My father had told me about him now only playing with biodegradable tees. Having stopped golfing for a couple of years, I really was far away in regards to new technology or the eco world and golf.

I bought him a box for Christmas, and bought one for myself recently. I have always been a big fan of the wooden tees, white. But I was ready to change my old habits and enter the world of biodegradable tees!

So I tried the Zero Friction performance tees (Me trying the tees in the video above!), 2 3/4 inches, white. And let me tell you all about it. Except for the fact that they are biodegradable and allow nearly no friction with the ball, I only have negative comments about them:

- too flexible, very hard to keep in shape and to insert in the ground
- the top where you put your ball in is not soft at all and I was almost cutting my finger every time I was trying to tee my ball
- did not see any improved distance

Overall, it was taking me too long to tee my balls, once done, my fingers were hurting and I could see my ball was not stable at all.

So let’s look for smaller, stronger and softer biodegradable tees. It must exist! As soon as I get to try them, I will update this post.

The Fertile Tees

“The worlds first biodegradable and organic golf tee made from fertilizer.” It’s good for the golf courses, good for the earth and great to play, as it is super light according to their website. And it’s cheap too and can be bought in bulk. I absolutely cannot wait to try this one. Per their website, they also say that this tee will disintegrate within way less time than other biodegradable tees (for which it usually take about 9 months).

Bamboo Golf Tees

“Fibers run vertically from head to toe making bamboo tees much more robust and tougher when whacked, offering the player greater consistency and reliability.” They will last longer than wooden tees and they are made of bamboos which as you know grow so fast and so easily, not a problem. And of course they are also biodegradable.

UPDATE: I tried them on this Monday, May 19th and I must say I was a little disappointed. Every two holes they would break, while I was playing with a driver, not even an iron. And it had rained a lot the day before so the ground was not dry at all. If I have to change my tees every two holes, this to me is a waste of money and most importantly an environmental waste. Nevertheless I would like to thank the company who graciously sent me this bag of tees for me to review and I hope my feedback can help them improve their product.

Evolve Golf

They make the epoch™ tee similar to the Zero Friction ones, but they seem way less hurtful for the fingers. Now the question is do they bend or not. I will try them and let you know.

UPDATE: So I tried them early this morning and they are great. They are soft, strong and super stable.

They are also launching a new tee this year, vireo™ made from recycled material. Still biodegradable. Love it. Looks so smoooooth.

Ecoty

I got these this morning at the Golf du Medoc (my Club from when I lived in France) and I will try them shortly and update with my feedback. It is a FRENCH brand and the tees are made in the USA. They seem pretty solid and they disintegrate within 8 to 10 months. I also shot them an email to see where you can find them on-line. They look like this below (beige color, not white):

Stinger

More biodegradable tees allowing less friction with the ball, as all the ones presented above.

Apiona®

“Apiona® EnviroTee™ is mainly made from natural renewable polymers and based on aliphatic polyesters such as corn starch and Poly Lactic Acid, which are fully biodegradable, environmentally safe and one of the most abundant resources of the world. [...] Apiona® EnviroTee™ disintegrates into carbon dioxide and water according to the composting conditions. “

That’s all!