Swing set on top of putting green?

[Augusto Orosco]

Just bought a house that has a synthetic putting green in the back yard. I don’t golf (woodworking is an expensive enough hobby already!) so we are planning on installing a swing set for the kids instead.

I am clueless about what to do regarding the surface: Leave it as is and install the swing set on top? Leave it as if but add a layer of rubber mulch on top? Have the whole things ripped off and start from scratch? :confused:

What do you think?

[Ted Calver]

Augusto,
I think that synthetic grass might give the kids a nasty "rug burn". I'd be tempted to try and cover it with a more appropriate surface. Check this link for ideas:
http://www.cpsc.gov/cpscpub/pubs/325.pdf

[Craig Coney]

How is the putting green constructed?

How much mulch does the swingset manufacturer recommend (in depth and area) under and around the swingset for fall protection?

The mulch tends to move, either from kids playing, dogs running thru it, or the wind blowing it. We have a playset in the back yard which requires around 8" of mulch. Here I was able to get double shredded Aspen mulch for playgrounds, but have to add about 6 yards every other year to maintain the depth(from wind blowing and decomposition).

The rubber mulch was not economical for the area we needed to cover.

If I had that situation, I would likely remove it so I wouldn't have to work around it or worry about trying to save it or maintain X amount of cover to protect the kids.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Like Ted, I'd be worried about constant rug burns on the kids.

[Tim Morton]

why not put the swing set in another location and leave the putting green? Get the kids some putters...i am thinking the more things they can do outside the better.

[Rick Moyer]

why not put the swing set in another location and leave the putting green? Get the kids some putters...i am thinking the more things they can do outside the better.

good point Tim.

[Ron Jones near Indy]

If you have space available, I agree on leaving it and moving the swing set. Anything that interests kid and keeps them outside and active is a good thing.

[Myk Rian]

Get the kids some putters...
Kids with golf clubs. I can picture that one in my mind. :eek:

[Rick Moyer]

Kids with golf clubs. I can picture that one in my mind. :eek:

Seems to have worked out pretty well for Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy

[Augusto Orosco]

Thanks guys,

We are pretty much set to put the swing set where the putting green area is. There's really not another good place for it, and it just takes too much of the backyard for our liking. I agree with the rug burn problem, so I think filling it up with some sort of mulch would be the best alternative. The same stores that provide the swings offer rubber and wood mulch, but it seems that it could be way more expensive than the swing itself. Makes me wonder if that's the best place to shop for mulch (rubber or wood chips). The swing sets we have been eyeing require a 6" un-compacted mulch coverage (I think one benefit of leaving the putting green and simply mulch on top would be that the green is already providing some fall protection, although that's probably hard to measure, so we would still go with the 6" recommendation).

[Ben Hatcher]

I don't know how I managed to survive my childhood swingset. It was placed directly on the lawn.

[Augusto Orosco]

I don't know how I managed to survive my childhood swingset. It was placed directly on the lawn.

Yeah, I would go that route if I had a lawn in there. But with the synthetic green in place, that's not an option without removing and disposing of the green and growing new lawn. I fear that would be more expensive and time consuming than simply pouring mulch over it.

[Don Jarvie]

Is the green level? Most greens should have some wave to them. I ask since you may need to level the ground so the swing set will sit level.

If you have no use for the green I would dig it out and redo the area for the swing set. It might seem like a pain but in the long run the yard will look nicer.

[Augusto Orosco]

Is the green level? Most greens should have some wave to them. I ask since you may need to level the ground so the swing set will sit level.

If you have no use for the green I would dig it out and redo the area for the swing set. It might seem like a pain but in the long run the yard will look nicer.

Yeah, I don't know about how level it is; we don't take ownership of the house until late April. But I am beginning to think that we might have to remove it anyway, as you suggest. Reading about how putting greens are installed, I am inferring that currently there is a substrate of compacted decomposed granite or crushed gravel of a couple of inches. That should make installing the swing set support columns a real pain. This swing set idea is getting expensive!

[ray hampton]

If you stay in the swing until you stop swinging , then the ground surface may not be any problem but when the kids dismount while they are still moving then the footing are important

[Ron Natalie]

Saw some great stuff at the local home show which was rubber mulch with fake turf on top designed for under swing sets. Looked pretty cool, but he kids moved out years ago.

What kind of swingset are you putting in. I built my kids a combination fort thing (Ladder to a platform with a slide, bridge over the top of the swinging part, midlevel fort platform with canvas roof, a sliding pole, and a cargo net, that led to a horizonal ladder. The neighbor kid called it the play ground. It was supported on these metal spikes that you hammer into the ground that accept a 4x4 in it's socket.