The Evolution of the Winter Tee

With the dark nights and cold, wet weather setting in, the golf clubs are preparing their courses for winter.  We thought you may be interested in learning how the winter tee has evolved...

In December 1988 Verde's first Winter Tee Kit was installed by a fitting team who didn't play golf! They didn’t even know where each green was! Verde soon learnt their lesson by concentrating on manufacture, design and development, and therefore created products which could easily be installed by the grounds staff themselves.

The Verde Winter Tee Kit was supplied ready for self-installation, and included every component, right down to the last galvanised nail. The kit incorporated an insert for both left and right handed players and each section of the kit was individually replaceable, meaning that many kits are still in use three decades later!

The Verde Golf Driving Mat was launched in 1990 to cater for the building boom of new Driving Ranges. The ***Three Star Mat was designed with a triple layer construction incorporating a soft foam backing. This provided excellent give on the hard floors of the practice bays and extended the mats life far in excess of what we had anticipated. It wasn't long before this mat also became a popular choice for both the golf course practice bays and their winter tee areas, being lightweight and easily portable.

This ***Three Star Golf Mat was being supplied to numerous courses, as a portable alternative for the winter tee. However, the ideal spot for positioning this temporary tee was often on uneven or sloping ground. So the Verde Tee Frame was born - a raised steel platform which not only incorporated the ***Three Star Golf Mat but had fully adjustable legs, providing an excellent solution to this problem. The construction quality wasn’t dissimilar to that of a JCB; it was strong, robust and would take any weight. The box section legs were overly substantial and the mat was held in place with a steel picture frame lid and 6 bolts. A portable tee was created which had excellent playing characteristics, was fully adjustable in height, was extremely substantial and due to its weight, offered a reduced risk of theft. The only problem was that it lasted too long!

By 1996, Verde had extended their range of mats to offer a heavier rubber backed version, the **Two Star Mat. Initially this was introduced via trade distributors who incorporated it into various portable winter tee frames, both as stance mats and driving inserts. However, its robust construction has made it just as popular as a full sized mat, out on the course. All the Verde Golf Driving Mats are made in house, so individual sizes and shapes can easily be accommodated. 

Soon after the turn of the century, there became a requirement for an artificial tee that would take a tee peg from any position, without the need to incorporate rubber tees or slots. Verde took this challenge on board. A number of designs were put to the test and in 2004 the Verde TeeTurf was launched. This unique tee came as a self-install product, which allowed the club to build a tee three times the size of an average driving mat at the same cost! It also had the added benefit of either taking a standard tee peg from any position or allowing you to drive through the artificial grass, if preferred. The surface was comfortable under foot, could be used throughout the year and was natural in appearance. This unique construction has a thatched base that prevents the sand/rubber infill from compacting and a hardwearing monofilament straight yarn that is more robust that any of its competitor’s versions. The Verde TeeTurf had numerous sales in England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, as well as a further 8 countries, including New Zealand.

Following the success of the Verde TeeTurf, it became apparent that the concept of putting a tee peg anywhere was very popular, but an option that required less maintenance was the way forward.  The Super Verde TeeTurf was launched in January 2012 – a very dense nylon construction with no infill.  This more costly product soon became a popular choice on many golf courses and driving ranges.

Verde never stand still. New products are always being designed and tested behind the scenes. We are in our 29th year in business and are proud to say that all products are manufactured in the UK, and where possible, using British raw materials.