The Epoch Tee is remarkable piece of golf equipment for several reasons; performance, price, durability, and peace of mind. It will become the new standard in golf.
The purpose of this blog is to introduce you to new products from exciting, young golf-related companies. As you will discover, many of these companies are on the cusp of doing great things. So when I was introduced to the Epoch tee I wasn’t sure that there was much of a story to tell. After all, it’s a tee. How exciting or remarkable could it be?
Well, if I was to tell you that it is potentially 5 times cheaper than the wood tees you’re using. Or that it will keep your course cleaner, it is eco-friendly, and it’s practically indestructible, you might be interested… but it’s still just a tee, why change? For all the reasons listed here, and most importantly performance.
"The tee's four radius posts span the dimples, removing the friction and deflection created by a standard tee."
Epoch Performance. Independent tests show that the weekend golfer is gaining an average of 5 yards of distance, and nearly 3.5 yards of accuracy to their drives just by changing to the Epoch tee. If all you had to do to pick up 5 more yards of distance was change your tee, you would do it. Who wouldn’t?
The Tour players are. Their test results show that they are averaging 11 more yards of carry, and that in the 5 or so years since its introduction the Epoch Tee has 124 Tour wins world-wide, including 46 on the PGA Tour. The best players in the world are using them. That should tell you a lot because these guys take every advantage they can get.
I was introduced to Evolve Golf by one of the members at my club who in-turn put me in contact with BJ Maloy, owner and spokesperson for the company. We spent about 20 minutes on the phone while he enthusiastically told me about his revolutionary, but still traditional looking golf tee. We didn’t speak much of the performance benefits of the product because they speak for themselves. The focus of the conversation was on some of the peripheral benefits of the tee design and the future of Epoch tees.
They are currently manufactured from recycled plastic and other renewable materials, making them better on the environment by saving trees. Eventually, Maloy’s goal is to have an entirely compostable product. The tee has unequaled durability and that means fewer of them being used and a reduction in tee box litter. That results in nicer looking tee boxes, savings on man-power to pick them up, and fewer tees for the mowers to run over. And although they are more durable in play, they actually present less resistance for a mower blade to cut through, which may save the blades a sharpening or two.
The durability of this tee also equates into savings for you or your golf club, as one Epoch tee can replace 3 or 4 wood tees during a round. Southern Highlands currently buys 35,000 wood tees per year for 10,000 rounds of golf; an average of 3.5 tees per round. I just completed my 4th round of golf with the same Epoch tee and I still have it. So even though the Epoch tee is $8 more per thousand than wood tees, they are in fact significantly cheaper for your club. I did the calculations, and in our case, this tee will save our club a minimum of $250 next season. Can you see the financial impact on a club that does five or six times the volume we do.
Sweet Spot System
I love this company and what they are doing for golf. They are innovators that are focused on continuing to improve a product that most everyone thought was insignificant. “In addition to the expansion of our retail product lines and custom logo business, we are also unveiling our Sweet Spot System,” states Maloy. “We have tied rings that are printed around our tees to an internet tool that players will find on our website. The Sweet Spot System tool allows a player to find the proper depth to insert their tee into the ground relative to the location of the sweet spot on the driver they use. Clubs and resorts have the option to customize the colors of the rings imprinted on our tees. ” In effect, the system aids you in hitting the ball in the proper location with more frequency. Your tee and driver combination can be easily found on the company website.
Maloy strikes me as a man who seems less interested in making his product a little bit better, and more on jumping to the next curve. Their vision is to change the value of the tee in golf and to make it an important aspect of your equipment choice. It looks as though Evolve Golf is doing to the tee, what the tee did to Old Tom Morris’ mounds of sand.
For more information on Epoch Tees and Evolve Golf, visit their website at www.evolvegolf.com
January 7, 2010
New Golf Products