I came up to the lesson tee recently to see a student of mine
warming up before we started when it struck me that this person
like many others doesn’t have the correct concept on how high you
should tee a ball up.
I came up to the lesson tee recently to see a student of mine warming up before we started when it struck me that this person like many others doesn’t have the correct concept on how high you should tee a ball up.
Tee height varies with the club you are hitting because the attack angle or the angle you strike the ball at varies. The last thing you want to have happen is to make a good swing and not reap the rewards because the ball was not positioned correctly for you to hit.
When teeing up an iron on a par 3, merely tee the ball up 1/4 to 1/2 inch off the ground. You are just trying to simulate a perfect lie in the fairway. The ball should be sitting up so the middle of the ball is in the middle of the club. A common mistake that a lot of players make is they tee up an iron as high as a driver (1+ inches). This causes one of two things and both are bad.
First, if you make a good swing, you will make contact too high up on the club and the ball will go nowhere. Secondly, with the ball teed up that high it promotes some players to tilt their shoulders upward to try and hit the ball on the upswing. This results on a higher shot that usually falls well short of the target.
So when teeing off with an iron continue to take that divot after impact as if the ball were on the ground. Make contact with the tee and the ball will be struck much more solid. Don’t try to hit it like a driver.
Remember when all else fails take a lesson, you’ll be surprised how much we can help.
To schedule a lesson with PGA-certified instructor Don DeLorenzo, call Gilroy GC at 848-0490.
