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iZulu Hotel putting green build, Ballito

iZulu Hotel, Ballito: How We Built the Putting Green

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Multiturf turned the formal hedge garden in the courtyard of the iZulu Hotel in Ballito into a multi-hole artificial putting green. These are the photos from site, from the garden before work started to the finished green with the iZulu flags.

Project: iZulu Hotel putting green, Ballito, KwaZulu-Natal
Site before: formal hedge garden with paved paths in the hotel courtyard
Scope: removing the hedges and paving, laser-levelled and screeded base, multi-hole putting green with 35mm fringe turf between paved paths

1. The courtyard before work started

The courtyard was laid out as a formal garden of low clipped hedges, divided by paved paths. The hotel wanted a feature guests could use, so the hedge beds were replaced with putting greens and the paths were kept to walk between them.

iZulu Hotel courtyard hedge garden before the putting green
The hedge garden in the hotel courtyard.
Formal hedge garden and paved paths at the iZulu Hotel, Ballito
The hedge beds and paths before work started.
Hotel courtyard garden before conversion to a putting green
Another view of the courtyard before.

2. Clearing the hedges and lifting the paving

The hedges, roots and soil were removed, and the paving was lifted where the greens were going. The paths that run between the greens were left in place.

Hedge garden cleared for the putting green
The hedge beds cleared.
Paving being lifted in the iZulu Hotel courtyard
Lifting the old paving.
Aerial view of the cleared courtyard and lifted paving
From above: the beds cleared and the paving lifted around the paths.

3. Setting out the levels

The base was laser levelled. On a putting green the levels decide how the ball rolls, so the laser was used to control three things: a true ball roll, the right ball speed, and the contouring that gives each green its breaks. It also sets the greens to finish flush with the paths and drain properly.

Laser level being used to set out the putting green base
Setting the levels with a laser level.
Workers preparing the putting green base
Preparing the ground.

4. Building the base

A firm base was built up and screeded by hand to the laser levels, with the contours shaped in for ball roll and speed. This is the most important part of the job: the turf follows the base exactly, so any dip or bump in the base shows up in the putt.

Putting green base built up in the hotel courtyard
The base built up across the courtyard.
Screeding the putting green base by hand
Screeding the base by hand to the levels.
Levelling the putting green base with screed boards
Checking and screeding the base.
Finishing the putting green base
Finishing the base before the turf.

5. Laying the putting turf

The putting green material was shaped to a putting turf and fringe design. Putting turf was cut to the curved shape of each green, and a 35mm fringe turf was laid around the greens, the same way a real green has a collar of longer grass. The turf was then fixed along the edges of the paths.

Putting turf being cut and laid at the iZulu Hotel
Cutting the putting turf to shape.
Putting turf laid against the paved path
The turf laid tight against the paths.

6. The finished putting green

The finished green has several holes spread across the courtyard, each putting surface framed by 35mm fringe turf, with the original paths running between them and iZulu flags in the cups. It is low maintenance, needs no mowing or watering, and plays the same every day.

Aerial view of the finished iZulu Hotel putting green
The finished greens from the air.
Multi-hole artificial putting green between paved paths
Several holes give guests different putts.
Finished hotel putting green, Ballito
The greens with the paths running between them.
iZulu Hotel putting green with flag
The finished green in the courtyard.
iZulu flag on the hotel putting green
The iZulu flags.
Close-up of the iZulu Hotel putting green flag
Ready for guests.

Planning a putting green?

Multiturf builds putting greens for hotels, estates and homes, and has installed artificial turf for 20 years across KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng. Putting green turf starts from R495/m² for the turf only, and we quote the full job after a site visit. See our putting greens page, our golf turf range and installation prices.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does it take to build a putting green?

The iZulu Hotel putting green took about four weeks, from lifting the old hedge garden to the finished green with flags.

What goes under an artificial putting green?

The old surface is removed and a firm base is built and screeded by hand to laser levels. The laser levelling controls the ball roll, ball speed and contouring of the green before the putting turf goes down.

Can a putting green be built in a courtyard or on old paving?

Yes. At the iZulu Hotel the green was built in a courtyard that was a formal hedge garden with paved paths. The paving was lifted where the green was going, and the remaining paths were kept to run between the greens.

How much does an artificial putting green cost?

Putting green turf starts from R495/m² for the turf only. The full price depends on the size of the green, the base work and any paving or edging, so Multiturf quotes after a site visit.

Does an artificial putting green need maintenance?

A putting green is low maintenance. It needs no mowing or watering, but it should be brushed and kept clear of leaves so it keeps a true, even roll.

What is fringe turf on a putting green?

Fringe turf is a longer turf laid around the putting surface, like the collar on a real golf green. At the iZulu Hotel the greens are framed with 35mm fringe turf, which slows the ball as it leaves the green and gives a natural look.

Get a quote for your putting green

Four futsal pitches with artificial turf at Nkowankowa sports facility, Tzaneen

Nkowankowa Sports Facility, Tzaneen: Four Futsal Pitches and Three Netball Courts

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For the Greater Tzaneen Municipality, Multiturf built a new outdoor sports facility at Nkowankowa, near Tzaneen in Limpopo: four futsal pitches and three netball courts, with brick perimeter walls, full netting and floodlights. Work started in November 2013 and the facility was completed in 2015. It is still in use today.

Client: Greater Tzaneen Municipality
Location: Nkowankowa, Tzaneen, Limpopo
Futsal: 4 pitches, 20m x 40m each, 40mm XT football turf
Netball: 3 courts, 16m x 32m each, OVAL sports turf
Also built: brick perimeter walls, steel uprights, netting, floodlights, drainage
Started: November 2013   Completed: 2015
Four futsal pitches with artificial turf at Nkowankowa sports facility, Tzaneen
The futsal pitches at Nkowankowa, each enclosed by brick walls and netting.

Starting from open ground

The site was handed over on 5 November 2013. Our first weeks were spent clearing the site with a TLB, digging and pouring strip footings, and standing the steel uprights for the futsal pitches. While the steel went up, the team started on the brick perimeter walls and ran the cables for the floodlight poles.

By the end of November the steelwork for all four futsal pitches was up and the first two courts were being plastered. The site closed over the December holidays and work picked up again in February.

Brick perimeter walls and steel netting frame at Nkowankowa futsal pitches
The plastered brick walls and steel netting frame around the pitches.

Building the base

From February the netball courts got their steel uprights and kerbing, and the ground on all seven courts was laser-levelled, cement-stabilised and compacted. We installed sub-soil drains under the futsal and netball courts, then imported G1 material, compacted it and tested it to 95%. A laser-levelled cement screed topping went on last, giving the turf a flat, free-draining base.

The futsal pitches

The four futsal pitches are each 20m x 40m and laid with 40mm XT football turf. Each pitch is enclosed by a brick rebound wall with netting above it, so the ball stays in play and out of the neighbouring courts.

Futsal pitch with 40mm XT football turf at Nkowankowa, Tzaneen
One of the four 20m x 40m futsal pitches.
Close-up of 40mm XT football turf on a futsal pitch in Tzaneen
Close-up of the 40mm XT football turf.
Futsal goal set into the brick rebound wall at Nkowankowa
Goals are set into the end walls.

The netball courts

The three netball courts are each 16m x 32m, laid in blue OVAL sports turf with a red surround. OVAL is a short, dense turf that gives a firm, even surface for netball footwork, and the permanent white lines are glued into the turf.

Blue OVAL sports turf netball court at Nkowankowa sports facility
One of the three 16m x 32m netball courts in blue OVAL turf.
Netball court with red turf surround and netting, Tzaneen
The red surround and netting around the netball courts.

Lights for evening games

Floodlights on steel poles around the facility mean the courts can be used after dark, which matters for a community facility where most people play after work and school.

Floodlights over the futsal pitches at Nkowankowa, Tzaneen
Floodlights over the futsal pitches.

Still in use today

The facility was completed in 2015 and is still in use today.

What a facility like this costs

At today’s prices, a similar facility with four futsal pitches and three netball courts costs roughly R5 million. That covers the civil works, drainage, brick walls, steel, netting, floodlights and turf. The final price depends on the site and how much groundwork it needs, so we confirm it after a site visit.

Planning a municipal or school sports facility?

Multiturf has built sports facilities for municipalities, schools and clubs for 20 years, across KwaZulu-Natal, Gauteng and further afield. See our football turf and sports turf options, or another write-up: Hartley Road School’s five-a-side pitches.

Frequently Asked Questions

What size is a futsal pitch?

The four futsal pitches at Nkowankowa are each 20m x 40m, which is a common size for community and school futsal.

What size is a netball court on artificial turf?

Each of the three netball courts at Nkowankowa is 16m x 32m, laid in blue OVAL sports turf with a red surround and permanent line markings.

Which turf is used for futsal and netball?

At Nkowankowa we used 40mm XT football turf on the futsal pitches and OVAL sports turf on the netball courts. OVAL is a short, dense turf that gives netball players a firm, even surface.

How much does a sports facility like this cost?

At today’s prices, a similar facility with four futsal pitches and three netball courts, including civil works, brick walls, netting, floodlights and turf, costs roughly R5 million. The final price depends on the site.

Does Multiturf work outside KwaZulu-Natal?

Yes. Nkowankowa is in Limpopo. We install across KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng and take on sports facility projects further afield in South Africa.

Get a quote for your sports facility

Two five-a-side football pitches at Hartley Road School, Durban

Hartley Road School, Durban: Turning Old Tennis Courts into Three Five-a-Side Pitches

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In 2014 Multiturf turned old tennis courts at Hartley Road School in Durban into three five-a-side football pitches, about 1,900m² in total. This is how the job was done, with photos from the start of the work in September through to the finished pitches in December.

Project: Hartley Road School, Durban
Pitches: 3 five-a-side pitches, about 1,900m² in total
Site before: Old tennis courts
Turf: 50mm V-shape football turf, sand and rubber infill
Built: September to December 2014
Turf replaced: after 8 years, by Multiturf

The starting point: old tennis courts

The site was old tennis courts. Three five-a-side pitches, about 1,900m² in total, were built there, and the existing court area gave a firm, level starting point for the new surface.

Steel poles and rebound wall foundations being set on old tennis courts at Hartley Road School, Durban
September 2014: steel poles going in and the foundations for the brick rebound walls being set on the old tennis courts.

Poles and brick rebound walls

The first stage was setting the steel uprights that carry the netting and floodlights, and building a brick rebound wall around each pitch. The walls were painted bright lime green. They keep the ball in play and let it come back off the side the way players expect in a five-a-side game.

Laying the turf

Once the perimeter was in, the turf went down. We used our 50mm V-shape football turf with a sand and rubber infill. The sand weighs the turf down and the rubber gives cushioning and grip underfoot.

Five-a-side football turf being installed at Hartley Road School, Durban
October 2014: the first pitch turfed, with the lime-green brick rebound walls in place.
Close-up of 50mm football turf at Hartley Road School five-a-side pitch
November 2014: close-up of the 50mm turf and white line markings.

Netting and finishing

Each pitch was fully enclosed in netting, sides and roof, so balls stay inside the pitch and away from the car park next door. White line markings, a centre circle and goals finished the job. The build itself ran to plan with no problems.

Fully netted five-a-side pitch at Hartley Road School, Durban
December 2014: the finished pitch, fully netted with floodlight poles along the sides.
Centre circle and line markings on the Hartley Road School five-a-side pitch
Line markings and centre circle on the finished turf.
Two five-a-side football pitches at Hartley Road School, Durban
Two of the completed pitches side by side.

Still in use today

The pitches are still running today. The original 2014 turf took heavy use from regular games for 8 years before it needed replacing, and Multiturf laid the new surface. The venue has carried on with its games on the new turf.

What a project like this costs

At today’s prices, a similar build of three five-a-side pitches, about 1,900m² in total, costs roughly R1.4 million. That covers the brick rebound walls, steel poles, full netting, floodlights, turf, infill, line markings and goals. The final price depends on the site, mainly what is there now and how much groundwork it needs, so we confirm it after a site visit.

Planning a five-a-side pitch?

If your school, club or venue has old tennis courts or an unused hard court, it can usually be converted the same way. Multiturf has built five-a-side pitches across KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng for 20 years. See our football turf options, real prices on our installation price page, or more Durban projects.

Frequently Asked Questions

How big is a five-a-side pitch?

There is no single fixed size. At Hartley Road School the three pitches cover about 1,900m² in total, which suits five-a-side games for juniors and adults.

Can old tennis courts be turned into five-a-side pitches?

Yes. Hartley Road School’s three pitches were built on old tennis courts. Re-using an existing court area can reduce the groundwork needed compared with starting on open ground.

What turf is used for five-a-side football?

At Hartley Road we used Multiturf’s 50mm V-shape football turf with a sand and rubber infill. The infill gives the turf grip and cushioning for regular games.

How much does it cost to build three five-a-side pitches?

At today’s prices, three five-a-side pitches like Hartley Road School’s cost roughly R1.4 million, including brick rebound walls, netting, floodlights and turf. The exact price depends on the site.

How long does five-a-side turf last?

It depends on how much the pitch is used. At Hartley Road School the original turf, installed in 2014, lasted 8 years of regular five-a-side games before we replaced it.

How long does it take to build three five-a-side pitches?

At Hartley Road the work ran from September to December 2014, covering the poles, brick rebound walls, turf, line markings and netting for all three pitches.

Get a quote for your five-a-side pitch

Base repair and preparation work ahead of resurfacing an old court with AstroTurf

Old Tennis Court, New Life: Resurfacing with AstroTurf for Tennis or Five-a-Side

If you’ve got an old tennis court at home, at the club, or tucked behind a school hall that’s cracked, faded and quietly written off as unusable, it’s almost never a case for demolition. The slab underneath is usually still sound enough to build on — it just needs the base properly repaired before anything new goes down. We offer a full turnkey service for exactly this: we repair the cracked base first, then resurface the entire court in AstroTurf. And because the groundwork is being redone either way, it’s the natural moment to decide whether you want the court back exactly as it was, or reborn as something your household or club will actually use more — a five-a-side football pitch, or a flexible multi-sport surface.

Base repair and preparation work ahead of resurfacing an old court with AstroTurfBase preparation on one of our turf projects — the same groundwork we carry out when repairing a cracked, uneven court before resurfacing it with AstroTurf.

Why Old Hard Courts Crack in the First Place

A hard court doesn’t fail because the paint wears thin — it fails underneath. KZN’s clay-heavy soils expand and contract with the seasons, tree roots push up from below, and without the right fall for drainage, water sits and undermines the base every time it rains. A few hairline cracks in year five become a network of them by year ten, and resurfacing straight over a failing base just hides the problem for a season before it reappears. By then the bounce has gone unpredictable and the surface isn’t really safe to play on anymore.

Our Turnkey Process: Repair the Base, Then Resurface

This is why we don’t treat resurfacing as a cosmetic job. Our turnkey service starts with an assessment of the existing slab or base, cutting out and repairing the sections that have failed, re-profiling for correct drainage fall, and compacting properly before any synthetic turf goes down. Because we handle both the base repair and the turf installation ourselves, there’s one point of contact and one outcome you can hold us to — rather than new turf laid over whatever a previous contractor left behind.

Option 1: Bring It Back as a Tennis Court

If tennis is still getting regular use, resurfacing with the right turf system gives you a consistent, true bounce without the ongoing cost of re-coating an acrylic hard court every few years. The International Tennis Federation runs a court pace classification programme that rates surfaces from slow to fast, and our tennis turf systems are specified to give a dependable, medium-paced game that suits most club and home players — without the maintenance headaches of the original surface.

Option 2: Convert It to a Five-a-Side Pitch or Multi-Sport Surface

If tennis isn’t the sport getting used on your court anymore, the same repaired footprint can become something else entirely. A standard tennis court’s dimensions line up well with a five-a-side football layout, or you can keep it flexible with a multifunctional surface that handles football, netball and hockey practice on the same turf with different line markings. Where the court is on the smaller side, a shaped mini pitch layout usually makes better use of the space than trying to force full football markings onto a tennis-sized footprint. Turf systems built for ball sports are tested against standards like the FIFA Quality Programme for football turf, which covers everything from shock absorption to ball roll — the same principles we apply whether the client is a school, a club or a family converting a backyard court.

Which Option Makes Sense for You?

The honest answer is that it depends on who’s actually using the space. A single household with keen tennis players gets more long-term value keeping the court as-is; a family or club where the kids and weekend footballers outnumber the tennis crowd often gets far more use out of a five-a-side or multi-sport conversion on the exact same footprint. Because the bulk of the cost and effort goes into repairing the base — not which turf system goes on top — it’s worth deciding this properly during a site visit rather than guessing. We’ll assess the existing slab, talk through how the court is actually used, and recommend the option that gets played on, not just looked at.

Whichever way you go, the real work happens below the surface, and that’s where we start every resurfacing project. Browse our full range of turf systems to see what’s possible for your court, or get a quote for repairing and resurfacing yours. You can also contact us directly to arrange a site visit and talk through tennis versus multi-sport for your specific space.

Fenced multisport pitch with synthetic turf installed by Multiturf for a residential clubhouse

Why Residential Estates Are Adding Multisport Pitches as a Lifestyle Amenity

Residential estate developers used to compete on security and finish quality. Now the amenity that gets mentioned first on a show-day tour is often the sports facility — and increasingly, that means a multisport pitch rather than a single-use court. A synthetic multifunctional surface can host five-a-side football, netball, hockey practice and casual family games on the same footprint, which is exactly the kind of flexibility an estate clubhouse or common area needs. It’s part of a broader shift in how lifestyle estates in South Africa are positioning themselves to residents, with active, shared amenities doing as much of the selling as security and finishes.

Fenced multisport pitch with synthetic turf installed by Multiturf for a residential clubhouseA fenced multisport pitch built for a residential clubhouse — sized to fit the available space and shared across several sports.

Why Estates Are Moving Away from Single-Use Courts

A traditional tennis or basketball court only serves residents who play that one sport. A multifunctional turf surface with the right line markings can switch between codes in minutes, so the same piece of land works for a Saturday morning football run, a kids’ hockey clinic and an evening netball game. For a body corporate or HOA weighing up land use against resident demand, that versatility is usually the deciding factor over building several smaller single-sport courts.

Fitting a Pitch Into an Estate’s Footprint

Not every estate has room for a full-size field, and most don’t need one. This is where a mini pitch earns its place: a compact, custom-shaped surface sized to whatever space sits between the clubhouse, the boundary wall and the existing landscaping. We work with estate management teams and their architects during the design and planning phase to fit a pitch into an awkward or irregular plot without sacrificing the amenities around it.

We’re breaking ground this week on a mini sports field at a new estate clubhouse in North Point, Ballito — a compact multisport surface designed as part of the clubhouse precinct rather than a standalone facility, and set to give residents a football and general play area right where they already gather.

Built for Estate-Level Maintenance, Not Stadium Budgets

Estate committees don’t have a groundskeeping budget built for reseeding, irrigation repairs and weekly line marking on natural grass. A synthetic multisport surface removes most of that: no mowing rota, no rain-outs, no muddy patches by the goalmouth after the first children’s tournament. Our systems are built with the correct pile height, infill and shock pad for the sports the estate actually wants to host, and a biannual maintenance visit keeps the surface performing and safe for years rather than seasons.

A Facility That Works for Every Age Group

The estates getting this right treat the pitch as a shared family amenity, not just a sports facility. The same surface that hosts a competitive five-a-side match on Sunday can be a safe, all-weather space for younger kids to play on a Tuesday afternoon, or the venue for the estate’s annual family fun day. That flexibility is a big part of why multisport pitches are showing up on estate wish-lists alongside pools and gyms — residents get more use out of less land.

Planning a Multisport Pitch for Your Estate

If your body corporate or developer is weighing up options for a new common-area sports facility, the starting point is the same as any of our turf projects: understand how residents will actually use the space, then size and specify the surface around that. Whether that ends up being a full multifunctional field or a smaller mini pitch tucked next to the clubhouse, we handle design, supply and installation as one process. Get a quote for your estate’s sports facility, or contact us to talk through what would work best for your site.

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How to Choose the Right Artificial Sports Turf for Your School or Club

If you’re planning a new sports surface for a school, club or community facility, the biggest decision isn’t whether to go artificial — it’s which system to install. Football, hockey, multifunctional and mini-pitch turf all look similar from a distance, but they’re built to very different specifications, and the wrong choice can mean a surface that never quite suits the way your players actually use it. Here’s what actually separates them, and how to think through the decision.

Start With How the Surface Will Actually Be Used

Before comparing products, it helps to be honest about usage: how many sports will share the surface, how many hours a week it will see, and whether it needs to double as a PE space, a fixture pitch and an after-hours community court all at once. A single-sport club with a serious competitive programme has very different needs from a school that wants one field to host football practice, netball matches and Friday sports day. Getting this right first makes every other decision — pile height, infill, shock pad — much easier.

Football Turf: When Ball Performance and Player Safety Come First

Football turf is engineered around a narrow set of priorities: true ball roll, consistent bounce, and shock absorption that protects players over years of tackles and sprints. Multiturf supplies football turf systems through our membership of the FIFA Preferred Producer Program, which means the systems we install are manufactured to meet FIFA’s quality benchmarks for professional and community pitches alike. If your club or school competes regularly, or you’re building a five-a-side venue that needs to handle back-to-back bookings, football-specific turf is worth the investment over a generic multi-sport system.

Hockey Turf: Built for Speed and Consistency

Hockey demands something different again: a fast, low-friction surface that gives predictable ball speed and doesn’t tear up players’ skin on dives and tackles. Hockey turf typically uses a shorter, denser pile than football turf, often with little or no infill, so the ball skims rather than sinks. If hockey is a core part of your sports programme, a dedicated hockey surface will perform far more consistently — and safely — than a multi-sport compromise.

Multifunctional Turf: One Surface, Every Sport

Not every school or community facility has the budget or the space for a pitch per sport, and that’s exactly the gap multifunctional turf is built to fill. It’s designed to handle football, netball, hockey and general PE use on the same field without any one sport dominating the specification. This is why it’s the most common choice for school sports fields and community centres: it trades a little bit of sport-specific performance for the ability to run a full timetable of different activities on one surface, with far lower maintenance costs than natural grass.

Mini Pitches: Making the Most of Limited Space

Where space is the constraint rather than budget, mini pitches solve a different problem. These smaller, high-traffic surfaces are built with a denser pile to cope with daily five-a-side games, break-time football and constant foot traffic in a compact footprint — ideal for schools without a full-size field, offices wanting a staff amenity, or estates and community venues that need a flexible, bookable space. Mini pitches can be specified from astroturf to click-together modular systems depending on the site and budget.

Specialist Surfaces: Padel, Tennis and Golf

Some sports need their own dedicated turf entirely. Padel courts require a sand-dressed system tuned for consistent bounce and grip within an enclosed court structure. Tennis turf needs to deliver predictable ball speed and player comfort underfoot — we recently resurfaced hard tennis courts at Empangeni High School with turf specifically for this reason, giving pupils a more comfortable, all-weather surface for both tennis and general PE use. Golf greens are a different exercise altogether: the ball roll and speed are tuned by the amount and type of sand worked into the turf fibres, replicating the feel of a natural green without the water or mowing.

Questions to Ask Before You Commit

Whichever surface you’re considering, a few questions will save you from an expensive mismatch. How many different sports and age groups will use it in a typical week? Is the site properly assessed for drainage and base preparation, or is that being assumed? Does the quote include the sub-base, kerbing and fencing work, or only the turf itself? And is the installer accredited and in-house, rather than subcontracted out once the sale is made? A surface that’s specified correctly on day one will outlast and outperform one chosen on turf alone.

Not sure which system fits your project? Explore our full product range or get a quote and our team will help you match the right turf to how your school, club or facility actually plays.