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Fixing Vandalized Tee pads

Camgolfer

Double Eagle Member
Bronze level trusted reviewer
Joined
Oct 17, 2008
Messages
1,068
Location
North Denver
In the course we play often (that I helped design) two of the concrete tees were vandalized shortly after pouring. One tee pad is not too bad, the hole is short and therefore is not a problem. The other vandalized tee pad is on the 2nd longest hole in the course and requires a good run up to get a decent drive. The problem is that the city buffed out the tee pad and now it is really slick in places making the run up harder and causing some people to fall.

What kinds of things can be done to fix the smoothness of the tee without repouring the tee? I have contacted the parks dept. but I fear that nothing will change. We have a tournament coming up in a few weeks and I want that hole to be playable. There is a sidewalk in front of the tee I have considered driving from so that may be a temporary solution.
 
Sand Blasting it may rough it up enough to get some traction, or it may do nothing.
If you have a wet-saw cutting thin, shallow grooves in it may help.
Just theories, not sure if either would work though.
 
Third option

Get a good epoxi paint roll on a thick coat and then sprinkle on some coarse sand. Let dry the paint again. This might add grip for some time, but will ware with time. You best bet is acid etching, but do the correct procedures when doing it.
 
Actually, Solomon, I repaired a pond this week and poured a thin layer of mortar on the bottom to make it smooth. We painted the existing bottom with mason glue, then made mortar from #30 silica sand and plastic cement (1 to 1 ratio). The stuff was super creamy and sticky. It worked awesome for this application. I don't think it would have worked over a long period of time for teepads, (3-5 yrs) although that may be enough time to raise some $$ and replace them.
 
I've had success with muratic acid. One of our tee pads got a too smooth finish on it and was slippery even when dry. I got some acid and spent a little time on it. Seems OK now.
 
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