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Tee Par 3 for Irons?

deleebar

deleebar

blargh
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Montgomery County, PA
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So something pretty strange has been happening with my last three rounds. So my iron game has been probably the best it's been ever in the last weeks. The only time i have trouble with my irons is when i tee it up on a par 3. I only use the tee to give myself clean lie and have it 0.5cm above the ground at most, but i've just been hitting the most horrendous shots when using the tee. Is this all mental or is there something to it. Anyone else have anything similar?
 
It's mental. just my .02
 
deleebar said:
So something pretty strange has been happening with my last three rounds. So my iron game has been probably the best it's been ever in the last weeks. The only time i have trouble with my irons is when i tee it up on a par 3. I only use the tee to give myself clean lie and have it 0.5cm above the ground at most, but i've just been hitting the most horrendous shots when using the tee. Is this all mental or is there something to it. Anyone else have anything similar?
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If you're improving your lie and hitting bad shots, I do think it's mental. What sort of misses are you experiencing?

For the longest time I played the par threes ball down without a tee, but I believe it is more successful to even have it minutely teed.
 
Mainly hooks or fat shots. It's not like crazy off but enough to take much larger than usual divots or a few yards off the green.

Canadan said:
If you're improving your lie and hitting bad shots, I do think it's mental. What sort of misses are you experiencing?

For the longest time I played the par threes ball down without a tee, but I believe it is more successful to even have it minutely teed.
Click to expand...
 
hmm... wish I could help. I always use a tee on par 3's a friend of mine insists he plays better without one and I bust his chops every time he hits one fat lol. only thing I can think of since you said you hit them fat or hooks is maybe subconsciously because its on a tee you are trying to scoop it and dropping down inside
 
deleebar said:
Mainly hooks or fat shots. It's not like crazy off but enough to take much larger than usual divots or a few yards off the green.
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Hmm... I'm certainly not going to try dissect your game, but I know when I turn irons on par threes it's because I am trying to stay down/hit down on the ball instead of swinging through the shot. It's something that has definitely plagued me on par 3s more than the same club from the fairway I think because I have higher expectations to hit a green for some reason. That could also be you striking down that is causing the fat shots.

If that were happening to me, I'd take two full practice swings and then commit to that exact shot when I actually address the ball.
 
Yeah, i was about to switch to just hitting off deck, but i know it's supposed to be easier from tee. I figured it was mental...

Canadan said:
Hmm... I'm certainly not going to try dissect your game, but I know when I turn irons on par threes it's because I am trying to stay down/hit down on the ball instead of swinging through the shot. It's something that has definitely plagued me on par 3s more than the same club from the fairway I think because I have higher expectations to hit a green for some reason. That could also be you striking down that is causing the fat shots.

If that were happening to me, I'd take two full practice swings and then commit to that exact shot when I actually address the ball.
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It is easier off a tee, not using one is a mistake in my opinion. My suggestion is to practice with a tee on the range with your iron shots so you get a feel for the difference between hitting off a tee and hitting an iron of the deck. Same swing, but different feel. When you get on the course, tee it up and swing away, try to avoid thoughts and doubts.
 
I used to always hit hooks off par 3 tees as well. I found that I was tending to close the club face ever so slightly. I focused on making sure it was square at address and i have hit every par 3 the last 3 rounds out.
 
I usually don't tee up my 9i or wedges. Only because of the amount of backspin that generates when teed. That being said, I do think it's mental. There's really no reason teeing up a ball should have you hitting fat.
 
Jack Nicklaus said to always use a tee on par threes', there is a reason they don't let you use a tee on every shot.
 
deleebar said:
So something pretty strange has been happening with my last three rounds. So my iron game has been probably the best it's been ever in the last weeks. The only time i have trouble with my irons is when i tee it up on a par 3. I only use the tee to give myself clean lie and have it 0.5cm above the ground at most, but i've just been hitting the most horrendous shots when using the tee. Is this all mental or is there something to it. Anyone else have anything similar?
Click to expand...

THP used to have a resident pro here called Andy who helped me with this very thing. He pointed out that my normal iron swing was down through the ball and then turf, but when I started putting it on a tee I also started sweeping the ball which creates a hook. He suggested I continue to take a divot after the ball and things will work out and it did. Good luck to you!
 
thedue said:
THP used to have a resident pro here called Andy who helped me with this very thing. He pointed out that my normal iron swing was down through the ball and then turf, but when I started putting it on a tee I also started sweeping the ball which creates a hook. He suggested I continue to take a divot after the ball and things will work out and it did. Good luck to you!
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Thanks. I think this will definitely help. I think after just two bad hits from the tee (which weren't terribly bad) i tried to change things up on the tee and got worse.
 
thedue said:
THP used to have a resident pro here called Andy who helped me with this very thing. He pointed out that my normal iron swing was down through the ball and then turf, but when I started putting it on a tee I also started sweeping the ball which creates a hook. He suggested I continue to take a divot after the ball and things will work out and it did. Good luck to you!
Click to expand...

Oh, MY. I've been struggling with this lately and thinking about it this may be the cause. It's certainly something I'll work on next trip to the range.
 
I too have struggled with this issue in the past (I still don't tee 9 iron and under)....as others have said...hit down and through the ball..it's a pure mental thing that is causing you to sweep it off the tee which will result in a pull hook
 
Make sure you're not teeing the ball too high. Typically with an iron you want to tee the ball up as if it's sitting just on top of the blades of grass.
 
thedue said:
THP used to have a resident pro here called Andy who helped me with this very thing. He pointed out that my normal iron swing was down through the ball and then turf, but when I started putting it on a tee I also started sweeping the ball which creates a hook. He suggested I continue to take a divot after the ball and things will work out and it did. Good luck to you!
Click to expand...
I think a lot of people unconsciously sweep their shots when they play an iron from a tee box. It happens for some because they tee it way too high, like they do with a wood. Make sure that you have it teed up just enough to give you a perfect lie with no noticeable gap above the grass. Then, like he says above, swing through the ball so your divot starts in front of it, just like from the fairway.

Another thing I see a lot of people do on par 3s is put undo pressure on themselves to hit the green. Remember it's just like playing a second shot from the fairway, except you have a perfect lie - don't change your thought process or routine just because you're on the tee box.
 
Id have to venture a guess that it probably is mental. Maybe you just need to practice hitting irons off of a tee until you feel comfortable with it.
 
It could be mental, but it could simply be a matter of lack of practice. I know a lot of people don't practice enough with tee'd up iron shots (I'm guilty of this also). Maybe they don't want people to think badly of them at the range teeing up a 7 iron, I don't know. Personally, I just don't think to do it until I'm about out of balls.

I get a case of fat shots on par 3's sometimes too. My problem tends to be I over-rotate and get a little too long in my backswing, which leads to the dreaded hip sway which leads to fat shots. I might be thinking I want to really go after the iron since the ball is tee'd up and end up throwing off the swing.
 
Given the sound logic and physics behind using a tee, I also find that I don't seem to gain much from using a tee. I never did for a long time but started to a while back because "the pros do so there must be a reason". Lately I only tee it up if the tee box conditions aren't good. If I can find a solid soft piece of grass where I have a good solid stance and the angle I want, I don't tee it up, but rather I will gently place a ball right on top so there is las little contact with the grass as possible. Not super fluffy though.

Honestly, it should be whatever looks right to the individual at address. If you're thinking about whether or not you should be teeing it up, you probably shouldn't if only that the mental part is likely to win over the soundness of it and cause a bad shot.

If you want to use a tee without hesitation, I would practice doing it on the range if you can.
 
I've had it, and I think it's a mental thing. At times, I try to scoop the ball off the tee. I have to remind myself to hit down on the ball, even if it is on the tee.

~Rock
 
There is one par three on my course I always have trouble with and flirt with the water on the right nearly every time I play it. There is another that is short but up a big hill that I am way short of the green most of the time. The others I hit the ball fairly straight and with good length most of the time and I always tee it up. I think for a few rounds I am going to start giving it a nice fluffed lie but not use a tee on those two holes and see what happens.
 
I struggle teeing it up on Par 3's with short irons. Lately I've been playing irons from every tee so I've gotten more practice but I have much better luck hitting my long irons off the tee. I can get them to go straight while on Par 3's, I'll pull/draw the short irons almost every time.

I usually tee it up about a finger width above the ground. It's not flush but it's also not tee'd incredibly high. Still lets me get my fat/chunky shots once in a while.
 
I was pulling every iron I hit off a tee for a while. What I ended up doing was moving the ball back just alittle whenever I tee up on a par 3. It helped me straighten out those shots.
 
3 pars are the devil's work! I also think it's mental. Don't over think it.
 
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