Pros like Tom Kim use this clever hack to shape their drives

Welcome to Play Smart, a regular GOLF.com game-improvement column that will help you become a smarter, better golfer.

If you were watching the opening round of the Sony Open, you might’ve noticed Tom Kim setting up precariously close to the tee marker on the 18th hole.

Fellow golf journo Stephen Hennessey first pointed out the oddity, and the scene had plenty of Golf X (formerly known as Golf Twitter) users buzzing.

Most people were in agreement that teeing the ball up so close to the tee marker would introduce a ton of anxiety as they stood over the ball. (Some even suggested that they would take out a few tee markers if they did this on every hole.) However, when the pros set up in an extreme spot like this, they do so for good reason.

A clever tee-shot hack

First of all, when pros tee up so close to the tee marker, they are in no danger of actually hitting it. These guys are so good that it would take a historic blunder for them to even scare the tee marker. The reason they do so, though, is a clever trick they use to manage their club path.

Using Kim’s drive on 18 as an example, you can see the tee marker is on the outside edge of the ball. This tells us he is setting up to hit a fade. Why? Because he has no choice but to swing with an out-to-in path.

With the tee marker positioned where it is, Kim is forced to swing from out-to-in through the impact zone. If he were to swing in-to-out, his club would hit the tee marker after impact.

You’ll often see methods like this used in practice when trying to manipulate the path (you can read more about that here). By placing a barrier in the way of a certain path, you’re forced to avoid it, which results in the desired path. Kim was using the same principle on the 18th tee.

(Before you ask: Yes, this is completely legal. There is nothing in the rule book that says you can’t use the tee marker in this way. So long as you set up between the tee markers and within two club lengths of them, you’re completely fine.)

There’s no question that the pros are so good that they don’t necessarily need a barrier to redirect their swing path, but having one there doesn’t hurt — it’s just a useful visual cue to help them hit the right shot.

I can’t recommend doing this on the course for most weekend warriors, but next time you go practice, give it a shot. Throw down a water bottle or headcover on the ground in the place you don’t want your swing path to go and try to avoid it. You’ll be amazed at how much easier it is to change your swing path.