HEDDY SOROUR
Born in Merrickville and perfected in Perth, Ontario, the BirTee could very well be a game-changer in the world of golf. Its inventor, Mario Caya, a retired elementary school teacher, has found his creation making waves in the indoor golf world.
“I knew he hadn’t made them specifically for simulators, but they’re the perfect solution for indoor golf,” says Jeremy Tufts, a golf enthusiast and YouTube content creator based in Oregon. Tufts, once an extreme cyclist, is passionate about the game and frequently posts golf content on his channel.
“I wish everyone would adopt them because they’ll make you a better golfer,” he adds.
The BirTee, designed by Caya, isn’t your typical golf tee. Shaped like an upside-down badminton birdie, it doesn’t need to be pushed into the ground to support the golf ball. For golfers using simulators, this is a huge advantage over traditional wooden tees, which often break, sending dangerous shards flying backwards into spectators.
“I’ve hit 100,000 balls off these tees, and I haven’t broken a single one,” says Tufts, emphasizing the durability of the product. “They just don’t break.”
Caya’s invention is made from a soft plastic that’s virtually indestructible. The new BirTee Pro Speed Plus takes durability to another level, making it perfect for both indoor simulators and outdoor use.
The real magic, however, lies in the consistency the BirTee provides. With its range of eight heights, golfers can choose the perfect tee for any club—driver, hybrid, iron, wedge, or putter. This consistency leads to more reliable tee shots.
“Once you find the right height, it makes it more consistent. So golfers can use that and get a consistent height and then their drive becomes more consistent,” says Paul Vaillancourt, PGA of Canada Golf Professional, in Smiths Falls.
Tee height is crucial in golf because it affects launch angle, spin rate, and overall accuracy. Getting it right can mean the difference between a perfect shot and a mishit.
“The consistency takes away a lot of the mental stress that comes with the game,” says Caya, who has his own set preferences for tee heights. “I use a number seven tee with my driver about 90 percent of the time. But when it’s windy, I switch to a number six because I want the ball’s flight to be lower.”
As a lifelong teacher, Caya drew on his love for education to create the BirTee’s unique height system. “The number printed on the BirTee, divided by four, gives you the height in inches. So a number one is a quarter inch, number two is a half inch, and so on, up to number eight, which is two inches,” he explains with a grin.
Importantly, the BirTee is approved by both the USGA (United States Golf Association) and the R&A (what used to be the Royal & Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews) for use on greens and in simulators.
The invention even made an appearance in Happy Gilmore 2, much to Caya’s delight. “It was a total surprise,” he laughs. “It’s brought more interviews and a few new orders, which is always nice.”
The story of the BirTee started back in 2005, out of a simple need. Caya, then 42, went golfing with his father-in-law, who was around 66 and needed a hip replacement. Caya, in good shape, thought he could easily beat his father-in-law—but that didn’t happen.
“I shot 128, he shot 103,” Caya chuckles. But it wasn’t just the score that stuck with him. The dry conditions made the ground hard, and his father-in-law struggled to push the tee into the ground, while Caya’s young son, at just three years old, had trouble maintaining a consistent tee height.
For two years, Caya tried to come up with a solution. He had an idea, but it wasn’t until one summer, when he began swinging at an upside-down badminton birdie, that the breakthrough came. One day, as he watched the rubber ball fall off the birdie, the light bulb went off.
Caya spent the next six months working on the height formula and experimenting with prototypes. Living and teaching in Merrickville at the time, he had a box of broken badminton birdies at the school and took them home to trim and test. Finally, with a prototype in hand, he tested it on his father-in-law.
“He wasn’t convinced at first,” recalls Caya, “but we went out early in the morning, before anyone was around. He loved it.”
With the prototype validated, Caya began the patent process and reached out to manufacturers. His lucky break came when he connected with L-D Tool and Die, a Stittsville-based company that went above and beyond to help bring the BirTee to life.
The road to success wasn’t without its challenges. In 2020, Caya was redesigning the BirTee to make it more durable for indoor simulators. At the same time, L-D Tool and Die’s mold for the BirTee broke. The pandemic had driven up the cost of manufacturing, but Lori Dixon, the company’s owner, offered to ship the new mold at cost, saving Caya a hefty $18,000 in fees.
“It was an incredibly generous offer,” says Caya, who immediately offered to pay the $3,000 he would have paid pre-pandemic. This kind of support was invaluable to Caya and helped keep the production going.
Twenty years of design, research, and development later, the BirTee Pro Speed Plus is taking golf by storm. Meanwhile Caya has moved to just west of Perth, where his basement has become the hub for shipping BirTees of all colours and sizes. His family and home have become a testament to his dedication to the product and his customers.
He says he wanted to make something that would really help people. Each redesign was meant to improve the product for the golfers who use it. Whether it’s durability, visibility for cameras, or making it easier for individuals to purchase. Every step has been taken with the customer in mind.”
Today, golfers can purchase the BirTee in a range of eight colours, each in eight different sizes. Customers can buy one size or opt for the full set. Single packs of between two and three of one size are priced at $14.99, a pack of eight different sizes is priced at $24.99. The minimum order is $60.
The BirTee, in all its forms, reflects its inventor: thoughtful, caring, and deeply committed to improving the game for others.
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