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Equipment Reviews
I first saw the birTee at the Ottawa Gatineau Golf Expo in the spring of 2009 and at the time the tee intrigued me. After the Show I was disappointed that I hadn't purchased a birTee kit. Shortly after the event, a few articles popped up about the birTee in local golf magazines and the newspaper and I made contact with Mario Caya, the president, to get a bit more information about the product. Mario informed me that the birTee was going to be available in the Ottawa Golf Town stores so I purchased a birTee kit to give the product a try.
The birTee kit comes complete with 8 tees varying in height from 1/4" up to 2" with 1/4" incremental steps in heights between. I initially wanted to use the birTee for tee shots on par 3s as I normally stock 3 1/4" tees in my bag. On par 3s I almost always break the long tees as I shove a good portion of the tee deep into the ground. After experimenting with the birTee I found the 3/4" height (#3) birTee to my liking. I've been using the same tee for the past eight rounds and the tee is almost as good as new. I say "almost" because the tee does take minor damage from being compressed at impact and being dropping into my pants pocket, but the tee does a pretty good job of holding its shape.
The birTee is not quite a revolutionary new product as it looks very much like the rubber pyramid tees used in Europe for hard or frozen ground at certain times of the year. The birTee very much resembles an inverted badminton bird. At the time of this writing it appears the #1 and #2 birTee has been approved by the USGA for use. Hopefully all eight birTee heights will be approved in the near future.
Chances are you'll never use all birTee golf sizes but the kit will help you in deciding which birTee heights to purchase in the future. Packages of individual heights are available.
One word of caution. I have seen the birTee fly about twice as far as an average wooden golf tee so on those tee shots where water, rough, or a sharp drop are just off the front of the tee you may want to revert to an old wooden peg.
I have since purchased a set of the #3 tees so I always have a few on hand and I am currently trying the #8 size for my tee shots when using a driver. I may purchase a set of these tees as well.
Besides being kind the the environment, for each birTee kit sold a donation is made to help Breast Cancer and Alzheimer Research. The birTee is a must buy!
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