Wood or plastic tees?

[6 Million Dollar Man]

Plastic.  I use the short ones on the par threes and the long ones elsewhere.   They last.

Edited August 14, 2023 by 6 Million Dollar Man

[Bohnson]

I like wood, trying to save the planet one tee at a time. Tee time.

[oldguy819]

Wood or composite.  Plastic leaves marks on the face.  In cold temps (Michigan weather) sometimes 45 degrees, it's like hitting stones. one in our group just got a stealth this past spring and the carbon face was actually damaged. The place he bought it replaced his driver but THEN the guys says you shouldn't use plastic tees with the carbon face especially in cold weather.  Combine the cold with the club AND the tee and the ball.  My personal use/feeling is, though the plastic last longer the trade off isn't worth the scars and the mower blades

[Chris F.]

Plastic tees for me, for two reasons. First, they do not break as easily as wooden tees so I can usually use them much longer. Although there are some exceptions to this. Some plastic tees can be more brittle than others and bad ones can break as easily as wooden tees. But there are some great plastic tees that are very resistant to breaking. Second, I like the castle or similar design that easily tees it up to a consistent height. These are usually easier to find in a wider variety of heights and colors with plastic. So, I have found my current favorite plastic tees by trial and error.

[Shlax]

Plastic tees are wayyy more durable but retrieving it and throwing it in the trash (or re-use the top part on par 3s) is an obsession as I can’t consciously leave plastic rubbish scattered in nature even if it’s on a golf course.

Basic plastic tees will last me until I forget to bring a small wood tee or cannot find a broken tee on a par 3 and then have to use one with a short iron. Otherwise, it will last 10+ rounds!

Edited August 14, 2023 by Shlax
Typos

[RoverRick]

Plastic. I eat wooden tees. I have no idea why, but if I use a wooden tee I will notice as I’m going down the fairway that I am chewing on it. This doesn’t happen with plastic, and as general rule, I do not pick up random pieces of wood off the ground and start chomping on them. 

[Badgermc76]

I started with wood tees. Then I switched over to plastic. But now I'm back to using white tees only.

My reason is simple. I like to get a feel on the shot and understand if it is a toe or heel strike. 

As for driver, the marks at the bottom provide an insight to how I hit the ball.

[tchat07]

Wood! 100%! On any hole I'm not using a driver I'll pick up a broken tee so I really don't break many if any during a round. Normally just go with the plain bamboo ones but do enjoy a "nice" course wooden tee, cause they are so much different haha 

[Mike B]

I found a plastic martini tee last year and have used it ever since. Now our tee boxes can get very hard, and I will then us a wooden tee. The plastic tee is quite flexible, so it seems to never break. I think that would be better for the environment than either plastic or wood on the tee box or preferably in the waste can. 

[Stevenhp]

No preference. A tee is a tee. I have so many tees, that I haven’t bought any in years. Some courses that I play I have almost found a perfectly good tee on every hole. Some players are too lazy to pick them up. Each year I go through the tees and end up donating some to junior golfers.

[importcomps]

There is only answer...Plastic. if I can't keep a wood tee all round

[No3Putts]

I don't really have a preference, other than length -- I like the longer tees for my driver.  What does bother me are people who slam tees in the ground and don't pick them up.  My son is working on our course's grounds crew this year and tells me how much damage is done to mower blades when they hit tees that have been slammed in the ground. Yesterday, as a quick experiment, I started picking up tees that we buried in the ground. In 4 holes I had 27 tees. I would assume the wooden tees would ultimately deteriorate to the point they wouldn't do much damage, but the plastic ones would certainly dull of not chip mower blades.

 

So regardless of which tees you use -- pick them up.  If it's broken toss it in the trash or in the rough (rough mower have a much heavier blade and they just chop them up.

[ChaseP]

I prefer wood, plastic leaves too many marks. 90% of the time I can play a round with 1 wood tee then toss it on the 18th tee box as an offering to the golf gods. 

[ScramblinMan]

Definitely wood tees! Even though wood tees break easily, plastic tees leave those annoying “skid”marks on your clubs that take some effort to rub off. Since I just spent large sums of money on new irons and woods, I’m a little obsessive compulsive about keeping them clean!

[Hix31]

I’m a wooden tee guy.   I like the look and feel. I tried plastic and they seemed to deform or break at a fairly quick rate, and buying tees isn’t breaking the bank. 

[Kinglouie65]

I'm a plastic user! I like the dark line allows me to tee it the same.

[JeremyD]

The answer is yes. I don't have a preference. I sometimes prefer wood, because I don't like full tees on par 3's or when using my hybrid or 3 wood off the tee. I'm happy to have a good broken tee for these situations. I haven't bought tees in 35 years. I guess I find a lot per round and just keep accumulating. I mainly find the plastic, so I guess I use those the most.

[ccostel18]

Plastic. Prefer the durability and can’t stand the paint swapping on my driver when using wooden. And due to them not being biodegradable I think it makes me a little more self conscious of picking up broken tees and disposing of them properly rather than letting them lay. I have a superintendent buddy who can’t stand broken tees. I prefer the Pride PTS tees and have never had any issues with marks on my clubs. 

Edited August 14, 2023 by ccostel18

[davewr58]

Plastic. They don’t break after one to two hits. Much better value for the money.

[B_R_A_D_Y]

We spent 5 min looking for a guy’s $15 plastic golf tee. I’ve searched diligently for thousands of balls, but never a tee. I empathized with his plight … but $15 for a tee? The tee box was elevated, and his tee flew off the front. And I won’t let him forget about it. Whenever I play with him, or even when he’s paired with others, I ALWAYS warn them to watch his tee, not his ball.

[ckeller52]

The company I work for makes these.

https://www.amazon.com/TeeTech-DS8-Flex-Golf-Tee/dp/B08KWKY362/ref=sr_1_3?crid=2834HRASN44I0&keywords=teetech+golf+tees&qid=1692016045&sprefix=teetech+golf+tees%2Caps%2C131&sr=8-3

The company also manufactures other plastic tees, plastic divot tools, and plastic ball markers for different resellers. 

 

So yeah, I'm wood all day long.

 

 

[Julius]

I prefer plastic just because they are re-usable and don't chip.  Although I have both in my pouch that I use,  for some reason the shorter tees used for PAr 3's in wood I  prefer more. 

[Brett Rabey]

Hardwood not Bamboo, please.

[DiscipleofPenick]

Wood, seriously...

[George Kelley]

Definitely plastic tee…..they break less often and create less debris on the teeing areas that can cause maintenance equipment / mowers less issues. Wood tees should be like wood drivers…a thing of the past.

[edkrisiak]

Definitely wood. I started with plastic this year and they go flying and I can't find them after the tee shot. So I bought wood tees. They stay in the ground or are easily found after the hit. I know it sounds crazy

[mattdicarlo]

Wood tees. I misplace/lose my tees so often so I figure it’s a waste to buy plastic if I’m just going to lose them.

[acatalano32]

I like either, but prefer wooden tees. Dislike white or light color tees because of the lines they leave on the sole of the driver. 
it seems like the thread is pretty divided, I like it! 

[Cwsmith13]

I actually use both. Plastic for driver, wood for iron, hybrids or woods. The odds are much higher with the latter that I can’t find the tee, it’s stuck in the ground after a shot, or it breaks so wood makes more sense. But plastic overall. 

[JScott]

Wood. The plastic ones tend to get crooked and the ball sits funny on them after that. Also, when the wood one breaks it’s good to use for par 3s and FW/iron off shorter par 4s. Just my personal preference