Tee Pads?

[Steve West]

Pervious concrete is an option.

 

[baileyt1212]

One of the mines up here donated some old rubber conveyer belt for pads. They work really well until they get wet and then they are real slick. We have another course with old grippy outdoor track and feild running track rubber that is great in all conditions. We have dirt pads that work fine. But, I think the best would be concrete.

 

[Green Aarrow]

Rubber's fine until they get water and mud on them. If you don't have a good area behind the rubber pads to use in such instances, they're worthless IMO.

 

[superium]

I was looking into some alternate for natural teepads and couldnt find any kind of cheap material. I looked into the artificial turf and the cheapest I could find was a round $100 for a 6'x10' roll. Prices were similar for rubber material i found. And no I'm not going to use carpet, thats just ghetto.

 

[Skinny Disc Guy]

I'd vote for concrete tee pads, there are small gas powered mixers you can rent and easily movable with 2 guys to get to your tee pad locations. Yes, this is going to be a little labor intensive overall with the mixer and carrying/wheelbarrowing cement bags, but well worth it in the end for longevity. Around the DFW metroplex most of the courses here all have concrete tee pads. The exception is east of Dallas in Canton they have used sandy loam for the boxes for now. They are testing the rubber mats, but my vote still lays with concrete in the long run.

 

[Horsman]

Gravel = Rolled ankles Heaven

 

[Dsplayname]

I like the rubber pads when it is sunny and dry outside, but like others have said, they are a big negative when wet or dirty.
I have no ideas on price, but those rubber floor mats they use in restaurant kitchens would work well. They have big enough spaces to not retain water or dirt, and don't tear up shoes or get slippery.

 

[Sean40474]

I'm all about the fly pads over concrete/asphalt or natural tees. We got some on a new mountain course we built last year, but the guy who bought them isn't here anymore, so I can't ask him where he got them.

 

[jaybob]

I am not a fan of concrete pads. There is nothing wrong with dirt as long as it drains well. The metal grating sounds like something i would like to try.

 

[Trav]

We've had LaunchPads on my course now for about 4 years and have absolutely zero problems with them. Installation is the key, spend a few extra bucks for a gravel compactor and pressure-treated 4x4 frames. My pads get about an hours worth of water every night during the summer and have never had standing water on them.

 

[Captain Bad]

There are a couple courses around here with gravel tees. One is more like packed earth topped with gravel. The other is more like a shallow pit filled with pea gravel if that makes any sense. They both suck. The footing is very insecure, so people often tee off from the dirt beside the tee box. Defeats the whole purpose of installing the tee in the first place if you ask me.

I definitely prefer the rubber pads over gravel. As others have said, though, rubber pads are great until they get wet and muddy. Then they're slick as hell.

Honestly, I think concrete pads are the way to go. Unless they were covered in snow/ice, I've never felt insecure on concrete.

 

[jkdisc]

i hate the rubber. id rather be on a natural tee. rubber makes me feel like my leg is gonna catch wrong or slip.

 

[NicedGuy]

I've been doing some research on rubber pads for the expansion holes at Murdock park. I found that you can buy the exact same material that Launchpads are made from at Rural King and Tractor Supply. I called the company that makes it to see if I could get better pricing and was informed that they sell them to Disconcepts.

Our local Rural King sells the 4' wide 1/4" for $4.99/ft and 3/8" for $7.50/ft. That's the best price I've found on any rubber tee pads plus we didn't have to pay any shipping.

I bought a 10' piece of the 1/4" for testing. So far the results have been great. We played on it today and even with mud and snow on it the traction was good, nobody was slipping.

 

[Jukeshoe]

brushed concrete > (non-glazed) brick > faux grass/turf > rubber > natural > gravel > glazed brick