I saw the work the guys put into mine, and I would NOT try to do it myself. It was a huge job. Mine's approximately 25 x 15

We also did our entire backyard in turf around the pool so that area was either going to be regular turf, decorative landscaping, or rock hardscape. I'm happy with this choice. I also think it looks visually more interesting than plain turf or grass. Our putting green was in the $20/sq ft range though. Here's the other surrounding areas (pool and furniture, patio, etc were not completely finished at the time of these photos, but you get the idea):

It really is not that difficult if you have the time, although I may have had it easier because my yard already had a decent slop so not much prep was really needed. The manufacturer reviewed my yard and all that was recommended was killing off all the vegetation underneath, spread fabric, put 3-4" of DG down, and then lay the turf. I did put in some additional drainage where the walking path was going to be since I was grading the yard back toward the walking path. For the putting green I installed, I also brought in some mason sand to fill in all the micro pits in the DG to ensure a truly uniform surface. Its been almost three years now since the install was finished and have had no issues with turf movement or drainage.

Before (Really "in progress". Forgot to take a true "before" pic before I tore out our deck)




Yard prep


Putting green prep


Turf pick-up


Yard turf install (two nights)



Finished install




The yard turf came from turf factory direct. They do not charge taxes on all out of state purchases so even with freight it was still cheaper than buying locally. The putting turf came from PurchaseGreen. They sell remnants and this area was small enough that the turf was less than $2/sf. Since my labor is "free", the finished costs was just over $4/sf.