What's under your turf?

[gnomike]

I didn't think it would be so hard to pull the trigger on buying turf for the sim room!! Originally I had an area rug in the sim room, because, like, who really needs proper turf? Ha! Me. Gotta have it now lol.

I'm still debating which turf to go with... STI Pro Putt, NP50, or other companies' equivalents, but the thing that is REALLY causing me headaches is what to put UNDER the turf. It wouldn't matter so much if I was going to drop a stance mat on top, but I only want to cut in my hitting strip, so that everything else is flush and clean looking. Most of the samples that I've seen are around 1/2" thick, and most of the EVA foam tiles are 1/2" as well... which would leave my fiberbuilt hitting strip a good 5/8" higher... Not close enough to flush for me.

Any thoughts from people with experience? If I use two layers of the EVA foam tiles, will everything float & shift around too much or be too squishy? I'd also be worried about having to glue multiple layers... My ideal hope is that I can just lay foam & turf down without adhesives... is that a pipe-dream?

Thanks in advance guys!
Mike

[mmlincon]

FWIW I have a new 15'x19' roll of turf from pro putt systems I'm thinking about selling (long story on that). As for your project I would think the foam tiles would end up being too squishy. I have the tour links plastic panels on carpet and with a 1/2" pile turf; it has a noticeably squishy feeling. Not bad mind you but it's there. What is your base layer? Carpet? Ply? Concrete? If it's a hard surface you would probably be best building up with some OSB and then match the height based on the turf height. The most common is 1/2" I believe.

[gnomike]

The floor is engineered hardwood, and the wife's not keen on removing it. Whatever solution I decide to go with, I won't be nailing into or glueing it. I hear you on your comments about building over the carpet. From a height perspective, the area carpet I have, plus 1/2" EVA, plus turf... would be perfect. I kiboshed the idea because I figured the result would be squishy and would probably not even produce a flat/straight putt. I'm going to look into the OSB option (+ eva tiles + turf) again or the dri-core that mthunt suggested. Thanks for the ideas! Also, if you feel inclined to share.... why're you selling the 15'x19' turf?

[mmlincon]

The main reason is putting speed. This stuff is stimps at about 10.5. I want something faster - crazy I know

[mthunt]

I have a 5x10 Country Club Elite mat. It is thick and sits on the concrete. I added putting turf around it and used DriCore subfloor under the putting turf. With a few shims I was able to get the turf perfectly matched to the mat.

[gnomike]

Whoa! That's a huge CCE mat! I'm not personally a big fan of the CCE, though. I mean, it's realistic and holds a tee which are great points, but the punishment on even slightly fat shots was killer to my old joints!! I like the dri-core idea. Seems like a great product. More versatile maybe than plain OSB, too. Was the turf over it super hard? If it's too rock hard my wife will give me grief because my room has to double as a yoga space

[mthunt]

Yes. It’s super hard over the dricore. It’s basically like putting surface on concrete.

[gnomike]

Hey! I just found a product that I had not known about... I have an idea... tell me if it's too crazy or lame...

https://www.rona.ca/en/insulated-r32-subfloor-23-1-4-x-23-1-4-01925002

I found it while looking at suggestions from mthunt and mmlincon (thanks btw). It's a full 1" thick which is perfect, AND... here's the crazy idea... I was thinking of installing it upside down, so that the insulation side is up and the turf would lay directly on top... making the final putting surface the right height as well as more cushioned. It's just an idea... i haven't seen the product in person so don't know what the consistency of the underside is... I'm Xing my fingers though. At least now I've got ideas that don't involve multiple layers of eva foam...

[mmlincon]

That stuff looks like it might be perfect. I think I'd still put the insulation side down to protect the hardwood floor and you've have a surface you can staple the putting turf to

[mthunt]

That’s basically what I have. I doubt you can install it upside down. If it dents, it stays dented.

[wbond]

Another option may be the hard rubber horse stall mats like the ones from tractor supply.

[gnomike]

mthunt mmlincon OH FINE! Burst my creative bubble with logic and reason... pffff! j/k Good points you've both made, though. I'll check out the product tomorrow & see if that changes anything

[ChadGolf]

For what it's worth, the Net Return guys recommend the foam puzzle tiles you mention. It is a bit uneven, but it does soften impact a lot and doesn't negatively impact their "ball return" concept:

https://vimeo.com/298465463

https://www.homedepot.com/p/TrafficMASTER-Black-Gray-24-in-x-24-in-x-0-47-in-Dual-Sided-Gym-Floor-4-Pack-24120HDUS/301152506

[gnomike]

Hadn't seen that... thanks for sharing. I'm looking forward to seeing what it's like with the thick version I bought... 1" tiles... They should arrive in a couple of days!

[Daddio]

I used pink foam insulation sheets, 4x8 from Menards. You can get it in 3/4", 1" or 1 1/2", it worked perfectly with my 5 Fiber-built panels.
I just spray glued, 3M 77, it down. Works great, relatively inexpensive and easy to work with.

[gnomike]

Daddio How are they holding up for you? I had considered them because they are so much cheaper than the EVA foam tiles that I bought. I was afraid that after even a little bit of walking they would become uneven though

[Daddio]

It is holding up well, stays flat and does not move, I used the 1 1/2" thick to get it the same height as my Fiber-Built panels

[gnomike]

Dang! missed opportunity to save a couple hundred $$!

[Nas58]

I actually just put1/2 inch EVA puzzle mats under some NP45 and I like it a lot. I was using a 6x4 piece of ply wood covered in np45 and a cutout with some STI ez tee poly, but I hated the look of it and wanted something more uniform. Right now I’m hitting directly off the np45 until it wears out at which time I’ll cut out a hitting section. I just ordered https://www.amazon.ca/BalanceFrom-Pu...th=1&psc=1 It is 3/4 and should match up with my hitting turf . I’m a little concerned if the pattern will affect anything. I’ll let you know how it turns out.

[gnomike]

Nas58 That’s too funny! That’s the exact product I ordered, only I got the 1 inch thick stuff. Quite a bit more expensive both because it’s thicker, and because it wasn’t available on the Canadian site so I had to order through the US and cross the border to pick it up.

I just installed it and it’s pretty flat… I can’t imagine that the pattern will affect the role on turf at all. Still no turf yet LOL… Trying to scare up some remnant pieces but not having any luck

[Fred4141]

Along these lines, I am improving the area between my impact screen and my hitting mat. Not really looking for any performance beyond slowing the ball down a little on its way back from the impact screen. Right now I have a couple of layers of carpet padding under a very thing carpet. The ball doesn't come back off the screen too fast, but my current setup is a little bouncy and doesn't help slow down the roll very much. Any suggestions?

Thanks

[gnomike]

Fred4141 Before going the turf route, I had a regular 8' x 10' shag carpet from costco lying between the screen and the stance mat. Didn't look much like a fairway lol but the shag worked great for stopping ball roll.

[legendsfan]

I have an insulated OSB subfloor, DriCore, which is very similar to the link posted. it's great for an underlayment to putting turf. I cut out a hole and inserted a gel mat in the hitting area and hit off my putting turf. No complaints so far.