Does Tee Height Affect How Far You Can Drive?

Most golfers dream about blasting 300-yard drives down the center of the fairway, and many are willing to spend hundreds of dollars on the latest, massive titanium drivers or on swing sessions with the local course professional. But for those without the time or money to spend on new equipment or lessons, adjusting how high you tee the ball can result in longer, straighter drives.

  1. The Facts

    • Teeing the ball higher--up to a certain point--can result in longer, straighter drives. In 2007, Golf Magazine carried out a study of low, medium, and high-handicap golfers, and the results showed that high tee heights resulted in more distance and more accuracy for golfers of all ability levels. The best golfers, whose handicaps ranged from zero to nine, gained an extra 11 yards when using a high tee over a low tee, while the high-handicappers, those with handicaps over 20, gained an extra 18 yards per drive.

    Launch Angle

    • So, what explains these test results? One key component of driving distance is the angle at which the ball leaves the club face, known as the launch angle. The higher the trajectory of the ball--up to approximately 45 degrees--the farther the ball will travel in the air. Most drivers have a loft of around 10 degrees, but teeing the ball higher allows the golfer to hit the ball at the start of the upswing, creating a launch angle closer to 45 degrees.

    Ball Spin

    • The other main factor in the effectiveness of high tees is spin. Spin can rob a driver of distance in two ways. First, spin will cause the ball to move horizontally--to "hook" or "slice," in golf parlance--detracting from the overall distance of the drive. Second, the energy imparted to spin the ball detracts from the energy moving it forward. Teeing the ball up higher creates less spin, creating a more efficient and more direct flight path in a straight direction.

    Getting the Right Height

    • Just what is considered a "high" tee? In Golf Magazine's study, golfers using the "high" setting teed their ball such that the bottom of the ball was just above the top of the driver when the club head was resting on the ground. This setting, however, may be too high for those golfers whose swings sweep very close to the ground, and could cause them to hit the ball very high into the air. Those who find themselves consistently "skying" their drives may want to lower the ball slightly.