Turf tees vs concrete

[Peter S]

Concrete is the standard tee in the U.S. If you have been to Europe or have watched any footage the standard tees are terf on top of wood. The only course I can think of with terf is Richmond Hill in NC and I liked it.

Sometimes new or temp courses in the U.S. use rubber tees. Why is the standard concrete? I know I will be in the minority here but I actually prefer terf. In a perfectly dry world I also like the rubber tees.

Concrete tees are often done by the park or city and not a club or someone who knows how a tee should be finished. They tend to either have too much grip or not enough grip.

Looks at all the reviews for Rolling Pines, a new park with slippery tees. Did they paint them with something? One city park knew we wanted the tees to be "grippy" & they raked the wet concrete & it has way too much grip. Concrete tees tear up shoes and are a mess to change as a course grows or needs to change over time.

Am I the crazy one?

 

[Puckstopper]

It's spelled "turf", and it's a matter of preference. While I do see the downside to concrete tees, I rate any course without them 1/2 to a full point lower than it would rate otherwise. I vastly prefer the grip and security concrete offers, and feel like an occasional new pair of shoes is a small price to pay.

 

[corin_brown]

It's spelled "turf"

LOL.

 

[thrembo]

Concrete is better for heavily played courses, and grass is ok for small rec courses IMO.

 

[ClydesdaleDan]

How about concrete tees coated with a rubberized track surfacer like plexitrac - http://www.plexipave.com/track/plexitrac.html

I was practicing throwing last night at my town high school track/football field and the surface felt really grippy yet not as hard on shoes as concrete.

Just a thought, probably expensive.

 

[JC17393]

Concrete prevails because concrete is enduring. You pour it and you have a solid, durable, unchanging tee surface for years to come. With turf, or rubber, or wood...things wear, things erode, things rot and thus things need to be repaired more often.

IMO, three things are important for any good teeing surface...flat, level, grip...in that order. I'm not a fan of sacrificing either of the first two in favor of the third.

 

[DavidSauls]

By "terf", I'm pretty sure he meant astroturf, fake grass, or whatever you want to call it. Not natural grass.

 

[Martin Dewgarita]

Terf - Trans-exclusional Radical Feminism

 

[Peter S]

yep Turf, clearly not a typo as I did it more than once. Looks like Astoturf, Just watched the Europe open, etc with the Turf tees. them seem easy on the joints to get that sweet pivot. Watch enough footage from Europe though & you will see some very nasty and falling apeart tees, mountain courses for sure. So concrete it is for now. It seems science may need to play a part in the future of d/golf. We need tees that will last but have little less grip than concrete.

Any inventors out there?

 

[Peter S]

At least I spelled Turf right in the thread name

 

[ScottishDiscman]

Anyone else know any other courses that are like this one, I played the Troy Korsgaden DGC in Visalia and some of the tees are on the public path? Wee bit confusing for a newbie like me!

 

[storyboy]

One of the courses just built about 30mi from my home, used little rubber pellets the size of rabbit food, they mix an epoxy to hold it together and then trowel it on like concrete. Its awesome stuff. Most of the pads are triangular shaped and green in color with no frame around them. Good stuff!:thmbup:

 

[hellbound]

Played a course in Rockford Michigan when I was on vacation that did the Astroturf. Worst tee pads I have ever played on. It was three inches tall and when it gets a little water on it all but one of us slipped. (smaller course so it was no big run up or anything.) Like the idea but it has to be taken care of too much and all that fun stuff.

 

[ThrowBot]

I know that some of the folks I play with prefer dirt/grass tees because it's easier on their joints--especially knees. With the added grip of concrete, it puts more strain on your body to slide or spin on the surface. (Same concept as wearing out shoes faster; those same forces are transferred through your body. I blame Isaac Newton!)

 

[Peter S]

New ancle pain is what got me thinking of tees. I am looking at the Innova calendar & it happens to be Jarva Sweeden this month & in the picture you can see the right of the astroturf tee looks worn so it seems Turf is not the answer. I have also played on the recycled rubber like playgrounds sometimes have, I dont recall where. May have been Georgia somewhere, they were just right as I recall but since not my local park cannot speak to grip in different weather conditions, wear etc.

 

[DavidSauls]

Perkerson Park in Atlanta has that poured rubber playground stuff. Fabulous when dry. I'm also curious as to how it is wet, and how it will endure heavy use.

While there is no one right answer, concrete, done right, gives good traction, is decent when wet, and far more durable than anything else I've seen.

 

[Martin Dewgarita]

Visionquest did a great job with whatever they used for tees, installed well over wood, very grippy, even when dirty and wet. It will be interesting to see how well they hold up over time.

 

[Reniger]

Bertha Brock Park in Ionia, MI uses rolls of astroturf for most of it's pads and cheap carpet for others. It's terrible. Uneven, bad grip, and tacky looking. Give me concrete all day!

Hell, unless they build a frame and foundation for the turf, I'd rather have washed out dirt pads.

 

[Halcón]

While there is no one right answer, concrete, done right, gives good traction, is decent when wet, and far more durable than anything else I've seen.

Yep. Of course, that's also part of the issue, too.

 

[mike.sepulveda.73]

Anyone else know any other courses that are like this one, I played the Troy Korsgaden DGC in Visalia and some of the tees are on the public path? Wee bit confusing for a newbie like me!

Seems like we're pretty close bud. Bakersfield, CA here. I know this is off topic but we just played the Fresno trilogy challenge and stopped at Mooney Grove on the way back (awesome course, just played the outback 18 though).

Back on track now. All I've played is concrete (with widely varying amounts of size and grip) and natural ("grass" that has been beaten down to just hard pan dirt). A local course has a few boxes on the walking path that have lost quite a bit of grip due to glazing over, but it looks like someone has recently taken a grinder to them to rough them up a bit. I'm assuming it's a fellow golfer since the put what feels like the perfect amount of traction (for me) back into the box.