Bad Tee Box Conditions

[sean_miller]

Originally Posted by colin007

grass/dirt/divot conditions are irrelevant.

many of the course near me dont have level tee boxes.  why the hell should anyone have to contend with any kind of side-hill, ball above or below your feet lie?

People can work on their powerfade or sweeping draw without even knowing it.

I'm surprised Pete Dye courses don't make people tee off in bunkers.

[zeg]

I've not ever encountered one bad enough to be a problem, but I can see how it could be.  Even if your ball is teed up, if it's over hardpan, it's hard not to think about that.  Not everyone can just ignore that image.

Usually around here the problem is tee boxes that aren't flat.  Lately it seems like I am picking my location to find a level spot more than I'm thinking about how to get the best angle to the fairway.  On a couple there really are no level spots, so the best you can do is to find the top of a mound and tee up so the ball is on one side of it and your feet are on the other.  That way it's a level swing, but again you have the psychological effect to get over.

[Robato]

To update, I think I solved this one. Having a nice tee box with short grass feels great, and a bad tee box with almost hardpan conditions really makes a tough hole even tougher. In order to ensure clean contact, I treat it like a fairway bunker shot. Practicing mid-long iron shots from a bunker requires a clean-contact shot. All shots would benefit from this, like Bobby Clampett says, but I definitely feel like the focus is on a forward divot. Ball is teed a few centimeters up, not flush for sure.

And I hate slanted boxes too. Do they just erode that way? I feel like calling the bubble level police.