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 Matt Hilton is director of instruction at the David Leadbetter Golf Academy at Irvine’s Strawberry Farms Golf Club. He can be reached at (949) 777-6897. Age: 46 Handicap: 9 Plays: Three or four times a month Practices: Twice a month Question: I recently used a zero-friction tee that holds the ball up on a set of three little plastic prongs. I killed my driver the entire round. Is there an optimum tee height, and can a tee actually influence the flight of your ball and the length of your drive? Prescription: Modern drivers attempt to achieve a higher launch angle with less spin, so they all have much deeper faces and are a lot larger and longer in profile when viewed from the address position. This design moves the center of gravity lower and farther from the clubface, placing the sweet spot on the upper part of the face. So, in the simplest terms, we need to tee the ball higher to get to the sweet spot, which now sits higher off the ground. A great rule to follow for tee height is to make sure that at least half of the ball is above the top of the driver as it rests on the ground. As far as all the new tee gadgetry is concerned, you’ll notice that 99.9 percent of touring pros still use the classic wooden tee. Patient: Male Age: 31 Handicap: 14 Plays: Twice a month Practices: About once a month Question: I just won two wedges and am having problems with them. I’m using the 56-degree wedge from the bunkers and can’t get the ball to pop out of the sand. I’m using the 60-degree wedge from the fairway and hitting a lot of thin shots. Any tips? Prescription: Wedges are designed with what’s called “bounce” to allow the clubhead to hit down on the ball without digging too deeply into the turf. It sounds like you’re making contact with the ground first instead of the ball with your lob wedge. Make sure the ball is in the middle of your stance with your feet closer together than a full shot and your weight favoring the front side. If your other wedge is digging too deeply into the sand, it could be that the clubface is closed, which causes the leading edge of the clubface to hit the sand before the trailing edge. Watch the pros and you’ll notice that they all set up to their bunker shots with an open face for the added bounce, not extra loft. DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION FOR DR. GOLF? CLICK HERE! |
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