Full flooring for a 10x10 area

[DeaconBlooze]

Hey all,

So I currently have a 5x5 mat with a DivotAction mat as an insert. It works pretty well, but I'm really interested in covering my entire flooring with the same material. My reason for that is aesthetics, but also to be able to get a better feel for putts. I find that putting off the end of a mat makes it really difficult for me to get a feel for the distance.

My current plan is to get a beefy subfloor, and mount some sort of a high quality turf to the top of it to serve as my "green". I plan to cut out a section of the sub floor to install an insert - I wouldn't mind getting a larger version of the DivotAction, but I want whatever is the most accurate or realistic on the market. I think the CCE is reasonably priced in their inserts, and I'm thinking of heading that way at the moment. I also saw people recommend the DuraPro 5-star model - is that what Martin Hall uses on his show, or just something he endorses?

Here is the type of subfloor I was thinking of getting:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Amdry-1-89-in-x-2-ft-x-4-ft-Tile-Insulated-R7-Subfloor-Panel-AMD0150MG/204399264

I figure I'll cut a section of that out for whatever insert I choose, and build it up a bit if necessary (1/2 ply, or whatever, cut to size should be sufficient, I would think).

Does anyone have any suggestions? Specifically..

- What type of turf should I use for the area around the insert? (Keeping in mind I'd like to use it to gauge putting distance, primarily.)

- What insert is most realistic and accurate?

I'm also hoping for an insert that will make the transition to the "green" surround well. I want a 4' putt to travel 4', or as close to that as possible. I'm also considering utilizing the entire area as a bit of a practice green, maybe even installing a cup or two out of the way. Having a mat that wouldn't disrupt putts going across it would be a bonus, but not a huge necessity. Money is not much of an object, I have a pretty realistic expectation of what this would cost on the high end.

Thanks for any and all input! I'm really excited to get my flooring solidified!

Dave

[cspin]

Cool, you have yours in the garage with tiles already. My thought is to key in on the turf material you are looking for to cover the floor. You want a quality product that has some weight to it and lays nice. From your earlier post it sounded like you wanted the entire area covered and then just drop in an insert of some sort to hit shots off. You should use the tiles you have and just buy a turf material like I mentioned that has the 5mm foam on the back of it. The foam plus the thin secondary backing, plus the pile height of the turf add up to a dimension of around a 5/8" or so. Then you add in the height of the tiles you have. Depending on the depth of the hitting insert you use, you may or may not need to add a material to the concrete where your insert goes to get it to flush up with the top of the built up putting green coverage. As long as your tiles are the firm EVA foam type, you should be able to stand on top of them (plus the putting green turf) with no problem. It will look slick to have the whole area covered and then just an insert for hitting off. I have a sample of the PL306 and it is really good quality turf. Depending on the height of your tiles, you may not need it with the 5mm foam backing on it. Not sure they make it without the backing, but there are certainly turf products that are the equivalent or better without the foam backing. I have seen a couple of professional sim installs that have turf with the foam backing, and then layered on top of EVA foam tiles. They are firm to stand on, you just need to make sure the tiles are firm and that the turf you buy has a nice low pile for putting. Again, I don't see the need to go the route of Dricore or the other system. Even if you use Dricore on top of cement, you are going to need a turf with a bit of cushion to go on top of it. It will need a heavy rubber action backing or something like the 5mm foam on the PL306. If not, balls coming off the screen will likely have a hollow thud sound to them when they hit the turf (because of wood surface on the Dricore), and the turf will be too firm when you are standing on it. Consider that most driving range mats have 5/8" black foam as the base, and they are not too soft to stand on. What is soft to stand on is turf that is thick and bulky like the CCE turf. I would not want anything like that turf to cover a large area, and it would be expensive.

Hope this helps. There is more than one way to do this, and I just know that the right tiles and turf would do the trick real nice. And, you could always add a full depth cup by having a hole saw cut into the concrete. Just keep the core that comes out and you can patch it back in later. I had a pro do the cuts in my basement. Didn't feel comfortable renting a saw and going DIY on that one!

[Kato]

Cspin, I’m looking to do something very similar to what you described above. Do I need to use an insert? Or can I just hit from the turf you mentioned above? Does this turf roll decently well such that it could be used as a putting green to practice on? If I need to go route or insert it sounds pretty easy to install (my handyman skills are lacking) do you know which would sit flush w the setup you just mentioned (divot action etc)

Thanks

[DeaconBlooze]

Good advice - thanks. I do think I want something with a decent backing so it lays well like you said. I'm debating about how permanent to make everything. I'll try to source everything first and go from there I guess.

I've sent off about a dozen emails to various turf suppliers. Only one of those has gotten back to me so far, but they've said cutting out the section for my hitting mat is something they wouldn't want to do. I'm afraid to do that myself, even if I do it cleanly, I can see it unraveling in a rather sad way after some time.

[DeaconBlooze]

A bit of a quick update - I ordered a truline green to surround my hitting mat. They were one of a few places that actually responded, and the only one that seemed willing to do an "inlay" to fit my hitting mat. I'm getting holes cut in 3 of the corners (but not the corner that I'll be hitting into), so it should double at least somewhat effectively as a practice green. I'm really looking forward to getting it installed! I'll be sure to post some pictures and give a review once I'm done.

[DeaconBlooze]

My green should finally get here today! I spent last night installing a subfloor. I'm putting down a carpet pad today to help level the surrounding area to the hitting mat, and to hopefully reduce wear on the green since it's also doubling as a stance mat. This is definitely an amateur install, I'll be using carpet tape to help secure everything. I don't want to make anything too permanent, as I may be moving my simulator area to an addition.

I'm a little nervous about how things are going to turn out.

[DeaconBlooze]

Well, things actually went a little worse than I expected. First, rookie mistake, I believed that the 2x2 dricore I was using was actually 2x2. It was more like 23 1/4 x 23 1/4. It was really stupid of me to not account for that, and I paid for it after doing a dry install of my green.

The green is a bit more "plush" than I was expecting. It seems to putt relatively well, but it's hard to tell since I just unrolled it, and it has a lot of bumps.

I bought a 5/16" carpet pad to install underneath the green in the interest of raising it to the height of my CCE pad. I thought that the green was going to lay nice and flat, and maybe that was naive.. as a result, I didn't really plan on having to "install" the carpet. I'm not at all happy with how it currently sits, and considered calling a professional to make sure it gets done right. I don't know if that's necessary, as I think I can probably just trim back a bit of the pad, install a tack strip, and attempt to secure it myself.

I've got more work ahead of me than I originally thought.. I'm a bit frustrated at the moment, I was really hoping to get this job done and return to game quickly.

[goodmatt78]

You may be able to use a tack strip since you have padding. I spent way too long trimming and installing mine. In the end, I bought a carpet kicker and used a pneumatic staple gun. It was quite simple and looks great.

I unrolled my turf and let it sit in my garage for 24hrs prior to installation and this relieved most of the wrinkles.

[mthunt]

Carpet pad under the putting surface? Why? Just stretch the putting fabric over the Dricore and staple it with crown staples. You cant see them. You can rent or borrow if you don't have one.

[DeaconBlooze]

I felt it was the best way to level the surface relative to the hitting mat. I was also concerned about the putting material wearing since I'm also using it for my stance area. After receiving the mat, that's really not a concern. Oh well, it's pretty much setup, so I'll work with what I have until I find where my actual permanent setup will be.

I used some tack strips tonight to get part of the mat secured, and it did flatten out decently enough with the time and some minimal stretching. I think I'll supplement with some crown staples, especially around my hitting mat.

[mthunt]

Crown staples and underpad are a bad mix.

[DeaconBlooze]

Really? Is there a problem with using crown staples that are long enough to get through both the carpet, pad, and into the subfloor?

[DeaconBlooze]

I did also give a few test putts, and it seems to roll pretty well from hitting mat to putting surface to screen. I feel pretty good about that, since that was really my main purpose for doing this in the first place.

I also stumbled upon gutter filters while strolling Home Depot. I put them in front of my screen, and the ball now rolls up to the screen and back towards my hitting area on putts. A normal shot will typically bounce lightly back without getting wedged between my mat and the netting. I'm pretty happy with this as a really cheap and effective solution to make things a little easier on myself!

http://www.homedepot.com/p/GUTTERSTUFF-5-in-x-48-in-K-Style-Foam-Gutter-Filter-GS-K5-SPAN/203318223

[Joko]

Any thoughts on these: http://www.homedepot.com/p/TrafficMA...-202516669-_-N

I have a 9x6 area in my garage that currently has foam tiles - I, like above would like to add a little nicer aesthetic and also a more level putting surface from my mat to the surface. I've already spent a lot this past year on building out this sim (and changing it around 3-4 times), buying new golf clubs, etc... So I don't need this to be a perfect surface, and would like to keep it cheap.

Any thoughts?

[wbond]

I'm not sure where you're located, but if you have a costco around you, they have a 9x6 green carpet that looks just like this. i bought two of them, i think they were $16 or so a piece.

Any thoughts on these: http://www.homedepot.com/p/TrafficMA...-202516669-_-N

I have a 9x6 area in my garage that currently has foam tiles - I, like above would like to add a little nicer aesthetic and also a more level putting surface from my mat to the surface. I've already spent a lot this past year on building out this sim (and changing it around 3-4 times), buying new golf clubs, etc... So I don't need this to be a perfect surface, and would like to keep it cheap.

Any thoughts?

[Joko]

Someone in that thread mentioned the home depot one http://www.homedepot.com/p/Green-6-f...210757&cj=true which I guess would work, but it does shed. I was previously using it for an optishot stance platform.

I'll check out Costco today and see if they have it. Thanks for the idea.

[Joko]

Sadly nothing at my local Costco. Not terribly interested in the Home Depot one as I know it sheds horribly.

[wbond]

Too bad. From what i remember, they only seem to carry it in early spring and it usually goes pretty quickly.

[mason]

I use a great turf mat, that you can put a real tee into because the blades are thick and tight. And chip shots are great too right off the surface. I never saw the point of someone spending a ton of money on a simulator setup, then hit off a rubber tee. It never made any sense to me.

[wbond]

What???????

[mason]

What are you confused about?

[wbond]

I wasn't sure if your post was referring to Joko or something else? This thread was about filling in the area around the mat and up to the screen and no mention of rubber tees.

[Joko]

I'm not sure where you're located, but if you have a costco around you, they have a 9x6 green carpet that looks just like this. i bought two of them, i think they were $16 or so a piece.

Well I went to Lowes last night and found a 6 x 8 green outdoor rug. Exactly what I was looking for! Saved me 60$ instead of buying that carpet tile.

http://www.lowes.com/pd_606623-61038-7A25N11PJ1L1_0__?k_clickID=5570388b-6ec3-42da-b67f-35cf5cfee13d&store_code=2588&productId=999992360&selectedLocalStoreBeanArray=%5Bcom.lowes.commerce.storelocator.beans.LocatorStoreBean%4039a039a0%5D&storeNumber=2588&kpid=999992360&cm_mmc=SCE_PLA-_-HomeFashions-_-RugPadBroadloomAndRunners-_-999992360%3AEcoRug&CAWELAID=&CAWELAID=320011480006944826

[kgil3]

I agree with the green outdoor rug. I also purchased some interlocking floor mat tiles there as well. The Floor tiles are not as thick as other more expensive ones, but there is an advantage. Standing facing my 10x10 cage, i have two 5x5 Country Club elite matts placed side by side. Then in front of the CC mats I placed the 6x10 interlocking floor mats that run up to my screen. On top of the screen I placed the Costco rug. I did have to cut a 1 x 6 strip to finish off the 6x10 square because the carpet is 6x9.

So the Costco rug and floor tiles sit about 1/4" below the CC elite mats. So any ball that rolls back is stopped buy the uneven surface.

Also the Costco green mat is great for putting on as well as it is a smooth surface.