Above ground course

[mopar]

Looking for ideas on building a course without digging any holes in the ground.

The current idea is to make concrete pyramids that we can put the baskets in. They would weigh about 500 lbs each and be easily movable with a bobcat/forklift.

Any other ideas on basket placement? What about above ground teepads? No stakes in the ground. Anything durable enough to be moved a couple times a year with heavy equipment can be considered.

Thank you in advance for any ideas

 

[JC17393]

Pye Brook Park in Topsfield MA is built on top of an old landfill, so digging wasn't allowed for any reason. They have huge concrete bases that they put the baskets in that sit on top of the ground. They have rebar loops on top for hooking a chain to for easy movement with a bobcat or tractor.

Their tees are mostly 4X4 and 2X4 wood frames set on top of the grass, then filled in and covered with rubber mats. Not very portable as a unit, but not all that difficult to break down and re-build if necessary.

 

[Martin Dewgarita]

Some info here about building tee pads that can be moved. Note that because of a change in executive directorship, I never went through with this plan, so I don't have any input on how well it works.

https://www.dgcoursereview.com/forums/showthread.php?t=122495

 

[mopar]

Thank you for the replies. Those baskets with the concrete base are very similar to what we had in mind.

Are those teepad naturally heavy enough to be stable? We can't dig to level the ground to put them on...but we could add gravel and build up a spot that is level. The ground in that photo looks pretty level naturally but we won't always have that luxury.

The proposal is at a state park in an area that is tagged as a "historic area" so there are restrictions on digging.

 

[sidewinder22]

For tees we cut the old concrete slab from a pavilion, can fill around the edges with mulch or gravel. Pavers would also be a decent option.

https://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=5593&mode=ci

 

[DavidSauls]

Above-ground teepads only if you put considerable fill for a couple of feet in front of them.

Please.

 

[greg_b_4]

cement baskets into 5 gallon buckets

 

[mopar]

Just an update...I know it's been awhile but we are a state park and designing a course in a historic area so there has been a lot of red tape and approvals required.

We have funding for the first 9 holes and hope to grow from there. We have designs for above ground concrete "pyramids" that will hold baskets and be movable with a bobcat.
Still unsure about a final teepad design. They have to be above ground as no digging is allowed in the historic area and we would prefer them to also be movable with the bobcat.

We have a temporary course layed out and will be hosting a "Family Fun Disc Golf Day" in early june (with portable baskets) to raise awareness in the community. Prizes will be given out and loaner discs will be available for first timers.

It's been a slow process but I'm looking forward to the future. We have a lot of land that is already maintained and there is speculation that we could have 27 or 36 holes if everything pans out. I'm not holding my breath on that. I'm taking it one step at a time, but the potential is there.

 

[brutalbrutus]

Just an update...I know it's been awhile but we are a state park and designing a course in a historic area so there has been a lot of red tape and approvals required.

We have funding for the first 9 holes and hope to grow from there. We have designs for above ground concrete "pyramids" that will hold baskets and be movable with a bobcat.
Still unsure about a final teepad design. They have to be above ground as no digging is allowed in the historic area and we would prefer them to also be movable with the bobcat.

We have a temporary course layed out and will be hosting a "Family Fun Disc Golf Day" in early june (with portable baskets) to raise awareness in the community. Prizes will be given out and loaner discs will be available for first timers.

It's been a slow process but I'm looking forward to the future. We have a lot of land that is already maintained and there is speculation that we could have 27 or 36 holes if everything pans out. I'm not holding my breath on that. I'm taking it one step at a time, but the potential is there.

Have you thought about just using artificial turf, rubber or plastic mats for the teepads? Being a state agency, I would think getting ahold of some used turf from the public schools and/or universities wouldn't be terribly difficult. All you really need to do for prep work is lay down some sand or fine gravel on top of the ground to help with drainage.

 

[brutalbrutus]

Unless they are only gonna be in place for a day or two at a time, pretty much any way you do a temporary teepad is gonna leave a bald spot in the grass. At least with the sand it wouldn't be just a muddy spot when you need to remove the pads. Plus you wouldn't need to worry as much about having completely flat ground like you would with the concrete. You could use the sand/gravel to level them out and then roll on the turf.

 

[sjberry2017]

I was thinking about suggesting turf as well. I think I've seen a few different options where people have created a frame for the tee, filled it with whatever the turf uses (sand, rubber pellets, etc), and put some retractable vasters on it. I imagine, if the funding was there, you could have a little wooden deck follow through area off the front as well. It'd be expensive, but pretty cool

 

[mrtho]

Without driving any kind of stakes in the ground? Soft tee pads (turf/rubber) really need something like tent stakes to hold them down. That way the wind doesn't grab them or worse they somehow slip and hurt someone (rare) and cause a lawsuit. Even a piece of landscape tember needs a couple spikes so it doesn't get stepped on and roll an ankle.


The portable concrete pads require a lot of work to level safely and then a lot of work removing the ground you built up leaving an ugly spot when moved.

I think your best bet would be put your tee signs in buckets of concrete and find something like used bowing balls on eBay. Paint the balls all the same color and throw a few rocks around them so they don't roll. Put 2 on each tee to mark the front edge. If you are allowed to paint a line (you should since the line will disappear after a few mowings) go for it, if not the two markers are a legal box (many temp holes in tournaments use 2 flags).

 

[mopar]

I forgot to check back after my last update. We had our "Family Fun Disc Golf Day" 2 weeks ago. It was a 1 day temporary course with portable baskets to raise awareness about the disc golf course in the park in the future. We had 98 people attend. I consider it a success. I received lots of positive feedback about the layout and about a year round course.

Thank you for all of the suggestions. We have the foundations for the baskets and tee signs set. We have above ground concrete pyramid molds that we have used for other signs in our historical area in the past. They look nice and will do what we need (heavy enough that they can't be moved easily but still easy enough to be moved around by our bobcat).

It is the teepads which are still up in the air. There are some concrete foundations on site in different locations that we can utilize as a pad (though because they are on a historical site we can't paint them or alter them). For teepads in other areas we will have a small budget to work with. My first thought is to use a wood frame with some sort of non-slip overlay. I have been considering mats but turf is a good suggestion that I haven't looked into. We can build up the ground by applying gravel or sand etc on top, but digging is restricted.

If anyone has links to the turf or mats you have experience working with, and would recommend, I would appreciate specific info so I can assess costs. Thanks again.

 

[mopar]

I can't edit the above post any longer.
I do want to point out that, while we would like the teepads to be moveable, I understand that how "portable" they are is relative and that sturdiness and safety are a priority. We do have access to some fairly heavy equipment if necessary (larger equipment than the bobcat that we will utilize most often).

 

[brutalbrutus]

Most of the turf tees around here have been donated from school football fields or are repurposed driving range mats. If you dont expect super high traffic, you could probly get away with using any decent artificial grass at home depot or Lowes.

There is one 9hole course here that has these rubber teepads that are a bit different. It the type of thing you see at some newer playgrounds instead of dirt or mulch but not the interlocking rubber squares. Hmm... I wonder if anyone ever made teepads from the interlocking squares? They're are also several different types of rubber entryway mats that could be used.

Does anyone still make the Fly type rubber pads?

 

[jjtwinnova]

Rubber is worse than natural, imo, if it's not textured. Horrible when wet.

Turf needs to be maintained and superbly done, or else it turns to a sloppy mess.

I think you should go with a Mulch/Dirt pad, and use painted rocks as markers. They can be easily leveled, and if kept up, perfectly okay for grip, and they can look nice.

 

[mopar]

Rubber is worse than natural, imo, if it's not textured. Horrible when wet.

Turf needs to be maintained and superbly done, or else it turns to a sloppy mess.

I think you should go with a Mulch/Dirt pad, and use painted rocks as markers. They can be easily leveled, and if kept up, perfectly okay for grip, and they can look nice.

That is a concern because it rains a good amount here so the teepads will have to provide traction when wet. Also, we would prefer to err on the side of durability and safety if the cost is only slightly more. We do have a small budget allotted from the state parks and rec dept.

From my personal perspective, earthen teepads are not the answer. We will come up with better options than mulch/dirt pads. I'm just unsure what that is at this point. I'm still assessing the options.

 

[Celos]

Here's an example of a wooden above-ground teepad. It's a 2x4m (so .. 6.5x13ft?) wooden frame with turf on top and an embedded tee sign. There's a small follow through area at the front (larger than it seems from the image). They've added cinder blocks underneath for stability and used them for levelling as well when required. A few of the courses around here have had these installed and they work pretty well. Plenty of room, stable and they've held up to heavy use.

 

[DoWork]

Just an update...I know it's been awhile but we are a state park and designing a course in a historic area so there has been a lot of red tape and approvals required.

We have funding for the first 9 holes and hope to grow from there. We have designs for above ground concrete "pyramids" that will hold baskets and be movable with a bobcat.
Still unsure about a final teepad design. They have to be above ground as no digging is allowed in the historic area and we would prefer them to also be movable with the bobcat.

We have a temporary course layed out and will be hosting a "Family Fun Disc Golf Day" in early june (with portable baskets) to raise awareness in the community. Prizes will be given out and loaner discs will be available for first timers.

It's been a slow process but I'm looking forward to the future. We have a lot of land that is already maintained and there is speculation that we could have 27 or 36 holes if everything pans out. I'm not holding my breath on that. I'm taking it one step at a time, but the potential is there.

Make the tees out of rough cut 4x4s with center cross bracing and you'll be able to pull them in the fall without destroying them. We fill ours with surepac, but mulch works too. We are on a ski area and if we leave the boxes out they get turned into about 60,000 toothpicks by a snowcat tiller.

 

[Aim For The Chains]

A simple frame with scrap cement board ive seen used at private course recently and really liked it. Much easier to move vs many other teepads and look great. He also had a few peices right on flat glass for temp position which was better vs any class 5 or wood etc.