Winter Tees
Written by: Tony Korologos | Monday, July 2nd, 2007
Categories: Golf Accessories • Golf Equipment • Reviews
Categories: Golf Accessories • Golf Equipment • Reviews
This is installment number nine of “Tee Week” here at Hooked On Golf Blog.
Winter Tees
My pop took a trip to Croatia a couple of Summers ago and brought me back some cool stuff from one of the only golf courses there, Brijuni Golf Club.
One of the items he brought back for me was this set of “Winter Tees.” I searched all over the net and only found one web site which had these for sale and it was in a language other than English.
The Winter Tees are three rubber cones which you can tee the ball on. They’re different heights for different tee levels and they can be stacked to achieve even more levels of ball height.
Why “Winter?”
They’re “Winter” tees because they sit on top of the ground. When the ground is frozen it’s hard to stick a standard tee in the ground so these are great for golfing in the frozen tundra.
I don’t think these tees can be found or purchased in the USA.
Speaking of the USA, it’s kind of funny that the 4th of July is coming up and these tees are red, white & blue.
Cristie Kerr wins the U.S. Women’s Open
Cristie Kerr: Women’s U.S. Open Champion
Cristie Kerr won her first major championship by two shots over new LPGA #1 golfer Lorena Ochoa. Unfortunately my DVR is not working and when I went to watch today’s round, I had NO recordings. Even my older recordings of The Masters and the men’s U.S. Open are gone…
The best golf picture I’ve seen
I don’t have a current image of Kerr winning today to post, so I’ll go ahead and post my all time favorite golf picture, which happens to be one of Kerr kissing a golf “trophy.” Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go spend some “private time”…. đ
Biodegradable Corn Starch Tees
Installment number eight of the “Tee Week” theme here at Hooked On Golf Blog.
There are some biodegradable tees made out of corn starch. The only versions of this tee I’ve seen are long, and are a little off-white or slightly clear in color. They’re a little flexible and get more flexible the more times you use them. If you have hard ground to stick the tee into, these can bend or break too easily.
This may sound odd, but I really don’t like these tees because they aggravate my tennis/golfer’s elbow. They seem to snag the driver just enough to irritate it.
I dig the concept of biodegradable tees though as would many tree-huggers. That being said, a head course maintenance guy I know says they don’t decompose fast enough though. They end up just picking these tees up along with the wood ones anyway.
By the way
(If you’re wondering why I’m linking to my own URL here, it’s because the HOG feed has been picked up by dozens of jerks who are posting my blog posts as their own on their sites and even running google ads or other ads to make money off of them. So I’m now in the habit of linking to HOG within it’s own posts.)
Support the troops with golf gear this 4th of July
My blog buddy William K. Wolfrum posted an article I think you should check out. He’s asking for help supporting our troops. He’s helping promote Give2TheTroops.org which is sending golf gear to our troops with their "Tee Off For The Troops" campagin. Having some golf gear to whack a white ball around gives them something to do for fun and to helps boost morale.
Check out William’s article here and also check out the Tee Off For The Troops page.
So far over 10,000 golf balls and over 300 sets of golf clubs have gotten into our troops hands! I hope that if you are an equipment manufacturer or retailer you can find it in your heart to donate some gear. If you’re not, they need cash donations too for shipping and expenses.
A-Balance Golf Tees
Written by: Tony Korologos | Saturday, June 30th, 2007
Categories: Golf Accessories • Golf Equipment • Reviews
Categories: Golf Accessories • Golf Equipment • Reviews
This is installment number seven of Hooked On Golf Blog’s “Tee Week.”
A-BALANCE Golf Tees
A-BALANCE Golf Tees started in 2006. They make a very unique, three piece golf tee designed to suppress friction and increase distance and accuracy.
Three Piece Construction
The first piece is the base of the tee. This is similar to a standard golf tee, the part which sticks into the ground. There’s a lip which stops the tee from going into the ground past a certain point. This lip helps you to tee the ball up at exactly the same height every time.
The 2nd piece is connected to the top of the shaft and is called the “stem.” The stem is a flexible piece which the third piece, the “crown” attaches to. The stem bends toward the target at impact and the crown slides down the stem.
The crown (3rd piece) really does look like a crown. There are four spherical pegs on top of the crown which the ball rests on, similar to the Zero Friction tee. These pegs are at the end of flexible forks. As I mentioned, at impact the crown bends toward the target and then slides down the stem.
Colors
The A-BALANCE tee is available in 6 colors, all with white shafts. My favorite is red. If you want a custom logo or artwork, that can be screened on the crown. I’ve seen these same tees with the Mizuno logo on them.
Models
As of now I’ve only found one model to be available, which is for drivers. Total Length: 3″ 1/8 (8cm), Top (Crown) : 1″ 7/16 (3.7cm). I could imagine them coming out with a medium length version of this tee but I doubt a tee for irons would be possible.
On The Course
I haven’t been a believer that any tee can really make that big of a difference but this might be one of the few that really does. I’m very impressed with the results of my drives with the A-BALANCE golf tees. My drives seem to launch a little bit higher and go a bit straighter. They also seem a bit easier to hit. Perhaps this is just because the A-BALANCE tees it up a tiny bit higher than I’m used to teeing it and the ball is hitting in the top half of the driver face, producing less spin.
I also really like the fact that I can tee it up the same height every time. If I need to tee one really low, to play some kind of special shot like a low power-fade, I need a standard tee though.
I’ve given a few of these out to my golfing buddies. One buddy likes to tee his driver really low, about as high as I tee my fairway woods. He can’t really use the A-BALANCE. He’s the only one who hasn’t raved about these tees though. My other buddies love these tees and are begging me for more.
Durability
A-BALANCE touts durability. These tees are definitely more durable than any wood tee, most plastic tees, or any biodegradable tee I’ve used. But they’re not indestructible. I find I break one in about 18-27 holes.
Critiques
One issue I have with any “premium” tee is having to search for it. When you hit a drive and the tee flies you spend a long time searching for it. At roughly $3.00/tee you’ll spend almost as much time looking for one of these as you would when you lose a ProV in the weeds.
An advantage wooden tees has over any plastic tee would be the marks they leave on your driver. I like to see the impact marks on the face of the driver and also the lines the paint leaves on the bottom of the club head. Those lines can tell you about your swing. Plastic tees don’t leave these marks.
Another advantage with standard tees is the ability to tee it up at varying levels.
Conclusion
I highly recommend the A-BALANCE golf tees.
I’ve tried many different kinds of tees from brushes to funky spring loaded high tech plastic ones. The A-BALANCE is one of the only ones that really DOES make a difference in my game. I gain distance, accuracy and a higher trajectory when using my A-BALANCE tees. I don’t have to think about tee height and I can just walk up and hit it with confidence. I probably wouldn’t use these in windy conditions though as I’d need to tee it way lower than the A-BALANCE does.
For more images of A-BALANCE golf tees, visit Hooked On Golf Blog’s A-BALANCE Gallery.
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