Should We Ban Golf Tees - And What Would That Mean For Equipment?

Tees. Yes or no? I remember speaking to Sir Nick Faldo a few years ago, and he was unequivocal on this matter: getting rid of golf tees would identify who the best drivers of the golf ball in the world really were.

I can hear your moaning and sighing. “Dinosaur!” “Killjoy!” Still, I agree with Sir Nick in that something should be done at tour level to make driving the ball long and straight more of a test - although I'm pretty sure I'd be in the minority.

Regardless of your view, I’d encourage you to watch the debate below. Please feel free to leave your comments below and/or get in touch with Kick Point hosts Dan Parker and Joe Ferguson.

WATCH: Dan and Joe from Kick Point: The Golf Gear Show discuss what a ban on golf tees would mean for equipment manufacturers (from 08:17)

Joe might not agree with many things Sir Nick says, but he thinks the six-time Major winner is onto something with this.

For the pros, the driver has become very easy to hit. Poor drivers don’t really exist. When Faldo arrived on the scene, he’d tell you that there were only really a handful of players who had the skill and power to separate themselves from the rest - and now everyone is long and straight.

This wasn't because golf tees weren't allowed in Faldo's era - it was down to the size of the driver head, which was significantly smaller. Going back further, they were also made of wood.

Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman... now they were two exceptional drivers of the golf ball.

“When did we start having a small square on the course where you can raise the ball up to whatever height you want to hit to optimize all your statistics?” says Joe, referring of course to perfectly manicured tee boxes.

I’ve done a little research. Wooden pegs started being used widely roughly a century ago. Before then, golfers used to create their own teeing mounds of sand or dirt.

“We’ve gone to 460cc heads, huge MOI numbers, etc, etc, and everyone can hit driver now,” says Joe.

“I think people get bored when it becomes a bit of a putting competition. You still have your Rorys [McIlroy] and your Brysons [DeChambeau] who separate themselves from the tee, but Strokes Gained is so tight off the tee.”

So, are we really saying that golf tees could be banned? No, not happening, not with the rollback of the golf ball scheduled to take place some time over the next three to four years.

However, it’s still an interesting subject to debate and an amusing one to ponder.

Just imagine what it would mean for the equipment manufacturers who have spent hundreds of millions of dollars getting to where we are now with maximum forgiveness and explosive speed for everyone.

“Lofts would have to change, attack angles would have to change, you’d be hitting it lower on the face, creating more spin,” explains Joe.

That being said, there’s no doubt that driving the golf ball would demand far greater precision from the players.

But truth be told, Joe doesn't have a huge problem with the game as it is (he'd still get rid of caddies); however, if the game had to change, he'd sooner see tees banned than the golf ball being rolled back.

“I think the game is fine as it is,” says Joe. “People are moaning that this course and that course are obsolete and that score is too low, but golf has never been more popular - it’s in a great spot.

“People like to see golfers smashing it on the green. When it's just a slog fest on a wide open golf course, it can be a bit dull, but that’s not equipment’s fault, that’s the tournament set-up.”

So while golf brands (and golf tee manufacturers) won’t be sweating on any possibility of our century-old, small wooden stilts being phased out, we can still imagine the effect it would have at the top of the game.

Are you for or against golf tees? Does Sir Nick have a point? Would it not bring back a skill that has been significantly reduced as a result of modern technology being so very, very good?

Please let us know in the comments box below, as we'd love to hear your opinions.

Our Kick Point host is already planning the Joe Ferguson Invitational, open to all players who are happy to hit their tee shots off the deck.

“No tees and no caddies,” jokes Joe. “Preferred lies rules apply on the tee box.

“If you want to bring a TaylorMade Qi4D LS driver, eight degrees of loft, ping that off the deck, good luck to you, because if you can pull that off you deserve to have an advantage.”

Sir Nick’s JFI invitation is in the post. Who wants in?