has been joined, walk several times over the area. Allow at least a 1 hour cure time before infilling the green.

Step 12
The putting green should fit well on the sub-base you've made for it. If the turf does not fit flush with the edge of the sub-base, you may have to remove some of the sub-base material with a shovel.

Make sure there are no creases in the turf. It is OK if there are small creases or bubbles because the weight of the infill material will smooth these out.

Step 13
Before spreading the infill material, you have to separate the fibers of the putting green.

Use the push broom to brush against the grain of the fibers of the turf. Brushing also helps stretch out any small creases or bubbles. Always brush against the grain and do it several times to get the fibers standing vertical.

Step 14
Infill the green. Fill the drop spreader with infill material and spread it across the top of the green. Do not apply too much at any one time without brushing it into the fibers. It is very important that the putting green and infill material stay dry during this entire process.

Good guideline: Use 50 pounds of infill over an entire 24X30 area between brushings and always work against the grain of the fibers.

The infill procedure must be repeated until the green is completely full. Fill the green past the tips of fibers so that you end up walking on the infill. Once the green is completely over-filled, brush off the excess working across the grain or the width of the green. This will help level out the amount of infill across the putting green surface and will give 1/16 or 1/32 inch of the fiber exposed.

Step 15
Cut out the holes for the cups. Locate the holes by pressing the turf with your hand until you feel the hole, or by using the metal detector.

First, cut an X inside the hole and then cut tightly, and carefully, around the inside edge of the cup. Use a fresh blade for each cup. After holes are cut, use scissors to trim the loose fibers.

Now you're ready to start practicing all those tricky shots on your Syn Turf Putting Green!
If you have any questions about the installation process or about finding materials, even on weekends, call us!

We are available 7 days a week to assist you.

Syn-Turf Putting Greens
1-888-201-0636