Our verdict on Green Tees, a range of environmentally-friendly tees made from biodegradable bamboo in a range of shapes and sizes
Green Tees
Green Tees Review
We’ve seen recently how the environmentally-concious golfer can do their bit with their choice of shoes, apparel and golf bag and now you can make a difference with the tees you choose to use.
Tee boxes are often littered with broken wooden or plastic tees which, in time, will have a negative effect on the environment and the wildlife that inhabits it.
Green Tees are made from biodegradable bamboo, printed on with non-toxic inks. The packaging the tees are sold in is either recyclable, compostable or tees are sold in no packaging at all – depending where you buy from.
The distinction between traditional wooden tees and tees made from bamboo is an important one. Bamboo can be harvested as quickly as one year after being planted because the trees can grow as much as three feet in a day. Compare that to most hardwoods – which take around 40 years to reach a harvestable condition.
Bamboo trees also release around 35 per cent more oxygen into the atmosphere than hardwood trees and there is also very little waste when the trees are harvested.
Green Tees offer a choice in four different lengths of tee in the standard shape made of bamboo and five heights of castle tee made from either bamboo or traditional hardwood.
We’ve used them for a number of rounds and have been surprised to notice how durable they are. We definitely get through less during the course of a round as the bamboo tees take more of an impact to break. Even when they do break, their fibrous make-up means that they don’t normally snap and can be bent back in to shape.
They’re easy to see and the 70mm castle tee was the perfect height for our driver.
Cost is a factor and while Green Tees are a little more expensive, the price does reduce the more you buy to encourage consumers to reduce the environmental impact of packaging and delivery. They’re available to buy as a one off or subscription service from greentees.co.
Green Tees also produce a range of drinking containers to discourage golfers from buying drinks in single use plastic bottles that are destined for landfill, so there is more you can do if you so choose.
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Verdict
Plastic tees, as durable as they are, are not a sustainable choice and given the precarious state the world finds itself in regarding plastic waste pollution, perhaps a switch to an environmentally-friendly tee like the ones offered by Green Tees would be the first step towards making a difference.