Kidney-shaped backyard putting green with checkered flags, wrapped in a poured concrete curb border with stone slab steps

Putting Greens

Contoured practice greens graded, drained, and edged like the rest of the yard — framed in concrete, pavers, and stone by the same family crew since 1982.

The craft

A good green is built before the turf arrives

A putting green that rolls true is really an earthwork and drainage project wearing turf. We excavate, grade the falls and breaks into the base itself, and compact it in lifts — the same discipline we bring to a driveway or a foundation — so the surface putts consistently and sheds water through it instead of ponding on top. The turf is the last thing to go down, and by then the green already exists underneath it.

Just as often, the green is one piece of a bigger backyard. In the projects on this page you’ll see greens wrapped in poured concrete curbs, met by paver patios and block seat walls, threaded along flagstone steppers, and paired with bocce and sport courts — all built by our own crew, across Torrance, Palos Verdes, the beach cities, and the greater South Bay.

Details & options

Multi-hole layouts
Contoured fringe & rough
Concrete curb borders
Brick & stone edging
Paver patios & seat walls
Bocce & game courts
Front-yard turf

Roy's crew kneeling on a new green, fitting and trimming turf pieces beside a paver patio — Our crew fitting the turf by hand — the seams disappear, the contours stay.

Greens built into the backyard

The best backyard greens don’t sit in the yard — they belong to it. These projects put the green a putter’s length from outdoor kitchens, paver patios, seat walls, and planters, so practice happens in the middle of the space the family already uses.

Putting green with checkered flags beside a white outdoor kitchen island and wood patio furniture — Three holes off the patio, steps from the outdoor kitchen

Tumbled paver patio meeting the fringe of a backyard putting green with checkered flags — Paver patio meeting the fringe — one surface flows into the next

Corner putting green with five flags framed by two low block seat walls and a tumbled paver patio — A corner green framed by block seat walls and pavers

Small putting green wrapping around a stone-capped planter with a sago palm, golf balls scattered on the turf — A compact green wrapped around a stone-capped planter

Long putting green with contoured fringe running along a white stucco retaining wall — A long green tucked against a stucco retaining wall

Backyard putting green alongside a tall hedge with a basketball court in the background — Putting green up front, basketball court beyond

Before & after

The same yard, a different short game

Every green on this page started as bare dirt — or in one case, a swimming pool. The before photos show the part that matters most: grading, compaction, and edging done right before a single roll of turf arrives.

Before and after: a graded dirt yard with compactor and edging forms transformed into a multi-hole putting green — From graded dirt to a multi-hole green. The before photo is the whole story: compaction equipment on bare ground, with the edging already formed to the final shape. Grade, compact, and edge first — then the turf goes down and it putts true from day one.

Before and after: a swimming pool filled with compacted earth, then converted into a circular putting green with a brick border — A swimming pool becomes a putting green. This family was done with the pool but not with the backyard. We filled the shell, compacted it in lifts — that’s the plate compactor working in the before photo — and turned the footprint into a circular green wrapped in a brick border.

Before and after: a bare dirt side yard transformed into a tumbled paver patio leading to a putting green — A bare side yard, paved and putted. This strip alongside the home was nothing but graded dirt. It left our hands as a tumbled paver patio flowing into a three-flag green with fresh planting — the green is one piece of the project, not the whole of it.

Before and after: a compacted base pad with flagstone steppers, then a finished putting green winding along the stepper path — Base first, turf last. In the before photo the flagstone steppers are already set and the base is compacted to final grade — the green is fully built before any turf shows up. That order of operations is why the finished green rolls smooth and drains clean.

Greens fitted to the space

You don’t need an estate lot. Side yards, corner strips, and small backyards all hold a real green when the shape is drawn to fit — curving around planters, running alongside a paver drive, or sharing a terrace with a fire pit. We shape each green to the yard it lives in, not the other way around.

Putting green at the top of a paver terrace with a modern rectangular fire pit and a poured concrete walkway — Green, fire pit, pavers, and a poured walkway — one project

Putting green with three flags running alongside paver paving and new hedge plantings — A side-yard green laid alongside new pavers and planting

Bright four-hole putting green beside a white picket fence with two people sitting on a low block wall — A small-lot green — four holes and a wall to sit on

Man putting on a backyard green that curves around a planted bed — Shaped around the planting, not instead of it

The same turf, beyond the green

The material that makes a green putt true also makes a front lawn stay green year-round. The same crews that shape our greens install turf lawns, driveway ribbon joints, and curb-edged bocce courts — game yards for more than just golfers.

Bocce ball court with white concrete curbs beneath a white pergola, artificial turf and lounge chairs alongside — A bocce court with concrete curbs under a pergola

Front entry walkway with brick-edged aggregate paving flanked by artificial turf panels and white roses — Front-yard turf flanking a brick-edged entry walk

Concrete driveway panels separated by artificial turf ribbons in front of a Spanish-style home — Driveway panels with turf ribbon joints

Common questions about putting greens

How much maintenance does a synthetic putting green need?

Very little — no mowing, no watering, no fertilizer. Blow or rinse off leaves and debris now and then, and give the surface an occasional brooming to keep the fibers standing so it keeps putting the way it did on day one.

What keeps a backyard green from flooding or going soft?

The base. A putting green is built like the flatwork we pour: excavated, graded to drain, and compacted in lifts before any turf is installed. Water percolates through the surface and moves through the base instead of ponding on top — which is why the before photos on this page show compaction equipment, not turf.

Can a putting green double as a play space for kids?

Yes — turf takes traffic that real grass can’t. The putting surface itself is a short, dense pile, and the fringe and lawn turf around it are the same tough material we install on front yards and play areas. Several of the yards on this page pair the green with a bocce court or sport court so the whole family gets a game.

What does a backyard putting green cost?

It depends on the size and shape of the green, how many holes and contours you want, access to the yard, and how much of the surrounding hardscape — borders, patios, seat walls — is part of the project. Estimates are always free: call (310) 539-8023 and we’ll walk the yard with you.

Let’s build something that lasts

44 years of South Bay craftsmanship, one phone call away. Estimates are always free.

Call (310) 539-8023