Tee Pad Surfaces - Yay or Nay? (The Teebox Co.)

[GirdleRoc]

I like Turf the best because it is the closest option to grass that won't wear like grass pads.
-it gives you more options with foot wear
- we play football on a turf field here and the grip is great.

 

[riltim]

turf done right is by far the best. carpet works great too although some may consider it unsightly.

rubber mats are the worst imo- i put 2 in at hawk hollow and pulled them back up within a month- too slick when wet or sandy.

i can see why people like concrete but personally do not care for it as it makes my feet/knees hurt.

Can you share your tee sizes and how much are you spending per tee on turf?

 

[DiscDraft]

Concrete with medium-larger sized aggregate. Rubber is the worst and can cause injuries.

 

[da Crippler]

I have a friend who is making tee pads out of styrofoam sheets coated with a textured rhino lining-type polyurethane. We have two installed at our local course, one is framed in and the other is just buried in the dirt. They seem to be holding up fairly well but they've only been in a few months, so time will tell.

 

[DavidSauls]

the weirdest ones that I hated at first are carpet tees. i hated them because they're ugly/unsightly and after a few seasons turn into leather-like surface when dry. but I've recently played on carpet tees when it was raining, and paradoxically when they get filled with mud they remain very grippy! its a scary feeling because you can feel the mud and it feels slippery at first step/plant but if your shoes have some tread, they'll settle into the carpet and grip once you fully plant. So even when totally wet and filled with dust/mud they remain grippy allowing full throws.
.

As the owner of a couple of dozen carpet tees, I can assure that with enough of the right kind of mud, they get really slick.

When in good condition they are actually my favorite surface. Soft on my old knees, grippy in all weather. But they wouldn't suit for a public park with heavy usage, and have to be replaced every couple of years.

\

 

[PWaggoner]

I voted concrete.

There isnt homeless/kids stealing and dragging them into the woods to sleep/screw.

If only we could make the teesigns out of concrete, maybe theyd stop getting stolen too.

 

[biscoe]

Can you share your tee sizes and how much are you spending per tee on turf?

i only have 2 of them at hawk hollow (cattle will ruin anything so not much point putting in good tees) and i got the material for free because one of my employees at the time had a side job installing putting greens for stick golf. Blockhouse on the other hand bought a big roll of the stuff. I'm pretty sure cost wound up in the same ballpark as concrete.

there are a variety of companies online selling recycled field turf from schools, etc though. looks like it starts around $.75 a square foot. http://usedartificialturf.com

 

[riltim]

i only have 2 of them at hawk hollow (cattle will ruin anything so not much point putting in good tees) and i got the material for free because one of my employees at the time had a side job installing putting greens for stick golf. Blockhouse on the other hand bought a big roll of the stuff. I'm pretty sure cost wound up in the same ballpark as concrete.

there are a variety of companies online selling recycled field turf from schools, etc though. looks like it starts around $.75 a square foot. http://usedartificialturf.com

Thank you, I never thought about used. Looking at turf for a few hard to access holes.

 

[Mr. Butlertron]

I prefer the top two on the list. As in anything, there are ways to make bad tees decent and decent tees bad. While roadtripping California and AZ this last month I was forced to play through what the weather gave me . Skyline wilderness (rubber, concrete, tile) Colina Park (Astro turf), and CSUMB (concrete) were all played in the rain and worked amazing. Laguna Valley (concrete), Vista Del Camino (concrete), and Conocido (concrete) were all too slick to throw from after a rain. Not all pads are created equal, even if they're made of the same material.

 

[biscoe]

Thank you, I never thought about used. Looking at turf for a few hard to access holes.

all the tees at Walnut Creek are used athletic field turf from UVA- one of the club members up there has an in. they are likely the best i have ever seen. athletic fields tend to only wear out in a few spots (center of football field for instance) but the entire field gets replaced.

if you only need a little you may want to contact the athletic departments at local schools- they may have scrap.

 

[TheTeeboxCo._Levi B.]

Wow, lot of responses already!

I'll have more information in the weeks to come regarding pricing, email lists, website, etc.

See if we can get as many people as possible to give us some suggestions.

 

[Star Shark]

Concrete, but lightly brushed to give a little extra traction and also mildly convex to drain water off the edges.

 

[BrotherDave]

We need everyone's help to get this thing right. Disc golfers for the most part have been swept aside when it comes to Parks and Recreation development projects. The average playground can cost $200k up to $500k+!

So why can't we, the disc golfers, have the same high quality materials and equipment as basketball courts, baseball fields, and running tracks? We can and for a fraction of the cost of traditional sports equipment.

We've developed a modular teepad system. High quality athletic surfaces combined with an easily assembled and durable base structure. Initially there will be two versions; A permanent/semi-permanent commercial version and a portable "EZ Pad" for individual users, field work, temp courses, etc.


What surface do you prefer to tee from? We will have multiple options but need to know what the people want.

Concrete - Solid rubber - Fatigue mats - Natural/aggregate tees - Artificial turf

Thanks for your support!

Yo, you're out of Lexington? I'm not too far from you, in NE Randolph County. :thmbup:

Concrete trumps all other tee varieties I've tried. Concrete is generally done correctly more often than the rubber or turf tees I've been on, or require significant less maintenance (the rubber mats and turf tees get lumpy or washed out too easily and natural tees are almost never maintained).

Now that isn't to say concrete is perfect. I routinely play on some (technically never finished) that are begging to shred someone's ACL one day and if I had won the lotto I would've had rubber mats screwed into them pronto. But a concrete tee that is flush, level* and just textured enough to provide some grip when wet is really hard to beat.

*there is such thing as too level. Standing water is bad.

 

[AmsterdamHeavy]

I chose concrete, because of the lack of consistency with other surfaces, usually due to installation.

One I didnt see mentioned in the thread are old school cinders. I play on a course that uses cinder over very well worn natural pads and they are great. Even if they get a little lumpy, you just kick them around and tamp down with your foot and youre good. Dont know what they cost, but id imagine its cheap. Surprisingly they dont travel much from the tee, more that they get pressed into the ground over a long period of time.

 

[TYVEK]

concrete, nothing else will do.

 

[BuzzSharpe]

It Is a Good Subject

Concrete is, of course, the standard by which other media are measured. But there is a lot to be said for rubber mats, if installed well. As several of the Masters levels players have said, concrete can be rough on older body parts. And if, for whatever reason, tee positions need to be altered or moved, concrete pads are least desirable. Rubber mats, like the horse stall mats sold by Tractor Supply Co. (and others, I'm sure) should make for very usable and durable tees. They are constructed so as to not have the slickness so often associated with wet rubber pads. And they're heavy and bulky enough (100 pounds each at 4' x 6') that they're not going to be easily stolen by vandals, but can be altered or moved by a team of course workers, without the need for heavy machinery. And if you latch two of them together, you get a good 12' x 4' pad at a cost of just under $100.00. A third one could be cut into halves and attached to make 12' x 6' tees that are still less expensive than smaller concrete pads.

 

[Danderlion]

I voted concrete, but.....

Perkerson Park in Atlanta, GA has poured rubber tees, or something, sort of what you'd find under playground equipment. My brief encounter with it, it was fabulous. Not knowing how it handles being wet, or wear and tear, but it could be my preference.

Perkerson Park's tee pads are my favorite. Never seen another course with the same style pads.

I think it is recycled rubber... not sure. Reminds me of the material used for making the rubber running tracks around football fields.

 

[storyboy]

Best T-Boxes I have seen use a green colored rubber pellet just a little bigger then rabbit food. They use an epoxy mixed together and then trowel it. Great stuff, kind of soft under foot and supper good traction. Just can't remember what its called? Could find out if anyone is interested.

 

[Doofenshmirtz]

Slate, or whatever is in use at Cedar Glades.

 

[scarpfish]

On pretty much any of those materials, how good they are is in how well they're installed. I've seen good and crappy versions of all of them. Haven't played enough turf or fatigue mats yet to really tell.

I'd almost have to go with concrete if for anything, its predictable, because its so common. That doesn't mean that there isn't a better alternative.