Sourcing golf tees from China

Golf tees: 2% duty under the candidate golf line

Read from the UK Trade Tariff on 29 September 2026, heading 9506 covers sports and outdoor-game equipment, including golf equipment. Other golf equipment under 9506 39 90 00 is the candidate line for golf tees. The comparison rows cover clubs, balls and club parts; they are not alternative descriptions of tees.

The selected golf lines carry 2% duty on goods from China, with no anti-dumping or countervailing measures and no suspensions recorded. The tee candidate line also carries cat and dog fur import and export controls: imports and exports of that fur and products made from it are banned. Ordinary wood, bamboo or plastic tees should be specified without fur. A cultural-goods export licence measure is also attached; confirm its relevance with your customs broker if exporting.

Confirm the commodity code using the finished tee, its material and intended use before costing the order. For branded buying across a wider product range, see promotional merchandise.

Specify the shaft, cup and printed finish

Specify wood, bamboo or the named plastic material, overall length, shaft diameter, cup shape and any height-setting shoulder. Agree dimensional tolerances on a drawing rather than accepting a photograph. Ask for samples that support a ball steadily and enter the intended playing surface without the shaft bending.

Fix the colour, coating, logo position and artwork orientation. Compare print adhesion and surface finish against an approved sample. For consumer tees supplied in Great Britain, the general product safety rules require safe products. Assess splinters, moulding burrs and breakage in practical use, and keep the results with the product specification.

Worked duty example

Illustrative example, not a quote: Illustrative order of 15,000 printed golf tees under 9506 39 90 00, invoiced at £2,500 free on board, with £350 of freight and insurance to the UK. The customs value is £2,850. Duty at 2% is £57. Import VAT at 20% is charged on the customs value plus duty, £2,907, so it is £581.40. Import taxes total £638.40; a VAT-registered importer can usually reclaim the VAT, so the lasting cost is the £57 of duty. The import duty and VAT guide explains each step.

Inspection checklist

Geometry: check length, shaft straightness, cup symmetry and ball stability against the approved drawing and sample.

Finish: check wood for splits and splinters, and moulded tees for burrs, rough seams and distorted cups.

Use and print: check insertion into the intended surface, behaviour during a strike and logo resistance to rubbing.

Packing: check pack quantities, mixed colours, carton identification and moisture damage on arrival. Agree the sampling approach through quality inspection.

What goes wrong

A tee can look right in a photograph but have a crooked shaft or an uneven cup that will not hold the ball steadily. Wood can split along the grain, plastic can bend during insertion, and printed logos can smear or rub off. Damp packing can leave wooden tees stained or mouldy.

Keep approved samples for each material and finish, prohibit unapproved substitutions in the purchase specification, and inspect finished packed stock before dispatch. Repeat the functional checks on arrival rather than judging the order only by the artwork.

Cambridge China Bridge sources these products for UK businesses, checking the factory and the documents before shipment. See factory verification. For own-brand ranges, see sourcing for brands.