Garden setup - family friendly suggestions to level some ground for hitting area?

[uk_golfer]

Hi,

Due to the lockdown I'm building a hitting area at the back of the garden. I need to keep the costs down to a minimum and the wife on side!

So far I've constructed a 3m x 3m steel frame with adjustable crossbar and hung a combination of an old golf net and scaffolding net around it to make a decent (if slightly ugly!) 3m wide x 2.1m high hitting area. It's currently limited by the height of the net I had available but when I buy something more suitable I will raise the crossbar accordingly and/or add a roof net.

The main problem I have is the soil area in front of this where I want to put my (4ft x 5ft 1/2 inch MDF) hitting board is very bumpy and uneven. I cannot really lay concrete or anything too drastic and think leveling it all properly may require a lot of time and soil. I would also prefer not to build a platform as the kids will be using this part of the garden most of the time and will definitely trip over it and the crossbar isn't currently high enough to allow to me raise the hitting area. I plan on removing the board when not in use.

I was thinking about marking out the area and trying to check the level as best I can with a straight edge and spirit level. I could then take soil from the obviously higher parts and reallocate to the lower areas. If I were to put 'feet' on the corners of the hitting board and dig small holes for these at whatever height is required I should be able to get it level with the other corners and at least some of the rest of the board laying on the dirt.
If I could achieve this I could throw down what little spare dirt I have to try and patch up some of the bigger holes to try and stop the board from bowing when stood on.

Does this sound possible and sensible or does anyone have any bright ideas?

Thanks in advance for any help and apologies if this a silly question!

[DotNetDude]

Hi,
2 thing's. Firstly, always level with sand, not soil. The soil will be difficult to level and will sink more and move around. Arrange for a few 25kg bags of sharp sand. You can either dig up the lumps first, and then level, or just lay the sand directly on top the whole area. You'll find it super easy to level, and then when it gets kicked around by the kids, you can level it again, probably with just a bit more sand. You can also over seed it if you want grass to come back. And, if you buy a bit more sand and throw it on the lawn and then you can tell the wife you are doing some gardening by allowing the sand to break up the soil. Hopefully she'll be happy that you are doing some gardening .

Secondly, give a lot of thought to your mat or hitting surface. The mdf will not be a very realistic surface. If you hit a fat shot the club will probably just skid through, which will very very different to how it would react on a golf course, and your strike will probably feel very different. So if you can get some astro, or something similar, that should help. Even just a 2ft piece stuck to your board would probably help. Also, not sure exactly how well a piece of mdf will last, when it's being hit with an iron at 80-90 mph. The fibres may break up and the board could fall apart. Might be fine, you will just have to see. Maybe others have tried and can advise how it will last?

[uk_golfer]

Hi,
2 thing's. Firstly, always level with sand, not soil. The soil will be difficult to level and will sink more and move around. Arrange for a few 25kg bags of sharp sand. You can either dig up the lumps first, and then level, or just lay the sand directly on top the whole area. You'll find it super easy to level, and then when it gets kicked around by the kids, you can level it again, probably with just a bit more sand. You can also over seed it if you want grass to come back. And, if you buy a bit more sand and throw it on the lawn and then you can tell the wife you are doing some gardening by allowing the sand to break up the soil. Hopefully she'll be happy that you are doing some gardening .

Secondly, give a lot of thought to your mat or hitting surface. The mdf will not be a very realistic surface. If you hit a fat shot the club will probably just skid through, which will very very different to how it would react on a golf course, and your strike will probably feel very different. So if you can get some astro, or something similar, that should help. Even just a 2ft piece stuck to your board would probably help. Also, not sure exactly how well a piece of mdf will last, when it's being hit with an iron at 80-90 mph. The fibres may break up and the board could fall apart. Might be fine, you will just have to see. Maybe others have tried and can advise how it will last?

Thanks for the quick reply and advice.

The sand sounds like a good cheap quick solution so ticks all the boxes! Probably a dumb question but I assume the sharp sand wouldn't be an issue if the kids were to fall on it?

Regarding the hitting surface, I've covered it all with off cuts of fake grass. I also have a gel pad that I am going to cut into the board that will also be covered with the grass so I'm hoping this will be a pretty decent ultra budget hitting area.
I wouldn't have picked MDF but had it left from some work we did in the house so its added £0 to the cost!

Thanks again.

[DotNetDude]

Sharp sand is just course sand, so will have some larger pieces of grit in it. It should be fine, but you can always cut it with builders sand, which is much finer.
Sounds like you have the mat well under control. ..