Part V: Managing Yourself And Your Game
Lesson #86: Suit Your Shot To A Tee

Most beginning golfers - and even a few seasoned players - set themselves at an immediate disadvantage by perching every ball on a tee that is set at exactly the same height. The fact is, in the course of a round of golf, I may use six or more different tee heights, and so should you.

Your highest tee should be on a drive that you want to hit downwind with high trajectory, or sometimes for a shot you want to draw from right to left. Next highest is a normal tee shot with a driver. Tee it a bit lower for a slightly lower drive or one that you want to hit with a bit of left-to-right action. Thereafter, as you move through the fairway woods and irons, continue lowering the tee. On a 2-iron shot the tee should not extend more than a centimetre or so above the ground; with a higher tee, you'll tend to catch too little of the ball at impact, hitting only the southern hemisphere, and that will produce a weak shot. As the iron in your hand becomes shorter, so should the height of the peg in the ground.

Illustration by Jim McQueen

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