We live in rural MN on a 12 acre lot. Of that, 3 acres are swamp and roughly 3 acres are homestead/yard/gardens/etc, leaving about 6 acres to work with. It was formerly farmland, but over the past 25 years I have planted about 500 trees--mostly to define the limits of the yard, but with some planting and self-generation in the old fields to give them some character, sequester a bit of carbon and attract birds.
I want to build a small practice course to play at home. Given my available space, I can see a 3-4 hole course, which could be made more interesting by adding extra tees and/or using a single basket for multiple holes. Things in my favor to get started:
1. My next door neighbor takes hays whatever reasonably flat space I have available to feed his cows, currently about 4 acres, meaning plenty of territory that doesn't need to be otherwise maintained to interrupt field succession.
2. 25' of vertical rise/drop
3. A small Christmas tree farm on one corner of the property which I ended up letting go wild.
4. No HOA or other restrictions.
5. Semi-retired...plenty of free time
6. Plenty of storage space (pole shed)
7. Kubota 7500 with belly mower, bucket and brush hog
8. I can probably afford to add one permanent basket and one improved tee box per year (say $3-5k over 5-10 years)
9. I have one practice/putting basket now (Axiom Pro HD)
10. I should be able to get free wood chips fairly regularly from roadside clearing, but I don't get to pick when they show up.
At this point, my main question is whether I should get a permanent basket or 2-3 more practice baskets. The latter probably won't hold up as well against the elements and certainly won't play like a course basket. I would certainly go for used but not wrecked course baskets if they were available, but I'm guessing they get snapped up pretty fast. Thoughts?
I want to build a small practice course to play at home. Given my available space, I can see a 3-4 hole course, which could be made more interesting by adding extra tees and/or using a single basket for multiple holes. Things in my favor to get started:
1. My next door neighbor takes hays whatever reasonably flat space I have available to feed his cows, currently about 4 acres, meaning plenty of territory that doesn't need to be otherwise maintained to interrupt field succession.
2. 25' of vertical rise/drop
3. A small Christmas tree farm on one corner of the property which I ended up letting go wild.
4. No HOA or other restrictions.
5. Semi-retired...plenty of free time
6. Plenty of storage space (pole shed)
7. Kubota 7500 with belly mower, bucket and brush hog
8. I can probably afford to add one permanent basket and one improved tee box per year (say $3-5k over 5-10 years)
9. I have one practice/putting basket now (Axiom Pro HD)
10. I should be able to get free wood chips fairly regularly from roadside clearing, but I don't get to pick when they show up.
At this point, my main question is whether I should get a permanent basket or 2-3 more practice baskets. The latter probably won't hold up as well against the elements and certainly won't play like a course basket. I would certainly go for used but not wrecked course baskets if they were available, but I'm guessing they get snapped up pretty fast. Thoughts?