Best Golf Tees

Ah, the humble golf tee. One of the most-used, and yet most under-appreciated, of the golf accessories. It is an essential item to every golfer, used on virtually every tee box, but it rarely gets the attention it deserves.

But no more! We cannot let this injustice continue!!

Well, all kidding aside, you may find it interesting to take a look at this little workhorse — it has been estimated that about 2 billion wooden golf tees are used per year in the U.S. market alone — and we do that here, with a series of reviews of the top-rated golf tees you can buy.

🏆 Quick Look at the Top-Rated Golf Tees🏆

 

As long as the tee meets the limitations of Rule 6.2, they are legal for use (1).  And, accordingly, many companies have introduced legal tee variants that differ in form, while remaining relatively similar in function.

We have taken a look at the market for these many tee versions, and offer the following for your consideration when making your next tee purchase.

Best Tees Available

1. Pride Professional Tee System ProLength Plus Tee

The Pride Professional Tee System is a proprietary system of color-coded tees that allows for easy identification of tee length and suitability for various golf clubs.

Key Features

• #1 Tee on the PGA Tour
• 100% Natural Hardwood
• Color bar indicates Tee length
• Painted, Printed and Packaged in the U.S.A.
• Perfect for drivers over 360cc

The system features five sizes of tees (1 1/2”, 2 1/8”, 2 ¾”, 3 ¼”, 4”) and are available in both white and natural.

The company claims that Pride Professional tees are the most-used tee on tour.

2. Martini Step-Up Tees

Martini Step-up tees feature a large cup design, which allows the tee to lean forward for lower clubhead resistance at impact.

Key Features

• Martini tees are safe to use with all your clubs – they will not “strip” the bottom of your driver
• One Martini tee is better for the environment than running through dozens of wooden tees
• Martini tees have their roots in the AirLift tees – considered the original plastic tee
• Conforms to USGA Rules of Golf
• Made in the USA 

Each pack includes 5 identical tees, all of which conform with USGA rules and standards. They have a “notched” shaft so that they can be inserted into the ground at the same depth every time.

Martini manufacture virtually unbreakable golf tees thanks to their polymer blend, meaning that they are designed to last a lot longer than a wooden one.

3. Martini Golf Tees 3-1/4″

Independent laboratory testing proves that Martini Tees give you drives that go both farther and straighter, compared to wooden tees.

Key Features

• Virtually unbreakable – Much stronger than old-fashioned tees made from wood because they are made from a proprietary polymer resin blend; one tee can be reused dozens of times
• Longer and straighter drives – Independent laboratory tests prove that Martini Tees really do give you longer and straighter drives versus wooden tees
• Less resistance and longer roll – The large cup of the Martini Tee allows you to tilt the ball toward the hole as much as 20%
• Made in the USA and conform to the Rules of Golf – Martini Tees are made in Michigan and are legal to use in tournaments using USGA Rules of Golf
• 5-pack of 3 ¼” tees – Available in many fun, unique colors

They are virtually unbreakable, made in the USA, and conform with USGA Rules. Martini Tees are a full 3-1/4 inch tall, which is perfect for today’s larger drivers.

The large cup of the Martini Tee allows you to reduce club-head resistance by tilting the ball towards your target line by as much as 20%.

4. 4 Yards More Golf Tee

The “4 Yards More” Tee is a reusable tee that will add more yards to your driving distance.

Key Features

• Tee designed to maximize impact force for increased distance
• Dynamic elastomer crown flexes with the force of impact to reduce resistance
• Rigid polymer stake at the bottom for turf gripping and stability
• Ideal choice for most large-headed drivers
• 3 1/4″

This tee is designed with a rigid polymer stake and a dynamic elastomer crown. The body and individual fingers of the crown flex with the force of the drive to reduce resistance at impact. The ball launches off the“4 Yards More” Tee with less friction and lower ball spin resulting in longer, straighter drives.

5. Zero Friction Tour 3-Prong Golf Tee

The Zero Friction Tour 3-Prong Tee has less resistance, which means more distance on the course.

Key Features

• A patented 3-prong design that allows for less surface coverage between the ball and tee, creating longer, straighter drives.
• Great for Par 3’s.
• Established as the No. 1 performance tee on the PGA Tour in 2005 and has stayed there since with over 70 Tour victories and 370 top-ten finishes.
• Every package comes with a bonus Zero Friction item.
• Place one prong at the target for optimum performance 

The unique design has a 3-prong top that significantly reduces the contact area between the golf ball and the tee. This provides maximum distance and accuracy with the Zero Friction Tour 3-Prong Tee.

6. Champ Zarma Fly My Hite

The CHAMP Zarma FLYtee MyHite tees are constructed with the same technical aspects as the original FLYtee, including a 6-prong head and reinforcing ribs.

Key Features

• 6 Prong head
• Reinforced ribs on shaft add durability and resistance
• Shallow cup reduces surface contact
• Customize the height of your golf ball. Set your Tee to the same height each time 

CHAMP Zarma FLYtee MyHite tees now, however, feature dark colored lines on the shaft of the tee to customize the height of your golf ball.

7. Wedge Guys Bamboo Golf Tees

The Wedge Guys tees are lightweight but made of high-quality bamboo, which is seven times stronger than wooden tees, so you’re going to break fewer tees.

Key Features

• Lightweight, high-strength bamboo which is 7x stronger than basic wood tees
• Premium 2-3/4″ length
• High Quality, Long Lasting
• Natural color, no paint or plastic that will get on your clubface
• 500 Bulk Tees, stock up at a great price! 

At 2 ¾”, they’re the perfect size to get a consistent tee shot every time. Wedge Guys tees come in a natural color and feature no paint, so your clubface will remain free of marks when contact is made.

8. ProActive Sports Consistent Tee

Being able to tee the ball up at the correct height every time gives you a significant advantage off the tee. ProActive Consistent Tees make it easy every time!

Key Features

• Takes the guesswork out of how high the tee should be, tees it up perfectly each time to get the maximum performance out of your driver.
• Encourages a shallow approach and optimizes the launch angle and spin on your drives.
• Protruding washer-like bevel halfway from the tip, allows golfers to always tee the ball 1-9/16″ off the ground — perfect height for larger drivers.
• 10 durable 3-1/4″ tees per package. Built to last.
• USGA compliant.

With the Consistent Tee, your ball is in the optimized tee height for modern, oversize drivers. Proper tee height means longer, more consistent drives.

9. Brush-T Durable Plastic Tees

The innovative Brush-t golf tee allows you to tee up the ball at a consistent height on flexible synthetic bristles that bend on impact, creating a feel of driving the ball off the air.

Key Features

• Comes in a 2-pack
• Specifically engineered to complement the size and launch angles of oversized driver heads (up to 460 cc)
• Each tee comes with a storage case and ball marker
• Tee length is 3 ¼” in overall height

Unlike a regular tee, the bristles on the Brush-t provide significantly less resistance which produces longer and straighter drives. Brush-t golf tees come in four different sizes.

Are there official specifications for the golf tee?

The golf tee is actually mentioned a number of times throughout the modern Rules of Golf, but most specifically in Rule 11 (Teeing Grounds), where it stipulates that “A ‘tee’ is a device designed to raise the ball off the ground.

It must not be longer than 4 inches (101.6 mm), and it must not be designed or manufactured in such a way that it could indicate the line of play or influence the movement of the ball.”

You may have seen creative versions of tees that incorporate an arrow or some other method of “pointing the way,” but as Rule 11 clearly states, those tees are illegal as they indicate the line of play.

Golf Tee Basics

A typical tee is a small, solid piece of wood or plastic with a wide, flattened head and a thin, pointed shaft.  The head is concave, or cupped, in design to accommodate the golf ball. The pointed tip is designed to be inserted perpendicularly into the ground. The most common size for a tee is 2 ¾”, although there are several other length options available.  They are available in a wide range of colors, including a natural wood finish.

Golf tee manufacturers are continually looking for possible tee design improvements that they believe will offer players an advantage over the more traditional style.

For example, one innovative new tee style is designed to be inserted into the ground at an angle. Theoretically, this helps reduce the effects of undesirable rotation that arises from contact with the head of the golf club.

In this way, it can reduce hooking or slicing of the ball. Other new tees, designed with the goal of “reducing friction,” are shaped in unique ways to prevent disruption of the ball’s speed and trajectory.  And yet another newer design incorporates bio-degradable materials in a quest to be more eco-friendly.  Here are some of the more common current tee types you will find in today’s market:

Wooden Tees

These tees are standard in most golfers’ bags. They usually range in size from 2 1/4 inches up to 4 inches, although 2 3/4 is one of the most common sizes. The tee features a narrow shaft and a circular cup on the top to support the ball. Wooden tees are common in white, but it’s possible to obtain them in plain wood finishes and in virtually every color. If you use a driver with a large clubface, you might favor an extra-long wooden tee.

Anti-Slice Tee

If you cannot get rid of your slice through lessons and using different clubs, an anti-slice tee might do the trick. Refer to our training guide for fixing a slice if you haven’t already! These tees are plastic and feature a cup on their backside that supports the ball. The logic behind this design is when your clubface comes into contact with the tee, it propels the ball without the ball inheriting a side spin from your club angle. As described above, this type of tee would be illegal for use in official tournament play, but for someone who struggles with a slice, it would be beneficial to try one of these during casual play.

Reduced Friction Tees

Reduced friction tees are made of plastic and have shafts that closely resemble a standard wooden tee. The friction-free tees, though, have three to six points instead of the circular cup to hold the ball. These points reduce the amount of friction on the ball while it sits on the tee. The manufacturers claim this design provides your ball with a higher launch angle.

Brush Tee

Using similar logic to the friction-free tee, the brush tee is a plastic tee that uses soft brush bristles to support the ball. Less friction and resistance at the point of impact should result in longer shots off the tee, according to the manufacturers. These tees are available in a variety of heights.

A Storied Past

Like most golf equipment, the golf tee has had an interesting evolution. Its history dates back to the origins of the game itself. Initially and for some 300 years hence, golfers would build a small mound of dirt or sand and place the ball on top of it to elevate it for a drive.

In fact, when the initial rules of golf were finally written in 1744 (“Articles & Laws in Playing at Golf”), they stated that “your ball must be ‘teed’ from the ground.” The dirt to be used for this purpose was placed on the teeing areas in wooden boxes, originating a term that has survived to this day. The “tee box” is still a commonly used expression for the teeing ground.

Eventually, however, some innovative golfers broke with this tradition and tried using portable, manufactured tees. The inventors credited with creating these first actual tees were two Scotsmen, William Bloxsom and Arthur Douglas.

They also had the foresight to get a patent for their invention, forever sealing their notoriety as the inventors of the portable golf tee. Their British patent document (No. 12,941) is dated 1889 and describes a small rubber plate with a raised ball support in the form of upright prongs or a hollow cylinder.

If you do a web search, however, asking who the inventor of the golf tee is, the likely answer you will get is Dr. George Grant, who happened to be the first African-American graduate of the Harvard School of Dental Medicine.

But as shown above, Grant did not actually invent the golf tee.  What he did do, in 1899, was to patent a wooden peg that pierced the ground. Grant’s patent is what caused him to be recognized by the United States Golf Association in 1991 as the inventor of the wooden golf tee.

What Grant did not do, though, was to go on to manufacture and market his invention. As a consequence, his invention was soon forgotten. That recognition was left to Dr. William Lowell from New Jersey, interestingly also a dentist like Grant, who patented and sold a tee that would eventually become the standard:  the familiar one-piece wooden peg with a flared, concave head to hold the ball.

The “Reddy Tee,” as Lowell called it, was easy and cheap to mass-produce, but most important to its success was Lowell’s aggressive marketing campaign, which included hiring golf great Walter Hagen in 1922 to show off the tees while touring.  Soon after that, the Reddy Tee took off.

Today, there are fancier versions of tees that use bristles, tines or prongs to support the ball.  Some even come with depth indicators on the shaft of the peg to indicate ideal ball heights.  But the majority of tees in play today still basically continue to be in the same form and function as the Reddy Tee.

Bottom Line

One thing is certain:  With the continued growth in the popularity of golf, manufacturers will continue to try to improve on the design and performance of this under-valued device. While no one should expect dramatic increases in distance due to a change in the style of golf tee they use, it should be noted that independent testing has, indeed, confirmed that some modest gains were seen. If you are searching for increasing your driver distance be sure to check out our detailed training guide. And in the modern game, where distance is king, even a few extra yards can be important.   Try one (or more) of the recommended tees reviewed here and see if they make a difference for your game. 

 

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References

1. Equipment Rules, USGA, https://www.usga.org/equipment-standards/equipment-rules-2019/equipment-rules/equipment-rules.html#!ruletype=er&section=rule&partnum=6&rulenum=1