This is an important question for many who are trying to make a positive impact on the environment.
They estimate almost 5 billion golf tees are used every year worldwide! That is truly a shocking number, and you can see the importance of using biodegradable tees to help the environment out.
Bamboo golf tees are the most biodegradable, then wooden tees which are slightly less biodegradable than bamboo tees. Rubber and plastic golf tees are not biodegradable.
Using bamboo and wooden tees is a small but easy step to help the environment out. If you do use plastic or rubber tees, discard them after the round if they break versus leaving them on the teebox. If budget is an issue, there are several long lasting plastic tees that should last years and will help keep teeboxes from being littered with broken tees.
Bamboo Golf Tees- Best Biodegradable Golf Tee
Bamboo golf tees are the best biodegradable golf tee because bamboo creates 7x more oxygen than hardwood trees and can be harvested very soon after being planted due to its extremely fast growth rate. It only takes 2-4 weeks for the bamboo to regrow making it completely sustainable!
Bamboo golf tees only need 6 months to start biodegrading, where a standard wooden tee takes around 3 years.
Bamboo golf tees are also 3x stronger than wooden tees, so you will need less tees as they will break less often. This means less broken tees scattered along the teeboxes resulting in a cleaner golf course.
Bamboo golf tees are also friendlier on your bank account. Bamboo tees are cheaper per tee compared to wood tees, you can get 250 bamboo tees & a poker chip ball marker from WedgeGuys for the price of a 200 pack of wood tees on Amazon!
Wooden Golf Tees- 2nd Best Biodegradable Golf Tee
Wooden tees are very eco friendly and have been in use since the 1920s. This is why wooden tees are primarily used by the Professional Golfers Association (PGA).
These tees take slightly longer to break down than bamboo, and no studies have been done on the impact that the dyes made to color the tees have on the environment.
Wooden tees are very biodegradable and are a great choice compared to plastic or rubber tees.
They are still a small step below bamboo tees though in terms of being the best golf tee for the environment due to the sheer amount used per year because of the popularity of wooden tees. They break easiest out of all types of golf tees, but you can reuse wooden tees after breaking.
Plastic Golf Tees- Not Biodegradable, but Recyclable
Plastic tees are not biodegradable and are often toxic and damaging to the environment and ecosystem. Most plastic golf tees are cheaply made from polypropylene or high density polyethylene (HDPE). Neither are good for the environment, but at least both can be recycled.
EvolveGolf is making Epoch plastic tees from 70% post industrial recycled materials. They claim that 270,000 trees are saved every year by playing Epoch plastic golf tees.
There are no claims on if it is biodegradable, so I’m guessing it still is harmful to the environment. It is a step in the right direction however with being made from recycled materials and also being recyclable.
Rubber Golf Tees- Not Biodegradable and not Recyclable
Rubber tees are awful for the environment as they are not biodegradable or recyclable.
The only silver lining is that they are rarely used on the golf course. Rubber golf tees are popular for driving ranges and golf simulators.
The only time I have seen them used on the golf course is for winter golf and the frozen ground that comes with it.
Rubber tees are rarely being used on the course and with the limited availability of rubber recycling, I don’t see any incentives for these golf tee manufacturers to cut profits and make rubber tees more eco friendly.
biodegradable golf tee FAQ
Do Bamboo Tees break?
Bamboo tees do break but will often last about 3-4 times longer than wooden tees. They are not as durable as plastic tees, but bamboo tees are very eco friendly as they break down in as little as 3-4 months.
Do Plastic Tees break?
Plastic tees are the most durable golf tee on the market as they will often bend before completely breaking. However, they are extremely harmful to our environment as they take extremely long to break down and the materials released from the plastics are often toxic.
How do I stop my golf tees from breaking?
The reason you are breaking your golf tees more than normal is most likely a steep downswing. Shallow your swing at impact and you will see the amount of tees you break go down significantly.