The Great Tee Off

Golf Tees have come a long way from their humble beginnings as a mere heap of sand on top of which the golf ball rested in an elevated position.  I was amazed when I first came over to play in the LOS and found the large variety of tees available from the golf shops and courses.  Since then, I am convinced that for my game, the plastic tee is best.  Besides saving countless trees and mass deforestation, plastic tees are economical and may even help your game.

In terms of cost, a wooden tee if purchased in bulk from a chain store like Walmart cost about two cents per tee.  Plastic Tees cost about eight cents each here in Thailand.  At first glance, this doesn't seem like such a good deal except that I've found my plastic tees last about 50 times longer than its wooden counterpart.  On a typical round, I will use one long and one short plastic tee VS a hand full of wooden tees which might get cracked or broken after each drive.  My tees usually survive the entire round and may go five or ten more rounds until its cracked or lost.

But what if you lose the plastic tees?  Wouldn't that cost a lot of money?  Fortunately here in the LOS, your caddie will help you find your lost golf tee and since the tee boxes are so well maintained, finding a lost tee is not too difficult - especially if you pick a bright color.  And don't worry about lost tees sitting around and destroying the environment because other caddies or grounds keepers will quickly find and re-cycle these precious lost items for cash.  On the other hand, a broken wooden tee has little value and the paint and varnish on the tees leave toxic waste in the area.

Here are some popular tees that are being used here in the LOS.     The tee on the left is a spring loaded plastic tee that bends and then snaps back after impact, its called the VS Tee.  The next four from the left are plastic tees I picked up on sale for three baht apiece from a bin at Thaniya Plaza.  The tee second from the right is the answer to the lost tee problem.  Put one end in the ground to tee up the ball, the other tee is inserted in the ground at a second point and it acts like a retainer so your tee doesn't get lost. Notice the two different tee sizes - one for the driver and the other for par 3's.   At the right is a brush tee which allows the driver to glide through the brushes and thus avoids breakage and supposedly reduces friction as well.  And at the very top, still unopened, is my bad of 100 wooden tees I bought for around $3 from the states.  

If all else fails, I guess you can ask the caddies to make a sand tee for you - its the most economical and environmentally friendly, but it sure can be a mess and won't get you any smiles from your playing partners.