| T-buddy
Summary Report: November, 2007
Recently
GolfTest USA conducted a test on a new golf tee accessory
called the T-buddy. It is a sleeve that fits over a standard
wood tee. The purpose of the T-buddy is to help golfers
maintain a consistent height when the ball is teed up.
The
following information was taken from the T-buddy website
so that golfers can understand what the makers of T-buddy
want golfers to know about the product. GolfTest USA makes
no representation about the information contained here.
WHAT
IS T-buddy™?
T-buddy™ is an advanced tee-up aid which
is designed to help golfers tee up with confidence.
WHAT DOES IT DO?
Height of a teed-up ball can vary from 1/8 of an
inch on the average up to 1/4 of an inch for some golfers.
The T-buddy™ eliminates any guesswork at this height.
The ball will be at the same position every time giving
golfers peace of mind.
HOW DOES IT WORK?
T-buddy™ comes in 4 different lengths for
all occasions: irons, fairway woods, hybrids, and small
to oversized drivers.
Proprietary design features allow the T-buddy™ to
properly engage the tee regardless of its size. Slide the
right length T-buddy™ onto your regular tee, and push
the T-buddy™ -equipped tee into the ground until the
bottom flange of the T-buddy™ stops it. Now you are
ready for your regular but carefree swing. T-buddy™
stays engaged under normal playing conditions.
T-buddy™ LASTS & LASTS
If the tee breaks, slide the T-buddy™ off
and use it on another tee. Length of the new tee should
be at least the same as the broken one. T-buddy™ is
made of a resilient plastic and will last for months. This
plastic also protects the tees. Golfers using T-buddies
replace the tees once about every four rounds. Meanwhile,
golfers using wooden tees use about 3.5 tees per round.
The
Actual Test and Results!!!
25 Testers
were asked to use the T-buddy for a month when playing rounds
of golf and while practicing at the range.
The
results of the test are as follows:
***
After using the T-buddy for the past month instead of your
tee which tee do you prefer.
Your Tee: 9 T-buddy: 16
By a margin of almost 2 to 1 the testers preferred the T-buddy.
This number indicates that most golfers felt the T-buddy
was superior to other types of tees for various reasons.
***
On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being best how much did the
T-buddy help you tee the ball to the consistent height you
preferred? 8.3
The average rating of 8.3 indicated that most testers felt
the T-buddy was very beneficial in maintaining a consistent
height.
***
On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being best how much did your
confidence increase using the T-buddy? 6.7
Most testers indicated that the T-buddy was a moderate help
increasing their confidence hitting shots off the T-buddy.
***
On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being best rate how easy was
it to use the T-buddy: 8.2
Almost all the testers indicated the T-buddy was very easy
to use.
***
On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being best rate the “Durability”
of the T-buddy: 8.6
The testers rated the durability very high.
***
On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being best rate the “Quality”
of the T-buddy: 8.6
The testers also rated the quality very high.
***
On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being best how “strongly”
would you recommend the T-buddy to other golfers: 7.6
Most of the testers felt they would recommend the T-buddy
to other golfers.
***
On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being best how “likely”
will you continue to use the T-buddy: 7.1
The majority of testers indicated that they would continue
using the T-buddy.
***
On a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being best do you feel the
T-buddy helped you hit more consistent shots off the tee.
7.2
Some of the testers felt that the T-buddy helped them hit
more consistent Tee shots.
***
Were your drives off the tee longer using the T-buddy?
Yes: 2 No: 4 The Same: 19
For the most part the testers did not feel that using the
T-buddy helped them hit longer shots.
***
Were your drives off the tee more accurate using the T-buddy?
Yes: 7 No: 3 The Same: 15
There was anecdotal evidence that some of the testers hit
more accurate shots while using the T-buddy.
***
What other colors you would like to see used for the T-buddy?
Light Blue, Lime, Fluorescent Green, Purple, White
***
What did you like best about the T-buddy?
Comments made regarding the best features of the T-buddy.
Consistent
height, easy to use, didn’t break tees, liked the
long ones for use with the driver, easy teeing of the ball,
easy to find in pocket, durability, it makes it so much
easier than having a pocket full of tees to carry,
***
Is there anything you would change about the T-buddy?
Comments made regarding things the testers would change
about the T-buddy.
*Make
a more durable tee, *make the short T-buddy shorter, *more
resilient plastic,
***
What size did you use the most? X-tra Tall ( 13 ) Tall (
11 ) Medium (1 ) Short ( 0 )
***
Taking in to account all factors that are important to you
about a golf tee on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 being best
how would you rate the T-buddy"Overall": 7.4
Most
testers felt that the T-buddy was an excellent golf accessory
and that many golfers would find it was useful and beneficial
in helping to improve their golf game.
 Final
Summary:
After
the test was complete, GolfTest USA gathered 10 single digit
handicap golfers (7 men and 3 women) and had them hit ten
shots each with the tee they normally use and ten shots
with the T-buddy. Each shot was measured for total distance
and dispersion from a center target line.
The results of that test are as follows:
Average
total distance: Testers Tee: 246.7 yards T-buddy: 248.8
yards
The results showed that using the T-buddy produced slightly
longer drives however the difference was less than 1% (margin
of error for a sample size of 10 testers is 3%) which is
not enough to conclude that the use of the T-buddy produces
longer driver tee shots. If the test was conducted at least
3 more times and produced the same or longer results than
it could be statistically concluded that the T-buddy was
a contributing factor in longer drivers.
Average
total dispersion: Testers Tee: 11.3 yards T-buddy: 10.6
yards
Drives made with the T-buddy produced 7% more accurate shots
than with other tees. The margin of error for a sample size
of 10 testers for dispersion is 5%. Thus it can be concluded
that the T-buddy contributed to more accurate shots during
the test. Based on the test results it is fair and reasonable
to state that the T-buddy helps golfers hit more accurate
drives.
Overall,
the testers found that the features and benefits of the
T-buddy make it a golf accessory that will be useful to
a substantial percentage of golfers. GolfTest USA has determined
that the T-buddy is a golf product that is of superior value,
performance and quality. GolfTest USA has confidently awarded
the T-buddy its"Seal of Excellence".
The
GolfTest USA Testing Staff
For
more information on the T-buddy ("U.S. Patent Pending")
go to www.t-buddy.net.
|
