Teeing up irons

[timd77]

Not very Christmassy but...

When teeing up my irons, 8 upwards, I either tee very low or don’t use one at all. But for some reason 7-5 I tee it up so that the ball is pretty much in the middle of the club face and on impact the club barely interacts with the ground. Gives me confidence that I can hit it and seems to serve me well.

What, if anything, am I potentially losing by doing this? Is it likely to reduce distance? Should I work on teeing it lower?

 

[Parsaregood]

Well you most likely dont hit down as much with your mid to longer irons as you do with short irons. If you teed a short iron up as much and hit your normal swing you would probably strike it near the top of the face and lose distance as a result, you can do this to take about half a club in distance off if you are in between clubs. It's a trick alot of the pro's use. You should tee mid irons up maybe slightly higher but not all that much unless hitting a long/driving iron off a tee you could probably tee it up maybe half an inch

 

[chrisd]

Not very Christmassy but...

When teeing up my irons, 8 upwards, I either tee very low or don’t use one at all. But for some reason 7-5 I tee it up so that the ball is pretty much in the middle of the club face and on impact the club barely interacts with the ground. Gives me confidence that I can hit it and seems to serve me well.

What, if anything, am I potentially losing by doing this? Is it likely to reduce distance? Should I work on teeing it lower?

For me, you are possibly sacrificing the opportunity to have a perfect lie. Any grass between the ball and club could affect the shot and I never go without teeing up even so much as a wedge

 

[Jigger]

If you’re hitting the sweet spot then stick with the tee height. You’re probably squeezing more yards out of the club face if anything.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

For me, you are possibly sacrificing the opportunity to have a perfect lie. Any grass between the ball and club could affect the shot and I never go without teeing up even so much as a wedge

Wasn't it Nicklaus that said something along the lines of giving yourself every advantage you can and so always teed the ball up on a par 3 irrespective of which club he hit?

 

[Sats]

I normally dink a little bit of turf up instead of using a tee.

 

[chrisd]

I normally dink a little bit of turf up instead of using a tee.

Not at my place you won't, another Sene yobbo eh ???

 

[mikejohnchapman]

Depends a bit on your swing. If you tend to hit down on the ball then teeing the ball up isn't as important.

 

[timd77]

Thanks for the replies, sounds like I should carry on as I am. I’m hitting my 5 iron around 180 at the moment, get around 190 in dry conditions so I don’t seem to be losing any ground on PPs. I tend to have the ball slightly ahead of middle of my stance on these irons (5,6,7) and so I’m kind of hitting up on them. Watched a YouTube video where the chap was saying irons should be hit off a low tee, I’ll ignore him!

 

[bobmac]

Thanks for the replies, sounds like I should carry on as I am. I’m hitting my 5 iron around 180 at the moment, get around 190 in dry conditions so I don’t seem to be losing any ground on PPs. I tend to have the ball slightly ahead of middle of my stance on these irons (5,6,7) and so I’m kind of hitting up on them. Watched a YouTube video where the chap was saying irons should be hit off a low tee, I’ll ignore him!

I don't think it's a good idea to hit up on your irons.
And if someone suggets hitting off a low tee, I think you should listen.

 

[jim8flog]

Another vote for a low tee with all iron shots.

When I first started to play I was taught that the tee height for irons should be the equivalent of a very good lie on the fairway.

In that way there is no difference in the swing for ball hit off the tee and a ball hit off the grass.

 

[Sats]

Not at my place you won't, another Sene yobbo eh ???

Only if there's divot mix though!

 

[Roops]

For short irons of the tee, I don't tee the ball up. I much prefer the thought of a lovely fairway lie, just perched on the grass. For longer irons I will tee it up, but then I set the tee height dependent on the shot I want. So a high 5 iron would be teed up quite a bit, a punchy 6 would be lower etc. I don't think there is any right or wrong way, it's what enables you to hit the best shot.

 

[jmf1488]

If you tee it up so high on the tee box with them irons, what do you do when its on the fairway? There is no way you could have confidence hitting them clubs off the deck if you feel the need to tee it up that high.

I've always used the little green tees so it barely lifts it off the ground. I want to replicate my iron swing weather I am teeing up or playing off fairway, the swing must remain consistent.

 

[Pin-seeker]

Only if there's divot mix though!

But do people only take a divot if there’s Divot mix?

 

[Ye Olde Boomer]

I push my tee all the way down to its cup with any iron or wedge from the tee. I usually look for a broken tee on the ground and use that.
It actually is better than eschewing the tee altogether.

I only tee it up about a quarter inch or so with a fairway wood, too, and little more than that with the driver.

Which is why, of course, I can't use a 460cc driver. I don't like playing the ball so far forward in my stance and swinging up at it.