To Tee Or Not To Tee, That Is the Question

Hello. Interesting point made by the ABC crew on Sunday. They mentioned most of the golf tees in the US are made from birch trees (bamboo trees may take over), with over 100,000 trees used a year. The idea was raised as to whether or not it's time for the PGA Tour to stop using golf tees altogether. Make every tee shot be hit from the grass.
The speculation was not only would it save trees, but also cut down on the professional's driving distances. The current drivers would have to probably be replaced with more lofted drivers (like 2-woods, or "brassies" used to be"). And more skill would probably be required to hit these shots.
I like this idea in theory, but unfortunately I see one issue with it. The walking traffic a tee gets is quite extreme in a PGA Tour event. Players later in the day would have a tough time finding a lie that didn't have a shoe print or divot. And if it rained, the teeing area would obviously be very soft, making it even tougher to find a spot.
Would the compromise solution be to have a piece of artificial turf for the players to place their ball on? Just enough for the ball only, not the feet? Would players be able to share it? Would it cut down on the driving averages?
An interesting avenue to take on reducing driving distances, because the solutions are simple and inexpensive. I'll have to ponder this further. Please share your thoughts.

Regards,
Steve