Show #33/5307. It's Fall, Time to Think About Grass

A Putting Green In Our Backyard?

Jim says the most frequently asked question on the golf course is, "can I have a putting green like the golf course in my backyard." He always tries to discourage it because this almost always fails. Here they mow the greens 7 days a week, spray them once a week and aerify them a couple times a year. The average homeowner doesn't have the knowledge or time to devote. If you had a large estate with a green away from the house and could hire a staff to care for it, only then does it make sense. If you want the look in your backyard try the hybrid Bermuda grass discussed earlier. Lay that down, put cups and flags in it, recreate the look of a green. Lay sod around it or grow grass around it and have the contrasting height. By doing this you'll have the look of a golf course setting and when having a barbecue or looking out the kitchen window it will look like you have a golf hole in your back yard. But for playing and improving your game, it's not going to suffice because it won't simulate what you find at the club or golf course. If your intention is to improve your game they've come a long way with synthetic or artificial surfaces for putting greens. Artificial greens are available that can be top dressed with sand to improve the putting speed of the green. You can get artificial greens that have polymer rubber underneath so that you can create the resiliency of the green. You will be able to work on chipping to or coming out of a sand trap. You can work on your game more capably from the artificial surfaces than from the real grass surfaces.

Joe thanks Jim for the lessons on grass. Jim is a great horticulturist but an even better teacher. We appreciate the lessons.