Artificial turf in Lakewood, CO, from hogback slopes to shaded Belmar yards.

Plan the line you want to putt.

Choose putting distances and where you will stand before adding cups or fringe. A green can share the yard with a separate lawn or pet area, leaving beds and seating intact. The route around it matters as much as the outline.

On a hillside property, discuss walking access and the intended playing grade. Under mature trees, include roots and leaf cleanup in the conversation.

Compare the work and care for your own address.

Lakewood has several water providers, so use the name and usage on your bill when comparing costs. Verify any incentive directly before treating it as part of the installation budget.

Bring applicable City and association requirements, including for front-yard or grading changes. Ask for preparation and drainage work to be clear in the quote; the quote should identify the preparation proposed for your yard.

First, find out who sends your water bill.

Lakewood has no single water utility. Depending on your street, the bill comes from Denver Water, from Consolidated Mutual Water Company, or from Green Mountain Water and Sanitation District, which buys its water from Denver Water. In 2026 all three are in drought, each on its own calendar.

Denver Water's Stage 1 rules give even addresses Sunday and Thursday and odd addresses Wednesday and Saturday, with watering limited to before 10 a.m. and after 6 p.m. Drought pricing on outdoor use lasts until 30 April 2027, and leaks must be fixed within 10 days (Denver Water).

Green Mountain passes Denver Water's drought surcharge straight through to its Lakewood customers and asks for a 20% cut (Green Mountain Water and Sanitation District). Consolidated Mutual, based in Lakewood, cites moderate to severe drought, with snowpack and reservoirs well below normal (Consolidated Mutual). Artificial turf needs no irrigation for growth, but cleaning and occasional cooling can still use water.

The back yard is protected; the front is your HOA's call.

State law puts three limits on Lakewood HOAs for a detached home: no ban on nonvegetative turf out back, no unreasonable demand for hardscape across more than 20% of the landscaping, and a duty to preapprove at least three water-wise front-yard designs (C.R.S. 38-33.3-106.5, as amended by SB23-178). That protection stops at the back yard, and it doesn't cover townhomes or condos.

How much it matters depends on where you live. HOAs are rare among the post-war homes on the east side and common in the newer Solterra and Rooney Valley band, so out west, get your board's written sign-off before the crew arrives.

Slope on the west side, shade on the east.

Expansive clay is a regional hazard described by the Colorado Geological Survey; its regional findings do not identify the soil or required preparation at every Lakewood property (Colorado Geological Survey).

Out west, against the hogback and Green Mountain, dipping bedrock adds movement, and many 1970s and 80s split-levels sit on real cross-slope. There, drainage and base depth decide how a lawn holds up, and the base has to carry water off the slope rather than toward the house.

The east side, along Bear Creek and Weir Gulch, is flatter alluvial ground, and the 1950s and 60s ranches around Belmar and Alameda sit under heavy, mature shade. Turf there needs no sun, and the work goes carefully around the roots of the trees you want to keep.