Tips

Teeing The Golf Ball at the Proper Height

/ The Grateful Golfer / 8 Comments

Teeing the ball at the proper height is a common theme in golf. It is a fundamental skill that all amateurs must master to produce those “Rory McIlroy” drives to which they aspire!

The challenge for non-professionals is the contradictory information on the subject! There is a consensus on the height of the tee and where to the ball should make contact with the club face. This is what most analyst agree on:

Teeing too low – This causes lower spin rates and therefore a lower trajectory when striking the ball. Which will combine to seriously decrease the distance you are obtaining when hitting your driver.

Teeing too high – Inversely this will give you too much backspin, and create a launch angle that is steeper and therefore affect the distance with the ball travelling upward rather than forward. (National Club Golfer)

I wrote an article on this subject before and espoused the common themes of teeing height, but now I am not so sure. I struggled with my driver this year. My new Titleist D2 12-degree and I did not get along for much of the season. The new shaft caused a slightly different ‘kick point’ and the 12-degrees was something I am having a hard time adjusting too!

With my new driver, using my normal teeing pattern, my ball would travel too high and I lost about 20 yards off my average drive. As a result, this challenged the rest of my game; sometimes I played well and others times……! This was very frustrating and I struggled to understand why only this part of my game had not immediately improved with my new sticks!

Well after much soul-searching I decided that the normal convention of teeing up the ball may not work for me. I found this video from My and My Golf. The information was not just about tee height, but also about types of swings and their relation to teeing the ball.

Off the range I went; I experimented with the height of ball on the tee and hit some pretty ugly shots. After a medium bucket, about 50 balls, I still did not find the proper height of the ball for my swing. Knowing that any change in my golf swing takes time, I was not discouraged. I went back to the range a couple of days later and still had no real success (still not discouraged). I was closer, but not fully satisfied that I found what I was looking for. My third time to the range, which was about 3 weeks ago, was the charm.

I realized I had several challenges with my swing and teeing the ball was just one of them. Many of those challenges will be discussed in future posts, however the height of the ball on the tee was solved (I think). For me, the ball should just be peeking over the top of my driver. I guess it would be considered low for most, but given my type of swing it works best for me.

One aspect of golf I did learn is that the norm or convention is only a starting point. It generally offers a solution, however it many not offer the exact fix you are looking for in your swing. Take the time to experiment on the range, sometimes you will be astounded by the results!

Unfortunately my golf season is over, so I will have to wait until next spring to see if I actually fixed my challenges with my driver. This will definitely give me something to look forward to! How high do you tee your ball?

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

Golf Tip – Marking Your Ball on the Green

/ The Grateful Golfer / Leave a comment

Marking your ball on the green is as important as making coffee in the morning! There is a procedure to each that if performed properly can have a positive impact on your day. For most of us, marking your ball is a routine action that we give very little thought to when playing.

Here is all the basic details on how and why marking your ball is important:

As I reviewed the video, I was surprised by the first statement about one ball striking another on the green.  So I checked the rules and this is what I found:

Rule 19-5a. If a player’s ball in motion after a stroke is deflected or stopped by a ball in play and at rest, the player must play his ball as it lies. In match play, there is no penalty. In stroke play, there is no penalty, unless both balls lay on the putting green prior to the stroke, in which case the player incurs a penalty of two strokes.

I did not know this rule! During a competition I always mark my ball, so this rule would never apply. However, during our weekly matches we often leave our ball unmarked while one of us is putting. Well, I will stop that practice immediately.

On a side note, I always thank the player for moving his marker. It is my way of reminding the player to move it back. I realize that it could be construed as aiding another player, but I guess in the big scheme of things, I would rather win by shooting a lower score, not by the player incurring a needless penalty!

I am grateful golfer! See you on the links!

Golf Tip – Hitting the Club Face

/ The Grateful Golfer / 2 Comments

In a previous post, I discussed where the ball should be placed in my stance and how I adjusted my alignment to make solid contact. But one of the most basic tenants of making solid contact was the shaft angle when the club head strikes the ball. As I watched the simple video below, many of my ideas of solid ball striking came together.

To confirm my new-found knowledge, I watched 30 minutes of professional golfers hit balls in various scenarios. Of the many similar aspects of their golf swing, the ball contact was created the same way: the club grip was in front of the ball during contact. Having the club grip past the ball, creates the proper shaft angle so the club head strikes the ball about 3 or 4 grooves up from the bottom of the club head. It is like trapping the ball with the club head.

Next, I looked for a simple drill to reinforce my what I have learned. This is what I found:

What do you think?

I am off to the course tomorrow with my new-found knowledge. I am sure positive things are going to happen!

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

 

Winning Golf

/ The Grateful Golfer / 4 Comments

This sums up what great course management is all about!

Winning Golf Sandtrap

I am a grateful golfer!

Fixing your Golf Swing in One Easy Step

/ The Grateful Golfer / 3 Comments

I have the sure fire way to fix your golf swing in one easy step! It came to me while playing golf yesterday. It fits every level of player and can be adopted with little or no trouble. Yup, it is amazing how simple it is and I am not surprised that I did not think of it sooner.

For $19.95, I will send you blah, blah, blah…..how many times have I read or heard about the one solution that will fix everything. The funny thing is that I do believe there is one thing that any golfer can do to improve their swing at any given time.

Yesterday, I was playing golf with a couple of friends and someone I never met before named Kevin. Kevin is our club champion and his swing is as smooth as silk. He was always in control and his shot routine was flawless. However, what caught my attention was his tempo! It was always the same regardless of which club he was using. After watching him, I realized that my swing tempo was way out sync!

After coming back from a long break, my swing was actually out of sync regardless of my scores. Watching Kevin I realized that if I fixed my tempo, many of my swing challenges would be fixed. So, I decided to slow down my tempo. I know, this is the wrong time, but I our season is quickly coming to a close and I need to take advantage of every opportunity to improve my game.

Immediately I found success! My ball striking improved and my confidence increased. I felt better about my swing and hoped that it would continue through that round and during my next. So, I today headed for a quick 9 to see if my new-found success was still around. And to my surprise and happiness, my slower tempo is still working.

This video is an example of my tempo that is quicker than I want:

I go back to my original statement, ‘fixing your swing in one easy step’ is possible and anyone can do it! However, I will admit that finding that one area to change can be challenging, but it is possible. It just takes time and patience to work your way through whatever it is you want to fix.

The only real suggestion I have is that once you decide on what you are going to change, do it with confidence, focus and intent. It will be challenging at first, but you what you can conceive and believe, you can achieve!

I am a grateful golfer!