There are plenty of ways to renovate your home to increase your property’s market value. But have you ever considered what you might be able to do to your backyard to add value? If you’re a golfing fan or you’ve got kids, one of the best new ideas to add an entertainment factor and boost the value of your home is to transform your backyard into a mini-golf course.

Potential buyers are often pleasantly surprised to discover that a backyard is filled with as much character as the inside of the home is. Putting some effort into transforming your backyard is well worth it, both in terms of creating something you and your family can use while you’re in the home and in terms of adding attraction and value to your home.

Why Mini Golf?

Who doesn’t love a good game of mini-golf? It’s a throwback to the happy days of childhood! But choosing to create a mini golf scene in your backyard has multiple benefits for homeowners.

First up, if you’re planning on selling your home at any point (for most of us, selling our home is inevitable at some time), having a full-featured mini golf course in your backyard is a huge selling point.

Here’s why mini golf is such a great idea to invest in.

Suitable for All Ages & Levels

Everyone from kids to seniors can take part in and enjoy mini golf. Which makes having a mini golf course in your backyard an amazing social activity! Whether you host friends often or you enjoy having the whole family over, the mini golf course is a great place to enjoy each other's company and engage in some friendly competition.

It also doesn’t matter if you’re a mid-handicapper or a complete newbie. Mini golf is fun and relatively easy for everyone, as well as being unintimidating!

Family Fun Activity

Got kids? This is an excellent idea. Not only is it a fun way to pass the time, but it’s a great way to encourage them to get away from the screen and spend some time outdoors.

Aside from the exercise and fresh air aspect, if your kids play mini golf on a regular basis, it’s an excellent way to develop your kids’ hand-eye coordination. Plus, it boosts critical thinking skills, so it’s not just fun… It’s educational too.

Things to Consider

If installing a mini golf course in your backyard sounds like a good idea, here are a few things you should consider before you decide if it’s right for you.

Space

A mini golf course takes up a good bit of space. If you’ve got a small backyard, you could work out a short course, but it’s likely to be at the expense of other things.

If your yard already has a pool, a barbecue area, or anything else in it, finding space to create a mini golf course can be challenging.

Keep in mind that things like pools and patios are already adding value to your property, so in order for a mini golf course to add more value, it should be an addition to these features rather than replacing them.

Surface

Many mini golf courses are carpeted to give them that smooth, sleek, rolling feeling. However, if you live in an area that gets frequent rain, you may prefer to kit your mini golf course out in astroturf or something similar. Make sure it’s non-toxic if you have pets.

On the other hand, if you stay somewhere warm, harsh sunlight can cause the surface—turf or carpet—to fade. It may be worthwhile to add some shady trees throughout the course to protect the surfaces in hot weather.

Cost

Unless you’re a landscaping whizz yourself, you may want to pay a designer to create a course that fits around your backyard’s landscape. Simply clearing the space and adding a mini golf course could work, but it’s going to be less spectacular.

You can also do the dirty work yourself, like digging, laying astro turf, and creating ponds or bridges. Weigh up the costs before going all in—you can either pay professionals to do it, which will cost you more money, or do it yourself, which will cost you less money but a lot more time.

Don’t forget that you’ll also need to kit the course out with golf clubs and golf balls, which is an extra expense.

How Much Value Can It Add To Your Home?

It’s difficult to answer this question. The value a mini golf course adds to your home depends on many factors, such as the size of the course, the quality of materials used to build it, and the routing through the yard.

One thing is clear, though—you can definitely sell your home for a higher price even if you have a small, modest mini golf course in your backyard. Keep in mind that it needs to be well-maintained and attractive in order to catch the eyes of potential buyers.

Also, remember that you’ll need to subtract the cost of building the mini golf course from the value it adds to your home in order to figure out the true value of this kind of investment.

If you and your family are going to be taking advantage of the course in the meantime, it’s definitely worthwhile considering.

Conclusion

Transforming your backyard into a mini-golf course could significantly increase the value of your home. If you have the budget for it, it’s a worthwhile investment that won’t just make a difference when it comes to selling your home but also while you’re still living in the home.

Whether you’re flipping a home for profit or renovating your home to create a comfortable haven for the family to enjoy in the meantime, building a mini-golf course in your backyard is a great idea.

It’s almost guaranteed to capture the attention of potential buyers and drive up the perceived value of your property. And we can almost promise that when potential buyers go home after house-hunting, your mini-golf course is going to be the one thing that stands out in their minds.

About the Author

Jordan Fuller is a retired golfer and businessman. When he’s not on the course working on his own game or mentoring others, he’s researching and writing value-packed articles for his website, Golf Influence.