Tee Height

[fixyurdivot]

Last week, playing some some cold (really cold) strong wind, I lowered by typical tee height a bit in attempt to lower my ball flight.  It seemed to work, but maybe I just got lucky?  I most commonly buy/use 2-3/4" tees.  I really don't pay close attention to my tee height but would guess it to be around 2 to 2-1/4".  Based on my ball marks, that seems to keep me in the centroid pretty well with slightly high and toe drift.  I see folks teeing balls barely an inch off the deck and some using "Texas Tee's that look more like a t-ball game.  I've read some articles/threads about "teeing it forward" but not so much about determining optimum tee height - or when one might want to tee higher or lower than normal to effect ball flight. 

So what's your strategy and preference for tee height - and how did you come to this conclusion?  Do you pay close attention to this or just stab it in the turf, place the ball, and smash it?  Anyone know how the top caliber players and pros establish this - please don't tell me I should get a tee fitting .

[PlaidJacket]

I don't really give it much thought. I suppose I've played so much for so long that I can feel and see the proper height most of the time. I will at times make a quick check by placing my driver behind it after sticking it in the ground with a ball. Teeing it forward and Tee height are two different things. Teeing it forward refers to and means playing a set of tees more forward on the tee box. Not a golf tee.

[BIG STU]

I am exactly like Plaid on that one. I do know my late Shop partner Big John described me as teeing the ball at "Traditional" height. I tee it at the same height whether playing persimmon or modern metal. If hitting a fairway wood or hybrid off the tee I do not tee it up at all. If the tee does not have any grass and I am forced to tee up in that situation I will tee up with a tee and hit either a 2,3 or 4 iron, For some reason and I know it is in my mind I tend to pop up a fairway wood or hybrid teed up.

Edit BTW Plaid I check it the exact way you do--- If it looks good to my eye I hit it 

Edited October 25, 2019 by BIG STU

[fixyurdivot]

46 minutes ago, PlaidJacket said:

I don't really give it much thought. I suppose I've played so much for so long that I can feel and see the proper height most of the time. I will at times make a quick check by placing my driver behind it after sticking it in the ground with a ball. Teeing it forward and Tee height are two different things. Teeing it forward refers to and means playing a set of tees more forward on the tee box. Not a golf tee.

Sorry for the confusion, I'm referring to leaning the tee forward... perhaps known by another term?

 

[BIG STU]

2 hours ago, fixyurdivot said:

Last week, playing some some cold (really cold) strong wind, I lowered by typical tee height a bit in attempt to lower my ball flight.  It seemed to work, but maybe I just got lucky?  I most commonly buy/use 2-3/4" tees.  I really don't pay close attention to my tee height but would guess it to be around 2 to 2-1/4".  Based on my ball marks, that seems to keep me in the centroid pretty well with slightly high and toe drift.  I see folks teeing balls barely an inch off the deck and some using "Texas Tee's that look more like a t-ball game.  I've read some articles/threads about "teeing it forward" but not so much about determining optimum tee height - or when one might want to tee higher or lower than normal to effect ball flight. 

So what's your strategy and preference for tee height - and how did you come to this conclusion?  Do you pay close attention to this or just stab it in the turf, place the ball, and smash it?  Anyone know how the top caliber players and pros establish this - please don't tell me I should get a tee fitting .

I am going to apologize first off because I did not answer your question first. Now this is strictly my opinion. First off I say it is whatever fits your eye. It also has to do with your ball position. FTR I do not place my ball as far forward in my stance as the gurus of the modern game say to. It also has to do with an individual's angle of attack. I also hit a low baby cut which I have confidence and control in. The guys at the beach call it either a "Stuey Stinger" or the "North Charlotte Saute". The last part is me being from North Charlotte NC. I always have been of the opinion that it is an individual thing on what ever fits your eye and style

[BIG STU]

3 minutes ago, fixyurdivot said:

Sorry for the confusion, I'm referring to leaning the tee forward... perhaps known by another term?

OK I know what you mean now. Yep some guys do it and they even make tees that do it too. Me for some reason it does not fit my eye and again I think I am like Plaid in that respect that we have been playing golf so long we are ingrained into what fits our eye. But there is absolutely nothing wrong with leaning the tee forward if it works for you. It will be interesting to see what other members comments are on this. BTW most people think I am nuts because I tee the modern driver so low but I do what works for me

[cnosil]

The theoretical optimum tee height is half the ball above the topline of the driver.  I have also see advice to tee it higher to hook  and lower to fade.   The goal is to be consistent in height to strike the ball in the same location.  I actually use the length of my thumb to determine height;  I push the ball and tee into the ground until the tip of my thumb touches the ground.   If I want a little lower flight I will push the tee a bit more into the ground.  

[russtopherb]

I've started teeing higher after a couple of rounds of dreadful driver play. I used foot spray on my driver face to see where I was making contact. Using a longer tee and setting up with the ball just off of center, closer to the toe has made a noticeable difference in ballflight and consistency. 

[edingc]

I use the Epoch striped tees from Evolve Golf. I like the stripes because they do help with maintaining a consistent height. They were somewhat pricey (for tees, that is), something like $12 for 30 3-1/4" tees and 10 short tees for irons, but I lasted the entire season on that pack and still have at least 10 new ones left for the start of next year.

I found the ideal height using foot powder. For me, the second ring from the bottom should be at ground level. Seem to get pretty good contact consistency with that.

 

[CarlH]

I confess to not really being too consistent with regards to my tee height, although I do prefer a higher tee for most tee shots.  I tend to hit my driver lower than desired, despite making efforts to get better launch angles.  I should probably pay more attention to a more consistent ball height in relation to the driver....it couldn't hurt, that's for sure.

[HardcoreLooper]

3 hours ago, cnosil said:

The theoretical optimum tee height is half the ball above the topline of the driver.

This is what we teach our kids at TFT.  But personally, I live in fear of the quick hook with the driver, so I like to see the equator of the ball a little below the top of the club.  If I tee it a little low, I feel like I have to cut it to get the ball off the ground.  I know it's all in my head, but as my teacher likes to say "what you feel ain't real."

I've also just finally started hovering the club off the ground at address, and it's made a world of difference.

[BIG STU]

4 hours ago, HardcoreLooper said:

This is what we teach our kids at TFT.  But personally, I live in fear of the quick hook with the driver, so I like to see the equator of the ball a little below the top of the club.  If I tee it a little low, I feel like I have to cut it to get the ball off the ground.  I know it's all in my head, but as my teacher likes to say "what you feel ain't real."

I've also just finally started hovering the club off the ground at address, and it's made a world of difference.

You nailed it!! Exactly why I tee the ball like I stated--- I also fear the hook or really worse the rope hook. I had rope hook problems early on in my golfing life and it will crop up every now and again. One positive thing about getting older I do not swing as fast or as hard as I used to so the rope hook tends not to pop up much anymore. Trust me my rope hooks are nasty left laterals. One of the reasons I stand open stance and cut across the ball some my anti hook swing. And yes it used to be so nasty I have rope hooked a wedge before

[BIG STU]

6 hours ago, edingc said:

I use the Epoch striped tees from Evolve Golf. I like the stripes because they do help with maintaining a consistent height. They were somewhat pricey (for tees, that is), something like $12 for 30 3-1/4" tees and 10 short tees for irons, but I lasted the entire season on that pack and still have at least 10 new ones left for the start of next year.

I found the ideal height using foot powder. For me, the second ring from the bottom should be at ground level. Seem to get pretty good contact consistency with that.

 

Nothing at all wrong with that if it works for you---- Me at 62 years of age I like OP tees ( other peoples) and I have never bought a tee in my life. Believe it or not I still have tees from my old man's course in real tin coffee cans. My other buddy and former sponsor owns a pancake house and gives free tees to golfers with the name printed on them. They are colorful but most folks do not like the pink ones. ---- Yep you guessed it I will game them--- In fact I walked in the other day and he told the cute little Brunette cashier get out the bag with the pink tees--- She looked at me and said " you must be the pink tee guy". Come to find out on a slow day he had her digging pink tees out of the box. LOL I felt sorry for her and bought her lunch of course with her employee discount.

[perseveringgolfer]

Broken tees are the ONLY tee I will use on a par three.

[HardcoreLooper]

15 hours ago, BIG STU said:

You nailed it!! Exactly why I tee the ball like I stated--- I also fear the hook or really worse the rope hook. I had rope hook problems early on in my golfing life and it will crop up every now and again. One positive thing about getting older I do not swing as fast or as hard as I used to so the rope hook tends not to pop up much anymore. Trust me my rope hooks are nasty left laterals. One of the reasons I stand open stance and cut across the ball some my anti hook swing. And yes it used to be so nasty I have rope hooked a wedge before

Oh yeah. There's nothing worse than aiming 40 yards into the right rough and still winding up in the trees left.  Like Trevino said, "You can talk to a fade, but a hook won't listen."

Edited October 26, 2019 by HardcoreLooper
Damn autocorrect

[perseveringgolfer]

20 minutes ago, HardcoreLooper said:

Oh yeah. There's nothing worse than aiming 40 yards into the right rough and still winding up in the trees left.  Like Trevino said, "You can talk to a cafe, but a hook won't listen."

autocorrect by any chance 

[fixyurdivot]

10 hours ago, HardcoreLooper said:

I've also just finally started hovering the club off the ground at address, and it's made a world of differenc

What is the difference you are seeing; distance, dispersion, trajectory?  I do see a fair amount of players doing this.  It looks kind of awkward to me (I need to try it)..  Part of my purpose for the thread was to see if any adjust tee height to influence ball flight.  My example was hitting into stiff headwind.  Sounds like others lower the tee to lower ball flight so perhaps my results were not just luck.  It would seem to me that hitting low of center is better than hitting high of center - so teeing too high introduces more problems?

I think the tee "leaning" forward is to improve forward spin (or perhaps reduce reverse spin).  I have been using this technique for awhile now but really can't say whether it's helping.  I think a question like this is where tests using Iron Byron would help.

[tony@CIC]

16 hours ago, fixyurdivot said:

Last week, playing some some cold (really cold) strong wind, I lowered by typical tee height a bit in attempt to lower my ball flight.  It seemed to work, but maybe I just got lucky?  I most commonly buy/use 2-3/4" tees.  I really don't pay close attention to my tee height but would guess it to be around 2 to 2-1/4".  Based on my ball marks, that seems to keep me in the centroid pretty well with slightly high and toe drift.  I see folks teeing balls barely an inch off the deck and some using "Texas Tee's that look more like a t-ball game.  I've read some articles/threads about "teeing it forward" but not so much about determining optimum tee height - or when one might want to tee higher or lower than normal to effect ball flight. 

So what's your strategy and preference for tee height - and how did you come to this conclusion?  Do you pay close attention to this or just stab it in the turf, place the ball, and smash it?  Anyone know how the top caliber players and pros establish this - please don't tell me I should get a tee fitting .

This has been a game changing year for my drives. Some of that positive change is attributable to my 410, some of it to the lesson earlier this year - but also it's the consistency in my set-up. I pay a lot of attention to grip, ball position and ball height. So to more specifically answer your question I use a 2 3/4 tee that is set into the ground at the blue mark I drew on the tee in the picture (about 1 5/8"). My ball position is also at the instep. This is probably all psychological but it works for me and I guess that's all that matters. 

[tony@CIC]

7 minutes ago, fixyurdivot said:

What is the difference you are seeing; distance, dispersion, trajectory?  I do see a fair amount of players doing this.  It looks kind of awkward to me (I need to try it)..  Part of my purpose for the thread was to see if any adjust tee height to influence ball flight.  My example was hitting into stiff headwind.  Sounds like others lower the tee to lower ball flight so perhaps my results were not just luck.  It would seem to me that hitting low of center is better than hitting high of center - so teeing too high introduces more problems?

I think the tee "leaning" forward is to improve forward spin (or perhaps reduce reverse spin).  I have been using this technique for awhile now but really can't say whether it's helping.  I think a question like this is where tests using Iron Byron would help.

One additional point  - with a strong headwind or back wind I make a slight change to ball position (relative to my instep) vs. tee height. And again that seems to work for me. 

[PlaidJacket]

14 hours ago, BIG STU said:

First off I say it is whatever fits your eye. It also has to do with your ball position. FTR I do not place my ball as far forward in my stance as the gurus of the modern game say to. It also has to do with an individual's angle of attack.

Exactly Stu. My natural and comfortable ball position is also slightly back from where modern teachings say the ball should be positioned. My AOA is not as positive as some players. Currently my driver is 11* which I guess compensates to some extent. None the less I'm able to produce a mid-high ball flight with an easy draw. So, the combination of tee height, ball position, AOA, and swing all factor into the scheme of things.

[Shankster]

I’ve been toying around with this since moving to the one plane thing.

Depending on what type of shot I want to play is how high, and orientation in then stance.

I have put it way up off my left toe with a really high tee to hit that super low spin high bomb... and back a bit farther for a normal drive, and a bit lower. Very positive AOA with this swing on the driver.

Can’t wait to go get fitted next month to get some actual numbers and get a driver dialed in finally.

[BIG STU]

6 hours ago, PlaidJacket said:

Exactly Stu. My natural and comfortable ball position is also slightly back from where modern teachings say the ball should be positioned. My AOA is not as positive as some players. Currently my driver is 11* which I guess compensates to some extent. None the less I'm able to produce a mid-high ball flight with an easy draw. So, the combination of tee height, ball position, AOA, and swing all factor into the scheme of things.

Like I said before guys like you and I have played enough years and know our game good enough to where we need to be as far as stance and ball position

[BIG STU]

6 hours ago, Shankster said:

I’ve been toying around with this since moving to the one plane thing.

Depending on what type of shot I want to play is how high, and orientation in then stance.

I have put it way up off my left toe with a really high tee to hit that super low spin high bomb... and back a bit farther for a normal drive, and a bit lower. Very positive AOA with this swing on the driver.

Can’t wait to go get fitted next month to get some actual numbers and get a driver dialed in finally.

Back when I could really swing I had a natural loop of the club to get it back on my proper plane> It was all subconscious sometimes I did it sometimes I did not. I used to tell people I had more planes than Delta Airlines. In fact I played a while back with one of my buds from the old old days. He remarked I had lost the loop to which my buddy the Miura dealer told him " he does not pull it back far enough to get it off plane and auto correct anymore"

[HardcoreLooper]

10 hours ago, fixyurdivot said:

What is the difference you are seeing; distance, dispersion, trajectory?  I do see a fair amount of players doing this.  It looks kind of awkward to me (I need to try it)..  Part of my purpose for the thread was to see if any adjust tee height to influence ball flight.  My example was hitting into stiff headwind.  Sounds like others lower the tee to lower ball flight so perhaps my results were not just luck.  It would seem to me that hitting low of center is better than hitting high of center - so teeing too high introduces more problems?

I think the tee "leaning" forward is to improve forward spin (or perhaps reduce reverse spin).  I have been using this technique for awhile now but really can't say whether it's helping.  I think a question like this is where tests using Iron Byron would help.

My dispersion is much better. The club feels heavier, so it seems to slow me down a bit. 

[RI_Redneck]

From the time I started playing in 72 till I got my first low-spin driver, I need the ball one finger width above the ground. Once I move to the new low-spin stuff, I had trouble getting the proper trajectory. Now, I tee it as high as I can, hover the club at address and play the ball so I catch it just after I reach the low point of my swing. Try to get an AoA of 1-3 degrees. Gives me the best combination of launch and spin. That's strictly for the driver though. Everything else is off the deck. I do typically bump up the turf about 1/4" on the tee box for FWs & long irons.

BT

Sent from my XT1585 using MyGolfSpy mobile app

[jd1993]

I found this thread and saw that TXG just did a YouTube video on tee height with some really interesting insights

 

Edited May 7, 2020 by jd1993

[AmishJason]

These are the kind of topics I love finding on the MGS forums.  This gives me ideas of things to work on and try out to see if it helps my game.  I couldn't tell you what tees are for sale at the pro shop of the course I frequent, but I've been just buying plain wooden tees from Walmart.  Pride Golf I believe.  I saw some this year that have a blue ring on them and that has helped dramatically with my tee height consistency.  I've been using the bottom of the blue stripe to achieve 3/4 of the ball above the club head, but it sounds to me like sliding down to get the ball only halfway above or somewhere in between might be in my favor.  Most of the time I fight a nasty slice, but I have had a few really good draws.

[tony@CIC]

3 hours ago, AmishJason said:

These are the kind of topics I love finding on the MGS forums.  This gives me ideas of things to work on and try out to see if it helps my game.  I couldn't tell you what tees are for sale at the pro shop of the course I frequent, but I've been just buying plain wooden tees from Walmart.  Pride Golf I believe.  I saw some this year that have a blue ring on them and that has helped dramatically with my tee height consistency.  I've been using the bottom of the blue stripe to achieve 3/4 of the ball above the club head, but it sounds to me like sliding down to get the ball only halfway above or somewhere in between might be in my favor.  Most of the time I fight a nasty slice, but I have had a few really good draws.

I use the ones from Walmart as well  - but the 2 3/4 in plastic ones. I regularly break the wooden ones and the plastic ones last a long time. 

FYI you should also read an accompanying thread on ball position - which also contains the link to a follow-up TXG video.  

 

[AmishJason]

1 hour ago, tony@CIC said:

I use the ones from Walmart as well  - but the 2 3/4 in plastic ones. I regularly break the wooden ones and the plastic ones last a long time. 

FYI you should also read an accompanying thread on ball position - which also contains the link to a follow-up TXG video.  

 

I've tried plastic tees before and I haven't really been impressed.  My wife got me some kind of boxed set off Amazon for Father's Day that included 4 Callaway Par Tees.  Nothing spectacular happened with ball performance off of them and they aren't as indestructible as claimed.  I believe I threw away the one that got a significant tear in the yellow rubber, but I tried to get a couple pictures of the other one that tore vs one that isn't torn.  Two of the pictures may be hard to see, but if I got good lighting, my phone would go out of focus.

 Using the same tee over and over is nice, but I kept feeling out of rhythm when I would have to stop and go back to the tee box and grab my plastic tee.

I'll have to digest the ball position video later.  One bad thing about 3rd shift is sleeping while everyone else has fun.

[cnosil]

Just putting this here for information since I know everyone is different. I use evolve epoch tees and on their website they provide a recommendation on how to set the ball height for you particular driver. And for the record, I do not use this recommendation to set my tee height.

 

 

https://evolvegolf.com/sweetspotsystem/