Does Tee Height Affect Driving Distance? (What To Know)

 

One primary source of confusion for many golfers is tee height.

It can be challenging to determine how high you should tee your ball and then to make sure you stay consistent with the tee height from hole to hole.

Many tees on the market will help with this, but it is essential for a golfer to know how high to tee a ball.

We have put together some great information about how the tee height affects your driving distance and how high you should be teeing the golf ball.

 

Does Tee Height Affect Driving Distance

 

Tee height will affect the distance you can hit a golf ball.

The whole idea with a tee is to make sure the center of the golf ball lines up with the center of the golf driver at impact.

If the driver or the golf ball is off of center in any way, then the results will be less than ideal.

Golfers must take an extra second or two to make sure their golf tee is appropriately aligned.

When your golf tee is not set up the way it should be, then you could be costing yourself unnecessary strokes and poor shots.

Here is what will happen when your golf ball is not teed up the proper way.

 

1. Ball Teed Too High

 

If your golf ball is teed too high, several things can happen.

For starters, there is a chance you can swing the club directly underneath the golf ball.

The driver will pass under the ball, and it will very likely scrape up the top of your golf club.

These are not marks you want on the fresh paint of a brand new driver.

When you tee the ball too high, chances are you are going to hit the bottom half of the golf ball with the top of the club.

This will usually result in a drive that goes very high but has almost no distance.

Some people call this kind of a drive a pop-up.

Pop-ups are very frustrating because they usually go straight but sometimes they go straight up and only a few yards in front of you.

 

2. Ball Teed Too Low

 

If you tee the golf ball too low, the chances are you are going to end up hitting your driver low and missing out on launch.

When your driver is in the air for a longer period, you will get much more distance.

Even though you want your golf ball to roll once it hits the ground, it needs to fly in the air for a very long period before that happens.

Some golfers will tee the ball a little lower to try and get a lower ball flight on a windy day.

This is certainly worth a try if you have the wind blowing in your face, and you want to try and cut through it.

If you are playing like this daily, though, you may be missing out on some distance.

When the ball is teed too low, the top half of the golf ball is going to hit the sweet spot of the golf club.

This is not going to put the proper spin on your golf ball, and you are going to lose launch, ball speed, and potentially some forgiveness as well.

As you can see, finding the right tee height is significant.

 

What Is the Proper Tee Height for a Driver?

 

The best height to tee your driver is to have about half of the ball over the top of the clubhead at address.

If you are playing a modern-day deep face driver with 460cc, you are going to need a very large tee.

There are many tee manufacturers that make extra long tees.

All you will have to do is push them down to find the perfect spot for your driver.

If you are trying to use very short tees with a large driver, you very likely cost yourself yardage from the tee box.

 

How High Should I Tee the Ball for Fairway Woods?

 

Sometimes you will need to use a fairway wood from the tee box.

The fairway wood does not need to be teed as high as the driver.

A fairway wood should be teed similarly to the driver with about half of the ball over the top of the clubface.

For a fairway wood, it is fine if a little less than half is over the top of the clubface.

Fairway woods are designed to be hit off of a tee or off of the ground.

Therefore, they do better with hits that are slightly lower on the clubface than those that are higher.

However, to get the launch you want off of the tee box, it is essential to make sure you have the ball teed to the right height.

 

How High Should I Tee the Ball for Irons?

 

Irons should be teed just off the ground.

You do not want to tee an iron high as you will miss the sweet spot of the golf club.

Teeing an iron up on a par three is just a way to give you a great lie.

It should not be used the same way a driver tee is used to get the height of the ball to match up with the sweet spot of the club.

Some golfers get so excited about being able to use a tee with their iron shot that they end up costing themselves yardage by teeing it too high.

Be sure to tee the golf ball almost on the ground, and you will get much better results.

 

Do Tees with Height Indicators Work?

 

Yes, if you have trouble determining the height of the tee you should be using, you should use a tee with a mark on it.

Several golf tee manufacturers make tees that are the exact height they should be for a large driver.

All you need to do is push the tee down to the correct height, and then your driver will be ready to go.

It is best to try and get the tees that are very lightweight so they do not slow your clubface down at all.

Another great thing to look for when purchasing golf tees is to find one that is biodegradable.

Leaving plastic pieces all over the golf course is pretty terrible for the course in the long term.

Try and find tees that will disintegrate over time in case you miss picking one up before the greens crew starts mowing the next day.

 

Conclusion

Golf has way too many variables.

It is partly what makes the game so enjoyable and partly what makes the game so terrible.

Tee height is a variable you will want to eliminate as soon as you can.

Make sure you figure out the exact height that works for your driver and your swing, and try to repeat it consistently.

If that means you need to take a marker and draw a line on your tees, you can do so.

Taking the time to make sure you are set up to hit the best possible drive is imperative to your consistency as a golfer.