Plastic or wooden tees, caring or couldnt care less.

Herbie

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Do you think there is any truth in comments like...Plastics are non eco friendly?

Do you agree that plastic tees are more damaging to the course and enviroment of the course than wooden tees?

Do you believe plastic tees can damage green keeper equipment more than wooden tees might?

What are your opinions on such questions and any other questions you may have regarding this topic?
 

drawboy

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If plastic tees are such an environmental problem then simply ban them. It wouldn't inconvenience anyone in any way, we would still have tees to use.Let's face it they are cheap enough no matter what they are made from. BAN PLASTIC TEES.simples!!
 

haplesshacker

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It would certainly be interesting to see whether plastic or wooden tees are more eco friendly across the spectrum. Including the whole manufactuering process etc.

One could argue that plastic tees are made from recycled plastics. But then the plastic has to be collected in the first place, and then processed. Which would no doubt involve a lot of transportation, heat, for melting and processing the plastics, etc.

However are wooden tees actually any more eco friendly in the great scheme of things. Don't just consider the little thing degrading on the course, but how it got there in the first place.

I'd be interested to see which actually has the biggest impact on the environment.

Or, is it really that important? Considering what else we're doing to the planet.
 

RGDave

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Do you think there is any truth in comments like...Plastics are non eco friendly?

I use plastic tees.....as they don't break and I don't lose them (well, maybe 1 every few games) then no probs.

If one does go AWOL on the tee, I expect someone will spot it sooner or later and bag it for themselves.

I bought 20 silver and 20 pink 18 months ago and still have all but a couple. I haven't bought a medium or short plastic tee since 1997. I have at least 100 of varying style including blue, red and orange castles.

Some cheap and nasty tees do break (like the tesco white castles) and so I don't use them.

Truth be told, I wouldn't use them If I thought I was damaging the enviroment.
 

MarkS

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Truth be told, I wouldn't use them If I thought I was damaging the enviroment.

Being an agronomist by training, and a lecturer by profession i am no environmentalist, however the simple fact is that using plastic tees you are damaging 'the environment' more by using plastic tees.

However if we broaden the TOR the 'environment' is being damaged by everything we do simply getting onto the coarse.
On the other hand we are members of a fraternity which actively encourages teh growing of plants (grass, shrubs trees) which will negate to a small degree the damage we are doing.
On yet another hand, how much pesticides and inorganic fertilisers do our courses apply?
And yet we have recently had a thread pointing out how much 'livestock' we see on our courses - deer, rabbits, parrots even and we all encourage this, except many on the greens!

There is no simple answer to this original question, and someone can counter what I have said, and they too will be right.

I use plastic castle tees - as they dont break and i like the standardised height. Except when i dont in which case i use wooden tees.
 

MarkE

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I use plastic simply because they don't break and I use them until I lose them. I've had the same 4 tees in my pocket for months. I use to use wooden but got fed up forever bying tees because of breakage. I can't see how that is environmentally unfriendly, especially as wooden tees are not usually solely wooden, either painted or varnished with chemicals.
 

justhitthething

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Truth be told, I wouldn't use them If I thought I was damaging the enviroment.

Being an agronomist by training, and a lecturer by profession i am no environmentalist, however the simple fact is that using plastic tees you are damaging 'the environment' more by using plastic tees.

However if we broaden the TOR the 'environment' is being damaged by everything we do simply getting onto the coarse.
On the other hand we are members of a fraternity which actively encourages teh growing of plants (grass, shrubs trees) which will negate to a small degree the damage we are doing.
On yet another hand, how much pesticides and inorganic fertilisers do our courses apply?
And yet we have recently had a thread pointing out how much 'livestock' we see on our courses - deer, rabbits, parrots even and we all encourage this, except many on the greens!

There is no simple answer to this original question, and someone can counter what I have said, and they too will be right.

I use plastic castle tees - as they dont break and i like the standardised height. Except when i dont in which case i use wooden tees.

The real question is 'is the wooden fence your sat on more or less environmentally friendly than the plastic tees I use?' ;)
 

HomerJSimpson

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I just prefer wooden tees. Have always used them except as a junior when I had blue and red castle tees until I got down to single figures and overnight thought they were naff and switched. I'm fairly relaxed about using both types although I've heard stories of plastic tees being a nuisance and damaging mowers. Live and let live
 

Imurg

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Obviously a plastic tee will take many thousands of years to degrade (guess) but how long will a standard wooden one take? I assume the wood is compressed to make it more durable and therefore less susceptible to rotting?

I always use wooden tees. On par 3's I'll look for a broken one and "recycle" it.
 

rgs

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I use wooden tees as i prefer them over the plastic tees.

In my opinion plactic tees take longer to decompose and are therefore more damaging to the environment. However given the damage being done to the environment the use of plastic tees is not going to destroy the planet.
 

Herbie

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As understanding as I am to personal choice or preference, it is drifting a little from the OP questions.

Personally I think all plastic use, unless in some way essential, life saving, is a perpetual and growing eco problem. Do they damage the course? I think not, certainly no more than wooden ones.
Can they damage green keeper equipment? Well I think both can add wear and tear to such kit but in certain circumstances the plastic could pose more interference.

My concern would be WHY use plastics when there are alternatives, if eco issues bother anyone?

Care, or couldn't care less??
 

nulassilb

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Prefer wooden. I wish all clubs had little boxes on the sides of the tee to put broken tee pegs in. I love using broken bits for par 3 holes and this would be a good tee tidy and help me to find the broken bit I need.
 

Herbie

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Prefer wooden. I wish all clubs had little boxes on the sides of the tee to put broken tee pegs in. I love using broken bits for par 3 holes and this would be a good tee tidy and help me to find the broken bit I need.

I like this as much as I like the guys who put broken wooden tees near the bin on the tee so people can use them should they need to. ;)

On a recycly note, I am surprised compressed tees are not made from paper pulp, or cardboard. (or are some??)
 

Region3

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It's not that I'm not bothered about the environment, but I use wooden tees because I always thought that plastic might have more chance of damaging my clubs than wooden.
I hate the marks that wooden tees leave though.

Ditto about reusing someone else's broken tee on the par 3's. Much easier than trying to push a 3" tee all but a few mm into the ground.
I also use broken tees if I take my 3-wood or hybrid on a par4.
 

DCB

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Do you think there is any truth in comments like...Plastics are non eco friendly?

Yes

Do you agree that plastic tees are more damaging to the course and enviroment of the course than wooden tees?

Yes

Do you believe plastic tees can damage green keeper equipment more than wooden tees might?

Yes
 

Del

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I use plastic tee's, because they last longer and I have a lot of them.

Do they damage the green keepers equipment, well after asking my friend, a keeper at my course, he tells me all the mowers they use would NOT be damaged by a little bit of plastic, more chance of damage by going over stones and roots of trees.

As to the enviroment, well just stand in the car park and see how many people drive off in there nice big cars, and how many cars have only one person in each!!

Del
 
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