The post How far do you hit your 7-iron? The answer will tell you which tees to play appeared first on Golf.

The post How far do you hit your 7-iron? The answer will tell you which tees to play appeared first on Golf.

Here’s a tip: You probably shouldn’t be playing from the tips.

Deep down, you know this. But for whatever reason — ego, peer pressure, lack of better options — you wind up taking on more course than you can handle.

You are not alone. According to the USGA, in a survey of more than 700 PGA and LPGA professionals, 92 percent said that it is “extremely common” or “somewhat common” for golfers to peg it from too far back. And the evidence isn’t merely anecdotal. Scoring data shows that roughly 75 percent of female golfers and 50 percent of male golfers play from distances that exceed their abilities. 

The consequences? Aside from higher scores, rounds become a grind, and golf becomes less fun.

Over the years, several campaigns have been launched to address this problem (remember those TV spots in which Jack Nicklaus acknowledged that even he needed to “Tee it Forward“?). But when it comes to moving up a box, the game still has a ways to go. 

Which brings us to a new initiative, a data-driven offering from the USGA, aimed at helping golfers select the proper tees. It’s called — wait for it — Best Tees.

The gist is this: if you know how far you hit your 7-iron, the Best Tees system can tell you which boxes you should be playing. Hint: If you’re a typical male golfer, you should be playing from 6,100 yards; if you’re a typical female golfer, you should be playing from just over 4,400 yards.

More on those numbers in a minute.

But first, some background on the methodology.

The Best Tees system arose from several years of research that included analyses of World Handicap System scores and hitting-distance data, as well as surveys of golfer preferences. (In this work, the USGA collaborated with the American Society of Golf Course Architects; the National Golf Course Owners Association; the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America; and the LPGA and PGA).

To arrive at their recommendations, researchers defined a set of tees as being a good fit for a golfer’s abilities when “it allows them to comfortably reach the fairway on par 4s and par 5s, reach the vicinity of most greens in regulation, and allows them to hit a variety of clubs on their approach.” In surveys, meanwhile, golfers were asked to indicate when holes felt “too long”, “too short” or “reasonable.”

Gear

That definition and those preferences were then combined to create a system that can recommend a course length based on a single club as reference: the 7-iron. The 7-iron was chosen because most golfers have a decent handle on how far they hit theirs, and because golf instructors often use the 7 iron as a reference point in lessons. It’s the Esperanto of irons, with a language around it that most of us can understand. 

And that’s the point, really. To communicate important information clearly. Most golfers, after all, want to play the right tees; surveys show that. Course operators want that, too. But most say they lack an objective method for pointing golfers to the proper box.

The Best Tees system provides that. It is based on averages. The average male golfer hits his 7-iron 138 yards; the average female golfer hits hers 100 yards. Those numbers translate into par-72 course length recommendations of 6,100 and 4,437 yards, respectively. On average. But because not all golfers or courses are created equal, the system is designed to be customizable to any player at any property.

The system is currently being tested at 60 courses around the country. Feedback from that testing will be used to fine-tune the system before a wider rollout after 2023. 

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The post Get ready for the Masters with these limited-edition azalea golf tees appeared first on Golf.

The post Get ready for the Masters with these limited-edition azalea golf tees appeared first on Golf.

Golf fans, we’ve nearly made it. Spring officially begins this week, and that means the Masters is just around the corner.

Floral prints are all the rage right now, but if you’re not quite ready to don a flower-emblazoned polo, Western Birch’s limited-edition azalea golf tees are the perfect way to welcome both the changing of the season and the year’s most anticipated major championship.

These two-and-three-quarter-inch bamboo golf tees are durable and stylish, with strategically-placed stripes for easy depth placement and a pink and white azalea on the top.

Click the link below to buy your box right now. But hurry — this limited-edition offering is sure to sell out quickly!

To browse more great gear for your game, check out the inventory in GOLF’s Pro Shop.

The post Get ready for the Masters with these limited-edition azalea golf tees appeared first on Golf.

The post A robot-testing expert says you can gain ‘2-4 yards’ simply by changing your golf tees appeared first on Golf.

The post A robot-testing expert says you can gain ‘2-4 yards’ simply by changing your golf tees appeared first on Golf.

Picking up distance with your driver can be expensive, time consuming and tiresome. Although the effort and purchases you make can reap huge benefits, not everyone has the motivation and dedication necessary to gain distance.

How about something a bit easier and less expensive to hit it farther?

According to Gene Parente, founder of Golf Laboratories and the foremost robot-testing expert in the golf industry, certain golfers can actually pick up 2-4 yards of distance just by using different tees.

For three-plus decades, Parente has made his living as an independent and unbiased tester of golf products. He tests club heads, shafts, golf balls and tees for his clients, and has developed robot technology that’s used by many of the game’s major OEM’s and governing bodies. When it comes to hard goods, he’s seen and tested it all.

Given the precision and repeatability of his golf robot, Parente helps find the truth behind the performance of golf products.

On GOLF’s recent Fully Equipped podcast, Parente joined the show as a guest to announce his collaborative partnership with GOLF.com, and he dropped a number of gems that amateur golfers will find mind-blowingly intriguing. (Check out the entire podcast interview with Parente in the Spotify embed below.)

For one, golf tees apparently do matter.

The standard wooden or plastic tee that most golfers use measures just under 0.5 inches in diameter. The tees have a slight bowl shape on top that the golf ball rests in, ensuring it doesn’t fall off before or during the swing.

Most golfers don’t think twice about the tee they’re using. A tee is just a tee, right? Well, sometimes it doesn’t matter, but not always.

Depending on your angle of attack with a driver, tees can make a marginal difference on spin and distance.

Driving

It’s all about friction. For golfers who hit up on the ball at impact (positive angle of attack), the ball lifts cleanly off a traditional tee, thus reducing friction between the golf ball and the tee. That means no matter what tee is used, there’s no measurable difference in spin or distance between tee styles.

But for golfers who hit down on the ball with their driver (negative angle of attack) — which is most amateurs — the golf ball drives into the front portion of a traditional tee at impact and increases friction. As the ball collides into the tee, it adds spin and, typically, reduces distance.

“Tees do matter,” Parente said. “I know there’s going to be a lot of eye rolls when they hear that, but hear me out. … If you’re hitting down on the ball, what we found is the less surface area on the golf ball means the less friction, means less backspin, and that less backspin can equate to about 2-4 yards.”

To reduce friction and spin, and gain distance, Parente says using tees with less points of contact on the golf ball will provide real results.

Parente has to stay unbiased and neutral given his role in the industry, so he couldn’t name-drop any specific brands, but he suggests trying to find tees with “prongs” at the top, and you’ll be “happy with your purchase.”

So, next time you’re shopping for tees in a local pro shop or big box store — especially if you’re a golfer who hits down on the golf ball — try looking for tees that will reduce the contact points between the tee and the golf ball. You’ll pick up distance without changing anything in your swing at all.

Want to overhaul your bag for 2022? Find a fitting location near you at GOLF’s affiliate company True Spec Golf. For more on the latest gear news and information, check out our latest Fully Equipped podcast below!

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The post Editor’s Picks: 6 durable golf tees that will make you stand out on the course appeared first on Golf.

The post Editor’s Picks: 6 durable golf tees that will make you stand out on the course appeared first on Golf.

We’ve talked a lot about Western Birch golf tees on this website. Senior Writer Michael Bamberger was the first one to take a liking to the durable wood tees, as you can read here. It’s always a good idea to listen to Bamberger when he has a recommendation to dish out, and the tees became popular among the GOLF staff.

So popular that we decided to team up with Western Birch to create some custom tees of our own to sell in our Pro Shop, and the tees proved to be just as popular among golf fans. Some limited-edition models sold out quickly (like the “Azalea” tees during Masters week, and the “Hit Bombs” tees after Phil Mickelson’s win at the PGA Championship).

Fortunately, we have several tee models available right now, all of which would make a great addition to your golf bag and gear setup. From the USA-themed “Stars & Stripes” tees, to the “Get Amongst It” model celebrating the Subpar podcast, here are six Western Birch tees that will make any golfer happy.

The post Editor’s Picks: 6 durable golf tees that will make you stand out on the course appeared first on Golf.

The post The perfect tees for winter golf? I think I may have found them appeared first on Golf.

The post The perfect tees for winter golf? I think I may have found them appeared first on Golf.

If you’re looking for a single product to make your winter golf even more fun, you’ve come to the right place. Today we turn our attention to an indispensable golf goody that is one of the game’s most modest pieces of equipment. So let’s get started in the very place where rounds begin, the 1st tee!

Have you ever, especially as a winter golfer, experienced the frustration of trying to get weak-stemmed, needlessly long plastic tees through terra firma that is often hard and sometimes frozen? Making things more annoying yet, plastic tees will sometimes fail to retain their point after a single round, even in soft, late-spring playing conditions. But the modern plastic tee for winter play is far worse.

The firmness of winter turf can flatten the pointed ended of a plastic tee after just a few holes, as if it were a carpet tack getting hammered into cinderblock. Also, plastic tees tend to bend. Do you know anybody who wants to play a demanding tee shot, or any tee shot, off a bent tee? Not too likely.

And a quick aside and a resolution, as we start this new and promising year: Let’s all try to be sensitive to those newly arrived to the game. As it relates to today’s theme, let’s keep in mind that tee is one of golf’s most confounding words. When using its various variants in the company of new golfers, you might consider going long, in the interest of clarity. Teeing ground. Tee marker. Tee time. You can then reserve plain old tee for the peg itself, be it wood, plastic (if it must) or otherwise.

Rereading to this point, I do realize that this stick of words is hard on the plastic tee. It would be only fair and right to point out that some golfing environmentalists have made the counterintuitive case that plastic tees are better for the environment than wooden ones. How many trees are felled each year to satisfy our tee consumption?

But, then, it’s hard to argue with the logic of the Royal North Devon Golf Club in England. The club, at the start of last year, issued this statement: “The simple fact is that plastic tees are more likely to harm the birds and animals we share our wonderful course with. From the start of the new decade we would like all golfers to only use wooden tees and the pro shop will only supply wooden tees.”

And it’s hard to argue with aesthetics.     

Which gets us to today’s big wooden-tee reveal:

The best tees I know for winter golf — nay, for any golf — are made by a company called Western Birch Golf, manufacturers of hardwood golf tees. I have been finding them here and there for a year now, drawn to them by their distinctive color and shape. They are hard to lose, because of their colorful mid-stem paint jobs, and hard to break, because of the quality of their wood.

Regarding longevity, giving a tee, any brand of tee, a little wiggle after inserting it will extend its life. I also find that, inspired by Dustin Johnson and his driving greatness, that I am teeing the ball lower now, thereby striking the ball higher on the face. As a result, I am breaking fewer tees, again, regardless of brand. But the king of the indestructible wooden golf tee, in my experience, is the Western Birch golf tee discussed here today.

On Thursday, my first purchased batch of WB tees arrived. I ordered 200. I’ll be going through them quickly only because I will be gifting them to my winter-playing friends.

On the company website, you’ll see dozens of different color combinations, and I found myself drawn to a model called The Northwood, a darkly stained tee with white, green and maroon stripes. A box of 50 2.75-inch tees sells for $6.99. (The company also sells 3.25-inch tees for $7.99, but why anybody would want such a long tee, after watching Dustin Johnson, is hard to imagine.) The color scheme of my new tees brings to mind an Ivy League oar, circa 1926.

I have never known a tee that ends in a sharper point than the points on these Western Birch tees. They would go right through the teeing grounds at Triggs Memorial even in the dog days of summer, if you know what that legendary Rhode Island muni is like by Labor Day. The stem (its shank or shaft, if you will) on the Western Birch tee is slender and beautifully proportioned.

But the true pièce de résistance of the Western Birch tee is its head, with a perfect level of cuppiness. Not too shallow, not too deep. Just right. You’ll be able to get that ball to stay put on your first try, even if you’re playing while wearing two winter gloves.

The Western Birchers don’t sell golf gloves. They don’t sell scrubbing brushes to keep your clubs clean mid-round. They don’t sell golfer’s crying towels. They sell good golf tees, and that is enough. Yes, they’re expensive, at 14 cents per. Many private clubs and resorts still offer free tees. But by golly you’re worth it!
 
Michael Bamberger welcomes your comments at Michael_Bamberger@Golf.com.

The post The perfect tees for winter golf? I think I may have found them appeared first on Golf.

The post Rules Guy: Is a borrowed tee considered to be another player’s equipment? appeared first on Golf.

The post Rules Guy: Is a borrowed tee considered to be another player’s equipment? appeared first on Golf.

The Rules of Golf are tricky! Thankfully, we’ve got the guru. Our Rules Guy knows the book front to back. Got a question? He’s got all the answers.

The other day, I picked up a tee someone had left on the tee box and proceeded to use it. My friend told me this was a penalty, for using someone else’s equipment. He said that if I’d wanted to use it, I needed to have put it in my pocket first to claim that it’s mine. What’s the ruling? —Wade Lindren, via email

This sounds like a demented magician’s trick: “I put someone else’s tee in my pocket … say the magic words — ‘It’s mine!’ — take the tee out of my pocket … and — presto! It’s legal!”

Suffice to say, your friend is a severely misguided stickler. The only restriction on sharing equipment relates to clubs. There is absolutely no issue with using someone else’s tee, towel, rangefinder or ball.

Rules

(If the one-ball Local Rule, Model Local Rule G-4, is in effect, you can still borrow a ball, so long as it’s the same make and model as the one you were using.)

Accidentally using someone else’s clubs is a general penalty of two strokes in stroke play or, in match play, adjusting the match with a one-hole deduction, with a maximum of two such penalties in either instance. The club must immediately be declared out of play once the player becomes aware of his or her error — otherwise, he or she is disqualified upon again using the club.

Got a question about the Rules? Ask the Rules Guy! Send your queries, confusions and comments to rulesguy@golf.com. We promise he won’t throw the book at you.

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The post At Home With: Sir Nick Faldo appeared first on Golf.

The post At Home With: Sir Nick Faldo appeared first on Golf.

Sir Nick Faldo talks about his suggestion to ban golf tees in order to reduce driver distance.

The post At Home With: Sir Nick Faldo appeared first on Golf.