How To Hit The Ball In Play Off The Tee

/ The Grateful Golfer

Hitting the ball in play off the tee needs to be balanced hitting for distance. Recently, I have adjusted my set up with my driver in order to hit the ball a bit farther with a slight draw. This change has not come with its challenges, but mostly when I swing too fast I come over the top and pull the ball farther left than I intend. This wayward shooting happened during the back nine of my round yesterday.

During my round at Osprey Links Golf Course I had the tale of two nines. The front nine my set up was as I have practiced. My new stance and ball position starts with moving my back foot the rear of my normally neutral set up. This movement results in my right foot sliding back about three inches. The ball is played off my lead big toe and it is raised up about an 1/2 an inch. All the changes might appear to be too many, but as a whole they work out very well.

When I keep my tempo the same as prior to the changes, I hit the ball a bit farther with a baby draw. The issues about keeping the ball in play is when I try to swing faster thinking the ball will travel farther. This never works and all that happens is that I hook the ball or pull it left. During the front nine yesterday, I swung my normal tempo and the ball popped off the face of my driver. On the ninth hole, I hit an easy driver 270 yards with a baby draw. It is the type of shot off the tee I have been searching for and want to emulate time and time again. My entire front nine was rife with great shots of the tee, always in play. Unfortunately, my one over 37 was the best I was going to play yesterday.

The back nine was an entirely different story. Instead of building on my great play on the front nine, I thought I needed to hit the ball longer. For those players who know Osprey Links, the back nine is tighter and does not need distance off the tee. It requires accuracy and strong shot selection to be successful. I know all this and I still I had it in my mind that I needed to hit the ball farther. Duh!

As my swing sped up, I pulled the ball left and into three hazards. I found the ball each time and punched out, unfortunately, these three wayward drivers lead to 2 doubles and a bogey. My woes did not end there. My poor hitting off the tee resulted in two more bogeys to a total of 7 over or 42 for the par 35 back nine. All my woes resulted in poor shots off the tee caused by trying to swing to fast for distance. If only I had sustained my tempo that I had on the front nine.

My experiment with a new setup is working. It will take sometime to make the changes permanent. For now, I like the successes I have experienced to date. The improvement shows promise and I will continue to keeping trying to hit the ball off the tee with a baby draw.

I am a grateful golfer! See you on the links!

4 thoughts on “How To Hit The Ball In Play Off The Tee”

  1. Pingback: Distance or Accuracy Off The Tee – Midhandicap

  2. Pingback: Distance or Accuracy Off The Tee | The Grateful Golfer

  3. Patience my young Padawan. lol

    Looking at the course we’re moving to next I’m reminded that I’ve made similar decisions about accuracy over distance when it’s called for because I’ve made and sometimes continue to make the same mistake at times. I think of it as a lack of patience. I feel like I must be trying to make something happen instead of playing smart and letting it come to me.

    Lost the skins game tonight. I would blame it on the fact that I was the only one playing irons only but it was my putter really. I just didn’t get enough to fall today. Scared the hole a lot but didn’t quite get it right. As for playing irons only, I thought that went well enough. Hit a couple great shots with the 3 and 4 irons I thought. At least given the fact that they still have those oversized grips that I gave a try back when I last used those irons. I wasn’t enamored then and I thought less of them today. lol But I have to say I hit them well enough just the same (off the tee). The second tee shot with the 3 iron never left the flag and gave me an eagle putt, which I missed of course. No, I can’t fault playing just the irons today. But they’re already back in the closet. The hybrids are just better. So they got me 3-3-1.

    That one hole kind of represents what you’re saying. The hole is just 270. There’s a ditch crossing it at around 160-165. Trees, a ditch and heavy brush line the entire left side all the way to the green. The green is raised so a miss left at all near the green is a lost ball. The fairway isn’t very wide. But not terrible. Call it 40 yards. And on the right is rough. Bermuda. Patchy. Bushes. Trees. Lots of things to be in the way and no good lies. Both the guys hit driver. One sliced it and ended up behind the skinniest tree but it blocked him good. The other crushed it. Flag high right. Far enough right that he was on the other side of the next tee box and looking to have to hit a 40 yard flop shot over some good sized trees that separate the green from the tee box. My 4 iron landed right center of the fairway and left me 78 yards or so to the pin which was in the back left and that gave me all the green in the world to work with if I needed it. That’s where my one skin came from tonight.

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