Artificial Grass Putting Greens
Practise your short game at home on a surface that rolls true all year. A purpose-built artificial putting green uses a short, dense pile and a firm base to give consistent speed, real contours and a proper cup.
A putting green is a very different thing from a garden lawn. The whole point is a smooth, firm, consistent surface that lets the ball roll true at a predictable speed, so the grass used is short, dense and specialist, laid over a base built to control the roll. A standard landscaping lawn, with its longer, softer pile, will never give you a reliable putt.
Done properly, a home green lets you work on pace and line whenever you like, in any weather, with none of the mowing, rolling and feeding a real green demands. You can build in breaks and borrows, set a regulation-sized cup, and finish with a longer fringe around the edge to mimic the collar of a real green. This page is about putting surfaces specifically; for larger training and games surfaces, see our sports artificial grass page.
Short, true-rolling pile
A dense putting pile, typically around 10 to 15mm, gives the smooth, fast surface needed for a ball to roll true.
Cups, contours and fringe
Regulation cups, built-in borrows and a longer fringe collar can all be worked into the design for a realistic green.
Playable all year
No mowing, rolling or seasonal closure, and the green drains freely and plays consistently in all weather.
What makes a putting surface roll true
Three things determine how well a green putts, and all of them are decided before you ever stroke a ball:
- Pile height and density: a short pile of roughly 10 to 15mm, tightly tufted, is what lets the ball roll smoothly. Taller pile grabs the ball and kills the roll.
- The base: a firm, finely levelled sub-base controls speed and keeps the roll consistent. Any unevenness shows up immediately in how the ball tracks.
- Infill and brushing: the right infill, properly brushed in, stabilises the surface and fine-tunes the speed.
Get these right and the green plays at a dependable pace; get them wrong and no amount of practice will feel real.
Designing contours, cups and the fringe
A flat green is fine for grooving a stroke, but most golfers want more. Gentle undulations and borrows can be shaped into the base so you can practise reading breaks, and multiple cups let you vary the length and line of your putts. A regulation 108mm cup is set into the base with a proper collar so the ball drops cleanly.
Finishing the green with a longer-pile fringe around the edge mimics the collar of a real green and frames the surface neatly. The design is entirely up to you, from a simple flat strip for pace work to a multi-tier green with chipping approaches, and we will talk through what suits your space and your game.
Where a home green works
Putting greens suit gardens, courtyards and even suitable indoor or garage spaces, since the surface needs less depth of groundwork than a full lawn in some cases. The key requirements are a firm, level base and free drainage, so water clears rather than disturbing the roll.
Small greens tuck into a corner of a garden; larger ones can wrap around existing planting and paving. Because the surface is synthetic and short-piled, it stays usable through the winter when a real green would be closed, though, like any artificial surface, it warms up in strong summer sun.
Benefits and considerations
Benefits
- A true, consistent roll at a predictable pace
- Practise your short game at home, in any weather
- Built-in contours, borrows and regulation cups
- A longer fringe collar for a realistic finish
- No mowing, rolling, feeding or seasonal closure
- Free-draining, so it stays playable year round
Worth considering
- A true-rolling surface needs a very precisely levelled base, which is specialist groundwork
- Short putting pile is a different product from landscaping grass and is priced accordingly
- The surface warms in direct summer sun like any synthetic grass
- Green speed is set at installation; large changes later mean reworking the infill or base
How a putting green is built
A true roll is won in the groundwork, so the base is where most of the care goes.
Design
We agree the shape, size, contours, number of cups and fringe to suit your space and your game.
Base build
A firm, free-draining sub-base is laid and levelled precisely, shaping in any borrows and breaks.
Cups & grass
Cups are set, then the short putting pile is laid, joined and trimmed to the design.
Infill & speed
Infill is brushed in and the surface dressed to set a smooth, consistent green speed.
What a putting green costs
Putting greens are quoted individually and often cost more per square metre than a standard lawn, because the groundwork must be levelled so precisely and the specialist short-pile grass, cups and contouring all add to the build. The design you choose, a simple flat green versus a contoured, multi-cup green, makes a big difference. We price each project on its own merits.
Key cost factors
- The size and shape of the green
- How much contouring, breaks and tiering are designed in
- The number of cups and the fringe detailing
- The specialist short-pile putting grass and infill
- Groundwork precision and any drainage needed
- Site access and the existing surface
Frequently asked questions
A short, dense pile of roughly 10 to 15mm is ideal. It is short enough to let the ball roll smoothly and fast, unlike the longer, softer pile used for garden lawns, which grabs the ball and kills the roll. The density and infill then fine-tune the speed.
Yes. Undulations and borrows are shaped into the base before the grass goes down, so you can practise reading breaks. Anything from a flat pace-practice strip to a contoured, multi-tier green is possible, and it comes down to your space and what you want to work on.
Green speed is set by the pile, infill and how the surface is dressed, and we tune it during installation. It can be built to roll at a pace you are comfortable practising on. Large changes afterwards are possible but mean reworking the infill or base, so it is best agreed at the design stage.
Very little compared with a real green, since there is no mowing, rolling or feeding. An occasional brush keeps the pile upright and the roll consistent, and leaves and debris are cleared off as needed. Because it drains freely it stays playable year round.
Yes. A free-draining synthetic green clears water quickly and does not close for the season the way a natural green does, so you can practise through the colder months. In strong summer sun the surface warms up, as all artificial grass does.
Related services and guides
Bring the practice green home
Tell us about your space and your game, and we will design a putting green that rolls true, with a clear, itemised quote.