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The post How changing your tee height can improve your distance and accuracy appeared first on Golf.

Most golfers spend hours working on their swing, but they overlook one of the fastest game-changers available: tee height. In less than 60 seconds, adjusting how high the ball sits on the tee can completely change launch, spin, contact and ball flight with the driver.

Here’s the reality: many “bad swings” are actually poor impact conditions created before the club even moves. Tee height directly influences where the ball strikes the face — and with today’s drivers, impact location matters immensely.

If the ball is teed too low, golfers tend to strike the lower portion of the face. That contact often produces a lower-launching shot with excess spin, robbing you of carry distance and creating that weak “ballooning” flight that seems to fall out of the air. Many players also subconsciously steepen their angle of attack when the ball looks too low, which further reduces launch and efficiency.

On the other hand, if the ball is teed excessively high, contact can move too far up the face — or even toward the crown. While modern drivers are designed to optimize slightly higher-face contact, too much can create pop-ups, inconsistent strikes, and shots that launch too high with very little control.

For most stock driver shots, a great checkpoint is having roughly half the golf ball sitting above the top line of the driver when the club is resting on the ground. This helps promote center-to-upper-face contact, which is typically where golfers maximize distance and ball speed.

But here’s where skilled players separate themselves: tee height is also strategic.

Need to maximize carry with a helping wind? Tee it slightly higher. A higher tee can encourage a more upward angle of attack and higher launch conditions, allowing the wind to help carry the ball farther.

Need a controlled “fairway finder” or stinger-style tee shot? Lower the tee height slightly. This often helps reduce launch and keep the ball flight flatter and more penetrating — especially useful into the wind or on tight driving holes where accuracy matters more than distance.

Tour players adjust tee height constantly depending on trajectory, wind, and shot shape, and recreational golfers should too.

The next time you step onto the tee box, don’t just mindlessly stick the tee in the ground. Take a moment and ask yourself: What shot am I trying to hit?

Sometimes shooting lower isn’t about rebuilding your swing. Often it’s simply about changing the setup conditions before the swing even begins. And once you start to master that skill, playing good golf becomes a whole lot easier.

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The post How to fix a right miss with your driver using 1 simple feel appeared first on Golf.

Hitting the driver straight can feel impossible some days. Even though the big stick is the most forgiving club in the bag, it can still give golfers fits.

This past winter, I found myself in a bit of a funk with the driver. While I was gaining speed (and distance), my accuracy suffered. Missing the fairways with a little added distance isn’t the worst thing in the world, but when you start introducing the big miss, things can get ugly in a hurry.

The miss I dreaded the most was the high, spinny right ball. It’s one that comes off the face weak and floats in the air forever, leaving me miles from the green.

If you’re someone who struggles with the right miss with your driver, worry not. The fix is simpler than you may think.

Fix your right miss

After I missed a few drives off to the right during my “Driving Accuracy Bootcamp” with GOLF Top 100 Teacher Jason Baile, he explained to me a simple feel that he teaches his pupils to help them straighten it out.

First, he teed up a second ball about a club-length behind my ball and a bit inside of my target line. Then, he told me that when I swung, I needed to feel like I was getting the clubface square to that ball as soon as possible.

“I call it ‘Turn 4 at Talladega,’” Jason said. “If the face is open to Turn 4, you’re going to have to twist the steering wheel quite a bit. If I can get the hood ornament of the car — which is the sweet spot — square to the arc early, then I don’t have to twist the shaft at the bottom.”

When your clubface is open to the arc once you pass P6 in the downswing (club shaft parallel to the ground), one of two things happens. Either you leave the face open and hit the ball off to the right or you twist the face closed coming into impact, resulting in a nasty hook.

Once you start to visualize the secondary ball on that swing arc, try to feel that you are squaring the clubface to it as soon as possible. If you can do that, you won’t have to make any compensations through the impact zone. You will simply have to turn your body and the clubface will be square to your target.

“Any ball that starts too far right, square it early,” Jason said.

Remember that key and you’ll stop losing the ball off to the right — and start hitting more fairways.

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The post 5 reasons you come up short with your chip shots around the green appeared first on Golf.

The post 5 reasons you come up short with your chip shots around the green appeared first on Golf.

Such a large part of scoring well comes from hitting short-game shots close to the pin. From both personal experience and working with students, I’ve seen how common it is to leave these shots short, making the putt much harder to convert.

Here are some common reasons why this happens and how to improve.

1. Using your most lofted club

It’s easy to assume that the most lofted club should always be used around the green, but this often leads to shots coming up short. The more lofted the club, the larger the swing required to get the ball to the pin. Especially when there is more green to work with or a longer overall distance, consider using a lower-lofted club instead.

2. Inconsistent contact

High, lofted pitch shots require solid technique and confidence. Proper posture and grip play a huge role in making consistent contact.

Because pitch shots often require a larger swing, it’s important to maintain good posture by bending forward from the hips and allowing the arms to hang naturally. This helps deliver the club to the ground properly and promotes center-face contact.

3. Wedges lack enough bounce

Bounce is the rounded sole on a wedge that helps the club glide through the turf rather than dig into it. When the club interacts properly with the ground, you can swing more confidently and strike the ball more consistently.

If a wedge has enough bounce, even slight contact with the turf before the ball can still produce a respectable shot because the club continues to glide instead of digging.

When players occasionally skull a wedge shot because the club digs too much, they often become hesitant to make a full enough swing, which can lead to approach shots consistently coming up short.

4. Pitching when you should be chipping

This may be the simplest adjustment you can make to get the ball all the way to the pin.

When there is more room for roll than required carry, it is usually safer and more efficient to hit a lower-running chip shot instead of a high pitch shot. Because the motion is smaller, even slightly imperfect contact can still produce a very good result.

5. Not using lower-lofted clubs

The smaller the stroke, the smaller the chance for error. Using a lower-lofted club — such as an 8- or 9-iron — can be a smart option when you have plenty of green to work with and a back pin location.

Let the club selection help the ball travel the distance rather than trying to force a larger swing. Lowering your scores can be as simple as calibrating your short game, including both chipping and pitching.

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The post Why calibrating your chipping is key to shooting lower scores appeared first on Golf.

If you want to develop a great short game, it starts with building a consistent foundation — and that begins with calibration. As Kellie Stenzel, a GOLF Top 100 Teacher, explains, it’s one of the simplest ways to bring structure and predictability to your chipping.

When you know exactly how the ball will react to a consistent set up and swing, suddenly nerve-wracking up-and-downs start to carry less weight. Instead of guessing, you’re operating with a plan — and that’s where real confidence comes from.

Ready to build that system? Below are the two keys you need to calibrate your chipping.

Start with a consistent setup

If you want to maximize control around the green, it starts with a consistent setup. To get there, Stenzel says to begin by choking down on the club.

“You always want to grip down, almost to the bottom of the handle,” she says.

From there, build your base. Take a narrow stance — about a clubhead-width apart — and position the ball in the middle of your stance. Settle into good posture, then get your weight forward by leaning toward the target. 

“When you lean toward the target, that’s going to do two things. It’s going to de-loft the clubface slightly and it’s also going to drop your lead shoulder,” Stenzel says.

Lowering the lead shoulder is crucial because the club naturally returns to the ground in the right spot. This adjustment encourages ball-first contact and helps you make clean, center-face contact every time.

Stenzel adds an important checkpoint here: As you shift your weight forward, don’t let the club shaft get too far ahead of your body.

“If you start to lean the shaft too much the club can start to dig,” she says. 

Instead, she recommends moving your hands and body together so the club doesn’t outpace your center. Think of it as everything working in sync, so the handle stays aligned with your belly button as you make your swing.

Build distance control with your backswing and equipment

The next step in calibrating your chipping is identifying a motion you can repeat. 

“Hit a few chips and define what is your most comfortable backstroke size,” Stenzel says, “And if you can identify that, you can repeat that with different clubs.”

This backswing baseline will become your go-to swing for every chip shot, making distance control much simpler. Instead of guessing how far to take the club back each time, you keep the motion the same and adjust your club selection. By switching clubs rather than changing your swing or tempo, you maintain consistency while also producing a variety of distances — making your chipping more predictable.

Ultimately, calibrating your chipping is about combining a consistent setup with a repeatable motion. As Stenzel emphasizes, you don’t need a bunch of different swings — just one reliable system. Stick with it, and even nerve-wracking shots will start to feel routine, giving you a short game you can trust when it matters most.

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The post A PGA Tour coach taught me how to hit straight drives every time appeared first on Golf.

The post A PGA Tour coach taught me how to hit straight drives every time appeared first on Golf.

The first step to having success on any given hole is finding the fairway with your drive. Sure, it’s possible to make birdie from the rough, but when you’re in the short stuff, it becomes a whole heck of a lot easier.

When I was younger, finding fairways felt easy. I was confident standing on the tee box and unsheathing driver. No matter how narrow the fairway — or how much trouble popped up — I knew I could hit the ball right at my target.

As I’ve gotten older (and longer off the tee), that confidence has waned. Whether it’s the result of more clubhead speed or lapses in my technique, the result is all the same: I’m playing more and more from off the fairway.

So, at last winter’s GOLF Top 100 Teacher Summit, I sought out the help of the 2025 PGA of America Teacher and Coach of the Year, Jason Baile. Jason is the director of instruction at Jupiter Hills Club and coaches Tour pros such as Lucas Glover and Ryan Gerard, each of whom rank inside the top 25 on the PGA Tour in driving accuracy. Under his guidance, I knew I’d learn a thing or two about how to hit more fairways.

Check out the video below from our driving accuracy bootcamp to learn more on how to hit your driver straight.

How to hit your driver straight

When I arrived for my lesson with Jason, he started by asking a simple question: What’s my “problem” miss? At the time, that was a high, spinny ball that ballooned off to the right. It’s not a shot that would get away from me, but when it came out, it sapped a ton of distance and left me miles from the hole.

After watching me for a few shots, Jason concluded that a lot of my issues were a result of a poor setup.

“I see a hodgepodge of mismatch stuff,” he said. “Part of your setup looks like you’re gonna fade it. Part of your backswing looks like you’re gonna draw it. And then another part looks like you’re gonna fade it.”

As with many issues recreational golfers face, a lot of fixes can come from simple setup adjustments.

Fixing my setup

One thing I’ve always struggled with when hitting driver is having an attack angle that is too far down. With a negative attack angle, you will put more spin on the ball, which can be great for control, but it also means you’ll have much less power.

Thanks to Jason, I came to find out that one of the biggest reasons for my negative attack angle is a poor setup. Everything was too “level,” and it forced me to make compensations later in the swing to make up for it.

The first thing he asked me to do was slightly “bump” my lead hip toward the target at address. This movement slightly raised my lead hip and lowered my trail hip.

“I’d rather see you get the proper tilts at address with your lower body than your upper body,” Jason said.

The next thing he fixed was the orientation on my arms at address. Before, I had a tendency to get my trail arm too high, which covered up my lead arm when looking at my swing from down the line. To fix it, he had me think about pointing my trail elbow more at my trail hip when I gripped the club.

“Now our arms have some tilt,” Jason said.

By tweaking these two simple setup mistakes, I instantly increased my angle of attack and got into a better position to make swings that didn’t have so many compensations built in.

Fixing a right miss

After getting used to my new setup, Jason taught me an easy way to fix a right miss. First, he teed up a second ball about a club-length behind my ball and a bit inside of my target line. Then, he told me that when I swung, I needed to feel like I was getting the clubface square to that ball as soon as possible.

“I call it ‘Turn 4 at Talladega,'” Jason said. “If the face is open to Turn 4, you’re going to have to twist the steering wheel quite a bit. If I can get the hood ornament of the car — which is the sweet spot — square to the arc early, then I don’t have to twist the shaft at the bottom.”

Once you start to visualize the secondary ball on that swing arc, try to feel that you are squaring the clubface to it as soon as possible. If you can do that, you won’t have to make any compensations through the impact zone. You will simply have to turn your body and the clubface will be square to your target.

“Any ball that starts too far right, square it early,” Jason said.

Fixing the left miss

After drilling the feel of squaring the clubface early to guard against the right miss, I started to overdo things a bit and began losing the ball left. Luckily, Jason had another easy feel to fix those misses, too.

As the clubhead swings through the impact area, it’s important to feel like the sweet spot is facing up and to the left of your target. By doing that, you will ensure that you are not manipulating the clubface and closing it down, which results in a hook.

“Any time that it goes into the ball and twists, the sweet spot is pointing down and left,” Jason said. “As it comes through, the sweet spot should face up and left because it didn’t have any twist to it.”

If you ever start to feel yourself losing the ball to the left, keep this feel in mind. When you can point the clubface up and to the left, you’ll never lose the ball left and hit those nasty snap hooks.

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The post 5 reasons you miss short putts — and how to fix them appeared first on Golf.

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Even the best players in the world don’t make every short putt, but they do make a much higher percentage than the recreational golfer.

While much of their success can be attributed to solid technique, top golfers also spend a significant amount of time practicing these putts. When was the last time you truly focused on your setup, aim and stroke while hitting short putts? Even 15 minutes of focused practice here and there can make a real difference in your success rate.

Here are the most common reasons I see golfers miss short putts.

1. “Peeking” or excessive movement

It can be a challenge to stay as still as needed when putting — especially on short putts. Looking up too early or making unnecessary body movements can affect both the putter face and stroke path.

Your head and lower body should remain still throughout the stroke. Ideally, you complete your stroke, hold your finish, and only then turn your head to look at the result. In many cases, the ball will already be in the hole before you look up.

This is something you can practice with putting training aids. Learning to trust your aim and stroke, with proper feedback, can help you avoid the instinct to look too early.

2. Assuming the putt is straight

Many missed short putts come from simply assuming the putt is straight. In reality, most putts (even short ones) have some degree of break.

Take the time to read the green carefully. Even a subtle adjustment in aim, accounting for a slight curve, can be the difference between a miss and a make.

3. Poor ball position

Incorrect ball position, either too far forward or too far back, can lead to stroke path issues.

A ball positioned too far forward often opens the shoulders, creating an out-to-in path that can cause pulls or cuts. This not only affects direction but also makes distance control more difficult on longer putts. A ball too far back tends to promote an in-to-out path, leading to pushed putts.

Make sure when you practice putting that you are taking time to work on your fundamentals. They can be the difference between a make and a miss.

4. Setting your body before the putter face

Your setup routine is critical in all areas of the game, but especially in putting, where face alignment is crucial.

The best golfers typically aim the putter face first, then set their body in relation to it. Golfers who set their body first often struggle to aim the face accurately.

5. Extreme grip pressure changes

Consistent grip pressure helps maintain a smooth, repeatable stroke. A putting stroke should feel balanced in both length and rhythm. Sudden changes in grip pressure can make the putter face unstable or create unwanted acceleration, leading to poor direction and distance control.

You can choose the grip pressure that feels best for you. Some golfers prefer a lighter grip, while others are more firm. Either approach can work, but consistency is key.

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The post This could be why your bunker game stinks. Here’s how to fix it appeared first on Golf.

Bunker play has been a thorn in the side for amateur golfers (and even some seasoned players) for quite some time. For pros on the other hand, these shots look relatively easy. When you watch pro golf, announcers will even talk about how “easy” bunker shots are, and how players would rather be in the bunker than in the rough if they miss the green.

What makes bunker shots so easy for the pros and so maddening for the rest of us? A lot of times, it boils down to simply misinterpreting the way to execute the shot with proper technique. In my experience, amateur golfers are very good at executing simple directives, but if those directives aren’t quite the truth, they have no chance.

For years, the standard advice for bunker shots has been to look at a spot 1 to 2 inches behind the ball and hit the sand there. Unfortunately, this visual often creates an arc that is too shallow, resulting in a low point of the clubhead that is too far behind the ball. This overly shallow motion leads to the two shots that show up at the worst possible times: thin shots (blades) and fat shots (chunks).

If you break down the bunker play of the best sand players, you’ll see they hit sharply down and close to the ball at impact — but the low point of the swing is actually a few inches ahead of the ball.

Most recreational players think the opposite when they blade or chunk a bunker shot. They assume they’re hitting down on the ball too much. In reality, when you hit either of these disaster shots, you’re striking the ball on the upswing (not the downswing) and the low point comes too far behind the ball.

The key for executing this shot properly is to make a swing that is narrow rather than wide. A helpful visual is to imagine forming the letter V with the club during the swing. Allow both elbows to fold in the backswing with a slight turn. This creates a narrower motion more effectively than simply using the wrists to drive the swing.

A narrow swing gives you the ability to hit down on the ball with the club entering the sand close behind it, making it easier to get out of the bunker in one try while also generating impressive spin. You’re essentially pinching the ball to create backspin and gain better control around the green.

The energy of the motion should feel like it’s going down and beneath the ball rather than forward. Additionally, focus directly on the ball at address, rather than a spot behind it. On your best shots, it will feel like you catch a small portion of the ball and a larger amount of sand.

A simple drill to reinforce this is to draw a line directly behind the ball in the bunker. Your goal is to strike the sand ahead of that line. Most bunker instruction over the years has emphasized hitting the sand behind the line, but this often encourages an overly shallow downswing and a low point that stays behind the ball. As a result, you get blades and chunks.

Stop trying to create a low point behind the ball and start creating one ahead of it. Looking at the ball instead of a spot behind it, combined with a narrower swing, will help you achieve exactly that — and help you stop wasting strokes in the sand.

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The closer you are to the green, the better your chances of sticking it close. Yet for most amateur golfers, that’s usually where things start to unravel. 

Inside 100 yards, nerves creep in and these short wedge shots feel anything but simple. You second-guess your setup, forget fundamentals and lose confidence in yourself at the worst possible moment.

Instead of letting tension take over, causing you to blade it over the green — or worse, chunk it a few yards in front of you — David Armitage, a GOLF Top 100 Teacher, offers a simple solution.

“It’s all about leaning left, and staying left,” Armitage says.

With this simple phrase and the three keys below, you’ll learn how to build a solid setup every time and turn these delicate wedge shots into scoring opportunities.

Load your lead side for better low-point control

In order to execute these shots successfully, Armitage says you need to have low-point control — and it starts before you even take the club back.

“For me, low-point control is all about the setup,” he says. “What I want you to do is I want you to get about 65% of your weight on that front, lead leg. Once you’ve got that there, I want it to also feel like it’s leaning there with your sternum.”

They key here is loading your lead side completely — not just your lower body. Armitage says amateurs often let their weight drift backwards during their backswing on these short wedge shots. When that happens, it becomes almost impossible to return to a forward position by the time your club passes through impact. As a result, players hang back or lean away from the target as they hit the ball, followed by a slew of contact issues. 

By remembering to pre-set your entire lead side, you set yourself up to make ball-first contact and stay forward through the shot, helping you improve the quality of your strike and avoid a common error that can quickly break down your contact and confidence.

Keep your nose over lead toes as you swing

After you’ve loaded your lead side and established a good setup, it’s time to practice your swing. Armitage says the key here is maintaining the foundation you’ve already built at address.

“As you make a backswing, I want you to feel like your nose and your weight stays there [just in front of the ball],” he says. 

To build this feel, take a few practice swings without a ball, keeping your sternum and nose positioned over your lead leg throughout the motion. You’ll know you’re doing it right if your divot is happening in front of your ball position. 

When you bring a ball back into the equation, you should notice that your shots have a lower trajectory and more spin — hallmarks of a great wedge player.

Develop stock swings for better distance control

There are several ways to dial in different yardages with your wedges. You can open the face or grip down, but Armitage says the most reliable method for controlling distance is to adjust the length of your swing.

To do that, you need a set of defined stock swings. You can build them by creating clear, repeatable boundaries — or “triggers,” as Armitage calls them. His checkpoints are:

Much like the clock system many players use, these checkpoints give you a clear, repeatable reference for how far the club travels back and through. That structure allows you to make a repeatable swing with the same tempo every time, which is ultimately what builds dependable distance control and feel.

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A large part of my teaching takes place on the golf course. Once basic skills and sound technique become habits, there’s a tremendous amount of learning that can only happen during play.

The great news is that you can often score lower simply by playing smarter and managing your skills through better decisions and solid course management.

Here are five tips for playing smarter golf and shooting lower scores.

1. Pick a smart target

Being precise with your target can make a big difference throughout a round. A fairway may look wide, but choosing an exact aiming point will help you hit more fairways and set up easier next shots.

Don’t assume aiming is automatic — it’s a skill that requires practice like any other. Find a method that works for you and apply it consistently.

2. Know your carry yardages

It’s important to know not just your total distances, but how far each club carries through the air. This can be eye-opening (and sometimes a little humbling), but it’s essential when you need to carry hazards like bunkers or water.

You can estimate this on the range using targets, but ideally, use a launch monitor for more accurate data.

3. Play away from trouble

Penalty strokes are often the result of poor course management. One of the simplest ways to avoid them is to play away from trouble.

This means anticipating your misses. If you don’t hit a perfect shot, where is the safest place for the ball to end up? For example, when facing a water hazard, aim for the shortest carry—even if it means favoring a safer side of the target.

4. Take extra club over hazards

Good course management means planning for imperfect shots. When there’s danger in play, taking more club can help you avoid coming up short and incurring penalties.

There’s often less trouble long than short, and being slightly over the target is rarely as costly as being short.

5. Accept a good bogey

Avoid compounding mistakes. Trying to recover with a risky “hero shot” often leads to bigger numbers.

When you’re in trouble, focus on getting the ball back into play, onto the green, and giving yourself a chance to make bogey. A smart bogey is almost always better than risking double or worse.

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The post How to make a ‘picture perfect’ backswing appeared first on Golf.

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Want more power and control to your swing? Make what I call a “centered” turn, something you can learn quickly with this easy drill.

Stand in front of a mirror at home without a club. Use a dry-erase pen to draw a straight vertical line on the mirror. While standing erect, position your body so that when you look in the mirror, the line you’ve drawn runs straight from your shirt buttons to your belt buckle. 

Now, tilt to your forward side with your upper body and touch your front knee with your target-side hand, letting your pelvis “bump” a little away from the target [1]. Then fold your arms across your chest [2]. Rotate back [3] and finally extend your arms like you’re at the top of your backswing [4]. The trick is to do all this without the center of your body moving off the line on the mirror. A good thing to think about as you perform this drill: Whatever direction your shirt buttons go, your belt buckle moves opposite.

The Hall of Fame instructor Jack Grout knew decades ago about the importance of a centered turn, so much so that he would often grab hold of a young Jack Nicklaus’ hair to keep him from moving off the line. (Story goes that Nicklaus got a crew cut so Grout couldn’t do that anymore.) It’s an easy drill that pays big dividends

Jake Thurm is a GOLF Teacher to Watch. Learn more from Jake Thurm on Instagram: @jakethurmgolf.

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