I bought a fantastic little peg hammer from Aldi a couple of years ago; It’s steel, but covered in rubber/ plastic and has a spring inside to help with recoil. On the end of the handle is a pop-out peg puller hook.
Almost as good as my old Stanley plastic mallet I used at work which was half-filled with lead shot so no bounce.

I use my old builders club hammer to knock in and a pair of pliers to remove.
I find that twisting the peg and pulling with the pliers, gets pegs out of the most solid of ground.

Correct Lol