Tees are bought by the tens of thousands on a unit price, and that is precisely why so many of them break. Nothing about a tee is complicated; several things about it are easy to skip.

This guide covers the four decisions and the one specification nobody asks about.

Grain direction is the specification nobody asks about

A wooden tee is a thin shaft under a sharp impact. If the grain runs along its length the tee flexes and recovers. If the grain runs across — which happens when tees are cut economically from board offcuts — it shears at the neck on the first solid strike.

Ask whether tees are turned from long-grain hardwood. It costs very little more and it is most of the difference between a tee gift that gets used and one that annoys somebody at the first hole.

Length, and why splitting the order is sensible

54mm suits iron play and par-three courses. 70mm is the all-round default and what most orders should specify. 83mm is what modern large-head drivers actually want, and a player using a 460cc driver on a 54mm tee is fighting the equipment.

Splitting an order across two lengths costs nothing extra here, and it is almost always better than guessing one.

Wood, bamboo or polymer

Hardwood is the cheapest per tee and entirely adequate when the grain is right. Bamboo costs slightly more, takes noticeably more strikes before breaking, prints sharper because the surface is denser and paler, and carries a genuine three-to-five-year harvest claim.

Moulded polymer lasts dozens of drives and is the only sensible choice for castle tees, performance designs and driving ranges where tees are struck all day. Per round rather than per tee, it is often the cheapest of the three.

Printing at six millimetres

A tee shaft is about six millimetres across. Most logos need simplifying to survive that: fine strokes fill in, small text closes up, and a mark with four colours becomes a smudge.

One or two colours, bold shapes, and a proof at actual scale before the run. We render every tee mockup at true size for exactly this reason, and it is where most designs get cut back.

Castle tees are a coaching tool, not a novelty

The moulded collar stops the tee going deeper into the ground, so every shot is teed at an identical height. That removes one variable from a swing, which is why academies hand them out and why players who have used them buy more.

Four colour-coded heights cover irons through drivers. Check competition rules if they are for tournament use — the rules bodies are the authority, not us.

Buy the pack, not the tees

Loose tees in a bag are a component. Tees with a marker and a divot tool in a printed pack are a tee gift, and the difference in reception is out of all proportion to the cost.

Have them assembled and sealed. On a field of a hundred and forty, that saves more than it costs, and it is the difference between a calm Friday and a late one.

What to send us

Your logo, the material and length you are leaning toward, roughly how many, and whether you want packs assembled. If names go on individual packs, send a spreadsheet with the pairing order too.