Anyone interested in a tee that you don't have to stick in the ground

[mrjackhunter]

Hi group,

I am new here.  I am a small inventor who loves the game of golf. Since last summer, I have been working on a new golf tee invention.   It all started on a hot summer day during a round of golf.  It hadn’t rained in weeks and the ground was like concrete.   My golf buddies and I were routinely breaking our wooden tees just trying to force them into the ground.   When we succeeded,  the golf ball was usually teed up too high because our tees couldn’t penetrate the hard ground deep enough.   That’s when the idea came to me.   I wasn’t looking to come up with the latest golf invention.   I just had an image in my mind suddenly of a golf tee that was supported by three legs with little round feet. I went home and, being a woodworker, made a few prototypes out of wooden buttons with parts of cut up wooden teen stuck into them.   Anyway, I have applied for a patent and have some working drawings. I just need some feedback to see if anyone else likes this idea.   Here is a picture of it.

Anyway, let me know your honest opinion. Does this tee have merit?  Is it something you would try?

Thanks.

Jack

[Patch]

I am intrigued by it, but most of the time I carry my tees in my pocket(s). Not sure how a three legged critter like this would fit in/ride my pocket(s) from a comfort stand point. That, said I would probably purchase a few, if the price were reasonable. I assume you have different heights in mind for your endeavor.

I play on golf courses where the turf on tee box, (and fairways) are sometime pretty hard. I have always carried those rubber tees with the round flange on the bottom just because of hard ground. They are the same as those tees you find sticking up through rubber golf mats. I keep them in my golf bag for when I need them. You idea would solve the same problem too.

Ideas like this are a great thing. I had a friend (RIP) who came up with an idea for golf practice, and patented it it. He did alright with it. He then used the same idea for other sports, which caught the eye of well known sporting goods manufacturer, who purchased his idea for a decent some of money at the time.  They never marketed it for some reason. I suspect it was of such a simple design, that any one, once they saw it, could make the same thing at home, for their desired sport for under $5.

Yeah,, I would buy a pack of three, in various heights.

[billchao]

Rubber tees have customizable heights. @Patch if you have no problems with them, why would you purchase a substitute product that serves the same function?

[mrjackhunter]

Thanks for the encouragement Patch.

[Patch]

Rubber tees have customizable heights. @Patch if you have no problems with them, why would you purchase a substitute product that serves the same function?

Because it's something new, looks "cool" and would most likely be a conversation starter. Plus, I like to do a lot of things for no particular reason, just because I can.

[Dave2512]

No. Tees that aren't stuck in the ground fly as much as 15 yards from the tee box. We use winter tees here in CO. Guys modify them with hog rings and cords attached to weights to keep track of them. One guy has three golf balls strung through the tail end of his cord and it still gets away from him. I lost one last time I played on frozen boxes. That tripod tee looks like a badminton birdie my guess is it will fly well.

[Patch]

Thanks for the encouragement Patch.

No problem. You are using the creative side of your  mental skills, which is a good thing.

Hope your idea works out well for you.

[Pretzel]

No. Tees that aren't stuck in the ground fly as much as 15 yards from the tee box. We use winter tees here in CO. Guys modify them with hog rings and cords attached to weights to keep track of them. One guy has three golf balls strung through the tail end of his cord and it still gets away from him. I lost one last time I played on frozen boxes. That tripod tee looks like a badminton birdie my guess is it will fly well.

At the very least, the pictured bright blue would be easier to find than some other tees.

[Hardballs]

I think it's pretty cool, if you could attach it to a cord and nail to fix it to the ground..... Oh hang on.... I've not though that through!

[bradsul]

I like the idea. Especially if you integrate some kind of ring or eyelet to attach a line.  I use the winter-cone style tees when the ground is too hard up here.  I attach it with fishing line to a hockey puck (hey, I'm Canadian, what do you expect) so I don't have to chase it down.  I'd try these out for sure, I never liked looking at the cones much.

[Dave2512]

At the very least, the pictured bright blue would be easier to find than some other tees.

Yeah bright colors help. All the winter tees they had at Coyote Creek are pink and orange.

[RayG]

Maybe a leash type of thing that attaches to your shoes or pants cuff. You have to bend over anyway to put it in the ground, right? Nothing wrong with a little 'out there' thinking. And with 3d printing at home or at one of those tech centers where they'll do it for you, you should be able to knock out a bunch for testing

[lumpuckeroo]

I'm intrigued by a tee like that as I've experienced the same situation with hard ground on the tee boxes over the last several years.  I do see two drawbacks, as Patch mentioned, not sure I want that in my pocket and secondly, how far will that tee fly!  Seems like you will be spending a lot of time looking for it once you take a swing, with nothing to hold it in place, I suspect it will go sailing off the front of the tee box and be hard to find, i.e. the brush tee.

[Missouri Swede]

No. Tees that aren't stuck in the ground fly as much as 15 yards from the tee box. We use winter tees here in CO. Guys modify them with hog rings and cords attached to weights to keep track of them. One guy has three golf balls strung through the tail end of his cord and it still gets away from him. I lost one last time I played on frozen boxes. That tripod tee looks like a badminton birdie my guess is it will fly well.

I think it's pretty cool, if you could attach it to a cord and nail to fix it to the ground..... Oh hang on.... I've not though that through!

I like the idea. Especially if you integrate some kind of ring or eyelet to attach a line.  I use the winter-cone style tees when the ground is too hard up here.  I attach it with fishing line to a hockey puck (hey, I'm Canadian, what do you expect) so I don't have to chase it down.  I'd try these out for sure, I never liked looking at the cones much.

Maybe a leash type of thing that attaches to your shoes or pants cuff. You have to bend over anyway to put it in the ground, right? Nothing wrong with a little 'out there' thinking.

And with 3d printing at home or at one of those tech centers where they'll do it for you, you should be able to knock out a bunch for testing

I'm intrigued by a tee like that as I've experienced the same situation with hard ground on the tee boxes over the last several years.  I do see two drawbacks, as Patch mentioned, not sure I want that in my pocket and secondly, how far will that tee fly!  Seems like you will be spending a lot of time looking for it once you take a swing, with nothing to hold it in place, I suspect it will go sailing off the front of the tee box and be hard to find, i.e. the brush tee.

A small string (or fishing line), as others suggested.  I thought about attaching it to my ankle, but then figured I'd trip over it, or get tangled in it either in in my setup (especially if it's windy) or in my follow through.  Might work attached to the tee marker.  (Not many hockey pucks in my garage.)

It's similar in concept to what they use on the Golf Channel (that one's kind of an inverted cone, I think).  So it might also be useful for driving range work (where rubber tees are often missing, or the wrong height).

[Dave2512]

I've tried fixed height tees before, someone gave me a set of brush tees. Thing I didn't like besides the after shot tee search was having to shuffle tees. At the course I play most I only hit driver 8-9 times. With a fixed height tee I'd use three different tees on the first three holes. Not a huge inconvenience but I usually use the same tee for an entire round or longer. Just keep one in the pocket and go. Besides depending on wind conditions and how a hole is laid out I vary tee height with the driver. I'd need a regular tee for in between heights.

[Pretzel]

Could a design similar to the one posted be made to be adjustable, at least partially? You could make it so the vertical prong that the ball sits on could slide up and down through a small tube in the meeting point of that bottom triangle. Put a small bulge on the bottom end of the top prong and make the tube a tight enough fit that it won't slide around willy nilly and you might have a more marketable product. I haven't previously seen any winter tees before that have a variable height, and even that small adjustability could be a selling point of your product.

[Avalanche]

That's actually a pretty clever idea.  Have you done a patent search to see if anyone has thought of it (and filed a patent application) before?

[sjduffers]

How would that tee do on a slanted tee box, which is a far too common occurrence on public courses?  At least a peg in the ground can be inserted to support the ball in a more horizontal manner.  This wouldn't, unless you'd build some "adjustable" legs: good luck then to keep the price reasonable...