Aim & Alignment off the tee

[StrokerAce]

One thing that has helped me a lot is understanding that the tee markers are not always an invisible line that you tee your ball between and fire away from and that they are just a starting point.

I have worked a lot on my aim and alignment and it has helped me quite a bit. I see guys I play with just tee it up in the middle of the tee markers and hit and I don't understand why they don't take a few extra minutes to look at the hole, see the hazards ahead and realize that sometimes it's okay to hit the ball into the rough.

Has anyone else adjusted their strategy? Do you tee it up on one side of the tee box or the other? Are you more of a tee it in the middle player?

 

[Boshek]

I am with you. I see most people tee up in the middle and go. I always tried and move vertically within the markers to get a better angle or tailor my natural shot path to the hole. 

[Kenny B]

I always use the alignment mark on the ball on the green for my putt, so why wouldn't I align the ball to where I want the ball to go off the tee.  At my course you would be amazed where the tee boxes point you!!  I don't know if the grounds crew does that on purpose, but I do know that many of them don't play golf, so they don't care if the markers are properly set.  BTW, I have been known to move a marker in the interest of speeding up play.

[tony@CIC]

I'm definitely in the camp of: 1. using the ball mark on the tee and 2. Using the side or middle of the tee box that best suits my drive. I've watched the LPGA players do both, however,  never paid attention to the PGA players doing it. 

Note: my normal swing path is a slight fade so the ball mark alignment on the tee tends to help me especially on dogleg fairways that favor righties. 

[StrokerAce]

tons and tons of info on DECADE and Scott Fawcett but this quote is one that really stands out to me...

paraphrasing since I don't remember the exact quote:

"when we're golfing we're using a shotgun and not a sniper rifle"

understanding this, and what it means, helped me stop losing balls and start scoring better.

[russtopherb]

I'll move side to side on the tee box based on the hole layout and where the "good" misses are based on whatever shot shape I'm working with that day. I pick an aim point, then a closer point in line with that within a few feet, and then step up to the close aim point.

[Tom the Golf Nut]

I position myself in the tee box that works best for that particular hole. I have a straight tee shot for the most part so I'm not moving to one side of the box to give me extra room for the ball to move back. I do it to make the hole as short as possible. So, if it's a dogleg right I will move left and hit tight to the corner. I also always use the line on my ball to line up the tee shot to an exact point in the fairway I want to hit to. Then all I do is focus on swinging my club down the line on the ball. That is just what works for me. 

[sirchunksalot]

1 hour ago, Kenny B said:

 At my course you would be amazed where the tee boxes point you!!

I had something similar happen at my course recently. I was on the 17th tee box and this is where the markers were aiming. 

I didn't get the second marker in the photo, but I will say the fairway is to the left of the cart path in this picture. 

[StrokerAce]

4 minutes ago, sirchunksalot said:

I had something similar happen at my course recently. I was on the 17th tee box and this is where the markers were aiming. 

I didn't get the second marker in the photo, but I will say the fairway is to the left of the cart path in this picture. 

CRAZY! Some people think the imaginary line between the markers is like a free throw line in basketball and you have to stand on it.  My buddy sometimes does that. I tell him to stop, hold his club up to his waist and look where he's pointed. Right into the trees!!

I was at a course one day when they were mowing the boxes and the guy just kind of plopped the markers down without even looking down the fairway!

[Kenny B]

26 minutes ago, sirchunksalot said:

I had something similar happen at my course recently. I was on the 17th tee box and this is where the markers were aiming. 

I didn't get the second marker in the photo, but I will say the fairway is to the left of the cart path in this picture. 

At least it's green out there!  For some reason on our #12 par 3 they like to put the Forward tees aimed at the middle of the pond to the right of the green complex.  The pond doesn't come into play unless you slice or shank it... done it!!  There is sand short and right of the green anyway.  

@StrokerAce Your analogy of the basketball free throw line is appropriate, and people don't think.  Maybe the course aligns the markers that way on purpose for tournaments but for normal weekend play at a muni, it's just a recipe for slow play.

[DaveP043]

I have a couple of comments.  First, tee it up behind the markers, but do NOT use the markers to align yourself to your intended aim line..  Those markers aren't always placed to aim at the center of the fairway or green, or even anywhere close  Second, feel free to use the entire 2 clublengths behind the markers.  Sometimes that little btt if extra distance can give you a bit of psychological help if you're between clubs.  Third, feel free to use the entire width of the Teeing Area, maybe to find the best level spot, maybe to give you a preferred angle.  I don't really believe that the difference between one side of the teeing area and the other can make much of a difference, try drawing a 200-yard line and varying the start point by 10 or 12 feet each way, its a really small angular difference.  But again, that image may help you to feel more comfortable, and to make a better swing.  Similarly with a line on the ball, use it if it helps you.  I'm not a believer, a miniscule mis-alignment of a 1.5" line could equate to 10 or 20 yards at the end of a drive, to me proper alignment to a target comes from a decent bit of practice with alignment sticks.

[StrokerAce]

Just now, DaveP043 said:

I have a couple of comments.  First, tee it up behind the markers, but do NOT use the markers to align yourself to your intended aim line..  Those markers aren't always placed to aim at the center of the fairway or green, or even anywhere close  Second, feel free to use the entire 2 clublengths behind the markers.  Sometimes that little btt if extra distance can give you a bit of psychological help if you're between clubs.  Third, feel free to use the entire width of the Teeing Area, maybe to find the best level spot, maybe to give you a preferred angle.  I don't really believe that the difference between one side of the teeing area and the other can make much of a difference, try drawing a 200-yard line and varying the start point by 10 or 12 feet each way, its a really small angular difference.  But again, that image may help you to feel more comfortable, and to make a better swing.  Similarly with a line on the ball, use it if it helps you.  I'm not a believer, a miniscule mis-alignment of a 1.5" line could equate to 10 or 20 yards at the end of a drive, to me proper alignment to a target comes from a decent bit of practice with alignment sticks.

Great advice Dave!

I'll just add to it that you only have to have your ball in the teeing area. I've stood outside the markers for a few shots before because they were misaligned so badly.

Good tip in the 2 club length. I don't really see too many people doing that.

[IndyBonzo]

I was always taught to hit from the side of the tee box closest to the trouble you want to miss, i.e., aim away from.  That means you have to miss bigger to find the trouble you are trying to avoid.

I also know my misses are usually to the right, so I find myself often on the right side of the tee box, aiming leftward in the fairway, for the same reason (if I'm not trying to work the ball a certain way).

[cksurfdude]

Similar to others I try to position myself so that I have a good view of the widest part of the fairway where I think my ball might land. That could be middle or towards one side.

I'll also prefer to aim away from what looks like the worst trouble .. and I do use the line on my ball to help me align myself to my intended target line.

I also look for a clean and level patch of ground to stand on - some tee boxes may be chewed up or the ground may be sloped or crowned for drainage - and at this point in my golfing I *need* to make myself as comfortable as possible on the tee! (So I rarely stand outside the markers.)

Some Par 3s I may move back from the line a few feet, if I think it better fits my intended yardage .. but then I go ahead and duff the shot anyway

 

[tony@CIC]

The hole in the pic below is a good example of how using the line on the ball can lead to success. The hole is a par 3 where the green is perched up high with trouble on the right - steep bunkers and on the left a steep drop off with tall rough. As a lefty,  I use to continually hit the ball into the drop off rough because when I'm on the tee all I could see is the water hazard. Aiming the ball mark right at the green, now gets me there 90% of the time. BTW that was a birdie today. 

[ParFore74x]

As others have stated, I move left and right in the tee box based on where I’m aiming at in the fairway. I try to find my aimpoint before I put my tee in the ground to create my target line. I also will use my two club lengths from the tee markers to make sure that I have a good place to stand. Some tee boxes are definitely not flat. Last but not least, I have recently began using the alignment on the ball to help me line up when I address the ball on the tee box. It seems to help me get the alignment set up fairly well.