ProGreen International, Inc. Putting Green Installation Instructions. For PG2500 & PG1000

Transcription

1 ProGreen International, Inc. Putting Green Installation Instructions For PG2500 & PG1000 LAST UPDATED 8/12/05 Copyright ProGreen International, Inc.

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Product List, Tools Needed Step A Materials Needed Step B Pre-planning Step 1 Sub-base Preparation Step 2 Sub-base Installation Step 3 Cup Installation Step 4 Final Sub-base Check Step 5 Preparing the Turf for Installation.....Step 6 Cutting the Turf for Seams Step 7 Seaming the Turf Step 8 Turf Installation Step 9 Cutting the Cup Holes Step 10 Border Stakes Step 11 Infill Application Step 12 ProGreen Top Dressing Application...Step 13 Wetting the Turf Step 14 Borders Step 15 Other Tips and Hints Step 16 Important Notice Step 17 Optional Sand Trap Installation......Last Page

3 A. PRODUCT LIST, TOOLS NEEDED PROGREEN PRODUCTS Products below do not necessarily come with order as all ProGreen products are purchased separately. Some items can be purchased locally. Check with your ProGreen representative to be sure you know what products that we are providing and which ones you will provide yourself. ProGreen Turf Border Stakes ProGreen Top Dressing Cups/Flags/Sleeves Seam Material & Adhesive (if needed) ProGreen Installation Broom (Very Important! A must for a quality installation!) * NOT INCLUDED: Silica Sand & Sub-base Material (Road base and crusher fines) TOOLS NEEDED Water-filled Lawn Roller Drop Spreader or Broadcast Spreader Landscape Rake Gas powered vibrating plate compactor Respirator Masks (to be used during silica sand spreading) Utility Knife (with lots of new blades) Flat Head Shovel 1/8 notched Trowel for applying glue to seam tape (if seaming) Garden Hose & Spray Nozzle Vegetation Kill Post-Hole Digger Hammer, Screwdriver Measuring Tape Soft bristled push broom Wheelbarrow OPTIONAL TOOLS & MATERIALS: Hand tamper to tamp areas where roller can t reach. Gas powered sod cutter to remove grass if present. Weed block material for areas with aggressive weeds. Gas powered jumping-jack tamper only used to compact the ground or pre-sub-base road base. Long rope or garden hose to design and shape borders. Plastic tarp for rain protection of turf during silica sand spreading Lawn/Leaf blower. An alternate option for removing heavily sanded areas. Drag Mat (good for large projects, but not neccessary) 1

4 B. MATERIALS NEEDED NOTE: If you re adding more than 2 of depth to your green, you ll need to build it up first with Road Base, and then the Crusher Fines for the final level. For 2 and under, you can skip the Road Base and just use Crusher Fines. If you re building undulations (contours and slopes) into your green you will need to build that using Road Base. ROAD BASE (Lower Sub-base Material) Specifications: ¾ Road Base. This is the same material used for roads. Amount Needed: Sold by the yard. For every inch or two of depth (depending on the material), you ll need approximately 1 yard of Road Base per 120 square feet. Source: Look in your local yellow pages under Quarry or Sand & Gravel. CRUSHER FINES (Upper Sub-base Material) Specifications: 1/4" minus (3/8" minus is acceptable). CRUSHER FINES, also known as Stone Dust, Stone Screenings, Lime Stone, Squeegee, Reclaim, Red Diamond, Coral Rock, etc. CRUSHER FINES is rock that is finely crushed and screened, with no pieces larger than 3/8 inch, preferably 1/4 inch. The majority of the material should be a fine powder or dust and the remaining material flat and jagged. In many cases you may not be able to find the exact properties just described. If all the material is the same size and very fine, this will work. To be sure you are getting the correct product, ask your local rock quarry if it compacts well and if it will smooth out if wetted and rolled with a water filled lawn roller. Amount Needed: Sold by the ton (2000 pounds). Approximately 10 pounds per square foot. 10 pounds per sq. ft. will give you a about 1 ½ of depth. We recommend not going higher than 2 inches of depth. If you need more depth, build your depth with Road Base. Source: Look in your local yellow pages under Quarry or Sand & Gravel. NOTE: To save money on delivery, you could combine both the Road Base and Crusher Fines together in one truckload. Just ask the supplier to keep them separated the best they can. Sometimes they will place a tarp inbetween two types of material to keep them separated. If not, it won t hurt if a small portion of material is mixed. IN-FILL MATERIAL (locate your product number below) Silica Sand: You must use pure Silica Sand. (rounded silica if possible) Mesh Size: 20 mesh. See Below. Amount: PG2500: Approximately 3.5 pounds per sq. ft.. PG1000: Approximately 2.0 pounds per sq. ft. Source: It can usually be found at a building-supply store. If you have a problem finding a source, try calling a sandblasting shop or a swimming pool builder to find out where they get their supplies. Purchasing the Right Silica Sand DO NOT USE ANY OTHER KIND OF SAND OTHER THAN SILICA SAND! Silica Sand is used as the base dressing which is applied over the synthetic turf. Although there are many types and sizes of Silica Sand, it s important to stay within our specified guidelines. If the Silica Sand is too large, our ProGreen Top Dressing will filter downward, into the base dressing. If the Silica Sand is too fine, it will eventually become too compacted. 2

5 TYPES OF SILICA SAND Ideally, the best type of Silica Sand is rounded silica, but it s not a requirement. It s located in limited parts of country, so it s rare find. If you can t get rounded silica sand, you can use Sub-Angular Silica Sand. SILICA SAND SIZES There are many mesh sizes of Silica Sand. Silica Sand is screened, then rated according to the mesh sizes. The higher the rating number, the smaller and finer the sand. Conversely, the lower the rating, the larger the Silica Sand. Since ProGreen Top Dressing is rated at an 18 mesh and it s the final layer of sand, you DON T want to use a base Silica Sand that is larger (12, 14, 16 mesh etc) than the ProGreen Top Dressing. If larger Silica Sand is used for the base dressing, the ProGreen Top Dressing will eventually filter downward, creating an absence of top dressing sand. We recommend a Silica Sand that is slightly smaller than ProGreen Top Dressing. However, if too fine of Silica Sand is used (30, 40, 50 mesh etc.) the more it will compact, leaving the surface very hard, and will cause the ball to roll too fast over a period of time. Ideally, the best type of Silica Sand to use for the base dressing is a 20 mesh. Please note, there is no such thing as a singularly rated Silica Sand size such as a 30 mesh. The bag might say 30 mesh, however, it s a blend of different sizes such as 16/30, 20/40, etc. As the sand suppliers cannot provide a single, uniform mesh size, the Silica Sand in a 16/30 blend is screened between these two sizes. There will be different percentages of Silica Sand sizes between 16 and 30. To determine the exact percentages of the blended screenings, ask for a Sieve Analysis. If you need help locating the right silica sand, don t hesitate calling us. Here is an example of a Sieve Analysis for 16/30 Silica Sand 8% passed at #16 12% passed at #18 42% passed at #20 24% passed at #25 14% passed at #30 100% passed #16/30 Notice that a small percentage of Silica Sand is larger than what s recommended. However, since only a small percentage passes at #16 mesh, it will not affect the top dressing or performance. The most important thing to look for is that the majority of Silica Sand falls between 18 and 30 mesh. NOTE - In some areas it may be difficult to find the silica sand described above. You have two options. One, you can have this silica sand shipped to you but freight is expensive. Or, two; you can use 30 mesh silica sand which is very popular and easy to find. 3

6 Weed Block Material If you re installing your putting green over an area with aggressive weeds, we strongly recommend you purchase some weed block material. Source: Home Depot or any building supply store STEP-BY-STEP INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS Be sure to completely read all the instructions before starting. STEP 1. PREPLANNING SIZE AND SHAPE Before you begin preparation on the sub-base, you must first determine the size and shape of your putting green, and the kind of border you will be using. Enclosed with your kit is a Putting Green Shape Ideas sheet. You can use one of designs on that sheet or create on yourself. Using a long rope or garden hose, shape the design of the green. Be creative, and don t stop until you're completely satisfied. BORDERS SYNTHETIC FRINGE, NATURAL GRASS or ROCK BORDERS You can butt just about anything up next to the putting green. The best looking borders are ones with synthetic grass fringe from ProGreen. Natural grass borders are also an alternative. If you re going this route, we recommend installing a metal landscape edging between the grass and the synthetic putting surface, and then pounding the landscape edging downward, even with putting surface. This keeps the grass from growing on top of the putting surface. Rock borders are another alternative. When using rock we recommend using river rock or cobblestone. Smaller rocks can be quite messy and require constant maintenance. If smaller rocks are used, we recommend using landscape edging as described in the paragraph above. CURB BORDER Curb borders look great! You can rent a curbing machine or hire a contractor to do it for you. INSTALL THE CURBING BEFORE YOU POUR CONCRETE BASE. Be sure the curb base is well compacted before installing curbing. RETAINING WALL BORDER A retaining wall border can be made with bricks, railroad ties, concrete curbing, or other landscaping wall material, or it can be the edge of a driveway or concrete patio. You can use an existing retaining wall, or you can 4

7 build a new one. You can butt the turf up to your retaining wall, or you can butt the turf up against a patio or sidewalk. STEP 2. SUB-BASE PREPARATION Measure the area where the green will be installed. With a long rope or garden hose, position and shape the desired border, reworking your boundaries until you are completely satisfied. And remember, you will need to cap, re-route, or remove any sprinkler systems, underground drainage, electric wires, phone or cable wires, or anything else in the area where the putting green is to be installed. It will be difficult to gain access to any piping or water lines underneath the green after installation. The most important aspect of subbase preparation is DRAINAGE! After the water exits the top of the green, (this putting green does not have drainage holes in backing) the water must continue to exit away from the green. If water pools-up around the border of the green, the water will undermine the sub-base causing deterioration! WARNING: DO NOT INSTALL YOUR GREEN AROUND OR NEAR SHALLOW-ROOTED TREE. THE ROOTS OF THIS TYPE OF TREE WILL GROW TOWARD THE SURFACE SEEKING WATER. EMERGING ROOTS WILL AFFECT THE INTEGRITY OF THE PUTTING GREEN SURFACE! AND REMEMBER TO STAY OUTSIDE ANY SHALLOW ROOTED TREE S WATER DRIP LINE! Next, using the supplied Landscaping Flags, stake six to twelve flags approximately three feet outside of the border (disregard if your border is a retaining wall border). The border must be extended so that the edges can be sufficiently compacted. After marking your border area, clear the area where the green is to be installed. If grass is present, remove it with a sod cutter or shovel, and save it to be replaced around your green if you are using a natural-green border. Next, kill all organic with vegetation kill. Another way to remove the sod without renting a sod cutter is to kill the vegetation with Round-Up or vegetation kill. Wait a week or however long it takes for the vegetation to die, then remove the dead vegetation and loose soil underneath with a flat head shovel. After the ground is cleared of organic and debris, lightly wet the area, and compact with a vibrating plate compactor. This will remove any air trapped in the loose dirt and further compact the ground. AGGRESSIVE WEEDS If you re installing your green in an area where aggressive weeds exist, we strongly recommend you lay down some weed block material in addition to the vegetation kill. This needs to be laid over the ground before the sub-base material is applied. NOTE - Make sure the soil is firmly compacted before the sub-base material is laid down! If the soil is not hard and compacted you will need to rent a gas-powered jumping-jack tamper to compact the soil. If the ground has been recently excavated it s imperative to compact. If you find soft clay after excavation and have trouble compacting the base you will need to do the following: 5

8 STEP 3. SUB-BASE INSTALLATION ROAD BASE FIRST If you re adding more than 2 of depth to your green, or you re building undulations (contours) you ll need to build it up first with Road Base, and then Crusher Fines for the final level. For 2 and under, you can skip the Road Base and just use Crusher Fines. Spread the ROAD BASE first. Spread approximately 3 at a time, and then compact with a gas powered vibrating plate compactor. If all the ROAD BASE is spread at once, the base will not compact sufficiently. Spread the ROAD BASE inside the staked area and create your shape using a landscapers rake. Keep in mind that water drainage comes off the top of the green, so we recommend you slope the green towards positive drainage. The most important aspect of drainage is knowing where the water will go after it exits the putting surface. If water drains off the green, but accumulates on the outer edges, the standing water will undermine and cause severe deterioration to the sub-base! At some point, you ll probably want to shape contours into the sub-base. There are no limits to the undulations you can design into your putting surface. You can build a two-tiered green, bank the sides, or whatever you wish. ProGreen turf is pliable enough to conform to any shape. You can accomplish this by spreading more ROAD BASE in the areas you desire a contour. Just remember to compact the ROAD BASE in stages. Build all undulations and slope with the ROAD BASE. Don t worry about how smooth it is. The CRUSHER FINES will take care of that. The important thing is compaction. Work the ROAD BASE material with the finger side of your LANDSCAPER RAKE back and forth until you re completely satisfied with the undulations and slopes of the surface. After you have finished shaping and compacting, wet the surface and compact again. But not too wet, or it will get too muddy! CRUSHER FINES NEXT Spread the CRUSHER FINES evenly throughout the entire surface. You should have about 1 to 2 of depth. Rake the subbase with smooth even strokes. Use the finger side of the rake to move large amounts of the sub-base, and the flat side of the rake to smooth out the CRUSHER FINES. Using your garden hose and spray nozzle, thoroughly wet the sub-base. While working on the sub-base, make sure you always keep it moist. Compact and smooth out the CRUSHER FINES with your gas powered vibrating plate compactor. Rework the surface with the landscaping rake until the surface is free of small bumps and ridges. If you have a drag mat, you can use the drag-mat in place of the rake after the main shape has been sculpted. Repeat this step at least 3 more times of grading with your landscaping rake and compacting, until you re completely satisfied with the undulations and surface. Don t shortcut this step! Make adjustments to the sub-base by adding to or removing depth, as needed. Now it s time to smooth out the CRUSHER FINES. Fill your hand roller FULL with water and roll across the damp sub-base several times. For best results, go across the surface with the roller at different angles, not just 6

9 back and forth in a straight line. If mud or debris builds-up on the hand roller, remove it using a flat-head shovel. If build-up persists, spray with roller with cooking oil. Be sure not to grate the sub-base crust when turning the roller; make gradual turns. If there are any small bumps and ridges remaining, smooth them out with the flat side of your landscape rake. Depending on the type of crusher fine material you use, you may notice that larger chunks of the crusher fines will end up on top of the sub-base surface. Thoroughly wet the areas where the larger chunks exist, and roll repeatedly. The larger chunks will lodge into the sub-base. You will never get rid of all the larger chunks, but they can be minimized. After wetting and rolling the sub-base, allow it to dry, then lightly brush off the bulk of the larger chunks. SMOOTHING THE CRUSHER FINES final grade The final grade is one of the most important steps. Take your time and do a good job! A LANDSCAPE RAKE IS A MUST HERE! With the flat side of the landscapers rake, lightly push and pull the edge of the rake back and forth with long strokes until you ve leveled the entire surface. Make sure the flat edge of the rake makes contact with the surface. If not, this is an indication the surface has small bumps and ridges that need extra work with the rake. Next, starting at one end of the surface, lightly pull the flat edge of the rake from end to end. Repeat this step until the entire surface is pulled out. In areas where there are contours, work the flat end of the landscape rake in a variety of directions. Wet the surface, and then roll with lawn roller. Repeat the raking step above. Keep in mind that no matter how many undulations you build into your sub-base, your main goal is to keep the surface consistently smooth without small bumps and ridges. With the use of the LANDSCAPERS RAKE and the ROLLER, you should be able to form a smooth sub-base surface, free of irregularities. It will help if you alternate the directions you smooth with the hand roller and with the board. Don t stop until all of the sub-base irregularities are gone, using each tool several times, if necessary, and making sure you keep the sub-base material moist. It s a continual cycle of wetting, rolling and grading with the flat edge of the landscapers rake. The last step is lightly wetting the surface, finished with a good rolling with the hand roller. SUB-BASE CHECK To be certain that you have made the sub-base surface as smooth as possible, after dark, take a couple of flood lamps and place them on the surface, aiming them down the length of your sub-base. Any bumps or ridges will be exposed, casting shadows from the ground-level floodlights. If you see any irregularities, smooth them out while the lights are in place. If you re not completely satisfied with the contour of the sub-base, change it now. Don't stop arranging the slopes and contours until you are completely satisfied! Don t shortcut this step! Be completely meticulous! The putting surface will be only as good as you have made your sub-base surface. STEP 4. CUP INSTALLATION Mark the positions you want for your holes with the supplied Landscaping Flags. Try placing the flags in a variety of places. To get the feel for where you want the holes to be placed, take a putter and ball, and putt to each flag as if it were a hole. Continue to move the flags around until you are satisfied with their placement. CAUTION! DO NOT DIG FOR THE CUP HOLES UNTIL YOU HAVE CALLED YOUR LOCAL UTILITY COMPANY TO HAVE THEM CHECK FOR UNDERGROUND WIRING OR PIPING. ALSO, BE AWARE OF SPRINKLER PIPES. Do not place holes in the area where there is to be a seam. 7

10 Using a posthole digger, dig down 10 inches at each site you've flagged for a hole. The 10 gray cup sleeve is placed into the 10 inch hole. The top of sleeve should be level with the ground. Now, insert the white cup into the gray cup sleeve and place into hole. You may notice that when the white cup is placed inside the gray cup sleeve, the white cup may extrude about ¼ outside the gray sleeve. The goal is to have the white cup ¼ above the surface. Backfill around the sleeve with dirt and the sub-base material, making sure the cup is straight and level. An easy method for getting the cups straight is to insert a practice flag inside the cup, eyeballing it from different angles, making sure the flag is sticking straight up. What you see now is what you ll get later! Once you ve adjusted the flag to your liking, set the gray cup sleeve by backfilling around it. Backfill and compact the dirt around the cup until it is secure in the hole, compacting the dirt several times as you fill the space around the cup. Do not backfill all at once! Only place about two inches of dirt in the hole at a time, using the handle end of your shovel or broom to compact. Each time you add dirt, add a little water to help with compaction. IMPORTANT NOTE: If the backfilled dirt is not compacted properly, the area around the cup will settle downward, causing the ball to funnel towards the cup. After you have finished installing a cup sleeve, smooth it out with your board and roll over the cup with the hand roller until the surface around the cup is perfect. After backfilling is completed, the white cup should extrude approximately ¼ above the surface. Next, remove the white cup so that the sub-base around the area can be raked and rolled. Take your time! This is the most important area of the sub-base to be free of bumps and ridges! Note: In some instances, due to hard ground, it might not be possible to dig the hole the full 10 inches deep. In this case, the cup sleeve can be trimmed down from the original size. It s easiest to cut the gray cup sleeve with a carpenter s handsaw from the bottom part of the gray sleeve. STEP 5. FINAL SUB-BASE CHECK. Before the turf is rolled onto the sub-base, make certain the sub-base is contoured the way you want, and the drainage is sufficient. If you made puddles while wetting the sub-base, chances are you have a low spot that needs to be filled. Are there any small bumps? Is there any unevenness? Does the sub-base feel smooth and SOLID throughout the green and around the border area? Are the holes exactly where you want them? Now is the time to get picky!! If something needs changing, DO IT NOW! Once the turf is rolled over the subbase, and the sand is down, it s difficult to correct sub-base deficiencies later. STEP 6. PREPARING THE TURF FOR INSTALLATION NOTE: The temperature should be at least 50 degrees during turf installation. It s necessary for the turf to remain pliable enough to conform completely to the sub-base. If the temperature is between 50 and 65 degrees, you will need to lay the turf in the sun for a while so that it will heat up. This softens up the backing material, making it more pliable so it can conform to the undulations of your sub-base. It's also possible that during shipment, the turf may have been folded somewhere, causing a hard crease. The turf must be free of these hard creases before it can be rolled onto the sub-base. To check for any creases, unroll the turf onto a clean, flat surface, grass side down, with the black backing material up where the sun can shine on it. 8

11 If you find any creases, before you begin the installation, we recommend that you leave the turf in the sun until the hard crease goes away. The heat of the sun will usually take the hard creases out. If some creases remain, use a hair dryer or an industrial hot air gun on the black backing side of the crease. BRUSHING It is necessary to separate and fluff up the fibers as much as possible. Although you can wait to brush the turf when it s on the subbase and ready for infill, we recommend you pre-brush the turf while you have it sitting on a hard surface such as a concrete driveway. This is best accomplished by repeatedly pushing the supplied Push Broom against the grain of the fibers. This will separate the fibers and make them stand up before the sand fill. Start at one end of the turf piece, and pushing against the grain while exerting downward pressure on the broom, brush the entire surface of the green. You can get maximum pressure on the broom by holding the handle at waist level. It will take approximately 15 to 20 passes over the entire surface of the green to sufficiently fluffup and separate the fibers. Be sure to only brush in one direction, against the grain. If this procedure is not done, the fiber won t stand up properly, and could even lie over and be buried by the sand. Now you're ready to unroll the turf onto the sub-base. But first, the sub-base must be damp so you don't disturb the crust portion. Using the mist setting on your sprayer, lightly wet the sub-base. Don t over-saturate the subbase. A light misting with the sprayer is sufficient. If the sub-base is dry when placing the turf on top you may disturb the crust of the sub-base when positioning the turf, so make sure it's moist. NOTE: SKIP TO STEP 9 IF YOUR GREEN DOES NOT REQUIRE SEAMING. STEP 7. CUTTING THE TURF FOR SEAMS IMPORTANT NOTE: You ll be on your knees during the cutting and seaming of the turf. We recommend kneeling on a bag of sand, and moving the bag to each place you kneel. Another option is to keep flat-footed while you squat-down to cut and seam. Kneeling directly on the turf might result in sub-base deficiencies. Before you cut the turf, make sure the fiber, or grain of the two pieces you are seaming together will be running in the same direction. What we call grain is really carpet crush. The fibers are bent over in one direction, which is caused by the turf being rolled around the core for shipping. The two pieces of turf that are to be seamed must be cut independently. If the design for your green requires turf wider than the 12-foot widths that comes with the kit, you will have to cut and seam the turf lengthwise. The seam cuts can be made with the turf in position on the subbase. Roll both pieces of turf that are to be seamed together, fiber side up, and carry them to the sub-base. Position and unroll the two pieces of turf onto the sub-base exactly how they will lay in their permanent position, butting them up side by side. Make sure the grain, or the carpet crush of the fibers are facing the same direction. Adjust the turf so that both pieces precisely adjoin one another. Now, roll the edge of one of the pieces to be 9

12 seamed back about four feet, as shown here. Each piece of turf comes with a three to four inches of salvage (cloth piece on the edges of the turf), which must be removed before seaming. With a new blade installed in your utility knife, cut in-between the second and third rows of stitching. Try to cut as straight as possible without cutting the stitches. KEEP THE BLADE BETWEEN THE ROWS OF STITCHES AT ALL TIMES. DO NOT CUT OVER THE STITCHES! Take your time cutting. A quality cut is the key to a quality seam. Repeat this step for the adjoining piece of turf. We recommend you practice first, cutting just outside the first row of stitches towards the turf salvage. NOTE: It s not necessary to use a chalk-line or straight edge when cutting the seams UNLESS the turf is severely bowed. The turf can bow like a banana if unrolled and rolled-up again, and then left to sit for a period of time. Call us for details on cutting the turf should the turf become bowed. If you want to add to the length of your green, you will need to seam the short edge of the turf (12 or 15 width). Use a chalk line to give you a straight edge across the short edge of the turf. This line will be directly across all of the seams. Cut a clean edge using a straight edge and a sharp utility knife. You should replace the blade on your utility knife after about 20 of turf is cut. NOTE: In some cases, you may have to perform a cross grain seam to make maximum use of your turf. Although we don t recommend this procedure, there is a way to successfully cross grain a seam. Call us for detailed instructions on how to "cross-grain" a seam. STEP 8. SEAMING THE TURF Unroll the two pieces that were just cut and butt them together. Perform a Mock Seam by adjoining by butting the two turf pieces so that they are precisely touching one another. To insure that the turf stays in place, place bags of sand about 6 back from the seam on both sides of the turf, spaced out about 10 apart. Now, rollback the two pieces of turf about 4 feet, face down. Take the roll of seam tape and unroll it the length of the seam, directly down the middle of the seam area. NOTE: Be sure the sub-base is moist before the turf is laid over the top. To seam the turf evenly, at least two people are needed. IMPORTANT NOTE: You ll be on your knees during seaming of the turf. We recommend kneeling on a bag of sand, and moving the bag to each place you kneel. Another option is to keep flat-footed while you squat-down to seam. Kneeling directly on the turf might result in damage to the sub-base. Roll the piece of turf that has the least overlapping fiber over the edge of the turf, onto the seam tape, starting at one end and finishing at the other to be sure the turf lays over half of the seam tape. If it s not, adjust the seam 10

13 tape so that the turf precisely overlaps over half of the seam tape. If there is any wind or even a slight breeze, pin the seam tape down on each side of the seam tape with a stake or nail approximately every 20. Unroll the piece back again to its previous postion. Trowel on the supplied adhesive over the entire seam tape and let set up (follow the instructions on the adhesive label). Use a 1/8 notched trowel to spread the adhesive. Use a half circular motion to spread, making sure you cover the entire piece of seam tape. Apply adhesive generously. Again, follow the instructions on the adhesive for optimum set-up time. Now adhere the other piece of turf to the other half of the seam tape. You ll need one person slowly feeding the turf to the person that is joining the seams. The turf backing on both pieces turf should be touching for a good seam. When the seam is complete, roll the seam with your water filled lawn roller. If any glue comes in contact with the fibers, clean it off as soon as possible. This can be removed with painter thinner or something like Goof Off. STEP 9. TURF INSTALLATION rocks around an imaginary borderline, placing them about 6 inches apart. Adjust the rocks until you re completely satisfied with the imaginary border design. With a utility knife, and new blade, cut on top of the turf, cutting directly through the middle of the rocks as the rocks are pushed to the side by the utility knife. Unroll the turf onto the sub-base. Again, make certain the sub-base is moist before the turf is rolled out. After the turf is rolled out and properly adjusted over the sub-base, trim the turf excess from the edges with a utility knife. Get creative when trimming the turf. Look at the enclosed shape ideas sheet to get some shape ideas. Your green will look professional if you round the edges and give it a natural looking border. Make your curves large and flowing. It will look un-natural if the border has too many little curves to it. Line up some There is no need to cut the turf if you are using a rock border imaginary border NOTE: There is no need to trim the turf edges if you are using a rock border unless you want to keep the excessive turf for Turf 11

14 pitching mats later. (See Extra tips and Hints) If you discover a hard crease, roll the turf back so the backing of the turf is exposed at the crease. Use a hair dryer or industrial heat gun to apply heat directly to the crease until it is gone. Now you're ready to unroll the turf onto the sub-base. But first, the sub-base must be damp so you don't disturb the crust portion. Using the mist setting on your sprayer, lightly wet the sub-base. Don t over-saturate the subbase. A light misting with the sprayer is sufficient. If the sub-base is dry when placing the turf on top you may disturb the crust of the sub-base when positioning the turf, so make sure it's moist. STEP 10. CUTTING THE CUP HOLES Before cutting the cup holes out, be sure you ve removed any wrinkles and slack in your turf. This can be accomplished by pulling the opposite ends of the turf, or by kicking the wrinkles to the edges. Don t expect the turf to adhere tightly to the sub-base at this stage. It will lay somewhat loose, especially in areas where there is extra slope. The weight of the silica sand will anchor the turf snugly to the sub-base. Cut out the cup holes. Locate the position of the cup holes by pressing the turf with your fingers until you feel the holes. With a utility knife, cut an "X" inside the hole. This will create four pie-shaped pieces. Grab the tip of one of the pieces, pull it towards the center, away from the edge of the cup, and cut around the inner edge of the cup, leaving about 1/8 of the turf edge inside the cup. Over time, the hole will expand slightly, so it s wise to cut the hole smaller to compensate for the turf expansion. Repeat this step with the other pie pieces. After the holes are cut, stuff a rag or a wad of paper inside the cup to prevent sand from entering the hole during the sand spreading process. STEP 11. BORDER STAKES If you ordered border stakes with your order, stake the entire perimeter of the green, spaced about 3 feet apart, and approximately ¼ from the edge. Try not to bury the fibers with the head of the stake. After pounding the stake down 90% of the way, grab the fibers underneath the head of the stake and move them to the side while pounding the stake down 100%. STEP 12. INFILL APLICATION (BASE DRESSING) Before spreading the silica sand, it is necessary to separate and fluff up the fibers as much as possible. This is best accomplished by repeatedly pushing the ProGreen Installation Push Broom against the grain of the fibers. This will separate the fibers and make them stand up before the sand fill. Start at one end of the turf piece, and pushing against the grain while exerting downward pressure on the broom, brush the entire surface of the green. You can get maximum pressure on the broom by holding the handle at waist level, and then walking the full distance of the surface. It will take approximately 15 to 20 passes over the entire surface of the green to sufficiently fluff-up and separate the fibers. Be sure to only brush in one direction, against the grain. If this procedure is not done, the fiber won t stand up properly, and could even lie over and be buried by the sand. Be sure to use Respirator Masks, as airborne silica dust can be harmful to your lungs 12

15 It is important to note that the turf must stay dry during the silica sand spreading process. If the silica sand or turf gets wet, the silica sand will clump together. If this occurs, you must wait until the sand is completely dry before resuming. It's wise to have a plastic tarp handy in case of rain. The silica sand base dressing must be applied in stages, with a vigorous brushing between each spreading. Be sure you have sufficiently brushed the turf as described in Step 6, Turf Preparation. Spread about 1 pound per sq. ft. of silica sand first, and then brush against the grain of the fiber with the Installation Push Broom as described above. Spread another pound per sq. ft. of silica sand and repeat the brushing until there is about 3/16 of fiber showing. As more and more of the in-fill mixture is applied, you'll notice that certain areas have more of the in-fill material than others. This is hard to avoid. If you notice areas that are over-sanded, try to work them out the best you can by brushing aggressively back and forth until the remaining sand is even with the rest. Another way to even out the level of in-fill is by removing the heavily sanded areas with a lawn and leaf blower. If the border of the green doesn't seem to have as much in-fill material as the rest of the green, spread extra on the edges and other areas that are thin, and brush until the sand is level throughout the green. You can spread these hard to get areas by hand or with a shovel. Continue the spreading/brushing process until approximately 3/16 inch of the fiber remains showing. The in-fill material may settle downward. Don t add any Top Dressing Sand until it has completely settled! You will need to thoroughly wet the green every day for 3 days, or until completely settled. When you notice that the sand has dropped below the 3/16" fiber showing length, add additional silica sand to bring it up to that height. STEP 13. PROGREEN TOP DRESSING APPLICATION Fill your spreader with ProGreen Top Dressing. Spread the Top Dressing evenly over the silica sand until the amount of fiber specified in Step 12. Infill Application, remains showing. Using a soft bristled push broom (don t use the supplied push broom, the bristles are too stiff) lightly broom the Top Dressing until all the Top Dressing is evenly distributed. If you still have your water filled lawn roller, roll the entire green. This will help soften the fibers and make the surface smooth and level. If you don t have your hand roller, don t worry; just spend more time brooming the Top Dressing until the surface is smooth and level. STEP 14. WETTING THE TURF Using the mist setting on your hose nozzle wet the turf. This will lock the sand in place and help settle the sand. Let dry and roll the turf several times with water filled lawn roller. Insert the Practice Flags into each hole. You're ready to start enjoying your green for years to come!! STEP 15. BORDERS If you decided to use a grass border, be sure that you have removed all the compacted crusher fines and replace it 13

16 with sod or topsoil. The grass will eventually die if it sits on top of the crushed rock. STEP 16. OTHER TIPS AND HINTS USE EXTRA OR TRIMMED PIECES OF TURF FOR CHIPPING/DRIVING MATS! ProGreen turf is ideal for chipping and driving mats. If you have any turf scraps remaining, you can use them for driving and/or chipping mats. You can even cut several scraps to make a variety of different approaches to the green. To install the mats, first clear a spot, making it as flat as possible. Lay the turf down and stake around the border with border stakes. Make sure you pull the turf tightly while staking. Broom occasionally to keep the fibers vertical. Another idea for leftover turf scraps is using it to make your own little putt-putt course! Use your imagination and have fun! There are no limitations to the undulations you can build into it. And remember, if we can be of any help, don t hesitate to call us. (888) 440-PUTT STEP 17. IMPORTANT NOTICE IMPORTANT NOTICE!!!!!!!!! It takes six to eight weeks for the fibers to lay over, sometimes longer. Because the fiber is new and stiff, the ball roll will may not be it has broken in. Sunshine, heat and foot traffic will help break the fibers in. Remember, the ball roll gets better with time, so please, be patient. 14

17 SAND TRAP INSTALLATION The first thing you must consider is drainage. If the sand trap you're installing is on a slope or incline, drainage shouldn't be a problem. If this is the case, you can skip steps B and C. If not, you'll have to build a drain. A. Dig out the spot where you want your sand trap to be. You will need approximately six inches of sand depth. If your trap will be on an incline or slope, or drains naturally, skip to step D. B. If your sand trap does not drain naturally, dig a center drain hole about ten inches deep, approximately two to three feet in diameter, as shown here. C. Fill the drain hole with cobblestone or river rock, three- to four-inch diameter rock. (see diagram below). D. Line the sand trap floor with a geo-textile webbing, also known as weed block fabric, which works well. This webbing separates the soil from the sand, and prevents weeds from growing underneath the sand. Fill your sand trap with bunker sand or washed masonry sand. If your sand and gravel company or home and garden center doesn t have this type of sand, call your local golf course greens keeper to ask where you can purchase it locally. While you have them on the line, you might also ask where you can purchase a sand-trap rake. 15