Stall Savers - Tee Pads

[jchoate7]

I am in the process of designing a course at a local college and the installation of the basket sleeves just finished up. Next up is the work on the tee pads. Originally I was thinking about natural tee pads which I still plan on doing but I came across an idea to use Horse Stall mats as the tee pads instead. The Fly18 pads are $$$ and I don't have that many funds to aid in the installation of the course. I thought to that an original horse stall mat is not porous and the resulting pad could become slippery when wet. Anyways through some research online I came across these: http://www.stallsavers.com/ First I would make a box with lumber and then fill it with gravel, then stone dust, then sand and top it off with the stall savers from that website. I would purchase two of the 13'x20' and two of the 13'x25'. That would leave me with 18 total pads measuring 13'x5', plenty big enough pads for a smaller course. The total cost is $1330 plus shipping which isn't bad at all. I'm getting a sample piece of the material in the mail soon but I was wondering if anyone on here had any experience working with something like this?

 

[goosefraba1]

For just a little more... you could have concrete pads right? I would just use natural pads for now and keep saving up for concrete. Maybe just do 6 pads at a time.

 

[jchoate7]

Sorry, forgot to mention. The college wants something that they would be able to remove if need be. That's why concrete will not work.

 

[sidewinder22]

Concrete can be removed.

 

[wjgray2]

Our course has horse mats for tees... they are better than bare dirt, but get super slippery when wet. we also had to install 2 of them back to back for them to be long enough for a run up. I would recommend against them if we could do it over again. They are just not meant for providing friction.

 

[billtvshow]

I've tried teeing off on a rubber horse stall mat and agree that it is very slippery when wet. These that you are looking at do look a little more promising though, with the permeability.

 

[goosefraba1]

Gotcha.... ya call and see if they will send you a sample... there was another recent thread with rubber pads that would send you. Just compare. I am a quality over quantity type of guy. I would just buy the best and keep saving up for more pads.

 

[jchoate7]

Concrete can be removed.

***easily removed

 

[sidewinder22]

Rubber tees are typically my least favorite because they can get so slick. There's some out there that do well when wet, but not sure what brand they are. I'll take natural, gravel, or carpet/astro turf most any day.

 

[discRabbit]

Carpet samples? These work well for wooded courses at least - of course the aesthetics of carpet doesn't appeal to some.

 

[Bullseye]

This teepad design is a pretty good compromise between temporary and safely useable tees. The pavers are not super expensive and when installed properly hold up to time and the weather pretty well.

http://www.dgcoursereview.com/view_image.php?id=4170&p=429d0d09

 

[jrawk]

The original set of tee pads at Hot Shots here are rubber stable mats. They started out great, even grippy when wet. Then over the next 5 years the rubber has gotten slippery, some are slippery when dry. Not sure if some sort of texture has worn off of them or what, but they aren't very enjoyable now. We are holding a club meeting this sunday to vote on funding concrete replacements, to match what we did when we added the second set of pads. The extra money is well worth it if you can get the land owners to agree to it

 

[goosefraba1]

Good point... I've seen some great holes made from pavers. You might be able to get a local block company to give you some imperfects.

 

[Jenga54]

If you're making forms, filling them with gravel and topping with crushed rock - that's already a great tee pad! topping it with anything other than concrete would be worse. I myself prefer crushed rock on a tee pad, as the drainage is great, you can put them in the woods without hassle like concrete would be, and they are easier on the joints as you can still pivot a bit easier than on concrete. especially when building a new course - go with this natural approach. if you want to move the tee next year, that's easy.

 

[Royal Hill]

Some general principles

when fresh and new - rubber products have their best traction they will ever have. How much or how much when wet is up to the individual product.

When fresh and new - rubber products will have a texture that is the best they will ever have - how much again depends on how much is present when it is fresh. (some are textured, stamped, etc)

However, the "first day" qualities will predictably and unavoidably change going forward. Age, weather, wear, etc. Always moving in a direction of less grip, less permeability, less texture.

You get where this is going.

The primary force I believe (even more than weathering) is "burnishing". This is the burnishing effect of heels, feet, plant and rotate. Essentially a buffing, compacting action. Combined with outdoor environment - this is where the slickness starts and comes from.

So never judge a rubber products long term use based on its "first day" grip performance - know the direction it will go. Find other similar products that have similar climate and use history to judge its "real" 3 year/5 year prognosis

 

[biscoe]

Rubber tees are typically my least favorite because they can get so slick. There's some out there that do well when wet, but not sure what brand they are. I'll take natural, gravel, or carpet/astro turf most any day.

yes. this. rubber tees are the worst.

 

[JNichols]

I have seen Rubber Playground Mats made of recycled car tires that had Uber Traction, even when wet. I don't think they were supposed to cost all that much, either. I can't remember what the brand name was, though. I'll try and find it.

 

[MooseDrool]

The rubber mats we use are for industrial work areas and do not get slippery until they are very old. They do not hold up well in full sun as the UV degrades them pretty quickly, but in the shade they last years. You can forget the sand layer on top of the stone dust. It will just wash away. Compacted stone dust on top of compacted gravel will last as long as it is covered up, and quite a while uncovered. It must be framed in securely to last. Ours are set into the ground flush so the park can easily mow over them. They have a slight crown to prevent water from pooling and the frame is surrounded by an inch or so of gravel to promote drainage. The are easily dug in using a bobcat with a 6' wide scoop which leaves room for the 4 x 4 pressure treated frame.
The first pads we put in were just nailed to the ground and they are almost 10 years old now. The last 18 (short + long for 9 holes) were installed as stated above. the longs were put in first with just compacted gravel and they all sagged within a year. the shorts were installed 6 months later with compacted stone dust on top of the gravel and are still flush and firm with no sign of sagging or washing out.
There is a course near by that has a few cobblestone pads. They require re-setting every few years but provide a very nice surface that looks fantastic! They are also securely framed in to prevent the edges from tilting and are set in a sand base.
You may also consider a two stage pad with a firm stone or concrete surface in the front plant/pivot area and a compacted stone dust run up. You would have to dress the transition area occasionally to keep it smooth, but I think it would be the best of both worlds.
Hope this helps.