Expectations and the natural turf backyard putting greenBefore you make your choice for natural turf on your backyard putting green, let’s look at what are reasonable expectations. Firstly, natural turf is composed of living breathing plants, and needs to be cared for. What does that mean? The turf will need lots of tender loving care from you to be able to pay you back by providing a great putting surface. If you don’t have the time to learn what your turf needs and either complete the necessary maintenance plan or afford to pay someone else to do it for you, then my recommendation would be go for artificial turf, you will not be happy with the result of a natural turf backyard putting green. Giving the turf a fighting chance
If you are still not daunted by the prospect, now let’s look closer at the expectations. As the turf is a living thing, it will have its on days and off days. Those days are mostly dictated by weather. Off days can also come about from problems with pests (mostly diseases and sometimes insects or larger animals, from mice to moose and most everything in between,) poor growing conditions (drainage, water, water quality) or soil conditions. While it may seem like your backyard putting green is at the mercy of too many things to keep track of, remember that if you give it the conditions to make it strong, it will fight back and overcome some of these issues. Your job will be to help it fight back if it needs help. Remember, as a living being, it naturally wants to survive and if we can improve its growing conditions, it will fight to survive. Solid cultural program
How do you do that? Firstly, implement a good cultural program. This means regular aerating (2 to 4 times per year depending on thatch and compaction) and regular topdressing, cutting at least 6 times per week when it is growing strong. Move the cup around to prevent wear, especially if you are putting a lot. Follow a fertilizer program based on weather conditions and soil tests. Make sure the watering is done only to replenish what is lost due to evapotranspiration, which means not overwatering or underwatering. Maintain reasonable cutting heights, a backyard green should never need to go below an eight of an inch. Normally 140 to 160 thousands of an inch should provide a nice surface with a very healthy plant. If the green is struggling, raise the height. Weather affects turf quality
As was said before, weather plays the most important role in the expectations you should have of a green. If it has been raining and the green is very wet, the ball will roll slower. If you find it extremely hot, so it is for the turf; only it can’t hide inside with air conditioning. Its method of survival is to store water in the cells, which causes it to be puffy and have a slower and uneven ball roll. If the temperatures are in the ideal range of 20° to 25° Celsius (68° to 78° Fahrenheit), it will grow fast and may require additional mowing by cutting twice per day or double cutting (cutting the green twice at the same time). The turf changes with the seasons
As you can see, a natural turf backyard putting green will evolve with the seasons, and so your expectations need to evolve. The reason tournaments like the Masters’ happen every April, and the British Open every July, is because that is when these regions normally have the best weather for growing healthy turf and the courses look and play their best. |
