Golf Tee
A golf tee is a small peg, usually made of wood or plastic, that a golfer pushes into the ground on the teeing area to raise the ball above the turf for the opening shot of a hole. Under the rules of golf, a tee may be no longer than 4 inches and can only be used when playing the first stroke of each hole.
What is a golf tee?
In golf, the tee is the piece of equipment that holds the ball off the ground at the start of every hole. The peg pushes into the turf, and a small concave cup at the top cradles the ball, keeping it stationary while the player swings.
Tees exist for one reason: cleaner contact. A ball sitting on a tee is easier to strike squarely than a ball sitting on grass, particularly with the driver, which is designed to meet the ball on the upswing. The USGA and R&A define a tee as “a device designed to raise the ball off the ground,” and the rules allow its use only on the teeing area at the start of each hole.
A common point of confusion: the word “tee” can mean two different things. It can mean the peg, which is what this page covers. It can also mean the teeing area itself, the patch of mowed turf where every hole begins. The two meanings are connected historically but refer to entirely different things.
How a golf tee works
The peg sits in the turf, the ball sits on the peg, and the height of the ball above the ground is set by how deep the player pushes the tee. Pushing it almost flush leaves the ball just above the grass; leaving most of the tee above ground sets the ball up high.
Different clubs call for different tee heights. With a driver, golfers typically tee the ball so that roughly half of it sits above the top of the clubface, which encourages an upward strike and more carry. With irons, the tee gets pushed almost all the way in, so the ball barely clears the turf, mimicking a fairway lie. According to a poll of GOLF magazine’s Top 100 Teachers, the ideal driver tee height is around 1.5 inches, with about half the ball peeking above the crown of the club at address.
The standard tee shape, a peg with a flared concave cup at the top, has barely changed since Dr. William Lowell’s Reddy Tee in the 1920s.
Tee vs. tee box: clearing up the confusion
The word “tee” can refer to two completely separate things. One is the small peg that holds the ball. The other is the marked area where players hit their first shot, also called the tee box or the teeing area. The rules of golf use the term “teeing area,” but most golfers use all three names interchangeably in casual conversation.
| Term | What it refers to | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Tee (the peg) | A small wooden, plastic, or bamboo peg used to elevate the ball | Pushed into the ground within the teeing area |
| Tee box / teeing area / teeing ground | The mowed rectangle where each hole begins | Marked by two tee markers, two club-lengths deep |
The historical link between the two is direct. In the 1800s, courses placed wooden boxes of sand at the start of each hole. Golfers would scoop out a handful of wet sand and shape it into a small mound to support the ball. Those wooden boxes were called tee boxes, and the name stuck even after manufactured pegs replaced sand piles in the 1920s.
Types of golf tees
Golf tees come in several materials and a few specialised designs. The differences mostly come down to durability, environmental impact, and how much friction the tee creates at impact.
| Type | Material | Notable trait |
|---|---|---|
| Wooden | Hardwoods like birch or maple | Cheapest and most common; biodegradable but breaks easily |
| Plastic | Polypropylene or polycarbonate | More durable than wood but non-biodegradable |
| Bamboo | Bamboo grass fibre | Stronger than standard wood and biodegrades faster than wooden tees |
| Brush | Plastic with nylon bristles | Bristles replace the cup, reducing surface contact with the ball |
| Step or castle | Plastic with a fixed-height collar | Built-in stop ensures the same tee height every shot |
Length matters too. Most modern drivers have 460cc clubheads, which need a longer tee, typically around 2.75 to 3.25 inches. Shorter tees, around 1.5 to 2 inches, work better for irons, hybrids, and fairway woods.
Rules around using a tee
The USGA and R&A set the rules that govern tees. Equipment Rule 6.2 is short and specific: a tee must be no longer than 4 inches, must not indicate the line of play, must not unduly influence the movement of the ball, and must not otherwise assist the player in making a stroke.
A few practical points follow from those rules:
- A tee can only be used on the teeing area, and only for the first stroke of each hole. The exception is when a penalty sends the player back to the teeing area to replay the shot.
- Using a tee is optional. Players are free to play the ball off the ground from the teeing area if they prefer, though almost everyone tees up for the opening drive.
- Tee markers, the coloured posts or balls that define the front of the teeing area, are not the same as tees. Players should never move tee markers.
A short history of the golf tee
The manufactured tee is a recent invention. For three or four centuries, Scottish golfers built tiny mounds of wet sand to prop up the ball, scooping handfuls from wooden boxes placed at each hole. That is where the term “tee box” comes from.
The first patented golf tee was designed in 1889 by two members of the Tantallon Golf Club in North Berwick, William Bloxsom and Arthur Douglas. Their version was a small rubber slab that rested flat on the ground, with prongs to support the ball. In 1892, Percy Ellis of Surrey, England, patented the “Perfectum,” the first tee designed to be pushed into the ground.
In 1899, a Boston dentist named Dr. George Franklin Grant received US patent No. 638,920 for a wooden tee with a rubber sleeve. Grant was the second African American to graduate from Harvard Dental School and never commercialised his design. The USGA recognised him in 1991 as the inventor of the wooden golf tee.
The tee that actually caught on came a generation later. Dr. William Lowell Sr. patented and marketed his “Reddy Tee” in the 1920s, and to drive sales, he hired professional golfers Walter Hagen and Joe Kirkwood Sr. to use them in exhibition matches around the world. The simple wooden peg with a concave top became the standard, and today’s tees are direct descendants of that design.
Related Golf Terms
- Golf simulator — An indoor system that uses sensors and screens to simulate real golf.
- Driver — The longest-hitting club in the bag, almost always used with a tee.
- Golf cart — A motorized or push vehicle used to transport golfers and equipment around the course.
- Golf ball — The ball used in golf, with dimples designed for aerodynamic performance.
- Golf glove — A glove worn on the lead hand to improve grip.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a golf tee made of?
Most tees are made of wood, plastic, or bamboo. Specialty tees may use rubber or composite materials. Wooden tees are the traditional choice and biodegrade naturally, while plastic tees last longer but stay in the environment far longer once discarded.
Do you have to use a tee in golf?
No. The rules allow players to play the ball off the ground from the teeing area if they choose. Almost all golfers tee up the ball for their opening shot because it produces cleaner contact, especially with the driver.
How tall is a standard golf tee?
The maximum legal length under USGA Rule 6.2 is 4 inches. Most common driver tees are 2.75 to 3.25 inches, with shorter 1.5 to 2-inch tees often used for irons and fairway woods.
Can you use a tee on the fairway?
No. A tee may only be used on the teeing area for the first stroke of each hole. Once a player leaves the teeing area, the ball must be played as it lies, with limited exceptions covered elsewhere in the rules.
Who invented the golf tee?
The first patented golf tee was designed by William Bloxsom and Arthur Douglas in 1889. Dr. George Franklin Grant patented the first wooden golf tee in 1899, but it was Dr. William Lowell Sr.’s Reddy Tee in the 1920s that became the first commercially successful design.
Are wooden tees biodegradable?
Plain wooden and bamboo tees break down naturally over time, though wooden tees can take around three years to fully degrade. Bamboo tees biodegrade faster, often within six months. Plastic tees are not biodegradable.
Sources
- USGA. “Equipment Rules, Part 6 Rule 2: Tees.” Accessed 2026.
- USGA. “Dr. George Grant and Evolution of the Golf Tee.” 2018.
- Wikipedia. “Tee.” Accessed 2026.
- Scottish Golf History. “Tee: Origin of Golf Terms.” Accessed 2026.
- MyGolfSpy. “History of the Golf Tee.” Accessed 2026.
- Forrest Richardson Golf Course Architects. “Tee Box: A Historical Term.” 2025.
- Golf.com. “Are you teeing the ball up at the correct height?” 2020.
