I hadn't played Coronado in years, and I found an unusual tee in the fairway (see below). It seems unusual to find a tee in the fairway as well, but that's a different topic. Anyway, I suspected that the tee was illegal.
ChatGPT tells me that it's a FlightPath golf tee. I suspected that it would be illegal due to the arrow on the right side of this picture. The equipment rules (Rule 6.2 covers tees) explicitly say that a tee may not be designed or manufactured in a way that it could indicate line of play. The arrow on the right side, and the shape when you look from above clearly indicate line of play to me. But FlightPath seems to have received an exception that allows the tee. Specifically, USGA Decisions #2017-0650 and #2018-0219 indicate that the tee is legal.
Huh. Maybe it's because you can't really see the line indicators when there's a ball on the tee?
The rules also say that the tee may not "unduly influence the movement of the ball" or "otherwise assist the player in making a stroke." It looks like it's designed to influence the launch to me, but I guess not.
FlightPath notes on the product page that it's USGA Approved. And they even brag that their "patented directional design reduces friction and spin so you drive farther and hit straighter — every round."
Huh, again.
Unrelated - Should it be "farther" or "further?"
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