If you are a golf lover, bored, and want to do something in your backyard with a swimming pool? Then let’s make our own golf green that can float in the pool. In this article, you will be learning to make a DIY Floating Golf Green for pool at your home. I am sure the process is going to be fun.
In my last blog, I talked about Swimming Pool Golf Game where you need a Floating Golf Green to play indoor golf with friends. So, this is a perfect opportunity to teach you to make an awesome Floating Green for the pool.
What is Floating Golf Green?
Floating Golf Green, also popularly known as Floating Chipping Green or Putting Green is a floating platform for a pool or any water body that lets you play golf even in water. The best thing about the floating chipping green is that it can be used in swimming pools, ponds, lakes, or any body of water.
Items You Need For DIY Golf Green
For Platform
For Flag
- Golf Club
- Floating Golf Balls
- 3’x2’ section of artificial turf. (Depends on how big you are making)
- Utility Knife
- 4 x ¾” PVC elbows (Also depends on how big you are making)
- 4 x 2’ lengths of ¾” PVC pipe
- Plastic Cup or bottle
- A couple of Zip Ties (8 or more)
- 4 Pool Noodles
- Marker
- Craft Paper, Plastic, Clothe, or Similar Material
- Thin Wooden stick
You don’t need the exact items mentioned in the list. You can manage the closest thing to it except the actual items that are needed to make the turf float and function. You can also alter the dimensions of the item and make it to your liking by following the methods below.
How to Make DIY Floating Golf Green/DIY Floating Chipping Green Using PVC Pipes (Procedure)
Firstly, let’s make a frame for the floating green. To do that, you have to:
- Get the PVC pipes and begin assembling the frame by keeping all 4 long PVC on every 4 sides.
- Use the PVC elbow in every 4 corners of the PVC pipes.
- Slide all the pipes into the elbow.
- Glue all the connectors if you want to make them permanent otherwise just connect them tight as shown in the picture below. (But before gluing the connectors, follow the step below to insert the pool noodle, and then you can proceed.)
After you have made the frame, get 4 Pool Noodles and cut them down into sections that are about 2 feet long or more depending on how large you want the platform to be. Insert the PVC pipe through the pool noodles.
Now it’s time to put turf in the frame. Place the turf flat facing backward on the ground or on the table you are working on. Keep the frame above it and cut a square section with Utility Knife a few inches larger than the frame so that it can wrap around the pipe easily.
Start folding from one side and then poke a hole where the zip tie can go through. Tighten the zip tie through the turf and around the noodle as shown in the figure. You will need 2 zip ties on each side of the frame. Trim the excess part running on the sides with a utility knife before starting the other sides of the frame.
Time for putting the cup on the turf to make the hole. Place the plastic cup or bottom of the bottle in one of the near corners of the turf and mark it around with a marker or a pen. Once you have it marked, cut across the inside of the marked lines with your utility knife in an asterisk-shape so the hole is refined. Make sure the hole is the same size as your cup.
Now you can place the cup inside the hole you just made and level the top of the cup with the turf so that there are no lifted parts on the platform. Tie the excess part of the turf hole around the cup you inserted with thread or zip ties.
Making the flag is very easy. You just need paper, plastic or clothes (according to your preference) and cut them in the shape you like. Popularly triangle or rectangular. You can customize and make however you like or can even buy (which will be expensive). Lastly, stick it to the top of a thin wooden stick and place it in the cup.
Now your DIY Floating Golf Green with PVC Pipe is ready to play (See it in the picture below). Just keep it in the pool and hit the balls from anywhere around your poolside.
Thanks to Pinch a Penny for this idea.
How to Make DIY Floating Golf Green/Chipping Green Using Packaging Foam (Procedure)
There is this channel that made their own DIY floating turf and played some golf games in their pool. They used a similar method as us but made more advanced and bigger turf to have a nice challenge. And additionally, they used polyethylene foam/packaging foam instead of PVC pipes which seems to work phenomenally. You can try using white packaging foam board as well. This will reduce the cost of making your DIY Floating Golf Green.
To make the Chipping green using Packaging Foam Board, you will need to:
- Cut out the foam board into the exact shape you need.
- Stick the artificial turf you bought from Amazon on the surface of the board.
- Surround the platform with Pool Noodles to stop your golf ball from rolling outside the platform.
- Cut out the cup in the floating turf platform.
- Place the Flag in the cup.
- Place small putting green at the side of the pool and start hitting those golf balls into the platform.
TADA! Your DIY Floating Golf Green using Packaging Foam Board is now ready to be played in Swimming Pool.
Now you can use the exact method mentioned above to make your DIY floating chipping green of any size and scale. Experiment by using longer PVC pipes or foams. And don’t forget to order a larger section of turf than you actually need because you might mistakenly mess it up or might have different ideas.
What If You Are Lazy and Don’t Want to Build?
Hey! I hear you. If you don’t want to build it yourself, you can always buy floating golf greens from various stores. Here are two of my favorite store to buy the basic to advanced chipping greens of good quality.