Teeing Up Irons (Par 3 or Otherwise)

[k-troop]

Originally Posted by TitleistWI

I usually tee it so that the ball is just barely off the ground.  Just enough to give me a perfect lie but still low enough that I dont need to make any compensations in my swing.  Nicklaus' quote of, "air has less resistance than dirt" is valid but that doesnt mean you should tee it up high.  His comment is more than by teeing it up you have a greater margin of error incase you hit it a bit fat.

That's exactly the way I remember it.  And I use this tip, and it works.  Thanks Jack!

[GaijinGolfer]

Originally Posted by joekelly

Seems curious that many here tell OP you that he is  'picking the ball up' or scooping etc. Yet, none have seen OP's  swing. My spin on OP's problem is also my problem often, regardless of club.  I do not attempt to pick the ball, or flick it or scoop it-no, i try supremely hard to HIT THE BALL.  This is my mistake. The ball is not a log and the club is not an axe. What happens to me, maybe others, is that my life conditioning and experience overrides my golf sense and accordingly my shoulders begin the swing which results in many problems. Including shitty shots. So noiw i must, must, repeat my mantra before each swing to find a decent outcome. My mantra is 3 fold. 1. Takeaway right hand high  2. On backswing peek at ball with left eye only (per advice of Sam Snead) and 3.  HIPS, HIPS, HIPS.  That's it. If i think of any more, i'm f*cked. So my humble advice OP, is to find some way to rid yourself of the desire the HIT THE BALL.  Best wishes, it's a difficult task.

Thats actually really sound advice.  It should be a golf SWING, not a golf hit.  I used to be guility of the same (trying to kill the ball every time) and over time I reprogrammed myself to just make a nice, smooth, easy, in-balance, in-tempo swing.

[keeps21]

Originally Posted by BuckeyeNut

How high are you teeing it?    Raising the ball a little bit above the grass only improves the lie....make the same swing and it's an easier shot.   It's hard to say what you are doing wrong without seeing a video.

Pretty much all the way into the ground.

I've posted a video of in the Members swings forum - I'm losing my spine angle (among various other things). Any tips on maintaining spine angle? I have a feeling i'm not giving myself enough room to turn under my chin, resulting in me standing up.

Here's the swing thread - http://thesandtrap.com/t/46032/my-swing-keeps21

[Mr3Wiggle]

Originally Posted by keeps21

Pretty much all the way into the ground.

I've posted a video of in the Members swings forum - I'm losing my spine angle (among various other things). Any tips on maintaining spine angle? I have a feeling i'm not giving myself enough room to turn under my chin, resulting in me standing up.

Here's the swing thread - http://thesandtrap.com/t/46032/my-swing-keeps21

To maintain spine angle, I used to practice hitting balls with an exaggerated arched back and my butt stuck out.  Tried to maintain that feeling all the way through the swing.  Get your swing video taped too while doing it.

[bluecollar01]

I prefer to hit my irons off the ground as well.  At address I normally look slightly in front of the ball to make sure I swing down and through the ball.  When I tee up the ball for an iron shot the extra distance the ball gains from the ground throws me off.  I know it sounds weird but it gives me fits.  To combat this I've begun thinking about a nail sticking out of the back of the ball a 1/4" or so that I'm trying to drive thru.  This "swing thought" which differs from my normal iron shots seems to work better for me when using a tee.

I'm a head case, what can I say?

[Chas]

Make sure you're still hitting down on the ball and not scooping it a little.  Tee it low and take a divot after you hit the ball first.

This is my problem sometimes I think. Even if you tee it up (low), you should play the ball as if it were on the grass. Easier said than done in my case but I'm getting better I think. Man have I hit some ridiculous short shots off the tee. Initially ai teed it up too high and so sometimes caught it high on the face (loss of distance). Then I teed it low and sometimes chunked, which I rarely do on grass with a short iron. Ridiculous.

[moparman426]

Originally Posted by Bullitt5339

I don't know anyone, tee or no tee, who just throws the ball down on a tee box.  Even though I don't use a tee, I place the ball softly on a patch of nice grass.

I do this.  If I am teeing off with a 7i to PW, I will just drop the ball on the best spot I can find between the posts.  I guess it really isn't a "throw", per se , as I avoid letting it go into any existing divots that may be there.

I take shallow divots (used to be a picker), so I'll address short of the ball and take two or three practice swings, making sure I put the second and third in the same divot I made with the first, several inches after the ball.  Then I will step into the ball and swing away.  This has proven to be very effective for me this year, and it helps me to stay consistent with my distances with those irons.

[phedrick]

Being very new to to Golf, I try to just keep it in play, and the short irons are my best chance at that... so yes, I have used short irons off the tee.  Hopefully someday I can 'grow up' and use the driver :)

[BWChuck]

Interesting thread.  I've heard a lot about "compression" of the golf ball, and I have always thought it to be the moment(s) that the ball, club head, and ground were all connected to each other and played a physical force on one another.  But it seems through the videos in this thread that the only influence is club head and ball.

So I guess I ask, is "compression" just synonymous with contacting the golf ball?  If not, then what is the physical difference between contact and compression?

A confused novice golfer....

[keeps21]

Originally Posted by BWChuck

Interesting thread.  I've heard a lot about "compression" of the golf ball, and I have always thought it to be the moment(s) that the ball, club head, and ground were all connected to each other and played a physical force on one another.  But it seems through the videos in this thread that the only influence is club head and ball.

So I guess I ask, is "compression" just synonymous with contacting the golf ball?  If not, then what is the physical difference between contact and compression?

A confused novice golfer....

I'm just a novice too, haven't even broken 110...

But the way I understand it is that it was believed that the ball was compressed/nipped off the ground but with the cameras we have nowadays we can see that it's clubface and ball only.

To me when people speak about compression they mean the ball compressing against the face of the club.

[Zeph]

Everyone compress and deform the ball when they hit it. The more solid you hit it, closer to the sweet spot and without contacting the ground first, the higher your compression rate will be. Some people still believe you pinch the ball between the club and the ground. I don't know if the announcers at CBS do, but they say so occasionally. Trying to pinch the ball can be a good mental though for how you want to hit the ball. You rarely see amateurs with too much forward shaft lean. You won't ever pinch the ball, unless you top it, but trying to do so can help find a feeling for hitting the ball better. It can at the same time lead to a steeper swing and taking a bigger divot. When we talk about compression, it's the compression of the ball as the clubhead strikes it. You can see on high speed cameras how the ball is compressed and deformed during impact, but never ever pinches. The ball is compressed and deformed while it travels a little up the clubface before it is launched off.

[keeps21]

Originally Posted by Zeph

Everyone compress and deform the ball when they hit it. The more solid you hit it, closer to the sweet spot and without contacting the ground first, the higher your compression rate will be.

Some people still believe you pinch the ball between the club and the ground. I don't know if the announcers at CBS do, but they say so occasionally. Trying to pinch the ball can be a good mental though for how you want to hit the ball. You rarely see amateurs with too much forward shaft lean. You won't ever pinch the ball, unless you top it, but trying to do so can help find a feeling for hitting the ball better. It can at the same time lead to a steeper swing and taking a bigger divot.

When we talk about compression, it's the compression of the ball as the clubhead strikes it. You can see on high speed cameras how the ball is compressed and deformed during impact, but never ever pinches. The ball is compressed and deformed while it travels a little up the clubface before it is launched off.

That's my view, just explained a lot better

[BWChuck]

Gotcha.  Thanks for the explanation guys.

[Peter G]

Hi,

I'm also Left eye dominant and right handed, and have had terrible trouble hitting my irons solidly off a tee, I know your pain!! And although a lot of advice is well meant, we are a "special" and need to tweak things a little to get the normal methods to work. No right handed, right eye doninant person would understand our problems fully, because when we look down the line, even if we know we're lined up correctly, it just looks wrong!..

Anyway, after many hours surfing and many hours practising and playing, these are my findings and this seems to work for me.

Grip - I use the Vardon grip, left thumb down the shaft, right hand "V" pointing between my chin and my ear.

Stance - I use the Leadbetter stance with my feet splayed out to 20° ( I do this because I also have the happy habbit of swaying in my back swing - Old Git problem!!) - stance parallel to hole. I also try to get my chin aimed at the logo on my club shafts

Ball position - I use Nicklaus/Hogan method, keeping my ball 2" inside of my left heel - for all irons and hybrids. And I put the ball name (or line) along the direction of the intended target, helps line me up.

Teeing up of ball - I usually use old discarded/broken tees (found lying around all over the course), and tee the ball up so that I can just, and only just get the tips of my fingers under the head of the tee.

I concentrate on hitting the inside quarter of the ball (eg - between 3 and 6 o'clock).

I turn my head slightly to the left (very slightly). And try to make sure I take a divot like an ordinary iron shot..

Hope this helps, as I've said, it works for me. Good luck.

[danol]

Advice from Hank, http://www.golfdigest.com/golf-instruction/mental-game/haney_gd0809

[cnl390]

I have noticed that a lot of players, pros and amateurs alike,  Will use a tee when hitting an iron off the tee box.  I have always hit off the ground.  Is there an advantage to using a tee, and if so are there different tee heights for the different irons?

Thanks

Charles

[geauxforbroke]

Originally Posted by cnl390

I have noticed that a lot of players, pros and amateurs alike,  Will use a tee when hitting an iron off the tee box.  I have always hit off the ground.  Is there an advantage to using a tee, and if so are there different tee heights for the different irons?

Thanks

Charles

I tee up most iron shots from the tee box. This ensures a good lie. Some tee boxes, especially ones on short par 3's, can get pretty pock-marked over time with divots that don't completely grow back in. I tee it so that the ball is barely off of the ground no matter the iron. I never tee up wedges.

[David in FL]

Yes, there's an advantage, and you should take it. This game is hard enough, take every little advantage that the rules allow.