Rubber Pads - WANTED!

[The dude on the bike]

horse stall pads

 

[TheStray]

Nevermind.

 

[harr0140]

I assume you are going to be placing these rubber pads over traffic bond, or wll the traffic bond be removes and the ground leveled around the tees so the rubber pad is on the soil?

I know a few of the spots on that course had uneven areas to tee off of, and was just hoping this was all thought about before rubber is installed. If you lay this over the traffic bond, you will likely see a quicker deterioration of the rubber, but also erosion will still happen unless retaining walls are built around the base for the rubber pad. I assume since concrete is not an option then small wood timbers retaining the gravel or whatever base is used is also not allowed. If this is the case the rubber might not work as well as expected because the gravel and/or soil will still erode with every storm.

I think I am making my point clear, just looking fo your input as to how this was thought out?

 

[harr0140]

How about brick tees, like at Pamprin Park, in G.B.? Those need to be done well also; or they can be trouble. The Pamprin crew enclosed them well with a metal form and those are some of the prettiest tees around. The form used also seems to be holding up perfectly and there have been no issues that I've noticed with any maintenance required or upheaval on the tees. Cheapness of said style would of course depend on finding a source of cheap, almost assuredly used brick.

I may be able to find cheap brick from a local landscape company. They have pallets and pallets of old stuff sitting around. Stuff that has been discontinued so they are left with a couple hundred square feet of each brick maybe. Each tee might be different but at least they would all be brick. I know in this circumstance the brick probably wouldnt be allowed, but it is an idea for all you looking at options . . . try contacting your large landscape companies and see if they have any old pallets of brick for sale (stuff they can no longer use on new projects. They might be willing to give it to you if it is just in their way because the excess brick was already paid for by a customer anyways! Give it a shot!

 

[smyith]

I love rubber tee pads. especially when installed correctly. You should just have fund raiser tournaments and generate the money that way.

Advantages/disadvantages of rubber over concrete:
1) Rubber is easier on the body and provides some cushioning in your run-up
2) When wet rubber is consistent and not slippery
3) Concrete on the other hand is much better when muddy, rubber gets very slippery
4) If kept clean during winter rubber is still soft and consistent
5) Rubber pads can be removed easily without damage
6) Concrete is a much "simpler" solution for park districts, cost effective

I've played on lots of different rubber pads. Flypads are the best so far. Would be great if they help park districts install them better. Best installation i have ever seen is at The Oaks in Mokena, IL; level, flat, and been there for awhile.

 

[mashnut]

I love rubber tee pads. especially when installed correctly. You should just have fund raiser tournaments and generate the money that way.

Advantages/disadvantages of rubber over concrete:
1) Rubber is easier on the body and provides some cushioning in your run-up
2) When wet rubber is consistent and not slippery
3) Concrete on the other hand is much better when muddy, rubber gets very slippery
4) If kept clean during winter rubber is still soft and consistent
5) Rubber pads can be removed easily without damage
6) Concrete is a much "simpler" solution for park districts, cost effective

I've played on lots of different rubber pads. Flypads are the best so far. Would be great if they help park districts install them better. Best installation i have ever seen is at The Oaks in Mokena, IL; level, flat, and been there for awhile.

I disagree on a few of those.
1) true
2) my experience is the opposite, even on good rubber pads I find rainy days to be really slick
3) true
4) yeah, but it's harder to shovel without tearing up the pad or leaving a nice thin layer of ice
5) not if they're installed properly in a way that won't settle or shift
6) I think rubber is probably a quicker and cheaper solution, but that's considering just a rubber pad laid down on the ground, not properly installed.

The pads at the Oaks are really quite nice, I wonder how they compare to good brushed concrete tees in terms of labor and cost, a lot of work went into those.

 

[aPfaff]

The Grange has some turf pads and they are awesome. I've never played them in the rain but I can tell you they are good on the joints, and feel natural. Also they took out a corner of the teepad in the back on hole 10 (sunnyside) and wrote in turf how long the hole was

 

[esdubya]

Turf is a great option for southern courses. If done right they drain great in the rain. Up here in Michigan it would be near impossible to shovel the snow off completely in the winter and you definitely can't salt it. I priced out the turf option (done right, with the multiple substrates and and a wooden frame) and it came out to roughly the same as concrete for materials.

Also seems to be somewhat subject to theft. The only thing holding down the turf is landscape stakes that could (in theory) be removed.

 

[Terry C]

Rubber tee pads suck in general IMO. As many people have already said, they get dirty, dusty, wet, or cold etc and they're a terrible safety hazard because they get as slippery as ice, like driving off from a slip and slide with water rushing down it. Ive seen people on here say they have used nice rubber pads at certain courses. Me personally, Ive never seen a good rubber tee pad anywhere of the 10 or so courses Ive played that had them. In fact the couple PDGA tournaments Ive played in where the course had rubber pads, so many people complained about having to use rubber pads that the TD's allowed everybody to tee off next to the rubber pad in the dirt instead which is what 95% of the players did. Maybe its because in Michigan our weather is very diverse or something but rubber pads just dont seem to work well here. For the cost, maintenance and safety issues involved with using rubber pads I dont know why you wouldn't just use natural pads or the best solution, cement.

 

[superberry]

So, many cons associated with rubber seem to be during frozen conditions. We do not and will not ever shovel tees for winter play. If you play Winter Park in winter, you're on your own. Consider that.

Also, we are well aware of the prep work required to do it right. If we go rubber, we will excavate and level a wider area 6-7' wide x 15' long (where we can, i.e. not on a slope that limits overall available length) Then frame out an area for the crusher dust to stay in place, and put a mat on top.

Sooooo, if we're going to excavate and frame out an area anyway, and fill that with crusher dust (road base), why not just do all tees like this and skip the mats??? In doing a cost estimate, we'd need about $1000 for lumber to frame the tees (or most likely stick with our natural theme and use cedars and other logs from throughout the park), and then we could by a mechanical tamper with nice honda motor and a sprayer for $1200. This machine will compact the crusher dust very well (as opposed to dry hand tamping), and the framing will keep it in place better. Why not eliminate around $100 per tee for mats? Remember - Winter Park wonderland is 27 holes, 3 tees on 20 of them, 2 on the rest. 9 more holes planned, each with 3 tees.

 

[CwAlbino]

Rubber is waaay too slippery in wet conditions. I'd go with astroturf

 

[TheWCG]

So, many cons associated with rubber seem to be during frozen conditions. We do not and will not ever shovel tees for winter play. If you play Winter Park in winter, you're on your own. Consider that.

Also, we are well aware of the prep work required to do it right. If we go rubber, we will excavate and level a wider area 6-7' wide x 15' long (where we can, i.e. not on a slope that limits overall available length) Then frame out an area for the crusher dust to stay in place, and put a mat on top.

Sooooo, if we're going to excavate and frame out an area anyway, and fill that with crusher dust (road base), why not just do all tees like this and skip the mats??? In doing a cost estimate, we'd need about $1000 for lumber to frame the tees (or most likely stick with our natural theme and use cedars and other logs from throughout the park), and then we could by a mechanical tamper with nice honda motor and a sprayer for $1200. This machine will compact the crusher dust very well (as opposed to dry hand tamping), and the framing will keep it in place better. Why not eliminate around $100 per tee for mats? Remember - Winter Park wonderland is 27 holes, 3 tees on 20 of them, 2 on the rest. 9 more holes planned, each with 3 tees.

Just stick with the crusher dust/stone. When flat and level, It's the best surface out there in ALL conditions. Never slip!!:thmbup: