| OK, what I'm interested in knowing is given a tract of land, how
much would it cost to convert it into a golf course. I figured that
the greens are one of the most expensive part of developing a golf
course. Other costly items I can think of are the sprinkler systems,
clearing of land, tilling and seeding, paying a professional to develop
a course layout, any others?
So to get an idea of the magnitude of costs involved, starting with
installing greens what's the going rate for company XYZ to come in
and install say one 50' diameter green?
George
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I had always wanted a putting green in my backyard, sooooo, last
year I seriously looked at the cost of building one. Excluding the
cost of equipment to dig, move, level, contour, etc., just the cost
of materials, ( gravel(s), sand, rice hull mulch, and top soil ),
the mower ( the best hand pushed reel mower ), and a simple 4 head
sprinkler system, I was at $42,000. That was for a 52 x 48 contoured
green. Without the contouring it was $30,000.
I settled for roto-tilling an area that drained well ( high ground
that I crowned slightly ), mixed sand, rice hull mulch, and then seeded
the h*ll out of it. I watered, watered, watered..... I cut, cut, cut
and cut grass. The surface was good, no matter how I rolled it and
cut it, it was a little bumpy to putt on. Fine for most Public courses
but this labor of love became a headache. I had to care for it more
than I could practice on it. ( I got good a hitting sand wedges over
the garage. Sort of matched my game....trying to hit a green I can't
see.... ). Now, the back yard has a funny patch of grass in the
middle of the St. Augustine.
Cost of builing an 18 hole course runs around three million on up.
The does not include the cost of the land!
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| The 30k figure is about right. Usually they are not sodded. They are
built on a bed of gravel and sand with a heavy cost for the draininage
and watering system. Even more expensive nowdays, because companies
are using fresh water for the greens and reclaimed water for the
fairways...two separate systems. They even have moisture sensers built
into the greens.
About 8 years ago, a course here in town either used to much fertilizer
or misread the bag and used defoliant...but, they killed all 18 greens.
Needless to say, the greens keeper was fired and the course is just now
coming back to its old form. They rebuilt every green...estimated then
at 20-25k per.
SCD
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It may sound laughable, but, the Diazinon ( fire ant killer, etc. )
was tough on my back yard green. But putting through fire ants is not
exactly the thing to do. I always let them play through!
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| I purchased by seed at Blue Seal in Concord N.H. You should
definitely ask for seed from a broken bag otherwise you may spend in
the neighborhood of $200-$300 for a 50 pound bag(that amount would
accomodate the fornt nine!). I ended up paying about $2.50/lb. for
15 lbs. and this more than enough to densely cover my 35' x 50'
practice green. I believe the brand was called Colonial Bent. This
will adequate as I migrate thru overseeding to Providence Bent(a new
type, expensive, but a dream to play I here.
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