Tees and the environment.
Estimated 1+ billion tees enter US waste streams per year. Here is what happens to them.
The waste estimate
The math: 119 million range visits per year in the US (NGF estimate) × an average of ~10 teeings per visit × roughly half resulting in a discarded tee = approximately 600 million range tees per year. Add round-of-golf tees (estimated 25 million on-course players × ~30 rounds × ~3 tees per round) = another 2.25 billion. Total: roughly 1 to 3 billion tees per year in the US. Order of magnitude only; we welcome better data.
What happens to each material
| Material | Biodegradation in soil | Industrial composting |
|---|---|---|
| Birch (unlacquered) | 1 to 3 years | 3 to 6 months |
| Birch (lacquered) | 2 to 5 years | 6 to 12 months |
| Bamboo composite | 3 to 7 years | 1 to 2 years |
| Polypropylene | 400+ years (effectively does not biodegrade) | Does not biodegrade |
| Polylactic acid (PLA bioplastic) | 10 to 80 years in soil | ~90 days |
| TPU 95A | Does not biodegrade in soil | Does not biodegrade |
Honest take on TPU
TPU does not biodegrade. Better Golf Tee is not a "compostable" product. Where we win on environment is durability: one of our tees outlasts roughly 100 wooden tees of practice usage. The total material in our 4-pack (about 30 grams of TPU) replaces the equivalent of ~200 wooden tees (about 1,400 grams of birch + lacquer) over a typical year. Net waste: meaningfully less.
Recycling
TPU is mechanically recyclable. The recycle stream is small but exists; BASF announced rTPU pellets in 2024 and several specialty recyclers accept TPU print waste. End-of-life Better Golf Tee tees can be returned to us for free recycling (mail in, we cover postage); we will route to a TPU-recycling partner.
The caddy and cord
Caddy: kraft cardboard, recyclable curbside in most US jurisdictions. Foam insert: 1/4" EVA, recyclable but rarely accepted curbside (drop-off only). Cord: braided polyester, not biodegradable, not curbside recyclable. Total non-recyclable material per pack: about 8 grams (the cord plus the foam if not dropped off).
What we are not doing
We are not buying carbon offsets to call this "carbon neutral." Offsets at our scale do not change the math. We are not switching to PLA tees for marketing reasons; PLA is too brittle to work for our spike geometry and does not biodegrade in any environment a customer is likely to encounter.