You don’t have to be an expert to design a beautiful backyard putting green. A few simple steps can set you up for years of enjoyable gameplay, whether you’re a casual golfer or a putting pro. Expert artificial grass installation can bring your visions to life with unmatched precision.

While professional contractors can handle the dirty work, they’ll communicate closely with you to learn your needs and specifications. For that reason, it’s helpful for you to understand the best ways to optimize your backyard putting green. Layout is only one part of the process, and there are several ways to tweak your course to personalize gameplay. Read our guide to artificial turf putting green design to learn how to create a beautiful course that will elevate your short game and property value.

1. Choose a Centrally-Located Position

Accessibility sets you up for an enjoyable experience with your backyard putting green. For this reason, we encourage homeowners to position their courses no more than 5-10 paces from primary entryways. If you don’t have to walk far to access your course, you’re more likely to use it. This also ensures that bathroom breaks won’t interrupt group games for too long!

A centrally-located course also benefits your artificial turf installers, as we won’t have to walk as far with our equipment, speeding up the process. Ensure we have at least a 4-foot wide entryway to prevent unnecessary challenges with synthetic turf installation.

2. Strategic Landscaping

As every putt-putt course knows, introducing framing elements to a custom putting green elevates the gameplay experience and visual appeal of a course. These include everything from natural elements like bushes to architectural features like stone waterfalls and manufactured ponds. These features create a dynamic interplay between the course and its surroundings.

Mix up hole angles to alter perspective and force a more careful analysis of the green before committing to your putt. Position holes facing obstacles, garden beds, stone features, bushes, and other landscape elements. Use elevation and gradients, especially near holes, to heighten the gameplay experience and satisfaction.

3. The Importance of Sun Angles

Planning for sun angles is crucial to designing a backyard putting green that can be used at any time of the day. If you plan incorrectly, you can end up staring into the sun while trying to line up your putt, which is uncomfortable and unhelpful!

Direct east- and west-facing courses are the least advisable positions because they will suffer from intense sun glares in the morning and late afternoon. A north-to-south facing angle is far better, but if your lawn can’t accommodate this, shifting slightly to the east or west — by 60 to 75 degrees — will minimize interruptions from direct sunlight.

Take time to visualize how light alterations throughout the day — and the seasons — will impact your custom putting green. Forethought can save you a lot of time and frustration down the road. You only want to install artificial turf products once, so make sure you get the angles right the first time.

4. Leverage the Natural Landscape

Residential turf is manufactured with beautiful, evergreen colors that complement the natural elements of your lawn. For this reason, synthetic grass is a natural fit for any landscaping project, seamlessly blending with natural features like trees and bushes. This feature is even more impactful when designing backyard putting greens.

Design your putting green layout to weave through trees, bushes, and garden beds, creating a dynamic landscape. Use the natural terrain, including hills, to elevate gameplay challenges and seamlessly incorporate your backyard putting green into your overall landscape design.

Introduce borders around your custom putting green using large stones, rock beds, and floral arrangements that give your course an aesthetic pop. Your backyard putting green will look so luxurious and serene that visitors will think you moved into a country club!

Design a Picture-Perfect Turf Putting Green

Considering these strategic details will help you design the perfect backyard putting green for your space and desired gameplay. The last step is to hire professional synthetic grass installers to bring your vision to life. Artificial Turf by Fenix offers comprehensive services backed by over 15 years of experience and superior artificial grass products.

Our reliable turf putting green installations guarantee years, even decades, of satisfying gameplay and visual appeal. Call Artificial Turf by Fenix today at 877-673-8873 or contact us online for a free quote on custom putting green installation!