Can tees affect your shot?

[Foreplay]

Been having trouble off the tee slicing the ball. Went to the range the other day and hit 99% straight, played yesterday and back to slicing every tee shot. I use graduated tees, the driving range ones are the fixed big fat rubber things and recently seen some tees called Evolution Hybrid which state 'Aerodynamic head for longer drives'. Got me wondering if different tees can really make a difference?

 

[Dan2501]

Nope. Tee isn't going to impact how you deliver the club face relative to your path.

 

[Orikoru]

The height of the tee obviously does. Type of tee though - don't think so. And even if it did, I'd expect those fat rubber driving range tees to be the worst! Hate the noise they make when you hit.

 

[Fish]

Been having trouble off the tee slicing the ball. Went to the range the other day and hit 99% straight, played yesterday and back to slicing every tee shot. I use graduated tees, the driving range ones are the fixed big fat rubber things and recently seen some tees called Evolution Hybrid which state 'Aerodynamic head for longer drives'. Got me wondering if different tees can really make a difference?

It's possibly, and this is only a guess, that it's because you align yourself up better at the range as you have alignment aids such as the mat etc.

Go to a grass range and set up and then when you've sliced your first ball, set up again as you did and then place some alignment sticks on the ground at your feet to see how you are addressing the ball.

I now pick a spot about a yard in front of my ball and set up looking to drive through that spot, it sets me up more square and I don't come across the ball, which leads to slices & hooks.

 

[Foreplay]

Thanks for the tip Fish I will give that a go 👍

 

[Yant]

I hate hitting a range ball off of those massive rubber tees.

 

[lukeysafc100]

The type of tee doesn't matter but the height of it certainly can.
Tee is higher - promotes a more draw flight
tee it lower - promotes a fade

So the one at the driving range may be a higher tee??

 

[Hosel Fade]

Its probably the straight edge of the range mat and all the other straight lines that are giving you better reference points than you would out on grass.

 

[jim8flog]

Please remember that some types of tees are not permitted under R&A Rule Appendix IV-1

One designers /green keepers trick is to have the teeing ground aimed or mown so that it leads players to aim in the wrong direction.

 

[Capella]

For me it is the other way round. I find it very very hard to hit straight shots on the driving range, because our mats don't point straight down the range but sit at a slight angle and I find it really really hard to set myself up against that line. On the course I normally don't have that problem. (I still do occasionally slice the ball on the course, but that's normally more a problem with tempo than with my alignment, either because nerves kick in or because I try to hit the ball further by hitting it faster ... something which I know does not work for me, but adrenalin still sometimes gets the upper hand).

 

[Beezerk]

The type of tee doesn't matter but the height of it certainly can.
Tee is higher - promotes a more draw flight
tee it lower - promotes a fade

You're going to have to explain the science behind that one for me mate 😁

 

[Hosel Fade]

You're going to have to explain the science behind that one for me mate 

They promote a different AoA/Path from the players side. You hear plenty of the tour players talking about "squeeze fades"

 

[Hobbit]

You're going to have to explain the science behind that one for me mate 

Tee down promotes a more upright swing, which its easier to slice with. Higher tee promotes a flatter swing which promotes a draw.

 

[bobmac]

The ball doesn't know how high the tee is

 

[xcore]

My pink tee seems to promote a snap hook currently?!

 

[Beezerk]

Tee down promotes a more upright swing, which its easier to slice with. Higher tee promotes a flatter swing which promotes a draw.

It just tends to hit higher on the face with my driver lol.

 

[HawkeyeMS]

Tee down promotes a more upright swing, which its easier to slice with. Higher tee promotes a flatter swing which promotes a draw.

Er, how exactly? The height of the tee has absolutely no effect on your swing plane. The pro's may alter their swing and tee height if they want to hit a different flight, but the height of tee alone isn't going to change your swing.

 

[rudebhoy]

Been having trouble off the tee slicing the ball. Went to the range the other day and hit 99% straight, played yesterday and back to slicing every tee shot. I use graduated tees, the driving range ones are the fixed big fat rubber things and recently seen some tees called Evolution Hybrid which state 'Aerodynamic head for longer drives'. Got me wondering if different tees can really make a difference?

My problem exactly. Played Sunday, slicing horribly off the tee. Went to the range on Tuesday, driving straight 90% of the time. Played Wednesday, slicing again. Went to range Thursday, hitting it nice and straight. Played yesterday, slicing again. Use a big blue rubber tee at the range, and a pink plastic one on the course.

It's not an alignment issue as I am not hitting them straight in the wrong direction, they start off straight, then veer horribly to the right.

Have got a lesson booked for Monday morning, am hoping that will sort it out as this is doing my head in!

 

[Beezerk]

Do range balls spin less? They're certainly lower quality.

 

[Foxholer]

Do range balls spin less? They're certainly lower quality.

Er...I think you mean 'performance' rather than 'quality'! And even that is arguable - without defining performance metrics/criteria! They are often designed to travel less distance than 'proper' balls - and generally do that job superbly! It's more likely that it a less responsive core rather than more (or less) spin that achieves the performance design aim!

After several zilion hits and washes however, the quality of the cover is pretty low, which also reduces flight - try hitting a completely smooth ball (or simply a core) and see what happens!