Tee Height for Driver

[Obee]

Hola!

 

I noticed something last time I went to a Tour event that I'm not sure is "true" across the group, or just true with the dozen or so I observed: The pros, on average, seemed to tee their balls LOWER than the average player (and certainly lower than I had gotten into the habit of doing).

 

Anyone else notice this? I'm not talking about when Sergio hits his choke-down, cut driver where he tees it super low, either. I'm talking about on a standard drive where they are trying to bomb it out there.

 

 

[jholz]

Yes, absolutely. I'm certainly no tour player, but I follow the same practice.

 

I've never understood why anyone needs anything longer that a standard 2 1/4" inch tee, even with today's massive driver heads.

[Soloman1]

Speculating that "optimizing" distance with a +3-+5 AoA didn't stick with PGA Tour players like with LPGA or amateurs. Dispersion was up and they generate enough speed to not warrant a high AoA. A lower tee height matches the slightly downward AoA of tour players.

[jholz]

> @Soloman1 said:

> Speculating that "optimizing" distance with a +3-+5 AoA didn't stick with PGA Tour players like with LPGA or amateurs. Dispersion was up and they generate enough speed to not warrant a high AoA. A lower tee height matches the slightly downward AoA of tour players.

 

Interesting. My brother always instructed me to tee the ball lower for control, which seems to fit this theory. Given the shorter course lengths played by amateurs, I wonder if many of us would benefit from teeing the ball lower and finding the fairway more often.

[davep043]

> @jholz said:

> > @Soloman1 said:

> > Speculating that "optimizing" distance with a +3-+5 AoA didn't stick with PGA Tour players like with LPGA or amateurs. Dispersion was up and they generate enough speed to not warrant a high AoA. A lower tee height matches the slightly downward AoA of tour players.

>

> Interesting. My brother always instructed me to tee the ball lower for control, which seems to fit this theory. Given the shorter course lengths played by amateurs, **I wonder if many of us would benefit from teeing the ball lower and finding the fairway more often. **

 

This gets into the trade-off between being closer to the hole most (maybe all) of the time as compared to being in the rough a little more often.

[jholz]

> @davep043 said:

> > @jholz said:

> > > @Soloman1 said:

> > > Speculating that "optimizing" distance with a +3-+5 AoA didn't stick with PGA Tour players like with LPGA or amateurs. Dispersion was up and they generate enough speed to not warrant a high AoA. A lower tee height matches the slightly downward AoA of tour players.

> >

> > Interesting. My brother always instructed me to tee the ball lower for control, which seems to fit this theory. Given the shorter course lengths played by amateurs, **I wonder if many of us would benefit from teeing the ball lower and finding the fairway more often. **

>

> This gets into the trade-off between being closer to the hole most (maybe all) of the time as compared to being in the rough a little more often.

 

Well, _STATISTICS SHOW_... Ha, ha. I'm totally joking. I'm not trying to elicit that debate and I suppose I could have phrased my point better.

 

I'm not thinking about the rough. I'm thinking about lost strokes - water, OB, or unplayable in the trees. I know that I, for one, really benefit from eliminating that.

[Obee]

It was enough lower than my expectation that it really stood out. Several of the players had the ball teed to where only 1/3 or less was above the crown at address. I'd actually love to see a study on tee height by pros. Some are high, for sure.

[Moo]

I tee the ball low. But, I think any thoughts about tee height have to be done relative to ball position.

 

While I'm certain this is not the norm, I have two driver set-ups. One is more forward and with a higher tee (still pretty low compared with how high I see most people set it up). I use this set up when I want to hit it high and as long as possible. I am always trying to hit up on it and fully release well after impact. My second type of set-up is a lower tee height and the ball slightly back...maybe an inch inside my left heel. I use this set-up with a slightly different face angle and it promotes a nice controlled draw. I never think about hitting up on this set-up, but rather just cleanly through the ball.

 

With either set-up, the ball is never more than 1/2 ball above the crown. In the lower type set-up the ball is maybe 1/3 above the crown.

 

Sometimes my ball flight is too low with either set-up and tee height, but it shapes well, so it goes on target.

 

I should add, I started doing this second type drive set-up after playing many rounds with the very best player on our regular course. He tees the ball much lower than anyone I play with, and he also hits it 30-40 yards past me on average (his average drive is probably 280 to 290).

[scooterhd2]

i generally tee the ball lower than most of my playing partners. i recently figured out that the worst drives i've ever hit have been when i have a strong tail wind., which is so frustrating because that's your chance to bomb one. Except I was trying too hard to bomb them. I thought I was swinging too hard, then I realized i was still having accuracy issues. Finally realized I was subconsciously teeing the ball higher trying to get more height. Doesn't work well for me. Brings the deep deep right side into play.

[cxx]

Why look at anyone else's tee height? Determine your tee height by where on the face you hit the ball, preferably a little above the center line.

[jgard320]

I noticed this when I watched Monte hit a few drives in person. I was shocked at how low it was teed, and even asked him if he meant to tee it that low. He said, "oh yeah..." and then smashed one out of the back of the range. I haven't teed a ball high since. I notice little to no difference in launch/spin, and I'm less prone to the big miss.

[aenemated]

I got buddies that tee it so there's like half a ball above the crown and I'm like ... HOW? I do that, the ball's shooting straight up and leaving a nice idiot mark. Learned that lesson the hard way many years ago.

 

I go so the top of the ball is about even, maybe SLIGHTLY above the crown. But I also don't play the ball super far forward in my stance.

[jholz]

I see guys who tee it so high, that most of the ball is above the face of their driver. I always wonder what kind of funky adjustments they have to make in their downswing to hit the ball off the face.

 

If I did that, I'm reasonably certain that the tee would be further down the fairway than the ball.

[Barfolomew]

From watching the TV closely many tee it so the top of club is in the middle of the ball.... any lower then that would be considered on the low side compared to most pros...

 

I personally like to hit the driver really high so I tee it high but I get good distance that way.... I think I kill the spin so it flies (need to get on LM to see if true)

[GLF4EVR]

Always had the ball teed low in my teens & now that I am in the early 60's. My favorite is playing with someone who keeps telling me I need to tee the ball higher, then finally gives me one of their vampire stakes to use. I break the tee in half then use it. Hit a nice controlled drive down the middle and turn to say, "thanks, that worked out just fine". I never hear about it again.

[Ri_Redneck]

Played it low during the persimmon and early metal wood years, but with the low spin heads today, I barely stick the tee in the ground! However, I hover and it really doesn't matter how high it is. I could hit it off a soda bottle if I wanted to.

 

BT

[bladehunter]

> @Ri_Redneck said:

> Played it low during the persimmon and early metal wood years, but with the low spin heads today, I barely stick the tee in the ground! However, I hover and it really doesn't matter how high it is. I could hit it off a soda bottle if I wanted to.

>

> BT

 

I do exactly the same.

 

And I used to tee it so that the ball didn’t peak above the crown. Hovering it and teeing it high is what led to my great driver game now. For some reason it gets me to around a zeroed our AOA consistently. Teed low I’m around -4

[BMC]

Just had a Champions Tour event at our course. Most tee it low to very low.

[ThinkingPlus]

I have been trying to go a little higher and have started using longer tees some. For me I need the ball from 1/2 to 2/3 of ball above crown. My last LM session a few years ago had me in the neighborhood of +2 - +3 AOA though.

[tgoodspe1991]

Driving the ball used to be the #1 strength of my game. I was very accurate and consistently long, averaging over 300y total distance, when I was at my best +4.5 handicap. Over the years, my game has gotten slightly worse, but I’ve noticed a significant decrease in driving performance. It’s gotten downright horrible at times.

To make a long story short, the culprit was teeing the ball too high. I suppose I had watched some videos of Rory and noticed his tee height, so to get some extra power I started teeing mine up higher. Over time, I started developing a nasty thin or toe miss, so I put the ball higher, same miss, higher, worse miss.

I was on a Trackman a few weeks ago and basically it turns out I’m teeing the ball way too high, which is causing me to put the ball way too far forward in my stance, which leads to a lot of thin, or toe misses, pulled shots, hooks, and weak fades. My attack angle was 5-6* up and peak height was sometimes 140-150ft!

The ball was teed to where you could probably see 3/4 of it from above the club head. Anyway, we teed it way down, to me it looked like 3W height or something. The ball looked completely underneath the crown of the club face. Immediately this made me want to put the ball further back in my stance, to what literally felt like a 7-iron position. First strike was dead out of the middle, perfect little draw, highest ball speed of the day at 181mph. It felt like I was hitting down on the ball but actually I was still 1-2* up, which is perfect. Launch came down, peak height came down to ~100ft, and I gained distance.

Just goes to show you that often we can be out in the course and slowly messing with things over time and get ourselves into a big mess. It all comes back to the fundamentals!

[dpb5031]

Yes Obee, agree entirely. Interesting because all of the major golf publications have been advocating "tee it high" and swing up on it for years now. It's never worked well for me. I tee it so about 1/3 of the ball is above the crown of my driver when it's soled behind the ball.

[isaacbm]

Most guys on tour don’t play to maximize launch conditions. They swing fast enough that control trumps distance. Lots of guys leave 20 yards on the table. Makes it even more impressive how good Rory is! He swings all out and 4 up and still hits it straight!!

[OrangeGravy]

I suffered this same tee height migration over time. I only discovered it after my driver broke and I had to use an old TriMetal driver with a face shallower than current 3w's. Once I went back to a 460cc head and put that first tee down to where I used to, it just didn't feel right. I lowered it to about 1/2 the ball above the crown and the results were much more consistent.

OT: I wish someone would make a modern shallow driver. I was in the fairway all day with that TriMetal, just a bit shorter.

[Boricua Golf]

For me, I tend to tee it up, as mentioned above, 1/2 a ball over the crown, for normal playing, it I need to hit a fade (don't ask me why) I tee it up with the top of the ball even with the crown (lower), and it works for me every time...

[nitram]

Just remember that the tour average AOA is -2.

[llewol007]

I tee mine lower now due to the launch angle I get with the Callaway Epic that I have, usually about 1/2 the ball above the crown. Remembering back when the SLDR was popular, I had to have 2/3 of the ball above the crown to launch it high enough. Depends how they come at the ball and the launch angle they are trying to get. These guys get on flight trac, Tracman, whatever it maybe so they get to dial it in pretty exact.

[ThinkingPlus]

That's cause the boys are less efficient than the girls. ;-) Ladies are +2. If you have ball speed to burn then a negative AOA provides a little more control in the fairway. If you are scratching and clawing for every yard then plus AOA is the ticket.

[Hawkeye77]

Darn, just one more thing I’d be better at if I got in touch with my inner girl!

[Pepperturbo]

Obee's observation is mine as well. Unless conditions merit getting the ball up in the jet stream - tour guys look for ball control and less dispersion so the ball is teed lower.

When I want to take advantage of a jet-stream or need more distance, like yesterday, I choke down on the handle another 1", tee the ball higher and hit the ball as hard as I can with a slight negative AoA. A much younger friend that normally out drives me by 20-30yds saw me catching up to his ball yesterday when I would let loose a drive. That's when he tries harder to hit the ball further but it doesn't work. I think like tour guys, want my ball in the fairway as often as possible. In other words, I don't hit it as hard as I can. The other aspect that's fun to watch how much younger guys react to an old guy getting it out there near or past them.

 

[GSDriver]

I've teed the ball same height, more or less as measured by my knuckles hitting the ground, for oh 30 years or more. I tried the taller tees when it was 'a thing', didn't find any benefit. 2 3/4" are all I use or need.