We’ve previously written about the epoch-3 tees from Evolve Golf here at The Sand Trap .com in an article titled “Tees Me.” We’ve even reviewed another kind of tee, the Brush-T. What is up with all of these tee reviews? Tees are just a peg? You put your ball on them, then you hit the ball hard. Simple, right?
Not so, says Evolve Golf (and the Brush-T folks). When a ball is struck from a standard wooden tee, friction between the tee and the ball at the moment of impact can have a dramatic effect on both the distance and accuracy of your drives. This is true of deflection as well: the relatively hard lip of a standard wooden tee can redirect your ball slightly, imparting spin and sending it in the wrong direction. The Brush-T, for example, can grant you up to an extra four yards and 3% better accuracy! The epoch-3 was independently tested to deliver an extra 1.81 yards in distance and 2.34 yards more accuracy.
While things like that are easy to test with swing robots, they’re inordinately difficult to test with your typical amateur player. The Brush-T may help as a swing thought, but we can’t test whether our balls went straighter or farther. The same is true of the epoch-3: it’s tough to test “in real life.” We can’t deny that the premise makes sense.
Based on what Evolve calls “Pure Launch Technology” (and for which they seemingly have a trademark), the epoch-3 tee reduces tee-to-ball contact by about 90% over traditional wooden tees. Essentially, the epoch-3 is just like a wooden tee except:
- Four grooves have been cut from the circumference to minimize contact with the golf ball.
- The center of the tee has been depressed so that your golf ball rests only on the outer edges of the tee.
- Those outer edges have been precision molded to be very smooth and consistent.
Instead of resting on flexible bristles, as with the Brush-T, the ball rests on four little posts, similar to resting a golf ball on a rook from a chess set (see right). Again, the science of this makes sense. The practice is the teller.
(See updates below.)
In practice, well… my advice is simple: stick to the wooden tees. We were sent sixteen tees for review (16 epochs run $5). Wooden tees cost less than a nickel apiece (and many courses supply them free).
We played the epoch tees on two separate occasions. The temperatures were 50° and 65°. We carried the tees in our pocket, so they were near to body temperature. The sixteen tees we had lasted exactly sixteen tee shots with drivers and 3-woods. One shot apiece? Yep. The tees shattered on every single shot. The shots were all solid: 220+ with the 3W and 250+ with the drivers. And when we say shattered, we mean into pieces: three, four, even five or six pieces.
I’m glad that the tees are biodegradable, because we couldn’t even find all of the pieces. Is an extra 1.81 yards worth 30¢/tee?
I don’t think so.
Update: Evolve Golf has delayed the launch of the Epoch tees to fix the durability issues noted in the review above. We’ll be publishing a follow-up review in the coming weeks. Look below for the link.
Update #2: The Epoch tee no longer breaks. Ignore the stricken information above, and pick up here:
In practice, it’s difficult to determine whether or not the ball has gone further. Humans aren’t, after all, precision machines. For those kinds of numbers, you have to fall back on the machine-testing, and those results speak for themselves: the Epoch tees allow you to hit the ball further and straighter.
What’s more, with the re-formulation of the Epoch tees composition, the tees are now surprisingly durable. I used one tee on 21 driving holes before it broke, and the next tee lasted even more before my driver flipped it into a creek (the tees themselves can travel surprising distances!). Rounds were played in anywhere from 50° to 80° weather.
The only situation not suitable for the Epoch: par 3s. For those, well, you’ll just have to find a broken tee on which to peg your ball. Should you shatter (or lose) an Epoch tee, it’s nice to know that they’re biodegradeable, though they don’t often biodegrade quickly enough to avoid causing slight damage to mowing equipment. As with any tee, pick up the pieces and discard them properly.
Though we didn’t like the Epoch tees before, the new nearly unbreakable formulation has warranted a 180-degree reversal of our opinion before: the Epoch tees are durable and sturdy. Testing says they may help you hit the ball further and straighter, and without any evidence to the contrary, we recommend them heartily.
Pretty cool idea. Distance Drive competitors use a similar product, the Stinger tee, same principle, it’s PGA approved and a lot cheaper than Epoch. The super sharp points are also great for cleaning out grooves on wedges.
http://www.stingertees.com/
I was really looking for a comparison between Stinger and Epoch. Have you, or will you do a comparison between the two?
The new epoch is far superior to the first model and will often last a round or more. They also now offer a hybrid model that is 1 1/2″ and a perfect replacement for a broken tee.
One of your respondents asked about a comparison between the epoch and the Stinger. The epoch is much easier to tee up than the Stinger of the ZF.
I use Stinger tees much more often. I have tried Epoch. However I remember in the old days (like the 1960’s) a company came out with plastic tees. Everyone started using them because they wouldn’t break. The first thing I noticed was the drag on the driver because the tee wouldn’t break. The second thing I noticed was the marks left on the driver face, again because the tee’s wouldn’t break. I would rather have the tees break and not have that drag on the driver. Admitted the stinger tees have a smaller head and you have to be more careful during the setup, but in the long run there would be less damage to your driver, and they perform the same (less interference on ball flight).
A few observations about the Zero Friction tees in using them most of last season:
I found the shafts of the Zero Friction tees get “soft” after a few shots and are sometimes hard, if not impossible, to insert into the ground on a hard tee box.
I also found that I occasionally break the “tines” off the Zero Friction tee.
In windy weather (very common here) I found the ball will sometimes blow off the tee or rock around a bit during address.
For these reasons I tried Epoch tees based on a recommendation from a friend and am extremely happy with them. Unless they start breaking I can’t see playing any other tees from now on. I also love the 1-1/2″ tees for irons, hybrids and fairway woods.
I used to use Stinger tees all the time since they are made locally here in Cleveland, OH.. However, the Epoch tees, while more expensive than the Stingers by unit, are much cheaper than the Stingers in that they last freaking forever!
Just an addition to Erik’s excellent review:
Epoch now makes a shorter 1-1/2″ tee suitable for par 3 holes. I found them in 15 tee “combo” packs last time I picked up some Epoch Tees at Golf Galaxy.
I’m not sure if you can get them separately or not but they are available.
I was a big fan, but… My last bag of Epoch tees were snapping in half every other drive. The color is a bit different from my first few bags. I contacted Evolve golf who(he) promised me a new bag. But it has been since summer and guess what, no tees. I actually contacted them by email mail first, then left a message and finally spoke with someone, but I got the feeling that they were not really happy to replace my tees, and of course, they did not. Big ripoffs! Do not buy!!!