The Charlotte Disc Golf Club had a workday this past weekend at Nevin Park near Hornet's Nest. On the agenda was a hole we needed to relocate. The new tee needed to be about 100' away from where it was originally designed. Over the years we have had numerous occassions where we had discussed the logistics of moving a pad but had never attempted it. This time with Sam Nicholson as the trail boss and with Matt Keatts and Mark Huether (who built the course) working alongside with 6-8 others, we attempted the move. The pad was 5'X12" and poured to the depth of 2X4's that framed it. There was no rebar or wire mesh reinforcing the pad, it was simply a slab of concrete. The crew dug out a slot on both sides of the tee pad about 4' back from the front and put a jack under both sides. They then jacked the pad up and passed a chain under the pad that Sam attached to his 4WD Sequoia. The crew rounded up a dozen or so 5' to 6' long sections of logs to slide under the pad as Sam dragged it along. As it moved forward they would grab a log from behind and move it back under the front of the pad, Egyptian style. At one point we had to hook up the back of the pad to a chain and attach it to Keatt's truck to keep the rear end of the pad from sliding off the logs. They successfully moved the pad into it's new location without breaking or cracking the concrete. They again used the jacks to lift the pad to remove the logs and to add dirt and gravel as needed for proper support.

So, if you or your club has been considering the feasibility or practicality of moving a tee pad, it can be done.

Tee migration

A much much easier appraoch would be to get a bobcat with a forklift attachment on the front, dig the pad up using the front end load part of hte babcat, switch out the forklift attachment, pick up using hte forklift, move to new, settle in. I believe that appraoch has been used around here several times without issue.

Bobcat forks can work well but it works better if there's some mesh or rebar in the tee pad for structural strength during the manipulation. We've also just repaired any cracked pads by leveling the sections well enough so that applying some Sak-rete in the crack seals it up nicely.

Bobcat forks can work well but it works better if there's some mesh or rebar in the tee pad for structural strength during the manipulation. We've also just repaired any cracked pads by leveling the sections well enough so that applying some Sak-rete in the crack seals it up nicely.

Good point, I think these are rebar enforced, but can't say for sure. THey also arean't as long as the one in that pic.

The point is that it does work! If your club is short on funds and long on manpower, when in Charlotte do as the Egyptians did.

Wow. That is impressive.
Keep up the good work Charlotte.

Okay, Stan, what is the story behind your screen name?

Okay, Stan, what is the story behind your screen name?

Well, it is a fairly boring story,,, but if you must ask,,,"I must, I must"...

My right hand man, Sam Nicholson, and I have been the main muscle behind all the course work in Charlotte since I moved here in 1984. We are affectionately referred to as "Mules" (supposedly having nothing to do with sterility) because our work ethic parallels that of the hard working farm mule. Perhaps we are a bit hard headed too. So I am the #1 mule and Sam is the #2 mule.

Mules Rule !!

We had a local course get "redesigned" by H.B. Clark.

He suggested they use the bobcat/fork method.

It worked extremely well, but they didnt rebury the teepads. Just left them sitting on top of the ground.

So now, we have a redesigned course that you can break your ankles on, or your arm since H.B. planted the 8 foot tall tee signs butted right up against the side of the teepad. Makes throwing right hand back hand a lot of fun.



Glad it all went off without too much of a hitch Stan.

Stan,

Thanks for the explanation. It is a compliment to be a mule, and I thank you for the work you have done down there.

BTW, ever see or hear much from "goob" these days? Still a house husband? I think you know of whom I reference.

Stan,

Thanks for the explanation. It is a compliment to be a mule, and I thank you for the work you have done down there.

BTW, ever see or hear much from "goob" these days? Still a house husband? I think you know of whom I reference.

I see Goob about once a year on average when we participate in our annual New Years Day round of disc golf. As of this past New Year he was still a stay at home husband. He is also teaching disc golf to kids in the elementary school system, not as a paid teacher, but as a volunteer (if I remember correctly).

Well, if you remember next Jan 1st, tell him hello from me, and that I wish him the best.


Thanks.

How about just pushing one over a few inches?

We're having a new course put in and the city workers put the concrete pad right in front of tree. It needs to be shifted over about 16 inches. Could a Bobcat or Backhoe just push it?

Here's the catch, there's no rebar, they poured 2 inches of gravel into the form, then added 4 inches of concrete. Think they could dig a small 16 inch area where it needs to slide to, then push it with the tractor or would this bust it up? It's only a little over 1 foot.

Any advice? See horrible drawing for an idea on what I'm asking about. We wanted it through the trees, not the tree directly in front.

http://img810.imageshack.us/img810/4755/teepad.jpg

Thanks for any tips.

If its only 16 inches then just pour more concrete and make the box extra wide.

That's out of the question, parks & rec. said a capital "NO" when we asked that. That's why I'm asking for moving advice.

We're not allowed to manipulate the size of any teepad, they said, this was made known to us from day one and there's no exceptions.

So back to my original question, can it be pushed over safely with a backhoe?

it shouldnt break up, we moved 4" thick slabs with a tractor that had forklift tines on the front, and moved them several hundred yards across the park.
heres a thought -if the ground isnt too soft, get a round log or logs, use a car jack to lift up the one side and put the log underneath the length. three guys can push/roll it over 16" easy. carjack it up again and remove log. problem solved. yes?

That's out of the question, parks & rec. said a capital "NO" when we asked that. That's why I'm asking for moving advice.

We're not allowed to manipulate the size of any teepad, they said, this was made known to us from day one and there's no exceptions.

So back to my original question, can it be pushed over safely with a backhoe?

The tee pad that we moved did not have any rebar and only had 4" of concrete. Based on our experience you should not have too much trouble sliding it over.

The Square's in Kennett Square,Pa. have moved about 5 tee pads with thr fork lift technique without problems.Just be sure the ground where the pad is to be placed is level and excavated enough.

Tow straps and a couple ratcheting come-alongs is what we used to move this into place. Once we got close we used a 6ft pry bar to do the final alignment.

http://www.discgolfscene.com/media/59661_g.jpg

Flypads will let you play more work less....

Tow straps and a couple ratcheting come-alongs is what we used to move this into place. Once we got close we used a 6ft pry bar to do the final alignment.

http://www.discgolfscene.com/media/59661_g.jpg

PERFECT!!! How many times have I seen this. The jerk that just walks on by as you are doing course work. I'm glad you got a picture of him. I play Nixon when ever I visit Kennett. My wifes from there.

The above pic is me at hole 11 at Hyzer Creek in NY. For a complete rundown of how we poured the tees in the parking lot and moved them see www.hyzercreek.com/concretepads.htm

thanks

Reasons for pouring slabs in the parking lot instead of shlepping the cement out to the tees in bags and mixing them with water and pouring them there:

1. each tee pad requires 30 bags of concrete 80 pounds each. For 18 tee pads that's 540 bags of concrete mix. Since I don't feel like lugging 540 bags of concrete mix into the woods, it ain't gonna happen.

2. lugging a portable electric cement mixer to each tee and finding water to mix with the 30 bags for each tee and paying rent on the mixer, and finding electricity to run the cement mixer which means lugging a generator out, and gasoline to fuel the generator, it ain't gonna happen

3. During the first 12 hours after pouring concrete you have to keep it wet or it won't cure right, it will just crumble. Especially in 90 degree weather and sunny. Pouring slabs in the parking lot I just ran a garden hose all day keeping the slabs wet as the concrete cured. If I poured the slabs at the tees, my garden hose doesn't reach hole 15 from the cabin that's 1800 feet of hose. Sorry. Ain't gonna happen.

4. The concrete they deliver is professionally mixed and 70 dollars a yard, delivered, and mixed just right. A yard of concrete that you mix yourself is about 60 of those 80 pound bags which cost $5.99 each, NOT delivered and NOT mixed. 60 bags times $5.99 is $360 per yard. Ask yourself, would you rather pay 70 dollars a yard for professionally mixed and delivered concrete, or 360 dollars a yard for bags of unmixed and undelivered concrete?

5. Each tee pad requires about 1/2 yard of concrete. That is $35 my way and $180 the other way.

5. A full-size pickup truck can handle a max of 30 bags of concrete before the tires blow. That's 2400 pounds, enough for one tee pad. It's also 18 trips to the lumber yard. Compared to one delivery with a cement mixer.

6. Disposing of 540 empty bags is a pain.

7. Did you really think I was going to mix 540 bags of concrete?

Cement mixers weigh 27,000 pounds empty and hold 40,000 pounds of concrete. They cost $240,000 and nobody is going to send a 1/4 million dollar rig in where it can get damaged, tip over or sink in the mud. I suppose if you have a course in Kansas where there are driveways to all the tee pads, you can do it this way.

As for the cost of mixing bags of concrete yourself with water at each tee pad, the professional concrete as delivered is many many times cheaper, and better. It makes a better pad that won't crack, made of 1400 or 1450 concrete whereas the stuff they sell in bags is inferior and depends on you mixing it right, which you probably wont, and the tee pad will crack and never cure right for the reasons outlined in my post.

Basically, if you make tee pads with bags of concrete and mix them, you are doing it the wrong way

Many of the tee pads at New Quarter Park were accessible to the concrete truck. For the ones that were not, we had a wheelbarrow to roll the concrete in to the woods from the truck. Even so, I know that each project is different and has its own unique challenges that require creative thinking.

That's how we did the Milwaukee courses for the Am Worlds. You need to have enough volunteeers with wheelbarrows to keep things moving let alone the experienced people for striking the pads and so on. 5 or 6 people wouldn't have been enough to pull it off, but it did work well and kept the cost down.

Have everthing prepared before you start, a good sized crew ready to go and hope that the day isn't too sunny or hot where the cement starts setting fast.