Pirate Plank - $70 Teepad

[TheTeeboxCo._Levi B.]

Silica dust and carbon black are nothing to screw around with. I don't care if you're not grinding it down...sitting in the sun drying out more and more all day, that stuff gets on your shoes, your bag, your pants...

Breathing dust that contains respirable crystalline silica can lead to silicosis, a deadly lung disease. No
effective treatment exists for silicosis. Exposure to crystalline silica has also been linked to lung cancer, kidney disease, reduced lung function, and other disorder. (NIOSH 2002)

HardiePanel is 30-45% crystalline silica... I'd rather not take my chances. Why risk it at all? Why use something unsafe for an unintended purpose, under conditions for which the material is not designed?

I can totally appreciate the time, ingenuity, and effort that goes into testing. I also think that this is a prototype. If viewed as a prototype/test then this provides some valuable information. 1)Never sacrifice safety. 2)Use materials in their intended manner. 3)Maybe there is another way to provide the feel of a concrete wear surface without using fiber cement boards.

We tested some surface materials that are intended to mimic the feel of concrete but they were never strong enough or cheap enough to be a viable solution. i.e. This surface material is what they use on navy aircraft carriers.

 

[TheTeeboxCo._Levi B.]

What if I routinely beat my head against the tee after shanking drives into trees?

I think I've seen that before, ancient technique.

 

[bhadella]

Silica dust and carbon black are nothing to screw around with. I don't care if you're not grinding it down...sitting in the sun drying out more and more all day, that stuff gets on your shoes, your bag, your pants...

Breathing dust that contains respirable crystalline silica can lead to silicosis, a deadly lung disease. No
effective treatment exists for silicosis. Exposure to crystalline silica has also been linked to lung cancer, kidney disease, reduced lung function, and other disorder. (NIOSH 2002)

HardiePanel is 30-45% crystalline silica... I'd rather not take my chances. Why risk it at all? Why use something unsafe for an unintended purpose, under conditions for which the material is not designed?

I can totally appreciate the time, ingenuity, and effort that goes into testing. I also think that this is a prototype. If viewed as a prototype/test then this provides some valuable information. 1)Never sacrifice safety. 2)Use materials in their intended manner. 3)Maybe there is another way to provide the feel of a concrete wear surface without using fiber cement boards.

We tested some surface materials that are intended to mimic the feel of concrete but they were never strong enough or cheap enough to be a viable solution. i.e. This surface material is what they use on navy aircraft carriers.

So should we abandon cement teepads too? They also contain 40% sand just like cement board.....

 

[bhadella]

FWIW: I love, love, love, love turf teepads.

 

[TheTeeboxCo._Levi B.]

So should we abandon cement teepads too? They also contain 40% sand just like cement board.....

Yeah, because that was my point and all...

 

[knettles]

It's probably not as severe as it sounds however Category 1 carcinogens are proven to cause cancer in humans and animals. "The classification in this category is largely based on human evidence, human studies that establish a causal
relationship between human exposure to a substance and the development of cancer."

I'm all for temporary solutions and cheap alternatives to anything in this world but there's no need to sacrifice safety. Those panels end up turning into dust (when unfinished) and that dust is toxic.

We tested some temporary stuff but nothing worked better for a quick and cheap solution than rubber athletic flooring or turf w/ a rubber pad on a wooden panel and metal frame.

Any idea how much one of those costs per pad?

 

[roblee]

I would ask the guy from The Teebox Company. He's been advertising on this thread.

 

[Everett Evans]

I would ask the guy from The Teebox Company. He's been advertising on this thread.

I wouldn't say "advertising". Mostly just accusing his competition of giving you cancer.

The next time I see a fellow disc golfer on one of those cement backer board tee pads, with no hat or sunscreen, smoking and drinking a beer, I'm going to alert him to the danger lurking just below the soles of his shoes. And the hand him a pair of slip-on OR booties.

 

[TheTeeboxCo._Levi B.]

Any idea how much one of those costs per pad?

I can send you some plans. After the metal frame was built I'd say around $300ish. Without the metal frame it's closer to $140 per.

 

[Aim For The Chains]

I have a bunch of scrap of this style cement board if any north metro MN local is interested. Seems like it would work fine even without the frame/base as long as surface was prepped well? Great idea being you could acquire tons of these "leftover" materials for free. Specially wood and cement board.

 

[ken1645]

Anyone that has used these Pirate planks care to comment on how they've held up over the years? I'm interested in putting these in a course I'm building and it seems like maybe a better option than pavers (cheaper too perhaps?)

 

[Grippenripp]

Plywood and Hardi-board. So simple yest so effective. Great Idea. If you wanted them to be permanent you could stake it in. This is sweet.

 

[ru4por]

Anyone that has used these Pirate planks care to comment on how they've held up over the years? I'm interested in putting these in a course I'm building and it seems like maybe a better option than pavers (cheaper too perhaps?)

These have been used by Terry Calhoun on his private course for a while now. I would venture that a few SE Michigan players on here could provide some feedback. I have not played on them.

 

[biscoe]

Anyone that has used these Pirate planks care to comment on how they've held up over the years? I'm interested in putting these in a course I'm building and it seems like maybe a better option than pavers (cheaper too perhaps?)

pretty much everything (including natural) is a better option than pavers. IMO.

 

[Discette]

Anyone that has used these Pirate planks care to comment on how they've held up over the years? I'm interested in putting these in a course I'm building and it seems like maybe a better option than pavers (cheaper too perhaps?)

These have not been holding up well at the new Buena Vista Hill at Elysian Park in Los Angeles. Some were broken, others were vandalized and stolen. I think these pads were installed to make the course "playable" and to test tee areas before installing permanent tees. I hope these won't be the permanent tees.

I will say, these are super grippy when wet, muddy or dusty. However, I don't like these tees because they are too short and too narrow.

 

[RootsDiscGolf]

From legend World Champion and overall cool dude Terry Calhoun comes the "Pirate Plank" - DIY teepad design.

https://youtu.be/IrKvs-4E85U



I personally haven't thrown off of these yet, but once I do I'll post my thoughts on here. Fortunately for me this course isn't too far away from me.

It's his mission to get this design out there for others to use for their own projects. I'm just trying to do my small part in this. Cheers

Pavers are almost the same price, but they require leveling and this does not. Interesting idea for temp courses.

 

[davetherocketguy]

Pavers are almost the same price, but they require leveling and this does not. Interesting idea for temp courses.

Depends on your definition of level. I'm kinda partial to flat and level regardless of material used. So yeah, IMHO you will almost always need to do some amount of leveling. If there is a high point right where you want to place one of these this SOB may teeter-totter on that point as you do your run-up.

Pavers can be a good surface provided those installing them take great care to do it right and they are maintained properly. But that usually doesn't happen so in general pavers suck.

 

[Future_Primitive]

Pavers are almost the same price, but they require leveling and this does not. Interesting idea for temp courses.

I am going to have to disagree with this as I witnessed one break at Terry's house not long after install. One of the pads was placed on a slightly uneven ground and during a round it broke on somebody's run up. Kind of snapped in half, still usable but definitely noticeable. It may not need to be perfect leveling but you still need to do a decent job of leveling or risk snapping these on uneven ground.

(Was long par 4 or 5 hole near edge of property, long hole with mando at BRATS)

 

[Doofenshmirtz]

pretty much everything (including natural) is a better option than pavers. IMO.

I occasionally play on a course that has paver tees. They are at least as good as any concrete tees that I have played on. If pavers are installed correctly, they are a great option, far better than natural or turf tees.

 

[Gblambert]

We put in two as a test. Unfortunately the first one developed a cup in the middle that was so bad the pad looked like a bird bath after it rained. The corners stuck up so high we had to pull the pad for safety reasons. The second pad isn't as bad yet, but it was installed about 6 months after the first one.