Are you teeing up high enough?

Many golfers just don't tee the ball high enough. How high should you actually tee the ball?  Find out in this article.

 

By now you know my philosophy to club fitting.

 

Give back to the golfer what is due to him.

 

Today’s tip actually doesn’t involve fitting, but will help your drive immediately.  Giving back to you what is due to you, so to speak.

 

And it’s tee height.

 

One of the most common problems we see with amateur golfers is not teeing the ball high enough.

 

And that does 2 things which really robs you of both distance and direction.

 

The optimal impact zone on a driver club face is the above the centre, and the optimal angle of attack, is slightly upwards.

 

In order to achieve both of these, the 3 quarters of the ball needs to be above the club face.

 

A lot of us were taught to tee up with half the ball above the club face.

 

That’s just not high enough.

 

The reason we set up with the ball closer to our front foot is that the bottom of your driver swing is around your sternum, and the club is on an upward path as it impacts the ball.

 

When your ball is not teed high enough, you need to “control” your swing to prevent it clipping the ground. 

 

You will lose speed either way. 

 

Other players try to hit “level” and end up hitting down into the ball. 

 

Not only does this cause a loss of speed and height, both of which will rob you of distance, it also imparts side spin, causing a slice!

 

All these 3 factors mean that you’re not as close to the hole as you should be.

 

Putting these factors together, assuming a difference of 5-7 meters a factor, you could be losing up to 21 meters in your drive.

 

(Honestly, with bad slicers, we see an even bigger distance loss, not to mention the possible OB, deep rough, etc, all of which cost you even more strokes and distance)

 

Putting all that aside, 20 meters could mean the difference between a 6 iron or an 8 or 9 iron for your approach shot.

 

Which would you rather hit?

 

I know, for me, I would take a 9 iron any day.

 

So try it the next time you’re out on the course.

 

Tee your ball 3 quarter above the driver, and see how much straighter and longer you hit it.

 

And if you want to geek out on statistics, and really get into the numbers of your launch angle, spin rates, etc, get in touch, and we can hit some balls at our driving range and get you those numbers!

 

Speak soon!