Do Golf Tees Make A Difference – Or Does It Even Matter?

Playing from a tee is one of the few advantages that the game of golf gives us during a round. They are one of the most neglected parts of the golfer’s arsenal and many don’t appreciate how much they can help.

You carry them during every round of golf, they come in all shapes and sizes, but do you ever stop to consider the tees you use? Do you even care or are they just a part of the game? Tees can make a difference and they are worth looking into, let us help.

 

“Don’t worry”

As a young junior, I used to play a lot with my grandad, he was a pacey player and was always in a rush. One of my lasting memories of golf with him would be the minutes lost looking for tees which just didn’t work alongside his usual need for speed. What made it funnier was that the whole time you were scouring the area to find the missing tee, he would be saying repeatedly, “don’t worry about finding it, I have plenty”.

Yet he kept looking until it was found. I get it though, if you like a tee, you don’t want to lose it.

 

Do Tees Make A Difference Or Is It Just The Height That Counts?

Well firstly, tee height can make a huge difference, especially with the driver. Gear effect is something that illustrates this perfectly and shows that how you tee the ball can significantly affect the spin imparted on it at impact.

Another way of illustrating how important tee height can be is that castle tees, you know the ones that only go so far into the ground, are banned in competition. The material probably doesn’t make too much difference but there are now options like brush tees that promise to add yards to your tee shots.

 

What Are The Best Tees For Beginners?

Personally, I find it very hard to see past the good old-fashioned wooden tee peg. It is simple, it doesn’t damage your club and if you buy the bamboo version, it is sustainable. I would avoid plastic tees, they may last longer but that is personal preference.

One tee innovation has been the “martini tee”, this tee actually gives you feedback on your swing as you practice with it. By teeing up the way they suggest with these tees you get feedback on your swing path. I have tried them and they work as they say they should, it’s impressive.

 

What Tees Do Professional Golfers Use?

The answer to this one will probably surprise you, pro golfers tend to use the free tees that they are given at tournaments. Trust me there are always thousands on-hand for players and caddies to grab and they are always wooden tees. Everyone loves a freebie, pro golfers are no different.

It would be rare that a professional would have a sponsorship deal with a tee company, there aren’t many out there. The tour tees are all branded with tournament sponsors and/or the tour name.

 

Are Wooden Tees Better Than Plastic?

When I was a kid I was told that plastic tees were bad for your clubs, I don’t think this is true. However, I have always just preferred wooden tees and I love the ones by Pride Golf Tees. These tees are pre-marked and you choose what tees you need depending on how big your driver head is.

The marked portion of the tee is the part that goes into the ground and there you are, the perfect tee height. You can also ensure consistency using this method too. Yes, you will break these and go through more of them but that’s life.

 

Does The Height Of The Tee Affect Driving Distance?

As I mentioned above, the “gear effect” can come into play if you tee the ball too low, this means you will increase the backspin on the ball. More backspin means less distance, especially when you’re playing into a wind. The general guidance is to tee the ball so that half of it is visible above the crown of the driver.

Modern drivers and golf balls perform best when you hit up on them. By this I mean that you should have reached the bottom of your swing and actually be on the way to your follow through at impact. This helps lift the ball and also reduce spin, which all means more distance!

 

How High Do Pros Tee The Ball?

Having said what I have just said, if you go out and watch a tour event, you will see that many of the players tee the ball low. In my years of watching tour golf I have noticed that Tiger Woods and Francesco Molinari tee it particularly low. I’m not going to argue with those guys, I think they know what they are doing.

The point of the story here is that even though the science tells us that teeing the ball up is better for distance, it is not always the case. Personally, I prefer to tee it low, I feel like I get a nicer feeling at impact, however, it definitely goes further for me when I use a higher tee.

 

How High Should You Tee Up A Three Wood?

When it comes to hitting a three wood from the tee, something that many golfers would benefit from doing more often, you want to tee it low like an iron. This isn’t a club to hit up on and although you don’t want to de-loft the face like an iron, you will hit it at the low-point of your swing.

Teeing a three wood down makes for better contact and better distance. If you tee a three wood up to high, the low profile of the clubface can make it very easy for you to get under the ball and sky it.

 

Are Zero Friction Tees Any Good?

The world of long driving has brought about innovation in tees as players try to eke out as much distance as they can through marginal gains. The Zero Friction tee claims to reduce the resistance the ball experiences as it leaves the tee.

Their Power 3 Tee, claims to add five or more yards to your drives, this is a serious claim! These are the kind of tees that long drivers use so that certainly bodes well for them. In reality, they may not make such a difference to you but the do look modern and different.

 

What About 4-More Yards Tees?

Well the name gets straight to the crux of the matter, these tees are designed to give you a little more off the tee, but how do they do this? This tee is made of two materials, both plastics, to create reduced friction through the ball. One of the benefits of a plastic tee is that it can break and so resistance is reduced.

The crown of this tee bends easily with high impact making it somewhat like driving range tees. They claim that the four more yards marketing comes from data in robotic tests, however, this may not translate to real life. Again, they look like something from the future so if this appeals then go for it, just don’t expect to be Rory McIlroy all of a sudden.

 

Do Anti-Slice Tees Work?

To start, I didn’t even know these things existed until researching for this article. In all honesty, I’d have happily died not knowing about them, they look comical! However, if you have been hit with a dose of the dreaded slices and it is killing your confidence from the tee, you will try anything so do they work?

In trying to find out if these work, all I have been able to find are golf forums where people are mocking the very idea of these. Don’t let yourself become the butt of the jokes in your group when you pull one of these out, get a lesson and practice.

 

What Are Bamboo Golf Tees?

In this modern world of sustainability and being kind to the earth, these are how golfers play along. Bamboo is a very fast growing and fairly strong wood and so it makes for the perfect material for tees. They are now a common thing to see in golf shops and certainly something to consider buying.

If you like wooden golf tees then these are a great product. They are certainly something I will consider buying. They are also lighter than normal wooden tees so you will be less tired at the end of your round from carrying them around, jokes, it is just about a green alternative.

 

Do Flight Path Tees work?

These tees look like something from Star Trek and claim to give you extra yardage plus make you hit it straighter. The tees have been tested on a robotic golf swing machine and they have some compelling marketing. The FlightPath tee seems a tad expensive but the makers say that it won’t break.

I have not tried these, it is hard to find a great deal about how they actually perform online. The only data I can find is by them, which makes me a bit dubious. Give them a try and see what you think though. They are conforming and allowed for competition.

 

Do Pros Tee It Up On Par Threes?

Golf is a hard sport and the tee peg is one of the few things that are designed to make it easier. It always baffles me when you see people teeing off on par threes without a tee. Most pro golfers do tee it up very low as it does give better contact and a more predictable flight and distance.

Next time you’re on the course, just grab a broken tee that’s sitting around and use that for the par three, it saves you breaking one. Take the help that a tee provides and remember that a ball hit from a tee goes a little further normally.

 

Why Do I Break So Many Tees?

As you are well aware, tees are small and thin bits of wood. Your large metal irons or driver coming hurtling toward that wood at 100 mph or so is a recipe for breakage. It’s just a natural part of the game, tees will lose their lives.

Summer ground tends to cause more broken tees as there is no give in the soil. If you put the tee less far into the ground you can save more tees to as they can pop out at impact. Just make sure you have plenty in the bag.

 

Should You Tee Up Irons?

Some people don’t but I think you should. If you’re playing an iron from a tee on a par four then you are doing it for safety, the tee can help you get better contact. Even top players benefit from a few extra yards from a tee.

A very low tee, enough to lift your ball off the soil and not much more, will allow you to clip the ball nicely. Golf is a hard enough game, don’t be a hero, tee up your irons.

 

Conclusion

I bet you never knew there was so much to read about golf tees, either did I. There are so many products out there and it seems that technology is now starting to be applied to the most unchanged piece of golfing equipment there is. Maybe it is time to try some of these and see if they help you.

For me, bamboo tees will be the next thing I try, although it will be hard to make me change from the Pride Golf Tees. It is certainly worth putting a bit of thought into what tee you use. There is something about placing the ball on the tee and getting ready to launch the ball, if that tee makes you feel better it is worth it. Try some of the products mentioned above out, they won’t break the bank and they might just give your game a little boost.