Exaggerated tee position during drive

[nmcnair]

I am new to The Sand Trap, and a few month old golfer.  So...hello! I have had the fortunate pleasure of picking up the game of golf with relative ease (to this point).  My primary issue to this point has been with my drive shots (this also pertains to my woods, but to a less extreme).  I can hit the ball straight, however it requires I have an exaggerated tee placement in relation to my stance.  In order to drive the ball straight, I have to have the tee placed several inches in front of my leading foot.  This is fine and well, except I just moved from Denver (altitude) to sea level and hence do not get any "extra" help in terms of distance or carrying a hazard (my tee shots are line drives to burners). I know I am missing out on some power with the tee being placed so far forward.  When I try a tee shot from the middle to forward part of my stance I end up with a nasty hook (more of a draw with a mean 90 degree turn about 100 yards in).  I have tried turning in the club face, but the results are often disastrous. I have not had a chance to record my swing, but a guy I have played with several times said it does not look like my hands are in front of the club head.  I'm not too sure about this as I do not have this issue with my irons, which I typically shoot from the middle of my stance.  Has anyone else encountered this problem, or have any insight as to how I might correct it?

[nmcnair]

When I try a tee shot from the middle to forward part of my stance I end up with a nasty hook (more of a draw with a mean 90 degree turn about 100 yards in).

I meant to say fade, not draw.  Sorry.

[mvmac]

In order to drive the ball straight, I have to have the tee placed several inches in front of my leading foot.  This is fine and well, except I just moved from Denver (altitude) to sea level and hence do not get any "extra" help in terms of distance or carrying a hazard (my tee shots are line drives to burners). I know I am missing out on some power with the tee being placed so far forward.

Hi welcome to the site and welcome to the game of golf!

Having the ball forward for a driver is actually a good thing, helps you "max out" a few things.

With hitting line drives that's probably going to be more of a swing mechanics issue. Without seeing your swing I would take a look at Keys 1 and 2.

[nmcnair]

Thanks for the quick reply.  All the degree angle talk in the first link left me head reeling a bit.  The less I think about it, the better I generally strike the ball.  But I do get the concept of hitting on the upswing, and based on how forward I have my tee, I cannot help but think that's how I hit it.  It may be minor, but maybe it is "the straw" so to speak, but I may have my tee set too low.  I set it fairly low (ball barely above the driver head when resting on the ground) because I was having difficulties with chunking all my clubs several inches before the ball, driver included, when I first started playing. Since I have ironed out my swing and am making consistent contact I should have a bit easier time hitting a ball sitting higher up on the tee.

As for the head movement, that is something I worked on early on, thanks to some pointers from a few college players I happened to be sharing a round with.  One thing that I do know I struggle with is having the weight forward.  The college guys mentioned I should have some weight transfer (50/50) at the start to maybe 30/70 on the backswing to 70/30 or more at contact.  Unfortunately I looked like one of those car dealership wind sock puppets swaying in the breeze and set myself back several weeks.  That being said, I have been reminding myself recently to have a good follow through.  I was stepping out of shots and had a lot of foot movement at the point of contact and after (I was playing in the evening when dew was starting to form).  This was mostly solved when I purchased a pair of golf shoes.  I have noticed that I am still in a relatively neutral stance after striking the ball.  More so with the driver and woods than with irons. I am still trying to kick 24+ years of baseball habits where I kept the majority of my weight on the back foot. I suppose I will have to spend sometime on the range working out the mechanics.

At the moment I am using an extra set of clubs a buddy of mine has, as mine have yet to get here with the moving company (should be here in the next few days hopefully).  Once they get here I'll have a go at recording my swing and post it. Hopefully then it will become a bit more clear.