All 5 Yellowstone courses are covered in massive amounts of snow all winter, including the Old Faithful course.
Frownie
Well obviously their not building them close enough to the geyser.
You just have to time your throw between eruptions.-
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Heated Concrete Teepads...?
- Thread starter TheWCG
- Start date
Well obviously their not building them close enough to the geyser.
You just have to time your throw between eruptions.
esdubya
Double Eagle Member
It is too costly to do a heated teepad system, just to cater to the handful of players out there in the snow for a few months of the year. Additionally you would need to heat the area around the tee pad so as not to create the hockey rink effect where the pooled melted snow just sits there with no relief for the runoff.
Just shovel it and add the sheet metal screws to your boots.
Just shovel it and add the sheet metal screws to your boots.
- Joined
- May 6, 2011
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- 650
Use a few large 4"x5" Hothands warmers to line your bag, this keeps the discs warm for at least one round in the coldest weather, and they weigh very little so you wont posthole in the deep stuff.
That might work well to keep them warm, at least until thrown!
Downside is, the discs are always wet because they melt the snow they land in, and then your hands get cold from handling wet rags and wet discs.
I think it's better just to get used to throwing cold discs, the snow just falls off of them and everything stays dry. Dry gear means the hands stay warm, which gives you better grip anyway.
jcrab66
Double Eagle Member
thats what i use :thmbup:
A more low level solution could be sheets of tarp nailed down on one side of the tee during the months where this is an issue. Just roll it over the tee after teeing off. Maybe add something, spikes, stones, whatever, to keep the loose side down. Should give you a clear tee in one swoop.
Requires that all the users would want to roll it off and on ofc. And I guess we all know what kind of dream that is. And then theres the usual vandalism issues on top.
But thought I would put it out there.
Requires that all the users would want to roll it off and on ofc. And I guess we all know what kind of dream that is.
And then theres the usual vandalism issues on top.But thought I would put it out there.
412Disc
Double Eagle Member
I like the idea
- Joined
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For about a $1000, you can buy a gas powered Snowblower that will take care of the tees in the winter. Combine that with a Stihl Kombi Power Brush and you'll have nice playable tees in no time. The kombi is a great too for other course maintenance needs as well, as you can get a weedwhacker attachment and other ones like pole saws and such.
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- 15,713
I hate to piss on anyone's idea, but....Never happening... who's gonna run round to refuel each tee pad? Plus imagine courses with 18+ holes and dual pads?
The solar charger thing (assuming it generates enough energy) seems more feasible. Until someone breaks it, or otherwise vandalizes it.
I like the concept, but I think that's just part of living in the north. I doubt local communities will spring for any additional cost after pouring concrete and springing for baskets and tee posts.
Here's an outside the box idea. Ancient Bolivian and Aztec farmers used raised fields to ward off frost among other benefits. Basically, by having fields surrounded by water, the sun heats up the water during the daytime and causes a mist of warm air to hover around at night, keeping the plants significantly warmer. Obviously, if it got cold enough to freeze the water you're completely SOL and there's a good chance it would result in ice covered tees but if you maybe put some greenhouses around the tees as well (maybe just a plastic sheet) in combination it might be somewhat feasible.
Re; Solar-powered heaters
Someone help me with the science.
Could a solar panel smaller than the teepad generate more heat than the actual sun shining on the tee? Especially a dark-colored tee with little reflectance?
Someone help me with the science.
Could a solar panel smaller than the teepad generate more heat than the actual sun shining on the tee? Especially a dark-colored tee with little reflectance?
TheWCG
* Ace Member *
I'm not a scientist nor an electrician but that was the original idea. Maybe people got confused with the "heated" part of the OP. With a solar panel and a cord/heating element, I was thinking of just warming the top layer, maybe 1/2 inch below the surface...? I honestly think it can be done for a reasonable price with the right person that has the knowledge to do so. Vandalism would be the biggest concern. Those damn chuckers...
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good point sir...I doubt it.
Just thought of some faux pas here:
Once a dark tee pad gets covered in snow, it's no longer dark, so it's as reflective as, mmmm..... snow.
Same goes for solar panels. After a decent snowfall, they ain't gonna see a lot of sunlight. And that's when you want a heated pad... after it snows, to melt it before it can get packed down or partially melt and refreeze.
I'm thinking shoveling them off while the snow's still dry = best solution.
That or rocksalt like they use on walkways. Moreover, they're pretty much the ONLY solutions for existing courses, and I plan on playing quite a few rounds on some of those.
Noobaque
Bogey Member
not sure if anyone thought of this, but why not something like an automatic sweeper like a cat litter box?
lol
lol
Mix BLACK dye into the pads. They'll absorb a load more sun and stay warmer and more free of ice and snow. Of course it's not a gasoline or electric powered heater, but the increased cost might be $5 per pad rather than $500.
Here's a cool article I saw on Facebook the other day, and immediately thought about applications for this nanotechnology to disc golf.
http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/news/4945/australian-eucalypt-a-nanotech-gold-mine
"A species of Australian eucalyptus possesses spectacular water-repelling and self-cleaning properties that could have an array of practical applications, researchers have discovered.
These findings, revealing the nanoparticular nature of the mottlecah's striking silver leaves, could lead to enhanced cleanliness of sterile medical and laboratory utensils, self-cleaning buildings and the antibiofouling of ships' hulls.
Other plants, including the lotus, have been shown to have incredible water-repellent effects caused by the particular composition of the wax covering their surface. Many plants will have wax covering their leaves - it reduces water loss during transpiration and allows the exchange of gases processes known as photosynthesis.
Poinern and his team have discovered that the wax covering the mottlecah - a native from southwest Western Australia affectionately dubbed 'the Rose of the West' - leaves creates an incredible surface at the nano-particle level.
Experimenting with its self-cleaning properties, a leaf was covered in black toner. When water was sprayed on it, the droplets accumulated and, rolling to one end of the leaf, collected all the toner leaving the plant completely clean.
'The ability to control the wettability of surfaces is important in many different applications, from windows to printing,' commented Andrew Briggs from the University of Oxford.
'We can learn much from studying the very clever ways in which plant surfaces have evolved their own nanostructures for determining how water behaves on the surfaces of leaves. We have much to learn from plants in the development of advanced nanotechnologies, ranging from field sensing to light harvesting,' he said.
Other uses could involve enhancing the buoyancy of certain devices - the team found that a slide coated in the waxes was able to support four times the weight of a normal slide. In the case of ships' hulls, for example, this technique could lead to better management of fluid drag reduction and water-supporting forces."
...so basically we'll have water-repellent tee pads and discs! I won't hold my breath, though...I'm still doing that for my hoverboard.
http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/news/4945/australian-eucalypt-a-nanotech-gold-mine
"A species of Australian eucalyptus possesses spectacular water-repelling and self-cleaning properties that could have an array of practical applications, researchers have discovered.
These findings, revealing the nanoparticular nature of the mottlecah's striking silver leaves, could lead to enhanced cleanliness of sterile medical and laboratory utensils, self-cleaning buildings and the antibiofouling of ships' hulls.
Other plants, including the lotus, have been shown to have incredible water-repellent effects caused by the particular composition of the wax covering their surface. Many plants will have wax covering their leaves - it reduces water loss during transpiration and allows the exchange of gases processes known as photosynthesis.
Poinern and his team have discovered that the wax covering the mottlecah - a native from southwest Western Australia affectionately dubbed 'the Rose of the West' - leaves creates an incredible surface at the nano-particle level.
Experimenting with its self-cleaning properties, a leaf was covered in black toner. When water was sprayed on it, the droplets accumulated and, rolling to one end of the leaf, collected all the toner leaving the plant completely clean.
'The ability to control the wettability of surfaces is important in many different applications, from windows to printing,' commented Andrew Briggs from the University of Oxford.
'We can learn much from studying the very clever ways in which plant surfaces have evolved their own nanostructures for determining how water behaves on the surfaces of leaves. We have much to learn from plants in the development of advanced nanotechnologies, ranging from field sensing to light harvesting,' he said.
Other uses could involve enhancing the buoyancy of certain devices - the team found that a slide coated in the waxes was able to support four times the weight of a normal slide. In the case of ships' hulls, for example, this technique could lead to better management of fluid drag reduction and water-supporting forces."
...so basically we'll have water-repellent tee pads and discs!
I won't hold my breath, though...I'm still doing that for my hoverboard.Troy Jan
Par Member
This is the dumbest thread i have ever read. Get a shovel and shovel or don't play.
UnitedPuppySlayer
* Ace Member *
Hey, how about you pull that stick out of your butt? I think the concept of it is good, as would most other people.
Apparently you don't read many threads here. :|
BionicRib
* Ace Member *
- Joined
- Jun 7, 2011
- Messages
- 2,617
Perhaps 50+ years down the road this may be an idea that becomes commonplace on pay to play courses in the north, but for now I would say lets not get ahead of ourselves........If done I would say that whereever these teepads are utilized it would have to be on a course that brings in enough revenue to justify the cost, installation and maintenance of such a contraption............that being said I think it would be cool.....................................Isn't that what America is all about?.......invent something that makes everyone a little bit lazier?
Shovels are for tossers and sheep shaggers! I walk on to an iced tee and bust out muh flamethrower!
How friggin' awesome would that be, albeit environmentally destructive...
On a more serious note, current photovoltaic solar technology is both inefficient and expensive, as has been addressed. There are some solar technologies on the horizon that increase efficiency and decrease cost though, so that might become feasible down the road. Another issue I see though is that if the coil stops functioning, you have to jackhammer the tee and build a new one.
The ground systems mentioned are geothermal systems, and they operate on the principal that the ground is a constant ~55F at an average of 4-5 feet, regardless of your area. In other words, it doesn't matter if you're in the Gobi desert or in the Alaskan Yukon, if you dig down five feet, you're going to find 55F temps. Downside is that this requires circulation of a viscous fluid, which again requires electricity.
Theoretically, you could pour a concrete tee pad such that it would have a column or 'taproot-esque' structure that would transfer that 55F up in to the tee, but whether or not it would actually work, I'm not sure. I think it would be a long shot, but about the only current sustainable and financially viable option. Honestly, this is nothing new. The department of transportation has been trying to figure out how to keep concrete from freezing for years (bridges,) and as someone else already mentioned, millions of dollars of R&D has yet to reveal anything more efficient than sand and rock salt, mixed with a snow blade.
Regarding shoveling, I can understand. It's time consuming, and you still risk slipping and getting hurt, unless you salt/sand and wait for the ice to melt. If I lived in a high snow risk environment and had the resources, I would purchase sheets of rubber, in the 1/4" thick range, similar to what you see on mudflaps on tractor trailers. I'd hinge one side, and pour the hinge in to the end of the concrete pad. I'd bolt a rod to the other end to serve as a handle. This way, if it snowed, I could just walk up and grab the handle, and then walk the rubber pad backwards down the tee, thus removing the snow and exposing fresh concrete. After the throw, roll it back down, and off you go. Additionally, this would offer the choice between concrete OR rubber tees to those that have a preference. Would it be cheap? No. It's kind of an eccentric solution, but barring actually taking the time to research and build something geothermal, that would be the route I would probably take.
How friggin' awesome would that be, albeit environmentally destructive...
On a more serious note, current photovoltaic solar technology is both inefficient and expensive, as has been addressed. There are some solar technologies on the horizon that increase efficiency and decrease cost though, so that might become feasible down the road. Another issue I see though is that if the coil stops functioning, you have to jackhammer the tee and build a new one.
The ground systems mentioned are geothermal systems, and they operate on the principal that the ground is a constant ~55F at an average of 4-5 feet, regardless of your area. In other words, it doesn't matter if you're in the Gobi desert or in the Alaskan Yukon, if you dig down five feet, you're going to find 55F temps. Downside is that this requires circulation of a viscous fluid, which again requires electricity.
Theoretically, you could pour a concrete tee pad such that it would have a column or 'taproot-esque' structure that would transfer that 55F up in to the tee, but whether or not it would actually work, I'm not sure. I think it would be a long shot, but about the only current sustainable and financially viable option. Honestly, this is nothing new. The department of transportation has been trying to figure out how to keep concrete from freezing for years (bridges,) and as someone else already mentioned, millions of dollars of R&D has yet to reveal anything more efficient than sand and rock salt, mixed with a snow blade.
Regarding shoveling, I can understand. It's time consuming, and you still risk slipping and getting hurt, unless you salt/sand and wait for the ice to melt. If I lived in a high snow risk environment and had the resources, I would purchase sheets of rubber, in the 1/4" thick range, similar to what you see on mudflaps on tractor trailers. I'd hinge one side, and pour the hinge in to the end of the concrete pad. I'd bolt a rod to the other end to serve as a handle. This way, if it snowed, I could just walk up and grab the handle, and then walk the rubber pad backwards down the tee, thus removing the snow and exposing fresh concrete. After the throw, roll it back down, and off you go. Additionally, this would offer the choice between concrete OR rubber tees to those that have a preference. Would it be cheap? No. It's kind of an eccentric solution, but barring actually taking the time to research and build something geothermal, that would be the route I would probably take.
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