- Stirling will compare BirTee Pro Speed+ and traditional tees using 14 golfers.
- The reusable plastic tees sit on the ground rather than being pushed into it.
- Testing will take place over two sessions approximately one week apart.
The University of Stirling has announced a controlled study comparing BirTee Pro Speed+ tees with traditional tees, involving seven recreational players and seven golf scholars. Researchers will assess how the reusable design affects driving performance and consistency.
A tee for hard ground and indoor practice
BirTee Pro Speed+ sits on top of the ground, removing the need to push a conventional tee into the turf. The reusable plastic design was first created for golfers facing mobility challenges and allows the ball to be positioned at different heights.
Indoor simulators and frozen ground are two settings where that approach has an obvious practical application. Stirling says the design has been approved by the R&A.
Dean Robertson, Stirling’s head of golf, already uses the tees in the university’s practice environment and sees a coaching application in changing the height of the ball.
“The ability to easily alter tee height allows players to work on different skills and develop a wider variety of ball flights, while also encouraging them to adapt to different challenges,”
How the test will work
Each participant will hit a series of drives using three setups: a size 4 BirTee Pro Speed+ measuring one inch, a size 8 measuring two inches, and a traditional tee.
Testing will take place in Stirling’s Golf Studio, with the golfers returning approximately one week later. That second session will allow researchers to examine consistency between days as well as variation from shot to shot.
Researchers will record clubhead and ball speed, spin rate, smash factor and launch angle, as well as carry and total distance. They will assess whether the BirTee designs provide performance reliability comparable to traditional tees.
Dr Lewis Macgregor, lecturer in physiology and nutrition, will lead the research. BirTee Golf International Inc. is supporting the project, which the university describes as an independent assessment.
Stirling has also undertaken work on a sensor-equipped G·GRIP AI golf club, designed to record grip pressure and swing movement.
GolfToday Verdict: BirTee Pro Speed+ is worth considering for indoor practice and hard-ground use, with convenience the reason to try it while its driving consistency awaits testing.
Simon Bale
Simon Bale is the publisher of Golf Today. A low single-figure handicap golfer, he was previously a major shareholder and course reviewer for Top100GolfCourses.com for over a decade, starting in 2010. Through this role, he developed extensive knowledge of golf course design and architecture while playing more than 300 courses worldwide.