Have you ever wondered, what are the best tees for golf?
Here’s the thing, in the past buying golf tees was easy! There was pretty much one style (wood tees) and 1-2 lengths, making buying very simple.
But as golf has evolved, wood tees have evolved and added all kinds of new options for the everyday golfer. Tees have had to evolve too because the old school, short tees simply wouldn’t work with modern golf clubs.
As new technology hits the golf market, it’s important to play the right tees to help your game. Otherwise, you are leaving shots on the course and making golf harder on yourself.
Now, tees are designed to help with things like reducing a slice and increasing distance off the tee. The old wood tee has some competition and we’re here to show you all the latest technology.
In this post, we’ll cover:
- How to pick the best golf tees.
- The appropriate tee height for each club.
- The best golf tees based on material.
And a list of commonly asked questions about the best golf tees as well. By the time you’re done reading this article, you’ll have everything you need to pick the best golf tees.
Let’s get started…
How to Pick the Best Golf Tees (3 Key Features)
Before diving into our best picks for golf tees, let’s break down how to shop for the right ones. It’s not like the old days where there was one option and tee length.
As club heads get larger and larger, your tee needs to match. Plus, tees now have additional features to help your game without changing your swing. Here is what to think about when buying your next bag of tees:
Type of Material
The first thing to think about is what type of material tee you want to use. In general, there are now four different types of material used for golf tees. They are:
Wood Golf Tees
When the average golfer think about golf tees, we all think of a wood tee. They’re the most common type of golf tee and have been around for 100+ years! Most professional golfers prefer these tees and are by far the most common among the four major types.
The main problem with a wood tee is that they do break rather easily. But since they are the cheapest, it makes it a little more bearable when your tee snaps in half.
Another thing with wooden tees is that if they’re painted a specific color, they can rub off on your golf club. Some are easy to wipe off, while others might require a little extra cleaning to remove the mark from the club.
Rubber Tees
Another type of tees are rubber tees. These aren’t ones that you normally carry in your bag but instead see on a driving range, golf store or even TopGolf. These tees are very cheap and reliable as they’re built for longevity.
Bamboo Golf Tees
The third type for golfers are bamboo golf tees. These are incredibly strong compared to a traditional normal wooden tee but also have a steeper price. Like wooden tees, these might be painted with different colors as well.
Plastic Golf Tees
The final type of golf tee to consider is a plastic version. If you’re someone who routinely breaks a ton of tees, these are by far the most durable of the four. As you’ll see in this list, there are all kinds of different style plastic tees for golfers to choose from.
Golf Tee Length (Tee Heights)
After you find the right material, the second thing to consider is the length of the tee. As drivers have become larger and larger over the past 20 or so years, tee lengths have had to adjust accordingly.
Otherwise, old school small tees make it nearly impossible to hit the sweet spot of your driver. Since the average clubhead is 440CC-460CC, you need extra height to ensure you can hit up on your driver. If you’re using too small of a tee you’ll never get enough launch and miss out on tons of distance.
Tee lengths vary from 1.5 to 4 inches and each one is geared toward a specific shot and swing.
Style of Golf Tees
The third to consider is the style of golf tee. As I mentioned, golf tees have changed so much and not sure Ben Hogan or other iconic golfers would approve. While of course you can purchase normal golf tees, there are now several different styles to help your golf game including:
Traditional Golf Tees
While there are a large number of styles, the standard tee construction is still the most popular. You can get these in all types of material and vary in length.
Brush Golf Tees
The second kind of tees are known as a brush golf tees. These are very different from traditional ones and have bristles on the top of a plastic tee.
Golfers use these in effort to minimize friction and increase distance off the tee. If you’ve never played one of these before, it will definitely be an adjustment looking down at it. But if it helps your game, why not give it a try! Plus, they are plastic and shouldn’t break either.
Anti-Slice Golf Tees
The third style is the anti-slice tees. As the name suggests, these are meant to help you curb that nasty, left to right slice. These are great for golfers who are just getting into the game and want some help hitting straighter drives.
But remember, these tees are not legal according to the USGA. While you can use them for fun rounds, don’t take them out during competitive play.
Zero Friction Golf Tees
The final type of tee is a zero friction tee. The design itself is very different from normal as there are multiple prongs on the top of the tee. Like the brush tee, these are also plastic and used to add a few extra yards to your golf ball off the tee.
Markings and Color System of Golf Tee
The final thing to consider is the color and markings on the tee. As you’ll see in our post, some of the tees have markings on them to help golfers identify how far down to insert the tee in the ground.
You also want to think about the color as you can get a tee in basically any color at this point. I would say that wood and white are still the most common but you can also get pink, green, blue, red, and other colors as well. While they are fun, make sure it’s not distracting when you tee the ball up. One perk with colored tees is that they are easy to find after you hit your shot.
Best Golf Tees on the Market
Now that you know how to evaluate golf tees, here are our top picks in each category. Since prices are so low with these golf products, don’t be afraid to try a new bag and see how it impacts your game.
1. Pride Performance Professional Tee System Plastic Tees (Best Plastic Tee)
First up on our list is the Pride Professional Tee System. These are low resistance plastic golf tees that are 3 ¼ inches long. They are great for drivers over 360CC, which is pretty much any driver.
They will help you with distance thanks to their low-resistance tips. This reduced friction should help generate maximum distance with the big stick. Click here to pick up the longer Pride Performance tees.
If you end up enjoying the Pride Professional tees, make sure to grab the 1 ½ inch tees for your irons/wedges as well. These plastic tees come in several different colors and are environmentally friendly. Click here to pick up the shorter Pride Performance tees.
Or, you can always grab the combo pack as well. The Pride Professional box comes with 40 2 3/4 tee and 10 1 1/2 inch golf tees. Click here to grab the combo pack.
2. Callaway Performance Tees (Best Golf Tees for Driver)
Next up on our list is the Callaway Par Tee driving tees which are 3 ¼ long. These tees are unique in that they have a plastic base and rubberized top. Plus, they are two tones as the length of it is white, while the top is either red, blue, green, or black.
The goal of the Callaway Par Tee is to promote low-spin and get extra distance with your driver and long clubs. They also have a stiff, sharpened tip that makes it easy to stick in the ground or use it to clean the surface area and grooves of your clubs too.
While these are great for your driver, Callaway does not recommend using them for your irons so make sure to have others in your bag. They come in a 4 or 6 pack and are highly rated by golfers worldwide. Click here to try out the Callaway Performance tees.
3. Brush T Multi-Pack (Best Brush Tee)
Let’s not forget about brush golf tees either. The Brush T tees are a great option if you’re looking for a plastic golf tee with a plastic base and brush top.
The goal of these tees is to help minimize friction and create more distance. Plus, it should help with accuracy as well. The hidden benefit of these tees is that you know exactly how high to tee the golf ball every time. This should help bring more consistency to your game by minimizing your shot dispersion.
The brush tee pack comes with four sizes; 3 wood, driver, oversize driver, and XL jumbo. Each one is color coordinated so you don’t mix them up either. And don’t worry, these tees are approved by the USGA so you can use these in tournaments. Click here to pick up your brush tees.
4. Wedge Guys PGA Bamboo Tees (Best Bamboo Tee)
Next up is the Wedge Guys PGA Bamboo tees. These 2 ¾ inch tees are stronger and longer lasting than normal wood golf tees. One thing I love about bamboo tees is that they are nearly impossible to break and hardly cost any more either.
Plus, they won’t leave a nasty mark on your club either. These come in a pack of 250, 500 or even 1,000. Not to mention, they also include a cool poker chip that says “Putt Like a Champion” which is a great mantra for any golfer on the course. Click here to learn more about these tees.
5. Champkey SDP Hybrid Plastic Golf Tees
If you prefer a plastic tee, I think you’ll love this pack from Champkey. These unbreakable tees are much stronger than traditional wooden tees and mayde from a proprietary polymer resin blend.
Thanks to its prong tee head, it will reduce friction and side spin for increased accuracy. That means more tee shots ending up in the short stuff, not having to hunt for your golf ball in the rough or trees.
There are two sizes available; 2 ¾ or 3 ¼. Both sizes come in a pack of green and blue tees which are easy spots on the box. Click here to pick up the Champkey SDP Tees.
6. Callaway Wood Golf Tees (Best Wooden Tees)
If you prefer an old-fashioned wooden tee, you’ll love this pack from Callaway. They come in two sizes; 3.25 inches or 2.75 inches. You can also choose whether you want a red/white/blue pack, white, or wooden color.
Each pack contains 100 wooden tees made with hardwood construction for reliable use. Plus, it’s nice to have alternate colors to choose from like the red/white/blue. Click here to pick up these traditional tees.
7. Martini Tees
Next up is the wildly popular martini golf tees. These plastic golf tees are made in the US and labeled by the company as “virtually unbreakable.” And thanks to their own independent testing, the Martini tee has also seen positive effects on straighter and longer drives.
What makes this plast tee one of the best golf tees is the step built into it so you always get the perfect height on every shot. Martini tees come in a pack of five 3 1/4 golf tees with a variety of colors; aqua, white, yellow, orange, and red. Grab your martini tees today!
8. Zero Friction Tour 3 Prong Golf Tees
The ZFT Tour (Zero Friction Tour 3 Prong) are some of the best golf tees and raved about by golfers from all over the world. The Zero Friction Tour 3 prong tees have been around since 2005!
According to Zero Friction, they are “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.”
Not only are these golf tees nearly unbreakable but can help your performance and alignment too. Simply line up one prong toward your target to help hit your target. Not to mention each package comes with a bonus zero friction item too.
Each pack of Tour 3 prong golf tees come with 30. Click here to learn more about these tees.
9. RecTeeFier Golf Tees (Best Golf Tees for Slice)
These packs are made for the slicer! If you struggle with a slice, you’ll love the RecTeeFier golf tees.
This revolutionary golf tee will surely help your tee box game assisting you with a slice (or hook). After robotic testing this tee at a lab in San Diego, they found a 35% reduction of slice or hook when compared to other golf tees.
I love their slogan too “The straighter your ball, the more fun your game.” Click here to pick up your RecTeeFlier Golf Tees.
10. 4 Yards More Golf Tee
The final tee to make our list of best golf tees is the 4 Yards More Golf Tee. This is the first and only tee that has been proven to add distance to your game. Thanks to its flexible 6-prong tip, you’ll reduce resistance and allow any golfer to make better contact.
Each pack of 4 Yard More golf tees come with four different sizes. Each golf tee is engineered to last over 100 drives. Plus, you can’t beat the insanely low price either! Click here to learn more about these distance enhancing tees.
Bonus: Champ Zarma Flytee (Best Golf Tee for Women)
Also, I wanted to include the Champ Zarma Flytee which is great for ladies. The 6 prong head is amazing tee technology to help minimize surface area contact and promote additional distance and accuracy.
What’s so cool is that you can customize the height of your golf ball thanks to its multiple black lines. The will help get consistent height with each drive and 5x stronger than wood tees. Plus, they come in a variety of neon colors!
Bonus: infiniTEE Driving Range Mat Tee (Best Golf Tee for Range)
Rounding out our list is the infiniTEE option which is a great rubber tee if you are a golfer that hits off mats. One of the problems with so many driving ranges is they have low quality mats and lame rubber tees. Not only are these hard on your back, they also usually have limited tee options as well.
But when you use this tee, you don’t have to worry about height again. This tee adjusts from 2.5 to 4 inches and great for different mat thickness. You can use this on the range, a practice mat at home or even an at home simulator for every golf ball you hit. Plus, it’s extremely durable and should last a long time.
FAQS About Golf Tees
Do you have even more questions about finding the best golf tees and the right golf equipment? If so, hopefully we’ll cover them in our frequently asked questions and answers below.
What golf tees do the pros use?
Pros tend to favor old school wood tees. The height depends on the player as some prefer to hit more up on the ball while others prefer hitting down on it (like Tiger Woods). Since pros have such a consistent swing, they don’t need the help of brush tees.
But some PGA Tour and LPGA Tour pros actually prefer plastic tees for their key features. The ZFT Tour zero friction tees are highly popular and have been used in tons of professional golf events.
Do golf tees really make a difference?
Yes, golf tees absolutely make a difference, specifically with a driver. If you’re using a golf tee that isn’t the proper height, you’re making it much harder to hit consistent drives. Plus, tees help a ton of iron shots off the box and can improve your overall contact.
You want to make sure to have consistent tee height every time you put the peg in the ground.
Are wooden golf tees better than plastic golf tees?
It depends on the golfer. For lower handicap players, I would recommend a wooden tee. These are used by the pros and elite amateurs as they’re simple, consistent, and reliable. Sure, they break more easily than plastic tees but low handicappers won’t break too many.
Plastic tees are good for some golfers though. If you’re a beginner or high handicapper, they can definitely help you hit it straighter and maybe even help your slice. Plus, they don’t break like wooden tees and are worth any extra money.
Why do golf pros use wooden tees?
Golf pros (specifically the PGA Tour players) prefer using wooden tees because they are elite ball strikers and don’t need the help of speciality tees. Each player likely has a specific height that works best for their drivers and stick with it.
Since some pros hover the club, they usually use a longer tee as the driver head isn’t resting on the ground. Plus, they’re playing for a lot of money and every small detail makes a big difference in helping them play consistent golf.
Should you always use a golf tee?
The short answer is yes, you should always use a golf tee, regardless of which club you’re hitting. Now I know some readers will fight me on this but hear me out.
I’m giving this advice based on what I read in Tiger Woods’ best selling golf book, How I Play Golf. In the book, he said that regardless of which club he’s using, he always uses a golf tee. He said that not using a golf tee is making the game harder and doesn’t recommend it for any golfer.
If arguably the greatest player of the game is telling you to always use a tee, I suggest listening. Using a tee, even with a wedge or short iron on par 3s will give you a better chance of making solid contact. And in a sport where the smallest margin makes all the difference, don’t just throw a ball on the tee box.
Does tee height affect driving distance?
Yes, height does affect driving distance for your golf ball. For example, if you use an old school 2-inch tee but a modern, 460 CC driver, it’s going to result in a shorter distance as you’ll miss the sweet spot. Since clubs are so much bigger, you need to tee it higher so that you can hit the ball on your way up. That’s why it’s so hard to hit a driver off the deck, the sweet spot is so much higher than the turf!
Plus, as you become a more advanced golfer, you can mix up your height as you shape the golf ball. For example, if you want to play a cut or hit a stinger, you can tee it lower. Or if you want to hit a high bomb, you can tee it up just in the ground and get a little more power into it.
Finally, your tee height matters for distance depending on if you hover the club. If you hover the club, you’ll need a higher tee to offset you hovering the club off the ground.
I urge you to please read our full article on the correct height of tee for driver. If you are not getting this right you are costing yourself valuable yards off the tee.
How high should you tee a fairway wood?
To make the best contact with the ball, you want to not tee up a fairway wood more than 1-2 inches. If you have it too high on the teeing grounds, chances are you’ll sky it and maybe even leave a mark on your clubhead.
Since the clubhead is so much smaller than a driver, you want to adjust accordingly. This will help you find the sweet spot and hit solid 3 woods when you don’t need a driver on certain tee boxes.
Are brush golf tees legal?
Yes, brush tees are legal as long as they are under the tee length limit. Anti slice tees however, are not legal. Make sure you check to ensure they are USGA approved or not.
What golf tees are illegal?
The USGA requires that all teens must be 4 inches or under according to Rule 6. All but one on the list of best golf tees are legal for play!
What is rule 11?
Rule 11 refers to the USGA Rules of Golf that state you won’t get penalized if the player’s ball in motion hits a person, animal, or equipment. The player must play it from where it lies!
Final Thoughts on Best Golf Tees
As you can tell, there are great choices when searching for the best golf tees. In the past, it was a pretty small selection but now golf manufacturers are doing everything they can to help make the game easier.
Remember, playing the right tee is crucial for your game. If you’re playing a tee that is too small for your driver, you’re making the game substantially harder.
Plus, after testing out some of these other types of tees, you might find that you add distance and accuracy too. I think it’s worth the small investment to test out different ones to help your tee shots find the short grass.