Rectangular cut tee's

[Greg Cameron]

Seeing more clubs square or rectangular mowing tee surfaces.I'm not a fan as front right angles seem to glare out when  viewing the hole(even worse with mowed walk path)Is there function in this practice,i.e. mower wear patterns, or is it simply style.

[Matt Kardash]

As a person how works in golf maintenenace in the summer I can say I would hate having to cut square tee's with a triplex. Our superintendant modified a tee and painted-in the new mowing lines. He was on his phone and wasn't paying attention and made it kinda squarish. Needless to say it was a pain to have to cut. Now we fixed it and rounded it off again.

[Pete Garvey]

As a person how works in golf maintenenace in the summer I can say I would hate having to cut square tee's with a triplex.

Funny.  We just restored an old Ross course and sold all the tee and green triplex mowers.  

[Sean Leary]

I like the way they look myself...

[Kyle Harris]

Seeing more clubs square or rectangular mowing tee surfaces.I'm not a fan as front right angles seem to glare out when  viewing the hole(even worse with mowed walk path)Is there function in this practice,i.e. mower wear patterns, or is it simply style.

Look at the shape of the mower... a straight line. They're easier to cut. Not sure why you'd want to cut circles with any sort of mower.

They also just look better, IMO. Tees are artificial anyway, any sort of curvilinear thing just looks forced.

[Joe Hancock]

Seeing more clubs square or rectangular mowing tee surfaces.I'm not a fan as front right angles seem to glare out when  viewing the hole(even worse with mowed walk path)Is there function in this practice,i.e. mower wear patterns, or is it simply style.

Look at the shape of the mower... a straight line. They're easier to cut. Not sure why you'd want to cut circles with any sort of mower.

They also just look better, IMO. Tees are artificial anyway, any sort of curvilinear thing just looks forced.

Kyle,

Usually you are more logical and open-minded than that.....

Joe

[Kyle Harris]

Seeing more clubs square or rectangular mowing tee surfaces.I'm not a fan as front right angles seem to glare out when  viewing the hole(even worse with mowed walk path)Is there function in this practice,i.e. mower wear patterns, or is it simply style.

Look at the shape of the mower... a straight line. They're easier to cut. Not sure why you'd want to cut circles with any sort of mower.

They also just look better, IMO. Tees are artificial anyway, any sort of curvilinear thing just looks forced.

Kyle,

Usually you are more logical and open-minded than that.....

Joe

Joe,

Not sure what you mean. Frankly, I find square tee boxes to be even aesthetically more pleasing than curved ones. Always have. Tee boxes for me are first and foremost functional. I like grade level rectangles like those found at Garden City, for example.

Going back to golf's home - St. Andrews - I think one would be hard pressed to find any sort of free form or curvilinear tee boxes.

[Joe Hancock]

Kyle,

That's certainly your preference. However, to say that all tees that aren't square look forced and don't fit as well as free form tees is a bit narrow minded, IMO.

Also, to argue that the shape of a mower (straight) makes it best suited for cutting straight lines is silly. I would assume if that is true, then almost every green worldwide is being maintained improperly. The very end of the cutting unit is the only part of the mower that factors in to the finished edge of the cut....except when you mow square tees and you don't control the mower properly.

Are the greens you work on square? Do the fairways you work on have any movement whatsoever?

That's what I'm talking about. The fact that you like square tees is fine by me. They certainly are the most efficient use of space. But, they aren't absolutely, without doubt the only choice for every golf course.

There, I feel better....

Joe

[Kyle Harris]

Kyle,

That's certainly your preference. However, to say that all tees that aren't square look forced and don't fit as well as free form tees is a bit narrow minded, IMO.

Also, to argue that the shape of a mower (straight) makes it best suited for cutting straight lines is silly. I would assume if that is true, then almost every green worldwide is being maintained improperly. The very end of the cutting unit is the only part of the mower that factors in to the finished edge of the cut....except when you mow square tees and you don't control the mower properly.

Are the greens you work on square? Do the fairways you work on have any movement whatsoever?

That's what I'm talking about. The fact that you like square tees is fine by me. They certainly are the most efficient use of space. But, they aren't absolutely, without doubt the only choice for every golf course.

There, I feel better....

Joe

Joe,

Understood. And to answer your question, we actually have a handful of square greens.

My whole point revolves around the idea that, to me, tees should be a tertiary concern. You get to put wood under the ball for crissake, so anything that makes them a quick maintenance issue is good by me.

And you're right, there are plenty of curved tee boxes that work well, especially on hillier sites.

Pardon my hyperbole.  

[Guy Phelan]

Seeing more clubs square or rectangular mowing tee surfaces.I'm not a fan as front right angles seem to glare out when  viewing the hole(even worse with mowed walk path)Is there function in this practice,i.e. mower wear patterns, or is it simply style.

Look at the shape of the mower... a straight line. They're easier to cut. Not sure why you'd want to cut circles with any sort of mower.

They also just look better, IMO. Tees are artificial anyway, any sort of curvilinear thing just looks forced.

Kyle,

Usually you are more logical and open-minded than that.....

Joe

Joe,

Not sure what you mean. Frankly, I find square tee boxes to be even aesthetically more pleasing than curved ones. Always have. Tee boxes for me are first and foremost functional. I like grade level rectangles like those found at Garden City, for example.

Going back to golf's home - St. Andrews - I think one would be hard pressed to find any sort of free form or curvilinear tee boxes.

Kyle,

We recently made new and squared or placed rectangular tees on every teeing area; it looks tremendous! Although I have nit actually played from these new tees and will not until April, I have stood and looked at each one and find them extremely appealing. So, I am in favor of these square tees.

In the past, weand many other old courses have had some circular tees and I have found them to be extremely pleasing to the eye. I enjoy the occasional circular tee in the way-back, tucked away signifying no actual point of direction, just a pod from which to place a tee and play...it does not make much difference to me whether or not it is a par 3,4 or 5, I just like the look.

All the best,
Guy

[Peter Galea]

I like the look. Squared off corners. Gives is an air of formality. The starting place. And.....they're called tee boxes, not tee footballs or tee amoebas. But, if you like them freeform or any other shape that's OK with me too... as long as they are mowed, and halfway level.

[Tom Roewer]

I also like the square or rectangular tee from a maintenance standpoint.  For those clubs with budget / manpower restrictions that use riding mowers for tees, this shape helps to diminish area loss due to shouldering or rounding off that occurs when circular mowing tees.

[Rob_Waldron]

The typical problem with square or rectangular tees is alignment. Most do not point in the proper direction as it relates to the fairway. On the other  hand a rounded tee does not have this problem. Of course neither matters when the tee setter aims the tee markers towards the trees

[Ally Mcintosh]

i like square tees... i particularly like large area graded tees where all (or most) sets of boxes are positioned... i do not really like the trend of having 5 different areas for 5 different sets of tees.... although i do sometimes like the back tee to sit on its own little pod when there is an interesting extra carry / different angle from it....

that's probably a highly inconsistent post but it makes sense to me  

[Gary Slatter]

We have both, Lucayan (Dick Wilson 1964) has rectangular tees, perfectly aligned!  The Reef (RTJ2 2000) has round and oval tees and people constantly say the tee blocks are lined up wrong (they are not).
Verdict: rectangular tees are easier for most golfers to align themselves.  Personally I can never figure out how anything can throw off your alignment, the ball is round, you pick your target and fire it!  You can't blame the tee blocks or the way the tee is cut.

[Mike_Trenham]

I was just looking at the copy I have of the orginal Ross drawings of my club's course and noticed the tees look more like dog bones than squares.  The tees were constructed as square tees in the end.

What have others seen on old drawings vs. what was built.

[Kyle Harris]

Lining up tee blocks and tee boxes, to me, is incredibly overrated and just shows that the golfer concerned with it is really focusing on the wrong thing.

The statement that tee boxes should be lined up to the center of the landing area just begs the question:

"For who!?"

[JESII]

Lining up tee blocks and tee boxes, to me, is incredibly overrated and just shows that the golfer concerned with it is really focusing on the wrong thing.

Just don't let your boss hear that because his boss surely thinks it is not overrated...

[Kyle Harris]

Lining up tee blocks and tee boxes, to me, is incredibly overrated and just shows that the golfer concerned with it is really focusing on the wrong thing.

Just don't let your boss hear that because his boss surely thinks it is not overrated...

17 was ALWAYS perfectly aligned when I did it.  

[Patrick_Mucci]

Greg,

It's simply a matter of paying attention to detail.

Rounded edges on rectangular tees are nothing more than a shortcut.