How to Design a Backyard 9 Hole Miniature Golf
- 1). Create a scale drawing of your backyard, noting all permanent features such as hedges, trees and fences. Make sure you note the location of the house on the plans, particularly picture windows that may face the backyard.
- 2). Decide how much of your backyard you can spare for the course. Remember that a miniature golf course can potentially require significant space. Be aware that course features will be permanent: If you have other needs for backyard space, such as for a playground or garden space, don't surrender all of the backyard to the golf course project.
- 3). Use your scale drawing to plan the ideal location for the course. Avoid placing a hole near low or large windows on the back of the house. Avoid areas near large trees: Root systems will make excavation difficult and could harm the tree. Use natural slopes or rises in your design, or plan to level the course area so it is flat.
- 4). Design holes so the degree of difficulty is optional depending on the age and experience of the player. Do not design an unnecessarily hard course as players will lose interest; four strokes should be the maximum level of difficulty for each hole. Lay out the course so the progression from one hole to the next is sequential and in as concentrated an area as possible.
- 5). Avoid grass pathways between holes that will be hard to mow. Don't site the course near a tree that drops fruit, or landscape with plants that attract bees. Design water features that will be easy to clean; standing water needs to be continually agitated by a pump or fountain to discourage mosquito breeding. Reduce trimming work by edging the course with groundcovers such as pea gravel.
- 6). Avoid using real grass for the fairways; the maintenance of real grass is time-consuming. Consider instead constructing raised concrete pads and covering with outdoor carpet, which is easy to sweep or blow off with a leaf blower.
- 7). Design landscape and other course features to scale and with future growth in mind. Note that container plants that look "miniature" at the nursery often can grow far beyond expectations.