The Right Height: Teeing Your Ball Correctly

You can have the right stance, a textbook grip, the perfect swing, and an A plus follow through, but if the ball isn't where it's suppose to be, all that will be for not.

Knowing how to tee your ball correctly is an essential part of the game of golf, and it's absolutely vital if you hope to get out of the tee box with any bit of dignity. Today, we'll discuss choosing the right height at which to tee your ball so that you don't end up sending it hopping down the fairway.

The height you ultimately choose will depend mostly on the type of clyb you're using. Generally speaking, the more distance on your club of choice, the higher your ball should be.

Short Range Clubs

If the hole you're playing is a par 3 of 150 yards or leass, you may want to consider not using a tee at all. Your short clubs were made to go down and dig a ball out of the grass, putting a little elevation between it and the ground. Essentially, at this short of a range, the purpose of the tee shouldn't as much be to give your ball height, but more to improve the quality of your lie.

If you are using a seven iron or higher, and you do choose to use a tee, only give yourself the slightest bit of height. The very top of the tee should be just above the ground level, so that the tee itself is almost flush with the grass.

Mid to Long Range Clubs

Longer irons, like the three, four, five, and six irons, tend to hit their best when the ball is teed to a height somewhere in the neighborhood of a quarter to a half inch off the ground. Anything more, and you may run the risk of chopping so far underneath the ball that you don't hit it squarely, sending the ball straight up in the air and everywhere but the general direction of the pin.

3 and 5 Wood

Getting away from the irons, the height of your tee will depend primarily on the size of your club. For smaller, heavier woods, your ball will probably end up quite a bit lower than it would if you were driving an oversize titanium.

Go ahead and stick the tee in the ground and put the ball on top at an arbitrary height. Now, place your driver on the ground, and take a look at the ball relative to the club head. Ideally for these clubs (meaning any wood but your driver), the top half of the ball should rest above the top of your club. If more than half of the ball is above the top of your club head when you place it right next to the tee, push the tee down lower. If not enough of the ball is above the club head, pull it up.

The Driver

Just like with the three and five woods, the tee height will depend on the size of your club head when you are using your driver. Most club manufacturers put the "sweet spot" of the driver in the upper 1/3 of the club. In that case, do the same as you would have if you were using one of the lesser drivers, but this time, allow about two-thirds to three-quarters of the ball to rise above the top of the club head.