Welcome to Shaving Strokes, a GOLF.com series in which we’re sharing improvements, learnings and takeaways from amateur golfers just like you — including some of the speed bumps and challenges they faced along the way.
Until the summer of last year, I’d always just walk up to a tee box, stick my tee into the ground, stare down my shot, aim way left to help counteract my slice, and swing my driver — hoping I didn’t actually hit it straight for fear that my shot would go where I was aimed.
But then I met with GOLF Top 100 Teacher Brian Mogg, who set me straight on all the poor habits I had before every single one of my tee shots.
During a round with Mogg, he watched closely as I flunked his “Beginner’s Guide to Course Management” test. Instead of using any strategy to help benefit my game, I just went through the motions without really locking in on my tee shots.
One of the major lessons Mogg taught me that day was a simple one: Use the tee box to your advantage.
Whether that means using the cut line between the tee box and rough to help square your clubface, or understanding where you should tee up your ball for the best opportunity at success, the tee box is a helpful (and free!) tool to sharpen your game.
In the video below, Mogg dives into the topic a little deeper and explains why using the entire tee box is crucial when it comes to improving your driving accuracy. Check it out for yourself and start to see the differences immediately!
Improve driving accuracy by using the tee box
In the video, Mogg stands on the iconic tee box of the 6th hole at Bay Hill, which is known to chew players up before spitting them out. With a massive lake between him and the green, Mogg goes on to share how using the tee box for alignment can lead to better driving accuracy.
“If you’re ready to hit your tee shots, be aware that the tee is really big and you can use almost all of it here,” Mogg says. “You have a lot of room on this tee box.”
While the green is all the way across the lake, Mogg reminds players that it’s important to play smart on a tee shot like this, eliminating risk and just landing safely to set up a solid second shot from grass.
This is where utilizing the tee box can benefit your pre-shot strategy, leading to improved driving accuracy.
“When you find yourself with options like this [when you have a lake to carry, or some other intimidating hazard], use the whole tee box,” he adds. “In this case, when something’s bending so far left, get on the left side of the tee box.”
By teeing up his ball on the side of danger, Mogg’s able to create a safer angle for himself that’s pointed away from the water hazard, while allowing for a larger landing area with his tee shot.
“This is going to let me aim further out to the right,” he says. “I want to be able to use this tee box and create an angle so that I’ve got the best chance to hit a shot.
“When I come over here [on the left side of the tee box], I can take the trouble out of of play. I’m going to aim this out there towards some bunkers on the right, which will make it a bigger area for me to go to.”
By using this simple hack on your tee shots, you’ll eliminate fear by giving yourself better angles to work with, which, ultimately can steer you away from trouble and lead to improved driving accuracy.
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