Duh - impact zone

[Fat Slice]

I have hit a zillion balls. I change my setup based on how I seem to be hitting the ball. That is:

• Tee Height
• Position of ball (heel-toe) at address
• Ball forward or back in stance at address
• Ball close in, medium, or far out at address

Let's just talk about the driver for a bit. I monkey with these until I feel like I am hitting the ball well and then stick with it.

So, today, I decided to do what I should have done years ago and put some marker on the ball and whacked it and looked to see where I impacted. I did this over and over and over with my usual setup.

Well, well, well. I was consistently hitting the ball very very close to the top of the clubface and at the innermost possible part of the heel. I was surprised that the ball launched *at all* like that...but it did.

So, I started teeing the ball lower...then lower...then lower....finally ended at 1", and also at address had the ball WAY out at the toe of the club. It looked very strange and I was a little scared to swing like that, but I gave it a try.

Whack after whack I hit the sweet spot. I am doing this into my indoor net without a launch monitor, but I will try it at the range tomorrow. I am going to see where I am hitting my irons as well - I bet I need to hit more off the toe there as well.

This is such a simple thing and I bet everyone has already done it...but on the chance there are a few people as dense as I am (doubtful), you might give it a try - it surprised me and I think it'll help me to change my tee height and address.

[ks8829]

With my driver, I position my ball at address near the heel of the driver and I will hit the ball solid with center impact.

[jambalaya]

I have been teeing the ball lower these days and getting much better results with my driver. I had been using the tall tees and teeing it up high before. Someone on another thread said something that made a lot of sense. Tee the ball up high and address your ball with the club on the ground. Now, lift the club up at the natural angle dictated by keeping your arms extended until the ball is lined up with the center of the club vertically. You should find that the ball is closer to the heel of the club. So depending on how you address the ball when it is teed up you may a little too close the the ball causing a shot closer to the heel. Makes sense.

[kfowler]

Impact stickers are really cool. You can really tell where you're hitting the ball. I tend to tee the ball up high because it punishes me for going over-the-top.

Does anyone mark their tees so you consistantly put them, at the same height?

[wachesawgolfer]

Standard teaching for the most part says, put the ball about half a ball over the club face, then line the sweet spot up to the ball and drop the club to the ground. The toe should then be lined up with the ball. The infamous "they" say that teeing the ball lower with a driver encourages a more steeper swing and hence more over the top and slicing. A drill I have seen is to take a paper cup and stick a tee in its bottom and hit balls super teed up (I would put electrical tape over the top of the club to prevent sky marks) which encourages the flatter swing necessary to hit the driver well. Thus, teeing the ball "much" lower is not a long term fix but long term trouble. Miss hits to the toe or heel on the driver have a lot to do with balance, if your too much on the toes or heels you will move in the downswing. I worked on an athletic balance and really have gotton the hits more to the center from the heel.

[jambalaya]

Standard teaching for the most part says, put the ball about half a ball over the club face, then line the sweet spot up to the ball and drop the club to the ground. The toe should then be lined up with the ball. The infamous "they" say that teeing the ball lower with a driver encourages a more steeper swing and hence more over the top and slicing. A drill I have seen is to take a paper cup and stick a tee in its bottom and hit balls super teed up (I would put electrical tape over the top of the club to prevent sky marks) which encourages the flatter swing necessary to hit the driver well. Thus, teeing the ball "much" lower is not a long term fix but long term trouble. Miss hits to the toe or heel on the driver have a lot to do with balance, if your too much on the toes or heels you will move in the downswing. I worked on an athletic balance and really have gotton the hits more to the center from the heel.

Yep, that works. I have a friend that addresses the ball with the driver off the ground and lined up with the sweet spot and brings it back from there instead of dropping the club to the ground. I just like dropping the club to the ground. Amen to the steep swing on the driver. One can hit some awful shots with the driver going at the ball steep.

[brandon_mcg]

i tee my ball up low as well with the driver. usually the first time i play a round with someone they ask me why i tee it up so low and the obvious answer is results.