[diehardgolfer32]

Ok, so maybe not an 18 hole course, but a least 3 holes. I've decided, that a little bit later this spring, I'm going to go out in my field with some buddies, a few lawn mowers and some grass seed to make a few holes. It's a perfect place to do it. The woods run right up next to the field and there are 2 small creeks. The problem will be mantaining it. I just want a few par 3's that I can hit some balls into. Has anyone done this before. Can it be done, or do I have to pay thousands to get someone to install a par three for me?

[indianshaft]

I think you need to spend a couple thousand on a green mower but if that doesn't matter and you want your green to play similar to your fairway, then I think its a cheap way to practice, I would rather just hit balls and mark off yardages if my backyard was that big.

[MARK918]

Just because of maintence reasons I would suggest making a driver range. I think that would be your best bet. If you have a field that big I bet you could make yourself and pretty nice practice area

[jszot]

You are going to have to cut all of that about once a week, and by yourself, that will take lke 6 hours atleast. You have to take all of that into affect and the blades needed to cut a green are thousands of dollars.

[azgreenskeeper]

I don't know what part of the country your in, but I would suggest contacting a local superintendent. They'll be able to give you some advice on what grasses would be appropriate, etc. That said, the reason a golf course is a golf course (and not a park) is the mowing frequency. Turf maintained at greens height is typically mowed 6-7 times per week. Tees and fairways are 3-4 times per week. Rough areas would be about 1-2. That's the reason I don't have a putting green in my backyard... it's too much work!

[Baycal92510]

I think it's a cool idea!!!. All the guy's are right it's gonna be some work. But here's an idea, since you only want a couple par 3's and it's gonna be for personal use You don't need to spend much time at all on fairways. You could actually just have a tee box and a landing area around a green manicured. Maybe seed the length of the hole but let it grow out everywhere but those areas. You could get practice hitting shorter aproach shots from rough that way if you wanted. Maybe blaze a Hogan path down the middle and game on buddy. Before and after pics will be appreciated by all.

[billsboy]

Had an idea once for a 500 yard golf course. (Now, I was pretty drunk when I thought this up, so bear that in mind!) I figured if one had the land (and time - golf course maintenance is a HUGE, and hugely underappreciated, task), one could build a 500 yard +/- hole, but add extra teeboxes and greens at both ends and at the 150 and 300-325 yard +/- points. Setting them off to the margins would help keep them out of play when not in use. Then you could, by using different combinations of the teeboxes and greens, play anything from a 150 yard hole to a 500 yarder, with various stops in between. A greenside bunker, if one is really ambitious, also serves as a fairway bunker. Could play both ways to work on upwind or downwind shots too.

[diehardgolfer32]

I like these ideas and possibilities. If I did make a few par threes I would probably do what Baycal said where I spend most of the time on the greens and tee's. But maype my best bet would be to make my own driving range like a few people said. It wouldn't cost very much. All I would have to do is spend a little time and $ on the tee area. Then if kepping the grass in good shape in these areas was a problem I could have mats and let the grass heel for a while. I could get a bunch of cheap balls to use. Then every few days I could pay some neighbor kids to come pick them up. I could mark off yardages and put up yardage signs. I could even charge a couple bucks for people to come use it. If I decide to do it, I'll probably start late this spring. I'll be sure to put up before and after pics.

[TKing]

I have a practice range in a pasture that is proving pretty beneficial. It doesn't really take that long to pick up a few hundred balls-especially if you hit to only 2 or 3 targets at a time. I use a putter and a five gallon bucket. It also adds incentive for accuracy. You can always hit them back to the tee area with shorter clubs. I also made a mound to hit all sorts of lies off of. I'm looking into building a practice green. There's a good website with all sorts of information on putting greens, mowers, etc. Having a greens mower and someone to mow it almost every day, irrigation, etc. is all part of having a useable green.

www.putting-greens.com

[wild dan]

hey diehard, my best friend is the "super" at "Talking rock" a new championship length course built in the mountains of BC.
He was there for the construction and supervised it.

he would be a great source...
i'll chat with him tonight and see if he's ok with giving you his email address.

[A-Train]

If you are only going to have a green or two, decent push type reel mower are still being mfd (Indiana?).
This will be an interesting thread to follow. By the way, I bet your local high school golf team would support it if your in close proximity.

[Baycal92510]

$300 for this push version, new. It recieved a pretty good review on the site that I found it on

[Onebulldogs]

diehardgolfer32, on Mar 29 2008, 10:34 PM, said:

Ok, so maybe not an 18 hole course, but a least 3 holes. I've decided, that a little bit later this spring, I'm going to go out in my field with some buddies, a few lawn mowers and some grass seed to make a few holes. It's a perfect place to do it. The woods run right up next to the field and there are 2 small creeks. The problem will be mantaining it. I just want a few par 3's that I can hit some balls into. Has anyone done this before. Can it be done, or do I have to pay thousands to get someone to install a par three for me?

As a kid, I built a golf course in a field next to one of the schools. The best feature was the hole tucked in behind the sand trap (aka the long jump pit).