Tyre choices: turf, all-terrain and road patterns

What a turf tyre is designed not to do

A turf tyre looks under-tyred to anyone used to a working vehicle, and that is the point. The tread is shallow, the pattern is closely spaced, the casing is soft and the footprint is wide for the load. All of it aims at spreading the vehicle's weight over as much grass as possible and at presenting no edge sharp enough to cut the sward. It is a design about damage rather than about grip.

The other half of the idea is that a turf tyre is meant to slip. When traction runs out, a shallow closely spaced pattern breaks away gradually and skims, where an aggressive one bites in and tears out a divot. On a fine surface, a tyre that slides slightly is doing its job properly. A tyre that grips absolutely and then digs is doing damage the greenkeeper will find on Monday morning.

The trade is exactly what you would expect. On a wet bank, in mud, on loose gravel or along a rutted track, a turf tyre gives up early. It is a specialist for one surface, and it is the right specialist as long as the machine spends its life on mown grass and made paths. That is not a fault in the tyre, it is the price of the surface it was built to protect.

What an all-terrain pattern buys and what it costs

An all-terrain or knobbly pattern does the opposite job. Deep lugs with open voids between them dig for grip, and the voids let mud clear itself as the wheel turns, so the tread keeps working instead of packing solid. On a wet slope, a builder's track or a farm, the difference against a turf tyre is not subtle. Sidewalls tend to be tougher as well, which matters where the machine works close to kerbs and stone.

The cost is ground pressure. The same vehicle weight now passes through the tips of the lugs rather than across a continuous surface, so pressure at each contact point rises sharply even though nothing has become heavier. On grass that shows up as scuffing where the machine turns, and as visible tracking when the ground is soft. It is worst under power in a tight turn, the manoeuvre that combines high torque with a small contact area.

There are other costs worth knowing before ordering. Rolling resistance rises, so a charge does not go as far. Noise and vibration rise, which matters on a machine carrying guests. And the ride gets harder, because a stiffer casing with proportionally less air transmits more of the ground into the frame and into the people sitting on it. None of that rules the pattern out, and all of it is easier to know before the tyres are on the machine than after.

Road and hard-surface patterns

Road or street patterns are shallow, often ribbed or directional, with a harder compound and a stiffer casing. They steer precisely on tarmac, resist wear and give a quieter ride on hard surfaces. On a machine that spends most of its life on estate roads, holiday park lanes or concrete yards, they last considerably longer than a soft turf tyre would in the same job.

The weakness is wet grass, where a shallow, hard tyre skates. There is a subtler problem too: a hard compound scuffs a fine surface more readily than a soft one when the machine turns on the spot. If the vehicle only crosses grass to get somewhere, a road pattern is fine. If it works on the grass, it is the wrong tyre even though it looks gentle enough.

Pressure changes a tyre more than the name on it

Pattern gets the attention and pressure does more of the work. Air pressure sets the size and shape of the contact patch, so the same turf tyre run hard has a smaller footprint, higher ground pressure and a harsher ride, and behaves on grass rather like a narrower tyre. Run soft, it spreads load and holds better on turf, and it wears its shoulders, steers vaguely and risks unseating on a hard turn.

We are not printing a figure, because the right pressure belongs to your tyre and your machine and changes with what is carried. The maker's manual, the plate on the vehicle and the sidewall of the tyre are where it is recorded. Check cold, check both tyres on an axle together, and check more often in winter, because pressure falls as temperature falls and a machine that felt right in September feels flat in January for no other reason.

Lift kits, bigger tyres and what else moves

Lift kits and larger tyres arrive together, because the kit exists to make room for the tyre. What gets underestimated is how much else moves with them. A larger rolling radius changes the effective gearing, so the machine pulls less well from rest and asks more of the motor and controller on a climb. It raises the centre of gravity of an already tall vehicle, which is felt on a cross-slope. And it alters the steering geometry, which shows up as heavier steering and quicker wear in the front end.

Braking changes as well. A bigger wheel gives the same brake a longer lever to work against, so stopping distances lengthen with nothing else altered. Combine that with an aggressive tyre, extra height and the weight of the kit itself, and a machine that felt settled on a bank is now behaving differently in three ways at once. It is the change owners notice last, because it only shows itself on the day something needs stopping quickly.

Before changing rolling radius, ask the maker which sizes are approved for the model. That is not a formality: the answer takes account of the controller, the motor, the brakes and the clearances, and none of that is visible from outside the machine. Where the buggy is on hire or under warranty, ask beforehand rather than afterwards. A fitter willing to put the approved sizes in writing is worth more than one offering the widest tyre in the shed.

Course damage, and who decides what runs on grass

Tyre choice is where hire agreements and club policy meet. Most golf clubs have a view about what may run on the course, and on greens and approaches that view is usually firm. The person who decides is the club's own course or turf manager, and the answer will depend on the season, on the ground condition and on what happened the last time. It is their surface and their judgement.

The honest thing to say is that no tyre makes a machine safe for saturated ground. When a course goes buggies-off, it is because the soil cannot take the traffic, and a turf tyre does not overrule that. Where a site has to keep moving in the wet, the useful conversations are about routes, about matting the worst crossings and about how many machines run, rather than about tread pattern.

Matching front to rear

Front and rear tyres do different jobs on a buggy. The rear pair are driven and carry most of the weight, so that is where traction is won or lost. The front pair steer, and on grass a front tyre with too little grip makes the machine run wide while one with too much makes it dart. Some operators deliberately fit a more aggressive pattern at the rear and keep a turf pattern at the front, and on hilly ground that is a reasonable choice.

It is a choice worth making deliberately rather than by accident of replacement. A machine that ends up with three patterns because tyres were changed one at a time behaves inconsistently, and the driver finds out at the point grip runs out. Keep each axle matched, set the pressures as a pair, and if you are going to mix, write down why, so that the next person replacing a tyre does not quietly undo it.

Choosing for the ground you actually have

The practical way to choose is to describe the ground rather than the tyre. Most of the year on mown grass and paths, with the occasional gravel track, is a turf pattern. Slopes, mud and site work most weeks is all-terrain, and the surface consequences come with it. Hard surfaces most of the time is a road pattern, with grass crossings kept short and gentle.

When enquiring about hire, describe the ground and the likely weather and let the supplier pick the tyre. We would far rather send the right machine on the right pattern than have somebody wrestle the wrong one round a wet site, and it is exactly the sort of detail that gets missed because it never occurs to anybody to mention it. Where the site is a golf course or a managed estate, mention that too, since their policy may settle the question before we do.

• Mown grass and fine surfaces, flat to gently rolling: turf pattern, correct pressure, gentle turns.
• Wet banks, mud, loose stone and grounds work: all-terrain, and expect visible tracking on grass.
• Estate roads, yards and lanes: road pattern, longer life, poor grip on wet grass.
• Mixed use with no clear majority: turf at the front and all-terrain at the rear, chosen deliberately and written down.

Common questions

Can I put all-terrain tyres on a golf buggy?

Usually yes, within the sizes the maker approves for the model. What comes with them is more grip on wet and loose ground and more visible marking on grass, particularly where the machine turns under power. If the buggy works on a golf course, check with the course manager first, since many clubs have a firm view about tread pattern on their surfaces.

Do turf tyres really protect the grass?

They help, by spreading load over a wider footprint and by slipping rather than digging when grip runs out. What they cannot do is protect saturated ground, where the damage is to the soil structure underneath rather than to the leaf on top. Ground condition, route choice and how tightly the machine turns matter at least as much as the tyre.

What pressure should golf buggy tyres be?

The figure comes from your machine rather than from a guide, and it changes with what the vehicle carries. The maker's manual, the plate on the vehicle and the tyre sidewall are where it is recorded. Check them cold, check both tyres on an axle together, and check more often in cold weather, because pressure falls as temperature does.

Will bigger tyres make the buggy faster?

Not usefully. A larger rolling radius raises the theoretical speed for a given motor speed and takes away pulling power at the same time, so hills get harder and the controller runs hotter. Braking distances lengthen as well. Any size change should be checked against what the maker approves for that model before anything is fitted.

Are road tyres worth it for a holiday park?

If the machine mostly runs on lanes and hard standing, yes: they wear far better and steer more precisely on tarmac than a soft turf tyre. The trade is poor grip on wet grass and more scuffing where the buggy turns on the spot on a fine surface. It suits a site where grass is crossed rather than worked.

Can I mix tyre types front and rear?

Yes, and some operators do it on purpose: a grippier rear for traction on hills, a turf pattern at the front to keep steering predictable and the surface intact. Keep each axle matched as a pair and set the pressures to suit. What causes trouble is a mixture arrived at by accident through one-at-a-time replacement.