My Definitive Ranking Of The Best Golf Tees: Can Anything Beat The Much-Loved Pink Castle?

Like a lot of golfers, I have an unnecessarily large collection of golf gear in the garage, stuff that I have stockpiled over the years. I’m not a hoarder, but I do find certain items of golf equipment hard to part with.

Mainly, it’s gloves. I think it’s that beautiful, soft cabretta leather - they’re just too hard to bin even when they’re well past their best-before date.

Earlier this year, it became clear that a springtime clean was required. It shouldn’t have taken long - a quick skip run with old shoes, balls, caps, and several battered wedges - but I ended up spending an unhealthy amount of time sifting through a box of accessories.

It was all the old ball markers, pencils, and pitch mark repairers that caused the delay. And tees. Hundreds and hundreds of tees.

I spent the next hour remembering some wonderful trips to Portmarnock Resort & Jameson Links, Southerness, Dumbarnie Links, Woburn, and The Berkshire.

I stopped short of separating all the different types into separate boxes, but it did get me thinking: is there such a thing as a best golf tee?

Given what I found in my collection, I’d have to say the answer to that question is yes. Drum roll, please. My definitive ranking of the best golf tees is as follows…

7. Plastic tees

Get rid of them all - the long ones, the little short ones, the oversized ones, the stepped ones. If golf clubs can phase out plastic water bottles, why can’t plastic golf tees be banned?

Plastic tees don’t break down naturally and have a damaging impact on the environment over time - plus they can damage expensive greenkeeping equipment.

6. Pyramid stringed tees

Mixed feelings here. I’d struggle not to poke fun at someone using one of these. They’re impossible to break/lose, but, for me, it says, ‘I’m not spending any money in the pro shop buying tees.’

On the other hand, club golfers know they don't have to worry about teeing the ball up at the correct height for each club - and that can be especially helpful if you’re a beginner.

They can actually be quite useful in the winter, too, if you’re off mats or the ground is so hard that it’s impossible to get a tee into.

5. Pink plastic castle tees

I’ll allow plastic pink castle tees only because they’re much-loved by one or two of the senior golfers I play with (they also remind me of my late grandfather, who’d get quite upset if he ever lost one off the tee).

I know a lot of golfers like them because they are the perfect height for the driver, and they’re easy to line up with the center of the face. They've even seen success on tour with Aaron Rai picking up his first major using one.

However, they’re not much use if you want to vary your shot trajectory, which is one of the reasons most other tour players don’t use them.

Some would say they look amateurish, too. Is that fair?

4. Performance tees

Ok, maybe not all plastic tees are bad. Some are made with environmentally friendly materials, a durable plastic design, and a pronged head that makes it easier to place the ball on the tee.

We’re often told that these tees increase accuracy and help produce greater distance from the driver. I suggest you get yourself on a launch monitor to test that claim.

However, they are incredibly durable. If you suffer from nerves or play a lot in the wind, the stable head design works well, too.

Many brands specialize in producing more robust, ‘performance’ tees. I remain skeptical about the performance benefits, although you may have experienced marginal gains (do leave a comment in the box below).

3. Wooden driving tees

The four-inch ones. Classic. These are best for large, modern drivers, allowing for high launch and optimal carry. No round of golf should start without a good handful of these in your bag.

The longer ones tend to break more easily, but don’t throw them away or put them in the broken tee boxes just yet - they’re still good for iron use.

It must be said that not all wooden tees are environmentally friendly. Most wooden tees are made from slow-growing hardwood trees, which means they’re not a sustainable resource.

2. Bamboo tees

In recent years, there’s been a significant move towards using bamboo tees. Bamboo grows quickly and regenerates naturally, which makes it one of the most sustainable raw materials on the planet.

Now, if you love your pink castle tees and you’re offended by my suggestion that they should be banned, you can actually get yourself bamboo castle tees in various colors.

In fact, you can get bamboo golf tees in pretty much every different length, color, and style - super long driving tees, striped tees, colored tees, retro tees, the list goes on…

1. Club logoed/branded tees

Who doesn’t like grabbing a handful of branded tees? Whether it's St Andrews or your local golf club, there’s something special about a branded tee (I dare say we even have a few collectors out there).

The extra special ones have the club logo on, too. Snapping one of these beauties almost feels like losing a golf ball. Almost.

Let’s say you have one Pebble Beach or Pinehurst tee left in your bag. Are you using it? Of course you’re not - you’re keeping that one safe somewhere.

And that’s why the branded golf tee is ranked number one on this list. Of course, the best golf tee of all will be branded and made from bamboo.