Bamboo, wood, plastic: the real numbers.
If you actually care about the planet, the math swings one direction.
Biodegradation timelines
- Bamboo tees: ~6 months in soil to begin biodegrading.
- Wooden tees (birch, unlacquered): ~3 years.
- Wooden tees (lacquered): 3-5 years.
- Plastic (polypropylene, polycarbonate): 400+ years. Effectively never.
Strength
Bamboo is 1.5x to 7x stronger than birch under tensile load. Bamboo tees can survive harder hits without breaking, which means you use fewer of them.
Carbon
Bamboo's growth cycle (some species 3 feet per day under good conditions) means the carbon math is genuinely better than wood. Bamboo doesn't require replanting. Processing requires less energy than plastic injection molding.
The catch
Most bamboo tees are manufactured in Asia and shipped to North American golfers. Transport is the carbon cost everybody forgets. Bamboo composite tees with biodegradable binders also have to be tested under real-world conditions before claiming "compostable."
What we use
Better Golf Tee is TPU 95A, which is NOT biodegradable. Where we make up for it: each Better Golf Tee outlasts hundreds of wooden tees of practice use. The total material per year of practice is meaningfully less than a year of disposable tees.
The honest take
If you play only on-course golf and lose 3-5 wooden tees per round, switch to bamboo. If you practice indoors and want a tee that lasts a season, use ours.
Sources
Industry biodegradation data from Biodegradable Golf Canada's comparison and The Golfing Lad's bamboo vs wood vs plastic analysis.