Every year great minds come up with innovative products to continue moving the game forward. I’m talking everything from fabrics for apparel down to brushes to clean your clubs. One item that hasn’t seen much change over the years is the infamous rubber tube tee used on driving range mats. Well, that too has now had a facelift and we think you’ll like it!
Product Details
Dimensions: 1 inch in diameter and 1/2 inch thick
Requirements: A mat and ability for a 180 degree turn of the device
Colors: Assortment of colors but most notably the green and yellow original design
USGA Conforming: In progress
Included: Three Tee Claws, three tees (1 1/4″, 1 3/4″, and 2 1/8″), and four lanyards
Coming to you from: Tustin, CA
Looks/Feel
The Tee Claw is a remarkably smart concept it’s crazy to think the old rubber tube style tees have lasted as long as they have. Each Tee Claw is a solid piece of PVC and rubber with four “claws” on the underside. The top center has a hole in it for the tee and the bottom center has a rubber notch. Purely from a visual it seems like a very simple and easy to use design. The lanyards are good and stretchy and very easy to hook onto the notch on the underbelly of the Tee Claw. The provided tees come in three lengths so you can really adjust based on the club you are using off the mats.
Performance/Functionality
Now onto the goods… for a simple product the uses are quite dramatic. I assume you get the fact you can simply take the Tee Claw to the range, spin it into the mat, drop in your tee and practice to your heart's content. However, there are so many variables…
First, placement. The standard familiar and traditional mat tees were positioned in once place and one place alone on the mat based on where the hole was cut. The Tee Claw can really go anywhere on the mat. Want to practice some par 3 style short holes with your irons slightly teed up? You can simply take your Tee Claw to the middle of the mat and do so. Super nice feature!
Second, tee selection. Yes, there are three provided tees but if you wanted to use a Martini tee for example, you can. You aren’t required to use the three provided because any tee will basically fit into the hole.
Third, the lanyards. These can be used multiple ways. For power hitters you can attach the tee to the lanyard and then to a Tee Claw behind the one you’re hitting from to catch the tee if it happens to fly out of the device. No retrieval necessary! Or, you can use the lanyards as a training aid to work on your alignment. Want to simply anchor your Tee Claw? You can do that too. I really appreciate that the founders took the time to provide several ways you can use their product.
Finally, the technicals. Did you know that the rubber tee you have always hit from actually slows your club down and can contribute to poor shots? It’s true! Why practice from a rubber tee to then only play from a regular tee?
Overall
As each year progresses we continue to see so many great new products and the Tee Claw is definitely one that will alter the course of the industry. Yes, as simple as a tee on a mat may sound it’s something that hadn’t been improved upon in a very long time. The Tee Claw, and its accessories, can fit right into your bag so you won’t have to use the old rubber tubes every again. I don’t think it’ll be long before every course with a mat offers this option!
MSRP: $14.95
