What to Know About Adding a Backyard Bocce Ball Court

It’s a pretty picture: friends and family gathered around your new rectangular court on a lovely summer’s evening, as warm conversation, clinking glasses and knocking bocce balls score the scene in early twilight. If you’re beguiled by bocce’s seductive charms and want to bring the game home, here are eight elements of design and construction to know before planning your own backyard bocce court.

Before you begin, determine your expectations for your bocce court. To enjoy a few rolls, all you need is a flat surface, a little space and some good company. But if a regulation sporting experience is what you’re after, there’s a lot more design planning that goes into it.


Size: The spacial requirement is the first detail to consider. I’ve seen bocce courts sized modestly, at around 45 feet long by 8 feet wide in some cases, but that’s a cramped court and play feels restricted. One of the game’s true joys is conceiving plays into lengthy arrangements, then watching rolls progress into its depths.

A regulation bocce court is 91 feet by 13 feet, and the closer to that size you construct yours, the more authentic your experience will be. If possible, I recommend a minimum sizing of 70 feet by 10 feet.


Location: For some, bocce is an occasional activity best suited to a quaint corner, where it may be ignored except when in use. For others, bocce is the main draw, taking a proud place of honor just steps from the back door. Think about what you want from your court, and let the answer guide you as you consider placement as a focal point or as one that visually recedes into the landscape.


Additional features: Bocce is a social game best supplemented with inviting design features that embrace participants.


Seating areas, shade structures, fountains and heating elements all enhance the experience, ensuring players linger and enjoy the space, the game and one another.


Site preparation: For your court to last, it must withstand the elements. Grading and drainage are critical, as failure to drain properly is one of the most common issues that can make your court unplayable and can even damage its long-term integrity.

The subgrade must be flat from from end to end, sloping slightly from sides to spine. A trench-buried, perforated pipe should run lengthwise in Class 2, permeable rock, beneath 4 to 6 inches of non-expansive rock such as ¾-inch crushed, that is installed level. The crushed layer should be topped by an inch of decomposed granite, compacted to be dead level.


Borders: Border walls can be constructed either of concrete or a 6-inch by 8-inch cedar beam set on a concrete footing. The preferred method is concrete, and for the best effect, install a 2-inch by 6-inch cedar bumper board against the inside concrete wall as shown.


Surface: For truest roll play, top your court surface in 1 inch of oyster flour followed by a scattered layer of crushed oyster shells. Other top surface options include gravel and turf, which can serve well, but do not offer the same feel and tempo as a true oyster-based surface.


Whom to hire: Your court could be a do-it-yourself project. Most materials are available locally at hardware stores and masonry yards, although you might need to find the oyster flour and oyster shell elsewhere. But when done right, construction is a time-consuming process that includes the grading, drainage, foundation and compaction processes described above. A landscape professional or general contractor with experience constructing bocce courts is the best place to start.

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Cost: The price tag can vary based on conditions and design. The required materials won’t break the bank, but the costs of labor can bring the price tag to construct a sound court above $20,000.


Bocce may be an Italian pastime, but it’s becoming one of America’s too, complementing traditional and contemporary styles alike. Build the court and provide the bocce balls — anyone can bring the wine.

More: 28 Outdoor Projects Everyone Should Know About

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