Just How Important is the Golf Tee?

Could your golf tee really make a difference in your game? Until recently, this question would probably not have evoked a serious response. But changes have arrived in the world of golf tees and you have more choices than ever before. The traditional wood or plastic tees are still around and still quite popular. But brush tees are making inroads in the golfing community. And eco-friendly tees have now appeared to help save the planet.

Traditional golf tees come in wood or plastic. Until recently, there was very little choice in tees. You could have different colors and you could get them personalized. They came in different sizes. Otherwise, a tee was pretty much a tee. You went through an average of six tees per round. In most cases, you probably didn’t give it a second thought.

One of the biggest innovations to hit golf in recent times is the brush tee. Instead of placing the ball on a wooden or plastic perch, the ball sits on brush bristles. When the club face strikes the ball, there is no energy lost to the friction between the ball and the tee—because there isn’t any. Brush tees make it seem like you are hitting the ball off a column of air. This also means that the tee doesn’t impart any spin or modification to the flight of the ball. If you are a great golfer, this will be good news. For the rest of us, brush tees remove yet another possible excuse for why our ball went “there.”

Eco-friendly tees biodegrade in weeks instead of months or years. You might not think that discarded golf tees are a big environmental problem. They may not be the cause of global warming, but there are a remarkable number of wooden and plastic tees littering the landscape. One study estimated that over 2 billion golf tees are consumed every year in the United States. The majority of golfers use wooden tees. Wood is a natural material. It will eventually break down in the wild, but not right away. Eco-friendly tees, on the other hand, will disappear in as few as six weeks.