What is the correct tee top for max distance off the tee?
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Golf instruction is ever-evolving, however the perfect recommendation stands the take a look at of time. In GOLF.com’s new collection, Timeless Ideas, we’re highlighting a few of the best recommendation lecturers and gamers have disbursed within the pages of GOLF Journal. As we speak we glance again at our June 2006 problem after we ran an experiment to seek out out the proper tee top for maximizing distance with the motive force. For limitless entry to the total GOLF Journal digital archive, be part of InsideGOLF at present; you’ll get pleasure from $140 of worth for less than $39.99/12 months.
Everybody desires to hit the ball farther. It makes the sport a lot simpler while you’re hitting shorter golf equipment into greens, and it makes it extra enjoyable, too. If you happen to can add 20 yards to your drives, you’ll see the sport in a complete new mild.
Including yards to your drives doesn’t need to require velocity coaching or a brand new health routine, although. If you happen to can optimize sure variables with the motive force, you may add simple yards to your tee photographs.
A type of issues is tee top. It may appear trivial, however tee top can have a huge effect in your driving distance.
How a lot affect? Again in 2006, we at GOLF Journal ran an experiment to seek out out. In our June problem from that 12 months, we printed our findings, outlining the optimum tee top for maximizing distance together with your driver. You may test it out beneath.
What’s the optimum tee top with driver?
You’re on the tee field of a brutal par-4 and really want to bust one in the event you’re going to get dwelling in two. What’s your swing key? One factor that you just’re in all probability not fascinated by is how excessive you’ve teed your ball — however try to be. Tweaking your tee heigh, because it seems, is without doubt one of the greatest — and best — changes you can also make yo pound larger and longer drives.
Preserve studying beneath to seek out out why.
The research
Who took half
Twenty-seven golfers, aged 25 to 71, with handicaps starting from scratch to 29. Of the gamers, 25 sometimes used a mid-tee top and two most popular a excessive tee top.
The tee heights
—Low: The highest fringe of the ball was even with the highest fringe of the motive force, so the whole ball was beneath the crown.
—Mid: Half the ball above the crown.
—Excessive: The underside fringe of the ball was barely above the highest fringe of the clubface in order that the whole ball was above the crown.
The experiment
Gamers had been divided into three teams of 9 by handicap stage: 0-9, 10-19 and 20+. Every golfer hit 10 drives at every tee top, with every group hitting from the three tee heights in various order to make sure that fatigue and motivation had been balanced inside every group. Solely the perfect 5 out of the ten drives at every tee top had been recorded in order that mis-hits wouldn’t skew the information.
Carry distance was measured by a launch monitor, which additionally calculated clubhead velocity, launch angle, ball velocity and spin. Accuracy was additionally recorded: drives that landed within the fairway (33 yards broad) scored 1; these in the fitting or left tough (17 yards broad) scored 2; and those who landed past the tough scored 3.
The outcomes
Inside every of the three handicap ranges, carry distance for mid and excessive tee heights was considerably longer than the low tee top, largely an impact of the upper tees selling larger launch angles and fewer spin. The excessive tee top offered probably the most distance, giving the gamers a median of 12 yards extra carry per drive than the low tee top.
Contained in the numbers
| Low tee | Mid tee | Excessive tee | |
| Low handicap (0-9) | |||
| Carry distance (yards) | 211.64 | 219.62 | 222.92 |
| Launch angle (levels) | 10.5 | 13.04 | 13.17 |
| Spin (rpm) | 4,051 | 3,875 | 3,434 |
| Clubhead velocity (mph) | 98.32 | 97.08 | 97.36 |
| Ball velocity (mph) | 138.59 | 138.13 | 138.95 |
| Mid handicap (10-19) | |||
| Carry distance (yards) | 171.46 | 177.84 | 179.84 |
| Launch angle (levels) | 12.4 | 14.4 | 14.04 |
| Spin (rpm) | 3,844 | 3,794 | 3,529 |
| Clubhead velocity (mph) | 86.04 | 85.76 | 85.24 |
| Ball velocity (mph) | 120.9 | 120.93 | 120.93 |
| Excessive handicap (20+) | |||
| Carry distance (yards) | 160.85 | 174.15 | 178.24 |
| Launch angle (levels) | 11.23 | 13.7 | 14.75 |
| Spin (rpm) | 3,834 | 3,801 | 3,591 |
| Clubhead velocity (mph) | 85.39 | 85.87 | 85.01 |
| Ball velocity (mph) | 120.15 | 120.92 | 120.39 |
The most important winners
Excessive-handicappers benefitted probably the most from the excessive tee top, selecting up a median of 18 yards over their drives with the low tee top.
Lengthy and straight
The will increase in carry distance from the low to the mid and excessive tee heights didn’t come on the expense of accuracy by way of hitting the green. The desk beneath presents the share of tee photographs touchdown within the fairway, tough and past the tough as a operate of tee top.
| Fairway | Tough | Past tough | |
| Low tee | 58.5% | 30.4% | 11.1% |
| Mid tee | 54.1% | 34.1% | 11.9% |
| Excessive tee | 61.5% | 27.4% | 11.1% |
Aftermath
Following the experiment, 9 out of 27 gamers deliberate to vary from mid to excessive tee top. Three of these 9 had been from the low-handicap group.
Thee tee top research was performed by GOLF High 100 Instructor Eric Alpenfels and Bob Christian, Ph.D dean emeritus of the College of Well being and Human Efficiency on the College of North Carolina-Greensboro.
