Questions to Ask a Putting Green Contractor Before You Sign

The most important questions to ask a putting-green contractor are the ones that turn a broad idea into a defined project: What exact system is proposed? How does the design fit your practice goals and property? What site work is included? Who owns drainage, access, utilities, approvals, restoration, maintenance, warranties, and unknown conditions?

A useful proposal should make each important answer visible as a named component, drawing, responsibility, allowance, exclusion, warranty, or closeout document. Do not assume that “custom putting green” or “premium turf” answers the details.

1. How will the green match the way we want to use it?

Begin with the household's goals, not a product sample.

The USGA's residential putting-green guide treats intended use, natural-versus-synthetic choice, usable space, fixed cup locations, terrain, access, drainage, maintenance, and cost as connected decisions. That makes goal fit the first proposal question.

Ask the contractor to explain:

  • whether the design is for casual play, repeated putting practice, short-game use, or a combination;
  • which putt lengths and directions the layout is intended to create;
  • how cups and contours produce variety without sacrificing usable area;
  • where players will stand, walk, retrieve balls, and gather; and
  • which requested features were left out and why.

A useful answer connects features to a real use. More cups, sharper breaks, or a larger outline are not automatically better.

2. What exact surface and complete system are you proposing?

Ask for the current name of every material and component, not only the visible turf.

The Synthetic Turf Council's technical guidance library separates voluntary guidance for system elements, bases, infill, maintenance, and other considerations. A proposal should likewise show how the pieces work together.

Request:

  • the exact surface product and its documented putting application;
  • backing and any infill or no-infill design;
  • base and drainage assumptions;
  • seam, fastening, and edge details;
  • cup and transition components;
  • fringe or rough materials when included;
  • installation requirements and compatible products; and
  • current care, repair, test, and warranty documents.

Ask which document controls if the proposal, product sheet, installation instructions, and warranty say different things. A verbal preference should not override a written product requirement without a documented resolution.

3. What did you observe about this property?

A putting green is attached to a site, not installed in a blank diagram.

Ask the contractor to identify:

  • existing high and low points;
  • runoff sources, ponding, erosion, and possible outlets;
  • slopes, soil assumptions, roots, retaining conditions, and utilities;
  • access limits for equipment and materials;
  • nearby pools, patios, decks, walls, landscaping, and buildings;
  • property boundaries and applicable setback or review questions; and
  • conditions that cannot be confirmed until measurements or excavation.

The answer should distinguish observation from assumption. If an important condition is unknown, the proposal should explain how it will be investigated and what happens if the result changes the work.

4. What excavation, base, grading, and drainage work is included?

This question needs a project-specific answer. Do not look for one universal base depth or drain layout.

Ask the proposal to define:

  • removal and excavation scope;
  • how excavated material will be handled;
  • the named base components and preparation requirements;
  • grade and compaction criteria;
  • how surface shape and cups relate to water movement;
  • how edges and transitions affect drainage;
  • where water can safely and lawfully go; and
  • what soil, runoff, retaining, or outlet conditions could require a change.

The contractor should also identify which design, civil, geotechnical, utility, or jurisdictional questions fall outside the proposed scope. A complete answer can include boundaries; it should not hide them.

5. How will the green connect to the rest of the backyard?

Ask for the putting green to be shown with—not isolated from—the pool, patio, deck, walkway, seating, lighting, irrigation, landscaping, and future phases.

Review:

  • walking routes and gathering space;
  • likely shot directions and nearby activity zones;
  • elevations at patios, decks, pool areas, walls, and lawn;
  • barriers, gates, access, and maintenance routes;
  • lighting and utility locations;
  • runoff entering from or leaving toward adjacent features;
  • edge transitions and landscape maintenance; and
  • how a future project could change access or drainage.

This is where a good-looking putting-green concept becomes a workable property plan.

6. Who is responsible for utilities, permits, engineering, and HOA review?

Do not accept “if needed” without an assigned next step.

Ask:

  • Who requests utility marking and verifies conflicts?
  • Who confirms the property's jurisdiction?
  • Who checks whether grading, drainage, retaining, electrical, or other review applies?
  • Who prepares any required plan or technical document?
  • Who communicates with the HOA when applicable?
  • Which fees or specialist services are included, allowed, or excluded?
  • What happens if a review changes the design?

The right answer depends on the address and scope. The proposal should assign responsibility without pretending the determination is already known.

7. What access, protection, and restoration are included?

The finished yard matters outside the green's edge.

Ask the contractor to show:

  • the planned equipment and delivery route;
  • gates, fencing, landscaping, hardscape, pools, and structures that need protection;
  • staging and material-storage areas;
  • who handles temporary access changes;
  • how damage outside the project area is addressed;
  • which lawn, beds, irrigation, fence, or hardscape restoration is included; and
  • the condition in which the property will be left at closeout.

If the access route crosses a future patio, pool, or landscape phase, ask whether the project order should change before that route closes.

8. Which price items are fixed, allowed, optional, or unknown?

The total is easier to understand when every part of the scope has a status.

Ask the proposal to separate:

  • fixed included work;
  • optional features;
  • allowances whose final selection can change the total;
  • unit or change pricing, when used;
  • exclusions;
  • assumptions about access, soil, utilities, drainage, and restoration; and
  • conditions that cannot be confirmed until work begins.

Then ask how a change is documented and approved before additional work proceeds. Comparing two totals without reconciling these categories can mean comparing two different projects.

9. What project proof can be verified?

Photos can inspire a design, but they do not automatically prove who designed or installed the project, where it is located, what system was used, or how it performed.

When a contractor presents project examples, ask:

  • Did your company design or install this green?
  • What part of the work did you perform?
  • Can the general location and completion context be verified without exposing private customer information?
  • Is the image of completed work rather than a reference, supplier image, or in-progress condition?
  • Does the example use the same product or scope being proposed here?
  • What outcome is documented, and what is only visible in the photograph?

Treat inspiration and proof as different categories. A useful reference image can help explain shape or integration even when it is not a contractor's project; it simply should not be labeled as project evidence.

10. What qualifications apply to this exact work?

Avoid asking only, “Are you experienced?” Ask for the qualifications and responsibilities that matter to the proposed scope.

Questions may include:

  • Who owns the design and site evaluation?
  • Who performs grading, base, drainage, turf, seams, edges, cups, electrical, retaining, or other specialized work?
  • Which product training, authorization, trade licensing, or insurance applies to those tasks?
  • Will subcontractors be used, and who manages and warrants their work?
  • Which current documents can support the answer?

The appropriate proof varies with the project and local requirements. This checklist does not attest to any contractor's qualifications; it helps the homeowner request the right documentation.

11. What do the material and installation warranties cover?

Request the actual documents before signing.

Review:

  • the exact covered product and work;
  • the issuing party;
  • registration and documentation requirements;
  • required maintenance;
  • exclusions for site conditions, drainage, settlement, heat, pets, misuse, infill, seams, edges, or other conditions;
  • whether labor, removal, shipping, replacement, or restoration is covered;
  • the claim process and remedy; and
  • what happens if another party performs maintenance or repair.

A material warranty and an installation warranty can cover different things. Neither should be described as a lifespan promise for the whole green unless the written terms say that.

12. What maintenance and repair responsibilities will we own?

Ask for product-specific instructions, not “maintenance-free” language.

The handoff should explain, as applicable:

  • leaf and debris removal;
  • cleaning methods and prohibited products;
  • pet or spill cleanup;
  • brushing, grooming, or infill care;
  • seam, edge, cup, and transition inspection;
  • weeds, algae, drainage, settlement, or erosion observations;
  • heat or use precautions;
  • approved repair methods and compatible replacement material; and
  • records required for warranty claims.

Ask who can perform service, how a problem is reported, and how maintenance differs from covered repair.

13. What will we receive before final payment?

Closeout should be defined while the agreement is still being reviewed.

Ask for the final list of:

  • approved drawings and product selections;
  • change orders;
  • product, batch, or installation records when applicable;
  • maintenance and repair instructions;
  • material and installation warranties;
  • inspection or approval documents;
  • photographs or measurements used for closeout;
  • final care walkthrough; and
  • unresolved punch-list items and completion responsibility.

A clear closeout list makes future maintenance, repair, and warranty conversations easier.

Compare proposals with the same checklist

For each proposal, record whether the answer is **included**, **documented elsewhere**, **allowance**, **excluded**, or **unresolved**.

At minimum, reconcile:

1. use goals and planned features;

2. exact surface and complete system;

3. property observations and assumptions;

4. excavation, base, grade, drainage, and outlet;

5. access, protection, spoil, and restoration;

6. integration with current and future backyard features;

7. utilities, HOA, permits, and specialist responsibilities;

8. project proof and applicable qualifications;

9. fixed work, allowances, options, unknowns, and change control;

10. maintenance, repairs, warranties, and closeout documents.

If you are reviewing a putting-green project with Oasis Outdoor Solutions, bring this checklist and ask for the answers that matter to your North Alabama property to appear in the proposal. The goal is not a longer contract for its own sake; it is a shared definition of what will be designed, built, documented, maintained, and left unresolved.