Not teeing it up on par 3's

[h=2]"For crisper iron shots, try to trap it against the turf"[/h]
"This is a clear sign that you're compressing the ball, trapping it between the clubface and the turf...."

Those quotes are from the Instruction section of Golf Digest (on-line).

I also often hear Johnny Miller talk about 'trapping the ball' with an iron.

Those are the kinds of things you hear that make you wonder....

rollin said:

I have run into quite a number of people who insist when we hit an iron we compress the ball into the ground....

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I always use a tee. A couple of my golf buddys don't use a tee on par 3's and then when they stuff it up I give them a bit of s#%t and say "see you should have used a tee haha", all in good fun though.

I always use a tee on par 3's. I don't think i have ever decided not to use one.

Personally I tend to thin the ball a lot more off a tee for some reason. Purely a mental thing I know... Generally on a par 3 it will all depend on the state of the tee box, if I can find a nice bit of grass that the ball sits up nicely on then I'll be using that and not teeing it up. Right from 3 hybrid down to 58 degree wedge. If the tee box isn't in great shape then I'll use a broken tee purely to just give the ball stability, but will never tee it up higher than the level of the grass though.

Depends, if using a wedge, seldom tee it up, otherwise, yep use the tee even if only an eighth-inch. The more loft, the lower I tee it.

rollin said:

. I have run into quite a number of people who insist when we hit an iron we compress the ball into the ground..

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zeroputt said:

"For crisper iron shots, try to trap it against the turf"


"This is a clear sign that you're compressing the ball, trapping it between the clubface and the turf...."

Those quotes are from the Instruction section of Golf Digest (on-line).

I also often hear Johnny Miller talk about 'trapping the ball' with an iron.

Those are the kinds of things you hear that make you wonder....

Click to expand...

I hope discussing this further is not considered hijacking this thread. After all it does seem to fit in with the subject and reasons and/or questions some may have for using and/or not using a tee as been asked. So I will continue the discussion.

as for the compression I am no scientist nor expert golf advice giver but I believe I do understand this part.
I believe things are said (as for ground compression) in such ways only as reference to try to accomplish something. That being the idea of hitting down on the ball. The only way imo one can actually hit a ball against the ground is if the ball is struck above the equator and also done so with a loft that is facing the ground instead of upwards. That's just simple physics. I have even seen/read articles by so called pga instructors that sound as though they are actually telling you the ball actually compresses against the ground and that often makes me wonder and question it also but I have to say I believe they are wrong. The physics just doesn't allow for it unless one has the factors mentioned above.

Here is a vid (I posted in a another thread some time back) of Tiger and a 3iron. Keep in mind the 3iron is one the lowest lofted clubs to begin with and yet he has also placed the ball way back in his stands to further de-loft the club with hands way out in front to de-loft even further all in order to hit a low stinger. So basically (for purpose of debate) this is about as low as one can go loft wise and hits the ball at the equator and yet the ball "still" immediately lifts upwards after impact even after being hit even with the intention of a pro golfer to keep it low as possible. Still it rises immediately.



In order to actually squeeze a ball against the ground one would (as far as I know) and I believe as far the physics would say, have to hit the ball with a club loft facing down or screw up the swing totally by blading it into the ground from above the equator. Imo any ball that would ever somehow be hit where as to compress against the ground would just go no where real fast. The energy would all be transferred from the strike through the ball and absorbed into the ground. There would be no or very little energy left to send the ball any significant distance and there would be virtually no control as to where the ball goes because the ground is never a perfectly flat object anyway. Unless I am missing or misunderstanding something important here (and anyone please fill me in if I am) there is just no way that we compress a ball against the ground in any normal golf swing that is to be successfully hit. In addition you notice the first move the ball makes is simultaneously along with heading upwards is a backspin. A backspin in itself means the ball is rolling up the clubface upon impact. Rolling up also means moving up away from the ground.

I don't always use a tee, especially if it's just a casual round with friends.

i always tee up from pw - 3, and will play off the deck for my other wedges. However, my version of teeing up is the ball being level with the top of the grass blades almost to make it like having a perfect lie on the fairway. I did for a while tee my 5 and 4 irons up quite a bit, but my ball striking has gotten much better so i can play them low and make solid contact.

Sometimes I do, sometimes I don't. I haven't put a lot of thought into it, but it's never seemed to make a big difference for me. I can hit bad shots with or without the ball being teed up.

I also never thought about it being a bigger issue for long irons versus short irons. I will probably do some testing now to see if I notice a bigger difference in usefulness for tees between long/short irons.

I always tee it up. I'm getting a higher launch from a tee, and more spin, thus stopping the ball faster. I also have the feeling I'm a lot more accurate, but that might be mental...

I personally always use a tee of the box. Yet on the same hand I have friends who post MUCH better scores than i do that never use a tee, or driver for that matter. Our local course has a 201 yard par three and my buddy will always take his 3 iron or now 3 hybrid right off the deck on the tee box, even par 5's its 3 wood off the deck for him. Its just all personal preference.

I always tee up on par 3s. Ball rests just barely above the grass, just a confidence thing for me.

Agent Jay said:

Welcome to THP!

Someone (Pro Golfer) once said, an time I get to use a tee, I will. I can't remember who that was, but it's always stuck with me. So, MOST of the time I'm suing a tee on every tee box.

I'm not saying that I always do that, but most of the time I do....and still trying to take a divot in front of the tee.

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The first thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers.
Shakespeare, Henry the Sixth

The number one culprit for slow play.

I'm thinking about trying to tee off the ground with my irons if I can find a good spot to do it. Been noticing an issue not hitting down when I tee up irons. Maybe my hybrid as well.

I tee up every shot I'm legally allowed to

Not teeing it up on par 3's

Odd as this sounds, the one club I won't tee up on the tee box is my XR pro hybrid. I can't explain it other than it must be mental, but if I put a put it on a tee and try and hit with that club it goes crazy right. But if I just drop the ball on the ground on the Teebox I hit it really well. Don't know why and not sure I care to figure out why just going to go with it.

I tee it up on par 3's because the grass is often not in as good of shape as it would be in the fairway. The flattest areas of the tee box that are in the ideal location to attack the pin are often are full of divots so a tee is the best option. In most cases I do not tee the ball more than a 1/4" off the ground for an iron shot.

I tee it up on par 3's but try to keep it just barely above the grass.

I never did before, but the last 5 rounds or so I have teed up every par 3 and have hit more greens. I do tee it just at the top of the grass so just a real nice lie and still take a divot most times.

I always use a tee when I can. Every time.

I tee it up barely.