There are a couple of great product options I’ve found for simulator golf tees.
The mat I have in my home simulator allows me to use whatever tee I’d like. So naturally, I used my regular tees at first. The same ones I use at my local club.
But, as I hit more and more golf balls, I was simply spraying a sea of broken tees all over the place.
Indoor golf tees – Top Picks
THF Plastic Golf Tees
BirTee Golf Tees
Tee Claw
Based on my experience, it depends on what you are looking for that will determine which of these 3 are best for you.
Are you looking for something that is indestructible? Something you can use on the course and treat as a normal golf tee? – THF Plastic tees.
Are you looking for something that can sit on top of the surface? No need to push it into the mat. Indestructible? – BirTee Golf tees.
Are you looking for something that can sit on top of the surface? Keep your tee from flying all over god’s green earth? Serve as a training aid in addition to a “golf tee”? – Tee Claw.
I have personally tested all 3, and very recently.
If you need a recommendation on golf simulator lighting, you may find this helpful.
Best all around – BirTee Golf Tees
The BirTee golf tees are my top pick for anyone with a golf simulator. Whether you have a mat capable of using a regular tee or not, this set of “tees” is pretty awesome! Use them on the frozen ground during winter months.
They come with a range of sizes that all golfers will appreciate. You can hit irons off the smaller tee, driver and woods off the higher tees.
For more information on BirTee Golf, check out their site.
Durability
I don’t think I could break these things with a sledge hammer! You’ll lose them before they break.
They are very flexible plastic and they sit on top of the surface. When you hit it with a club, there is nothing holding it back from flying forward.
Here is a quick video of one being hit in my simulator.
Pro’s
Extremely durable
Various heights allowing you to hit ALL CLUBS in your bag from the tee.
Works great on any surface, any mat.
Each tee offers a consistent height
- USGA Compliant
Con’s
Sometimes detected as a ball by some launch monitors (more below)
Only 1 of each size per package (options to purchase multiple of the same size exist, but they are expensive)
Detected as a ball?!?! Yes, this was something in their original version that caused them to make some modifications. The new version, still has an issue every now and then.
I am using a GC3 launch monitor in my golf simulator. This tee has, ON A VERY LIMITED BASIS, caused the GC3 to have an issue detecting the ball.
What is very limited? Well, I’d say about 1 out of every 100 shots I’ve run into an issue. But, only with the higher tees used with my driver.
The solution – Simply rotate the tee a bit. I think at certain angles the launch monitor sees too much of the plastic, so rotating it a bit allows it to see through the slots in the side of this tee.
Again, this is very rare, at least on the GC3. And the fix takes just a couple of seconds.
If you have a home simulator, you might be interested in this very simple lighting solution.
Best on The Course & Simulator – THF Plastic Tee
This was the first tee I tried after getting tired of spraying my normal wood tees all over the indoor carpet in front of my hitting mat. That, and in totally random places behind me in my basement.
On shelves, under shelves, just a mess. All over the place.
The THF Plastic tees came as a recommended product from a fellow Twitter user. I was looking for something that would not break.
Well, these delivered! I think I could run these over with my truck, beat them into submission with a hammer, drop them off Niagara Falls…They’ll survive!
Pro’s
Extremely Durable
It’s worth mentioning again – Extremely Durable
Use in the simulator or on the golf course
Options for consistent height
- USGA Compliant
Con’s
Requires turf that will accept a “normal” tee for indoor use, or combine with the Tee Claw
Too tall for irons
Why would I choose these over the BirTees? If you have a mat that will take normal golf tees, you get 50 of these. That means, if you are hitting your driver over and over again, there is no need to go retrieve each tee after hitting.
If I am working on my drives, I like to be able to just tee up another ball and hit. I don’t go get the tee and ball after each hit. With these, you can do that.
BirTees will sell the same size tee in smaller packs, but it is very limited. You get 2 for like $18. Um, no thanks! I don’t care if you paid $8k for your simulator, I’m not paying that much for a couple of tees.
Tee Claw – Not really a “Tee”, More of a Holder
So the tee claw is pretty interesting. I first tried it because I was tired of tees flying all over the place.
My golf simulator is in an unfinished part of my basement that doubles as a storage area. So tees were flying all over shelves, under stuff, just a mess.
I saw the tee claw in YouTube videos from Martin Borgmeier. He is a long drive competitor….anyway, I saw him hitting balls in a video and noticed his tee was “tethered”.
Tethered? What?!?! Yes, it was basically attached to an elastic cord that kept it nearby. He would hit, and the tee would stay within a couple of feet.
Pretty cool I thought, so I decided to give it a try.
Pro’s
Works on any surface, any hitting mat.
Serves as more than a “tee”, can be used as alignment aid. Kind of an “All-in-one” product.
Capable of using any size tee.
Con’s
It’s not really a tee, it’s a “tee holder”
I would not use irons with this one
With the tee claw, you get a few “claws” and several strings to go with it. Initially, I thought I could attach the string to my tee and keep it from flying everywhere. The sting broke after a few shots.
Helpful Note – If you want to use this as a tether, you need to tie it to the claw, or very low on the tee. You tie the other end to another claw that is sitting away from your hitting area. This keeps it from flying all over the place.
Here are some more helpful tips on how to use the TeeClaw. It’s more than just using it to tee off…
Alignment? I have not used it for alignment purposes. Personally, I don’t use alignment aids very often, but I do have alignment rods for when I do. I don’t see this thing replacing that.
That’s my personal preference, but I could definitely see how others may do so. I don’t mind having alignment rods in my bag. They stick out of a normal “club” spot in my bag. The tee claw would simply go in any random pocket in your bag.