Tired of dad disappearing to the golf course? Then give him his very own putting green to practise on. This simple project requires only basic tools and materials. The quantities of materials will vary depending on how level the area is, and the desired size of your green. Make sure it’s a size that allows you to use a single piece of synthetic turf. You don’t want joints messing up that perfect putt!

Step 1 Decide where you will position your putting green and roll out synthetic grass. With set-out paint, mark corner points and roll the grass back up, or set it aside if you have room. Then, join the corners to mark out the entire area.

Step 2 Remove existing lawn inside the set-out area. This part of the job doesn’t have to be perfect as the green will smother the grass. For a large green you may want to hire a turf cutter; for a small area you can simply chip the lawn out with a rake and hoe, or a mattock.

Step 3 Using a hose or long piece of rope, decide on the shape of your green. We went for a very stylish kidney form. Once you’re happy with the shape, mark it out with paint. We included a mini-bunker in our design to add an extra golfing challenge. This teardrop shape will be excavated to about 300mm, lined with a weed mat and filled with sand.

Step 4a,4b The next step is to add road base. This is coarser than the crusher dust that we’ll use as a finishing layer. Add the bulk of the road base and use a rake or spreader to level out. Aim to fill all hollows and make the area reasonably level.

Step 5 Use the vibrating-plate compactor to compact and further level your putting green. You may wish to introduce a few contours at this stage.

Step 6 Now add the crusher dust and spread it. It is finer and easier to smooth down than the road base. If you wish to add any finishing contours, mound the crusher dust where desired.

Step 7 Use the compactor to bring your crusher dust to the finished form.

Step 8 Dig your holes and position cups. A post-hole digger is ideal for making a neat hole. We positioned a cup at each end of our green to double the putting pleasure.

Step 9 If needed, add final layer of crusher dust to make green perfectly smooth.

Step 10 Lay your synthetic grass over the shaped and compacted green. Now you will need to enlist the help of a friend.
Get them to pull the turf taut over the edges of the contoured green while you
fix it in place by hammering in a few suitable
pins, such as weed-mat pins.
 
Step 11 As you work your way around with the pins, use a Stanley knife to trim the excess grass. Leave about 500mm extending beyond the edge of the green. At heavily sloped points, or where you need a smooth corner, you can cut small slits running up the slope. This allows you to create an overlap that will remove wrinkles. If you’re including a bunker, line it with weed mat. Secure mat with pins and trim.

Step 12 Add sand to top of green. Dump a couple of shovel-loads of sand every metre or so. Then, simply sweep sand into the pile of the grass. It will secure the grass and keep the pile standing upright, making it behave more like real grass. We swept our excess sand towards the bunker to fill it up.

Step 13 Time for landscaping. Fill around  edges with garden-mix soil, and take the level to nearly flush with top of green.

Step 14 You can now plant the borders of your green. We used native grass-like plants and added new turf.

Step 15 Locate your cups; you’ll find they’ll have collected sand and formed a dimple. Use the Stanley knife to very carefully trim around the edge. Add your flagsticks and you’re done. It’s putting time!