Tee Pad Size

[Casey 1988]

Have you seen a course where the tee pads are too large? My local course in Oahe Downstream State Park, Powerhouse Ally has this problem with almost too large of tee pad that plying on the far left of pad can almost be an advantage on some holes.

Have you ever seen Tee pads that need to be a little smaller to not help the player out when throwing from the farthest left side?

 

[JC17393]

I've encountered plenty of tees that were larger than they needed to be, but not because they provided advantages to players. It was because it was a waste of materials. A 6' X 14' tee on a 180 foot hole is overkill no matter how you slice it.

 

[Casey 1988]

I've encountered plenty of tees that were larger than they needed to be, but not because they provided advantages to players. It was because it was a waste of materials. A 6' X 14' tee on a 180 foot hole is overkill no matter how you slice it.

Yeah The ones I mention are as if they put the tee pad in sideways with a between 8-10 foot width by 6-7 foot length. Yeah you can tell somebody messed up going sideways with the pads but the State Park kept the pads because they had used the Rebar in the pad to help with the shifting soil in winter in my area, Rough winters cause shifting soil in parts of the Northern Plains. Getting those pads out would have been a nightmare as to why the State Park did not fix them and in some tournaments if conditions are fine they do a small mark in Spray paint on the front end of the pad as to how far out one can throw from on those pads. These pads are better then the ones on in town course where they made the pad okay size maybe a tiny bit small but they taper in to the front by mistake instead of the other way around taper to the back, people pitting it in were thinking have the tee pad tapered the way a grass run pad is for Javelin, that was the excuse those putting the pads in used. The head of the City Parks department told the people how the pads for the disc golf course were to be put in yet they still did them backwards. These pads on in town course will need replacement or at least a repave over with quickcreate or other like product if done correctly.

 

[keepitfun]

this topic is not discussed enough

the width should be wide enough to accommodate someone 6'6" or taller's x step but not so wide that it opens up unintended options and lanes off the tee.....tricky tricky to get it right

and if the tee is too narrow imo it gets into a taller players head when he is teeing off which to me is unfair

 

[BogeyNoMore]

I've encountered very few tees that are so wide, that throwing from the left side vs. the right side truly opens up a line that basically doesn't exist from the opposite side.

That said, I've thrown from countless tees where one side or the other creates a cleaner look at the same line, if not a better angle, than the other side.... but not a whole different line.

You could make the argument that any # of: tees, holes, courses.... favor certain groups of players (e.g. RHBH, LHBH, LHFH, RHFH). The tee and the holes are what they are. Evrey player is presented with the same opportunity to throw from anywhere on the tee pad.

If you feel at a disadvantage because of how well your game is or isn't suited to the tee, learn some different shots and deal with it.

 

[keepitfun]

I've encountered very few tees that are so wide, that throwing from the left side vs. the right side truly opens up a line that basically doesn't exist from the opposite side.

That said, I've thrown from countless tees where one side or the other creates a more open look at the same line, if not a better angle, than the other side.... but not a whole different line.

You could make the argument that any # of: tees, holes, courses.... favor certain groups of players (e.g. RHBH, LHBH, LHFH, RHFH). The tee and the holes are what they are. Evey player is presented with the same opportunity to throw fom anywhere on the tee pad.

If you feel at a disadvantage because of how well your game is or isn't suited to the tee, learn a few different shots and deal with it.

It is something many players dismiss but many designers want to test a particular skill set and if the "intended" design was to test a players forehand but the tee pad is so enormous that it opens up another line to the basket that is a backhand then imo as a designer it is an issue

many designers attempt to create a course that tests specific player abilities off the tee and to just roll over and allow a player to throw 18 backhands in a round without any stress than it is an issue

I get your argument from a player standpoint but I am speaking from a designers point of view.....most designers seek to create a balanced course that favors nobody but the more skilled players

in your scenario a player who can only throw one style could score as well as a player with a more diverse skillset

 

[Casey 1988]

this topic is not discussed enough

the width should be wide enough to accommodate someone 6'6" or taller's x step but not so wide that it opens up unintended options and lanes off the tee.....tricky tricky to get it right

and if the tee is too narrow imo it gets into a taller players head when he is teeing off which to me is unfair

Yep and I hope people install the tee pad design correctly as well. In my local City Course they put the type that get wider as they go out backwards so the skinny part is at the front. It should be the other way around especially since they had my dad a 6 ft 2 in guy with longer legs test that out as well as a family friend who he uses the full spin on the single leg in end part of his backhand drive after X part. I am a 5 ft 2 in adult feel and even pinched off at the end of the skinny tee pad. :\

The length is a tad short but if you do not put your bag on the pad it will work for most players except the near 7 foot + guys or 6 ft 6 in+ person with long legs as the course is short enough for the size of the tee pads on currently 90% of a course that is a course made for those not raw beginners but not too much challenging for players that have been playing more then a year or so.

 

[DavidSauls]

What's the problem if it opens up an entirely different line?

I know of a course with multiple lines off the tee on about half the holes. It's interesting to see people attack them in different ways; even more interesting when they stand there and ponder which route to take.

I don't see why that would be fine from a thin tee, but not if a wider one makes them possible.

 

[keepitfun]

What's the problem if it opens up an entirely different line?

I know of a course with multiple lines off the tee on about half the holes. It's interesting to see people attack them in different ways; even more interesting when they stand there and ponder which route to take.

I don't see why that would be fine from a thin tee, but not if a wider one makes them possible.

my only point as states above was if the designer wanted to force a specific line to test that particular skill

for instance many wooded courses a designer will actually move a tee closer to avoid this

imagine a tight tunnel thats 250 feet out of a wooded section and into an open fieldwith no reasonable shot other than up the fairway, but if the tee was moved back 20 feet theres a hyzer line 270 feet to the green out of the woods unobstructed to the green that avoids the tunnel

sure theres more options but the designer intended to test a players ability to throw straight and get rewarded with an open green not throw a lazy hyzer to the open green

these are the things designers deal with all the time and which can come up when a tee pad is too large....it may seem trivial but little things like this are what makes some holes great and others less so

as a player of course I want the options because it's fun....and a good designer will try to make a few holes with options designed into the hole

I realize I sound pretty opinionated but I am just trying to share my point of view

 

[Horsman]

Is there anything that limits the size or shape of a teepad? Could you have a obnoxiously large teepad with the intention of it to open up bunch of different solutions/routes that can be taken to complete the hole?

I know Ive played a course in Bowling Green Kentucky that the tee pad was the literal shape of a V and made the hole fair for all throwing styles. I found it quite unique and liked the mental challenge that it provided.

 

[JuanA]

Is there anything that limits the size or shape of a teepad? Could you have a obnoxiously large teepad with the intention of it to open up bunch of different solutions/routes that can be taken to complete the hole?

I know Ive played a course in Bowling Green Kentucky that the tee pad was the literal shape of a V and made the hole fair for all throwing styles. I found it quite unique and liked the mental challenge that it provided.

We recently had a course installed with a few round tee-pads. 360 degrees of freedom for me to lose my disc.

 

[Horsman]

Yea, Im thinking more of something crazy like a 20'x20' tee.

 

[BogeyNoMore]

Is there anything that limits the size or shape of a teepad? Could you have a obnoxiously large teepad with the intention of it to open up bunch of different solutions/routes that can be taken to complete the hole?

Yea, Im thinking more of something crazy like a 20'x20' tee.

Yeah... money.

Considering most players would say 4'x12' is a nice sized tee, 20'x20' tees would use 8.3 times as much cement. Most courses have budgets that probs don't have room for that. You could probably install a couple more courses just for the difference in the cost of the cement.

Plus there's having to clear, level and prep that much more ground to pour the tee.

Might even require removal of some mature trees, which I personally wouldn't appreciate. Gimme a tee in the shade, any day.

 

[Horsman]

Yeah... money.

Considering most players would say 4'x12' is a nice sized tee, 20'x20' tees would use 8.3 times as much cement. Most courses have budgets that probs don't have room for that. You could probably install a couple more courses just for the difference in the cost of the cement.

Plus there's having to clear, level and prep that much more ground to pour the tee.

Might even require removal of some mature trees, which I personally wouldn't appreciate. Gimme a tee in the shade, any day.

Yea, this is more theoretical then anything. Its not practical at all from a resources standpoint. I was more just curious if there would be anything that would prevent someone from making some gigantic tees.

 

[BogeyNoMore]

I don't think there's any rule preventing it.


But even everything else is a "go," ...cost a likely show stopper. So "theoretically," I'd say money's a pretty good reason.

 

[mhulkman]

one of the courses I helped design and install we did tee pads of all different sizes thru out the course. Majority of the pads are 6x12 with 2-3ft of level ground behind and in front of each pad but some are unique size. Hole 2 is slight uphill 500ft+ par 4 where the tee pad is surrounded by trees so we purposely made the pad 12x12ft to open several lanes for your tee shot, I love the variety of options for this shot! Holes 3 and 16 have the basket locations really spread out from left to right so these pads flare out in front with 4ft wide in the back of the tee to 8ft wide at the front of the tee. Hole 12 is a very short downhill of 205ft that actually plays around 160ft with the elevation loss so that tee is a 4x4 hexagon taking away any run up throw forcing a stand still type tee shot. And holes 11 and 18 are short birdie holes so to add some challenge the pads are just 4x8.

 

[jakebake91]

Yeah... money.

Considering most players would say 4'x12' is a nice sized tee, 20'x20' tees would use 8.3 times as much cement. Most courses have budgets that probs don't have room for that. You could probably install a couple more courses just for the difference in the cost of the cement.

Plus there's having to clear, level and prep that much more ground to pour the tee.

Might even require removal of some mature trees, which I personally wouldn't appreciate. Gimme a tee in the shade, any day.

Some temp courses/holes tee off from painted lines on the ground or sidewalk. I think that's where we *could* see something obnoxiously large. Paint a 40 square foot octagon in the middle of a parking lot or something as a tee area? Limits the waste of resources.

 

[JuanA]

I believe the largest Tee I've thrown from is at Badlands which according to Google Maps is about 11' X 27'. Noticeably larger than the surrounding tees but probably not what you guys consider huge.