Soo. You said something that makes me apprehensive. You are trying not to invest much. That does not compute with getting a putting green. It is an ivestment of alot of time and money. If it was easy everyone would have one. Nothing you can do will make the Earthwise mower cut lower than 0.5. its just like any other lawn mower. Sanding or rolling wont make it cut lower.
Also what kind of bermuda grass do you have? Most grass that home owners have cannot be cut that low. So you will have to invest in putting green bermuda sod. Those type of grasses require alot to maintain and upkeep. Mowing everyday rain or shine. Applying expensive plant growth regulators. The only mowers that can cut that low are greens mowers which are also $1000 plus dollars.
Im being honest. thats what you want.
You can also go with artificial turf putting greens which in the long run will save you time and money

 

Soo. You said something that makes me apprehensive. You are trying not to invest much. That does not compute with getting a putting green. It is an ivestment of alot of time and money. If it was easy everyone would have one. Nothing you can do will make the Earthwise mower cut lower than 0.5. its just like any other lawn mower. Sanding or rolling wont make it cut lower.
Also what kind of bermuda grass do you have? Most grass that home owners have cannot be cut that low. So you will have to invest in putting green bermuda sod. Those type of grasses require alot to maintain and upkeep. Mowing everyday rain or shine. Applying expensive plant growth regulators. The only mowers that can cut that low are greens mowers which are also $1000 plus dollars.
Im being honest. thats what you want.
You can also go with artificial turf putting greens which in the long run will save you time and money

Agreed, you can only go so far on an minimal budget. First thing I'd do is get the correct mower then go from there and get the things needed as you get further into the project. If you can't cut the grass at the height needed then whats the point?

 

Don't most golf courses mow their greens daily, even with PGR? I have a greensmower and will probably never set up a green in my yard just because of the crazy maintenance required. I have a beautiful yard at the height of a very tight fairway but that is a far cry from a green. @Tellycoleman had the best advice which would be to install an artificial turf putting green.

 

As others have said, unless you have all the time in the world on your hands and a pretty substantial budget, the juice is just not worth the squeeze to create and maintain a putting green.

Consider you'll need a specialized type of Bermudagrass that is capable of being mowed at green heights, that you will need a mower capable of those heights, and soil/subsurface to sustain grass in that situation, which itself is a unique challenge.

And yes, you'll have to mow every day...every other day at the absolute MAX, even if you're using PGR.

 

Don't most golf courses mow their greens daily, even with PGR? I have a greensmower and will probably never set up a green in my yard just because of the crazy maintenance required. I have a beautiful yard at the height of a very tight fairway but that is a far cry from a green. @Tellycoleman had the best advice which would be to install an artificial turf putting green.

We mow everyday from about April until October. Even with mowing everyday, we empty the grass catchers (we use Toro triplexes) every 3 holes

 

I had aspirations of a putting green quality lawn. What I ended up with is a gorgeous chipping area. You can putt on it, but the speed isn't right and never will be. Maintaining a putting green would be a part time job. My kids do love getting out there and putt putting on it. I maintain at 7 mm and cut every other day. Anything more would turn it from a labor of love to just labor and I would get burnt out on it. I loose way more strokes chipping rather than putting so that's what I need anyway.

 

Not to pile on too much, but just adding in that the greens are the hardest part of golf course maintenance. They require constant attention. As has already been mentioned for equipment, in my opinion the real problem is the mowing and the watering. Keeping grass at .125 is daily mowing. In addition, grass that short scorches easily. If you get a hot dry spell, and a water restriction, your grass putting green becomes a dead project. Also, keep in mind that with daily maintenance, if you take one vacation you need to find someone to maintain it for you while gone. If not, then you have a big cleanup project to get it back up to shape provided it got enough irrigation on your vacation.

If you truly want to know what you are getting into, talk to a greenskeeper at a course. Offer to buy them a lunch or anything for their time, and they can give you a rundown of what their daily maintenance for greens is like, and can answer questions better than anyone. I have a friend who worked as an assistant to the superintendent, so I have heard a good deal in a course workers daily routine

 

I worked at a course in south Florida for 8 years and we had tifeagle greens. We mowed at .135", Monday Wednesday Friday and Sunday we would single cut and roll. Tuesday Thursday and Saturday we double cut. We fertilized and sprayed primo weekly. We had to hand water a lot to mange the amount of water. We verticut and top dressed as much as the membership would allow

 

@RodAtl I can help you out if you need guidance on where you can cut costs and where you can't.

For championship bermuda greens, you're going to need an ultra dwarf variety like Champion, TifEagle, Mini Verde, Sunday, etc. With a proper spray and top dressing program it's definitely possible to get away with mowing every other day and still having a fantastic green that stimps 11+. Be prepared to brush, mow, and bury it in sand once a week. 5 days later you will spray your foliar fertility mix and PGR. Fungicides as necessary depending on weather.

If you are okay if it's more like a public course putting green that rolls 9 or 10, you can get away with mowing at 3/16" (McLane makes a manual reel mower for ~$600 that cuts this low). Spraying and heavy top dressing are still a must, but disease pressure drops off a lot when you go up to 3/16".

In Atlanta you could do a November-May green that is creeping bentgrass and just let it burn in the summer and reseed every fall (seed is cheap and easy to grow). This would give you a break in the heat of the summer. Also, no need to verticut or constantly top dressing a creeping bentgrass green.

You have lots of options, but you need to pick your budget and work backward to figure out what you can afford to do.

 

Thank you all for your time and honest advice. It's about 55 yards from the back of my house to the green, so it's a great target with a sand wedge and it may just have to remain as that! But, if I do jump in and resod the green with the proper grass and buy the proper mower, I will now definitely know what else is in store for me with this project. Odds are, that won't happen. Thank you all again for the info!

 

@RodAtl I made a putting green at my previous house... it is definitely a lot of work, but I wouldn't shy away from it if you're willing to put in that work... check out my lawn journal, I documented most of the process I went through.. here's the last pic I got of it before I moved...



Cut at 0.156" I mowed every other day usually.. kept it under suppression with PGR, and hand watered it daily, sometimes twice a day in the hottest part of the summer. I live in the Huntsville, AL area so similar climate as you...