I want to set up a court on my lawn and I'm looking for options other than grass. I wonder if there are reasonably priced products which would provide good traction while allowing rain to flow through. Also would be nice if it's not too expensive. So far it looks as if the cheapest solution would be fake grass from the local lumber store which would be around $2,000. It might be too slippery and I don't know how will it would hold up under play. Has anyone tried playing on artificial grass? Are there other reasonably priced options? I've seen indoor badminton mats for around $2,500 but I don't know if they'd hold up to outdoor use.
What your target? Just for happy fun games with family at home or a serious games? I really agains it if its for real games. Badminton is the fastest sport with alot of sudden explosive movement. You go left, right, front to back repeatly. Its very dangerous, even with proper court one can still get injury & with a bad court you basically double or triple or quadtruple the chance getting injury.
It's either whatever I come up with or nothing for a while. I learned to play on grass when I was a kid so I do know the limitations which is why I'm looking for affordable alternatives. I've found some rubber horse stall mats which I could possibly use for about $2,000.
I looked up the cost of cheap plywood, I could do a court with 28 sheets of 1/4 inch 4 x 8 plywood for about $500. Spray some preservative on both sides, keep it covered with a tarp when not in use, and I might be able to sell it when I'm done and recover some of the cost. I might pick up a single sheet to see if it's stiff enough just lying on the ground. I could use thin furring strips underneath to join them.
