Your enjoyment of a round of golf can be hugely impacted by the tee box from which you choose to play. Select a tee that’s too short and you’ll be hitting driver-wedge all day; too long, and you’ll feel like you’re getting beat up. The key is finding tees in the Goldilocks zone: just right.
On your home course, or one you’re familiar with, this is an easy task. But when you roll up to a new track, choosing the right tees can be more of a challenge. The last thing you want is to be kicking yourself a few holes in about an ill-advised tee box selection.
So, what’s the solution? I like to think back on some advice given to me a few years back by GOLF Top 100 Teacher Jon Tattersall.
“The best players I coach, they cover about 50 percent of the hole with their driver on a par-5,” Tattersall said. “And they’re covering about 60 to 70 percent of the hole with driver on a par-4.”
That means if you hit your average drive around 250 yards, for example, the par-5s you should play would be right around 500 yards, and the par-4s would be about 380 yards. If your well-hit drives are not covering about 60 percent of the distance of the hole on a par-4, it might be time to move up a tee.
“Most second shots, for good players, come from between 125 and 175 yards,” Tattersall said. “So, what should you work on? Not many 4-irons. If you are hitting a lot of those into greens, you’re not playing far enough up.”
This is not a hard-and-fast rule, and the tee boxes you play can vary based on conditions. But if you are playing a new course for the first time and aren’t sure where to play from, this hack can come in handy.
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