Teeing up shots

Hello all,

First time poster here so bare with me.  I've always wondered about teeing up my shot on par 3's or any hole that I'm hitting an iron off the tee.  Almost everybody I golf with tees it up.  I never like teeing it up.  I always hit it thin and low.  I figure if I don't need to tee it up in the fairway then why would I on the tee box? I try to imitate and think of it the same way as if it were just another approach shot after I drove it down the green.  I know the tee should elevate my ball and give it more distance (not my problem) Will I eventually need to adapt or do some people also not tee their balls up on the tee box?

For me I see higher the tee the more loft and less distance.  I tee on a three to try and get the ball to stick on the green.

I either use no tee if I can get a good lie without it when hitting irons.  For a hybrid I tee it about 1/6" or go without the tee.  With the ball elevated I make a different swing with an iron and the results are usually a thin shot or a pull hook.

NJpatbee,

Exactly what I do with my tee'd up iron shots! I usually go with the theory if it aint broke don't fix it, but I've been trying to get under 10 handicap and I'm wondering if I should just learn how to hit them better tee'd up.

Do whatever floats your boat. I'm of the opinion that psychology and being in a confident frame of mind is half the battle towards hitting a good shot. If teeing up an iron makes you uneasy, then don't do it.

That said, I always tee up my irons. I typically play on municipal courses where there can be a wide variance in the composition of tee boxes. When the soil underneath is hard, my irons can go 10-15 yards farther than on soft, mushy turf. Teeing up those shots eliminates some of that variability. Plus, as Jack Nicklaus said, "if you could give yourself a perfect lie every time, why wouldn't you do it?"