How high do you tee up your drive?

[MrMulligan]

I was wondering how high everyone tees up the ball on their drive. I tee my ball very low, I feel like I hit it more consistently than when it's teed up high and much straighter. What are the effects of teeing the ball lower? Am I losing distance? I hit my driver 250 plus on average when it is teed low. Thanks!

[MrMulligan]

And just to add, it is not 250 in the air. I get probably 200-215 in the air and then a lot of roll when the course is in good playing shape.

[MyrtleBeachGolf]

And just to add, it is not 250 in the air. I get probably 200-215 in the air and then a lot of roll when the course is in good playing shape.

I would kill for 50 yards of roll. My drive carries 230, with roll...232. On topic, I feel that I tee my ball quite low for a driver. I always seem to hit it even higher when I tee it up.

[MrMulligan]

How is your ball flight? Mine stays low, comparable to a line drive in baseball. Probably why I get such nice rolls.

[GaijinGolfer]

I tee mine up for that 1/4 of the ball is above the crowd.  Any higher than that and I tend to hit a pop-up.  I probably hit down with my driver and need to work on my angle of attack but for now thats what works for me.

[cipher]

I essentially tee it up so the half way point of the ball is about even with the top of the club face.

[MyrtleBeachGolf]

How is your ball flight? Mine stays low, comparable to a line drive in baseball. Probably why I get such nice rolls.

The average max height for driver (and probably most ideal) on the PGA tour is about 90 feet (30 yards). It's actually hard to tell how high my driver ball flight goes. I'm not even sure how to measure it (or estimate it) while on the course. I can say however, for an absolute fact, it's much higher than a line drive hit in baseball. I'll add that in this area I rarely play courses that are dry, hard, or have bare grass where my drives can really run out. Also, being at sea level, there is almost no elevation change, so no downhill run on drives.

[colin007]

lol, with roll mine goes backwards...i can usually see the plug mark for my driver a half a step ahead of where my ball is sitting...

[PirateJim]

I try to tee the ball with somewhere around 1/3 to 1/2 the ball above the driver crown.  Any higher and I hit too many pop-ups.  Any lower, I hit too many worm-burners.  I've found that if I have the ball sort of centered in the second joint from the tip of my index finger and I press the tee into the ground until the tip of that finger is hitting grass it is just about right.  Obviously, that is just for my hand, but I like it because it saves some fiddling on the tee that I see others doing.

[arturo28mx]

About 1/3 of the ball above top of clubface. Never more than that.

[shortstop20]

How is your ball flight? Mine stays low, comparable to a line drive in baseball. Probably why I get such nice rolls.

You are likely hitting down on the ball excessively. I went from hitting some of the lowest drives my playing partners had ever seen to a much higher ball flight. I'm carrying the ball much further.

[Slice of Life]

I tee it up to where anywhere from 1/2 to 7/8 of the ball is shown above my grounded driver. I've recently been hitting the ball on the upswing to try to get more carry, and it's been working.

[collinshane]

Does nobody ask the conditions? Hitting driver into the teeth of the wind on links, and launching one down the breeze on a wet parkland track are very different shots, and so require different setups. In summer, when there's some run to be had, I tee it about 1/3 ball above driver crown. Winter, no run, maybe 1/2 above, and hands a little further behind the ball to launch higher with less roll. Into a big wind, I'll have the top of the ball level with the driver crown, or maybe even below, hands level with ball, grip way down the shaft, widen the stance, limit hip turn and wrist cock and try to ping one out real low as if the course had a ceiling on it. Of course like everyone else, I get mixed results with all these, but you should try them all on a range, then on course see the shot you want and tee it appropriately.

[billatthebar]

i tee mine half the ball above the crown probably - i was having trouble hittin my driver until i decided i was buying taller tees so i could do this and i really am hitting much better (noticed it instantly) but i do launch the ball sooooo high (i play an 8 degree driver) like stupidly high - i will get fitted for a better shaft etc and see if i can get a more penetrating flight as i feel im being robbed of distance (i hit a drive 240 - 250 but it does not roll and it absolutely soars in the air)

while were on topic i have another driver set up question - at address do you ground the driver or hover where? and how close to the ball do you place your club face??

thanks :)

[WhySoSerious]

I always buy the same tees, 2 3/4" with the yellow stripe, and that has helped me consistently tee up my driver. to the best height for me. If  I tee it up too high it feels like I'm too concerned with actually hitting the ball instead of swinging and if I'm too low I focus too much on not bottoming out. If I bury the yellow stripe in the ground and then just a wee bit more I can focus more on the backside of the ball and then making my swing, majority of the time I'm on my sweetspot regardless of what I'm trying to make the ball do. It's very important for me to feel level in the tee box, if the ground isn't close to being perfectly level or if there are lots of big divots I'll struggle .

[iacas]

Originally Posted by collinshane

Does nobody ask the conditions? Hitting driver into the teeth of the wind on links, and launching one down the breeze on a wet parkland track are very different shots, and so require different setups. In summer, when there's some run to be had, I tee it about 1/3 ball above driver crown. Winter, no run, maybe 1/2 above, and hands a little further behind the ball to launch higher with less roll. Into a big wind, I'll have the top of the ball level with the driver crown, or maybe even below, hands level with ball, grip way down the shaft, widen the stance, limit hip turn and wrist cock and try to ping one out real low as if the course had a ceiling on it. Of course like everyone else, I get mixed results with all these, but you should try them all on a range, then on course see the shot you want and tee it appropriately.

Counterpoint: for 90% of drives or more, "optimal launch conditions" are "optimal launch conditions" because the conditions are not so severe to change it.

[mvmac]

Originally Posted by iacas

Counterpoint: for 90% of drives or more, "optimal launch conditions" are "optimal launch conditions" because the conditions are not so severe to change it.

Whether it's into the wind, with the wind, soft conditions, fast conditions, I'm just trying to hit my driver solid, high and with optimal /"low" spin.

[Blueman]

I was getting the ball way too high no matter how I teed it up. Normally when I tee low, the ball goes higher than if I tee it up average height. ( 1/2 ball above driver top). I was still getting massive hangtime which only got worse with the new covert. I got a little more yardage and carry but ball was still way too high. I swear I had a few 10 second hangtimes on 250 carry drives. I fixed this by dialing down to 8.5* . After 3 days of correcting the slice this caused, I now hit the ball on a line. Almost the same carry, but way more roll ! I still have the issue of low tee=high ball flight. Golf is baffling sometimes.