When people talk about building better disc golf tee pads, the conversation usually jumps straight to the surface: concrete, turf, rubber, pavers, or gravel. But one of the most important parts of a long-lasting tee pad is hidden underneath.

That layer is the geotextile.

A good geotextile separates the prepared base from the soil below it. It helps prevent the gravel from slowly disappearing into soft ground, reduces rutting and settlement, and gives the whole pad system a cleaner foundation to sit on. But there is a common question we run into:

Should you use woven or non-woven geotextile?

The short answer is that both can work, but they do different jobs better. For a properly built disc golf tee pad with a strong crushed gravel base, woven geotextile is often the better choice for stability. Non-woven geotextile can be useful in wet or drainage-sensitive areas, but it is not automatically the better option just because it lets water pass through more easily.

Stability Under a Properly Built Tee Pad

For this example, let’s assume the tee pad is built properly, with an 8 inch crushed gravel base that is compacted in place. That depth matters.

When a tee pad has a thin base, the fabric underneath is being asked to do too much. It has to separate the materials, resist movement, bridge soft spots, and help compensate for a weak structure. That is not ideal. The geotextile should support the system, not be the system.

With an 8 inch compacted crushed gravel base, the aggregate is doing the heavy lifting. It spreads force, locks together, and creates the structural platform that the tee surface relies on. In that situation, the geotextile’s main job is separation and stabilization.

This is where woven geotextile performs very well.

Woven geotextile is typically stronger in tension and better at resisting stretching and deformation. Under a tee pad, that helps keep the gravel layer distinct from the native soil below. It reduces the chance of the base material pushing down into soft ground over time, especially in areas with clay, loam, organics, or seasonal moisture.

For a disc golf tee pad, the loading is not the same as a road or parking lot. We are not supporting vehicles every day. But we are dealing with repeated foot traffic, twisting, planting, run-ups, freeze-thaw movement, and occasional maintenance equipment. Over years, those small forces add up.

A woven geotextile gives the base a more stable boundary. It helps the gravel act as a consistent, compacted platform rather than slowly blending into the soil below.

Non-woven geotextile can still separate materials, but it generally does not provide the same level of tensile strength or stiffness. It is more flexible and more filter-like. That can be useful in some drainage applications, but under a tee pad where the base is already properly built, structural stability usually matters more.

In practical terms, a well-built tee pad with a woven geotextile underneath is less likely to settle unevenly, rut at the run-up, or develop soft edges over time.

Drainage Under Typical Rain Conditions

Drainage is where the discussion gets more interesting.

At first glance, non-woven geotextile seems like the obvious choice because it is more permeable. Water passes through it more easily, so it feels like the “drainage fabric.”

That is true in many applications, especially where water needs to move vertically through soil layers. French drains, drainage trenches, and some filtration applications often benefit from non-woven fabric because water movement through the fabric is part of the design.

But a disc golf tee pad is different.

In a properly built tee pad, we usually do not want water collecting underneath the pad and trying to drain straight down into the subgrade. That approach depends too heavily on the native soil. If the soil below drains poorly, water can become trapped. If it is clay-heavy, compacted, or already saturated, vertical drainage is limited no matter what fabric you use.

For tee pads, horizontal shedding is often more important.

The goal is to move water away from the playing surface and out of the gravel base before it has a chance to sit there. That means the pad should be slightly raised, properly edged, and built with a base that allows water to move laterally toward the sides. The crushed gravel layer should act like a shallow drainage plane.

In that kind of system, the geotextile is not the main drainage feature. The shape and construction of the tee pad are.

A woven geotextile may not allow water to pass through vertically as freely as non-woven fabric, but that is not necessarily a problem under typical rain conditions. If the tee pad is designed to shed water sideways, vertical permeability is less critical. The water moves through the aggregate and exits the pad at the edges.

That does not mean drainage can be ignored. It means the priorities are different.

Woven geotextile pros for tee pad drainage:

• Helps keep the gravel base from sinking into wet or soft soil
• Supports horizontal water movement by preserving the integrity of the gravel layer
• Reduces contamination of the base, which helps the aggregate keep its drainage capacity over time

Woven geotextile cons:

• Lower vertical permeability than most non-woven fabrics
• Less suitable where the design depends on water draining straight down through the fabric

Non-woven geotextile pros:

• Better vertical water movement
• Useful in very wet areas where filtration is a major concern
• Can be helpful around drainage features or where water needs to pass through the fabric regularly

Non-woven geotextile cons:

• Usually less stabilizing than woven fabric
• Can be more prone to clogging over time in fine soils
• May not provide the same long-term separation strength under repeated movement

For most tee pads, especially those with a deep crushed gravel base, the better question is not “which fabric drains better straight down?” It is “which fabric helps the pad stay stable while the base moves water out sideways?”

That is why horizontal shedding matters so much.

A tee pad should not be treated like a bucket with a drain hole in the bottom. It should be treated like a small, durable platform that sheds water before water becomes a problem.

Long-Term Performance: Building Tee Pads That Last 20+ Years

A tee pad is not successful because it looks good on installation day. It is successful if it still plays well after thousands of throws, years of freeze-thaw cycles, spring melt, summer storms, maintenance traffic, and shifting soil conditions.

That is where long-term thinking becomes important.

The most common tee pad failures are rarely caused by one single issue. They are usually the result of small compromises adding up:

• Not enough base depth
• Poor compaction
• Weak edge restraint
• Water collecting under or beside the pad
• Gravel mixing into the soil below
• Organic material left in the excavation
• Thin surfacing used to hide a weak foundation

A geotextile helps address some of these problems, but it cannot fix all of them. The full system matters.

For a tee pad intended to last 20 years or more, the best approach is to think in layers.

The native soil should be cleared of organics and shaped properly. The geotextile should separate the subgrade from the aggregate. The crushed gravel base should be deep enough, compacted in lifts where needed, and shaped to encourage water movement. The tee surface should be secure, replaceable if possible, and supported evenly across the entire pad.

In that system, woven geotextile often makes the most sense because it contributes to long-term stability. It keeps the base cleaner and more consistent. It helps prevent the slow migration of gravel into soil. It supports a tee pad that stays level and firm instead of becoming spongy, uneven, or hollowed out beneath the surface.

Non-woven fabric can still have a place. If the site has known drainage problems, persistent groundwater, or fine soils that require more filtration, non-woven may be the right choice in specific locations. It can also be used as part of a broader drainage detail, especially around outlet trenches or wet transitions.

But for the main footprint of a properly constructed tee pad, especially one with an 8 inch crushed gravel base, woven geotextile is usually the stronger default.

The reason is simple: the tee pad’s lifespan depends more on keeping the structure stable than on maximizing vertical drainage through the fabric.

A long-lasting tee pad is not just a surface. It is a compacted base, a separation layer, a drainage strategy, and a construction detail all working together.

Final Thought

The best tee pads are built with the same mindset as good course design: use the landscape intelligently, respect the conditions on site, and solve problems before they become maintenance issues.

For most disc golf tee pads with a properly built 8 inch crushed gravel base, woven geotextile provides the right balance of separation, stability, and long-term performance. Non-woven geotextile has its place, especially where vertical drainage and filtration are the priority, but it is not automatically the better choice under a tee pad.

If the pad is crowned, compacted, edged properly, and designed to shed water horizontally, woven geotextile helps create the kind of foundation that can keep a tee pad performing well for decades.

That is the goal: not just a tee pad that plays well this season, but one that still feels solid 20 years from now.

 

Kevin -