Poured-in-place Rubber Teepads

[davetherocketguy]

Kinda curious how these behave after they "fill" with sediment, etc. and no longer drain very well. The gravel beneath will only work for so long with mud, small rocks, parts of leaves, etc. getting shoved in there all the time.

I work on a lot of civil engineering projects and the hot new buzz product is pervious pavements. The idea is that water can drain through these hard surfaces in areas where installing drainage basins is just not practical for a variety of reasons. In my experience, pervious pavements are worthless. Within a few years, the pavement no longer drains properly because of the sediment tracked onto it - but remember for the most part pervious pavements are rigid.

This rubber on the other hand does not appear to be designed to be pervious - is it? IF not, then sediment being tracked onto it is a non issue. Even if it is pervious I think the very flexible nature of the rubber may work the sediment out of the rubber matrix especially if it is at all wet. I donno...Interesting product nonetheless.

 

[davetherocketguy]

This rubber on the other hand does not appear to be designed to be pervious - is it?

Yes it is...lol. Need to read the OP a little closer I guess.

 

[jdawg24]

This material is very pervious, which is why the city pushed for it. Not sure if it will clog up or not, that's definitely a concern of mine. The two test pads that have been installed for 5 months have drained better than expected. Grip doesn't seem to be an issue as far as being too grippy, you can pivot on the material just fine.

For anyone considering checking the course out, it is already looking far better than a few weeks ago as we've been doing extensive clearing. And - the city has a herd of sheep out working on clearing for the next two week, so it will be in excellent condition for the b tier in October.

 

[davetherocketguy]

I really wouldn't be terribly concerned if it stops draining properly I guess. Looks like they are mostly elevated so that if they do collect any water years down the road it can easily be broomed aside especially if they stay relatively flat. Another thing that could be done if they stop draining is on future installs give each pad some slope say 1.0% to 1.5% which would be imperceptible to almost all dg'ers. That's more than enough slope to provide sheet drainage for concrete pads.

I am really interested in seeing how this stuff wears over time. I bet it works really well. :clap:

 

[iacas]

Another thing that could be done if they stop draining is on future installs give each pad some slope say 1.0% to 1.5% which would be imperceptible to almost all dg'ers. That's more than enough slope to provide sheet drainage for concrete pads.

Most golfers don't realize every tee (the properly built ones anyway) are built with a minimum of 1-1.5% slope for drainage purposes. Most think they're "flat."

 

[BogeyNoMore]

Seems pretty interesting and looks pretty good. I am curious how they feel... not sure how I'd react to a spongey or springy tee pad. Guess we'll have to see how well they hold up as well.

Kinda curious how these behave after they "fill" with sediment, etc. and no longer drain very well. The gravel beneath will only work for so long with mud, small rocks, parts of leaves, etc. getting shoved in there all the time.

Interesting point. I wonder if rain will help wash sediment out of the cracks and delay that a bit?

Concrete really has no where for debris to go - either you sweep it of the pad or it stays. Assuming the nooks and crannies get clogged, would this really be very different in that aspect? I'd think an occasional sweeping or shot with a leaf blower would get the job done.

 

[knettles]

Two of these were poured when I was at Perkerson several weeks ago, and the first one didn't have the tape up so not knowing any better I threw from it.

While they look great, I think they will take some getting used to. There's noticeable "give" to them when you step on them, so when I took my run-up it felt a bit like trying to run in sand.

I prefer concrete or even flypads in normal conditions, but in wet/slippery conditions they would probably be an improvement.

That said, I absolutely loved the course layout and very much appreciated the work being put into it. Can't wait to return!

I think this would be my main concern. In a way, these are kind of like mulch tees, except the pieces don't get shoved around. I do prefer a solid, firm ground for a runup. However, I haven't tried them myself, so I don't know what it's actually like.

 

[mashnut]

I think this would be my main concern. In a way, these are kind of like mulch tees, except the pieces don't get shoved around. I do prefer a solid, firm ground for a runup. However, I haven't tried them myself, so I don't know what it's actually like.

I used to throw a lot of practice shots from a very similar surface that was used for a playground. It's not any more give than you get on a lot of natural tees, and for me it was a lot easier on the knees than throwing that many shots from concrete.

 

[rd.bittle]

Looks great. Hope they hold up for you guys.

 

[iacas]

I used to throw a lot of practice shots from a very similar surface that was used for a playground. It's not any more give than you get on a lot of natural tees, and for me it was a lot easier on the knees than throwing that many shots from concrete.

Yeah I think once you get used to them they're easier on you while providing just as much or more traction, stability, ease of rotation, etc.

 

[Horsman]

I still fear all rubber teepads when it get wet. Nothing like sprained/broken ankles.

 

[mashnut]

I still fear all rubber teepads when it get wet. Nothing like sprained/broken ankles.

This kind of material is way different than the non-porous stuff you get with fly pads or horse stall mats, those are awful with any moisture or sand on them. This stuff is used on playgrounds, and is really grippy still when wet.

 

[Horsman]

This kind of material is way different than the non-porous stuff you get with fly pads or horse stall mats, those are awful with any moisture or sand on them. This stuff is used on playgrounds, and is really grippy still when wet.

Then I would love to check this stuff out. I might have to take a look at this stuff them next time Im drunk and decide to play the floor is lava at a playground.

 

[jdawg24]

This material is very grippy when wet, even with mud on your shoes. It's similar to the playground material, but is a lot harder. The difference is that the playground material is applied in a thicker layer on top of a softer surface to cushion impacts of falling; this is setup on a compacted surface in a thin layer with more binder, so its much more dense and doesn't have as much give to it.

 

[18Down]

The whole story if you have some time to read... Perkerson Mikrocopter Footage too, scroll down!!!

http://perkersondiscgolf.com/

 

[esdubya]

Hey there! So I'm involved with a new opportunity for a course and actually the park manager brought up potentially using this material for the tee pads as well as a 4' ring around each basket.

Any comments on durability now that these pads have been in place for 3+ years?

 

[esdubya]

After looking at pics and reading the reviews for Perkerson Park, I don't see anything negative about the tee pad wear and tear..

My main concern would be damage from shoveling snow in the winter.

The foot grip seems to be good in the wet weather based on posts on this thread.

Lower impact as well, so overall I'm thinking this is a good call and frankly I'm surprised more courses aren't looking at this material. I'll post when I have more details on costs..

 

[jdawg24]

After 3 years, the pads that were poured when it was hot and have proper sitework are holding up well. Some of the pads were poured in the winter due to a stream variance process and those have not held up well at all -- they started to fail within a month of being poured -- we're trying to get the company to fix them. The rubber cures quickly when its hot, but very slowly in cold and its tough to keep people off for days on end.

They are much more maintenance than concrete. The pads have a drainage system through the rocks that can get clogged up by silt from dirt or decomposed leaves on the pad. We purchased a backpack blower and try to keep them clean, and to keep water off as it clogs up the pads and makes them muddy.

We used a separate company to do the site prep for teepads than the rubber company, because they had issues with flat. That company did some questionable work in spots where some of the underlying gravel wasn't packed down properly, or eroded out below supports, which has caused sags.

Playability is great. I've seen people posting about them being slick when wet, but i would disagree on that. They will even drain off mud that gets tracked on them. Very easy on your joints and grippy.

So I'd say that if you had A+ site work and design of the teepads (no drainage issues), maintenance would consist of keeping leaves off the teepads and they would hold up well. But if you have any issues in the install (weather, spots not tamped well, erosion / drainage onto pads) then they are pain to maintain.

We only installed these because we were forced to and would have installed concrete (for cost, durability and ease of maintenance). That view hasn't changed.

 

[ohtobediscing]

Photos (more here):

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These look absolutely traction-riffic, and I hope to come across some in the future.
I could swear, though, that that looks like crawfish shells on the pad. Is that part of the rubber, or...?

 

[esdubya]

Thank you so much jdawg! Feedback is invaluable.

I'm still in favor of concrete but our park manager likes this stuff and he is worried how concrete will "integrate" with the look of the park.

What worries me is that this course can flood in the spring so we need to be very careful about placement. Good to know the prepwork needs to be flawless.

I also wonder how these would work in the winter.