How High To Tee Your Ball In The Wind

As we head into another winter, golfers can expect to be greeted with the usual assortment of rain and howling wind. Even with the best drivers on the market, such conditions can make it difficult to maintain the same sort of accuracy you might be used to if you don't make some adjustments. So, in the video and article below, Ping ambassador Barney Puttick discusses how changing your tee height in the wind can help.

At this time of year, the wind tends to increase and with that, I get a lot of people asking questions on how high to tee up your driver in order to lower the ball flight. Here is what I tell them.

Change your set-up

When hitting a normal drive, conventional wisdom dictates that around half the ball should be visible over the crown of the clubhead. In addition, the ball should be well forward in your stance, in line with your lead heel or even beyond in some cases. From there, most coaches will insist your spine is titled away from the target to help achieve the high launch, low spin combination that optimises launch angle for maximum distance.

However, into a strong winter wind, the higher the ball goes, the more it’ll be affected, so it helps to know how to make set-up adjustments in order to control the flight better. 

First, lowering the height of the tee can make a huge difference. Once you've done that, moving the ball position back ever so slightly and narrowing your stance will promote the lower launch you crave as it will reduce the tilt of your spine, meaning you're less likely to hit it on the up. 

Before you put this technique into play, make sure you spend some time at the range to get a feel for the movement and build up some trust that it isn't going to let you down under pressure. After that, you should notice you're able to hit your driver with a much flatter trajectory. However, if you’re still struggling, a low spin driver like the Ping G425 LST will also help bring your flight down and into the window you’re looking for.

No tee method

If you want to try something a little unconventional to control your driver, give this method made famous by Dame Laura Davies a go. Take a sand wedge or similar and make a little turf tee for your ball. This reduces friction at impact and therefore spin to bring the flight down and promote plenty of roll-out when the weather allows.

However, as above, it's definitely worth heading to the practice ground first to try this one out as it could end in disaster if you debut it on the course without prior experience.