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What do you see when you stand on the tee?

Tadashi70

Tadashi70

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You’re standing on the first tee. You’ve pegged the ball and are standing behind it. What do you see? Do you see the fairway and the shot you want to hit? Do you see all the trouble and were you don’t want to be? Do you see nothing and just swing away?
I think what you see in your minds eye will dictate the shot you deliver. Granted positive thoughts can still lead to a miss because golf isn’t a perfect game. But I think there is more gained with positive sights vs negative. This does assume you possess a swing that often better than bad.
 
I'm looking and not really paying attention to much unless it's a forced carry. I'm more concerned with my tempo and making sure I get a full turn.
 
I see something off in the distance that I want to shoot at and it usually works until I think "don't hit it in..." which inevitable leads to me hitting it into whatever I'm trying to avoid.
 
Tee up. Step back behind ball. Pick a target. Pick a shot shape. Find my line. Let'er rip….
 
start off with shape of the hole or how it's framed by "features" like trees, bunkers, water, etc. that shape will suggest a certain flight, then i have to assess whether i'm comfortable trying to hit that shot. i tend to hit better shots when there is something to focus on, than when it's wide open and i can just swing away.
 
I try to pick a spot where I want the ball to end up.
 
Standing behind the ball i see where I want the ball to end up and the shape the ball will take to get there. I then identify a spot in front of the ball that will start the ball in that line.

When I move over the ball i line up to the spot I picked and then will look at target spot again to lick in where the ball needs to end up.

Do this with all clubs from driver to putter.
 
TM_Bobby723 said:
Tee up. Step back behind ball. Pick a target. Pick a shot shape. Find my line. Let'er rip….
Click to expand...

That is the one skill I wish I had. My shot shape is "don't go OB or in the waste."
 
I’ll answer with a first tee view since it kinda helps me describe

95a2f4e0b369e259b070fa0f79380606.png


I see framing bunkers that really aren’t in play, but an aiming point. I see a straight away hole that either I can draw or fade off the tee, but with there being OB left, fade looks like the better way to go. I would start a ball off the left side of the background bunker and hit it hard. I didn’t even notice the short bunker on the right till I looked again at the photo lol
 
I pick a certain spot I want to land the ball. I look at which way the hole goes because that will dictate the shot I want to hit. Left to right or right to left. I typically don't look at the trouble, I just concentrate on the shot shape away from the trouble.

Now in a perfect world, I could hit those shots that I like to see in my mind's eye but that doesn't always happen. So I rely on my go-to shot, straight down the middle with a slight fade.
 
MWard said:
I’ll answer with a first tee view since it kinda helps me describe

95a2f4e0b369e259b070fa0f79380606.png


I see framing bunkers that really aren’t in play, but an aiming point. I see a straight away hole that either I can draw or fade off the tee, but with there being OB left, fade looks like the better way to go. I would start a ball off the left side of the background bunker and hit it hard. I didn’t even notice the short bunker on the right till I looked again at the photo lol
Click to expand...

Can you reach those bunkers? Do you take that into consideration by taking less than driver to get the ball into play? Or do you just let the big dog eat?
 
I’ve recently been able to change from thinking about where not to hit it to thinking about a pin point spot I want to to be and how I want to get there.

My tee game has changed drastically in last week and a half with hitting around 80% of fairways....wish I had that in Chicago a few weeks back.

Improvement had been due to above in addition to what I’ll call a minor swing change.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I'm looking at the right side of the fairway and try to hit it there with a little fade. If that works I'm in the middle, if no fade, right side. If it's a slice, should be left edge or short rough. If I yank it, it's right rough or hopefully not too deep in the trees.
 
I always find where the trouble is and do my best to stay away. A hand full of times I get lazy and just swing away and that's when I find trouble.
 
I see the fairway first, then I look for trouble and the wind effects. That helps me decide which side of the tee box to set up on and the preferred shot shape.
 
Usually before every swing, I try to imagine it going where I want it to go. I try to locate a spot where I want to hit the ball or if I'm hitting driver, I try to find something off in the distance to aim at and then try to block everything else out.
 
golfinnut said:
Can you reach those bunkers? Do you take that into consideration by taking less than driver to get the ball into play? Or do you just let the big dog eat?
Click to expand...

The ones far in the background, no not for me. They are probably close to 300 yards out. The ones up the right, yes they are in play but only if a real bad shot is hit considering where I’m aiming to begin with.
 
cnosil said:
Standing behind the ball i see where I want the ball to end up and the shape the ball will take to get there. I then identify a spot in front of the ball that will start the ball in that line.

When I move over the ball i line up to the spot I picked and then will look at target spot again to lick in where the ball needs to end up.

Do this with all clubs from driver to putter.
Click to expand...

THIS ^^^'

cnosil and I think a lot alike, although I am not sure our games are similar. :)
 
I just look at my "target" whether it's a tree at the end of the fairway or a fairway bunker I can't reach (pretty easy since I'm a #ShortKnocker).

I try to avoid looking at any trouble well inside my normal driving distance so I don't think about it as I swing.
 
I look at my landing area and pick the club accordingly then I aim at a long range target like a tree off in the distance. Fully agree though if your focused on the trouble 9/10 times it will end up in the crap.
 
Since I hit a fade I need to see if there's danger off to the right. This dictates driver or 3w assuming I'm on par 4 or 5. I don't necessarily pick a target but pay special attention to alignment. I tend to creep my stance open if I'm not paying attention. Smooth back, hard through.
 
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MWard said:
I’ll answer with a first tee view since it kinda helps me describe

95a2f4e0b369e259b070fa0f79380606.png


I see framing bunkers that really aren’t in play, but an aiming point. I see a straight away hole that either I can draw or fade off the tee, but with there being OB left, fade looks like the better way to go. I would start a ball off the left side of the background bunker and hit it hard. I didn’t even notice the short bunker on the right till I looked again at the photo lol
Click to expand...

I see the forecaddy, setup on that line and swing hard.
 
When I've played my best I pick a spot in the distance, usually a tree or a marker of some sort that lines up with the middle of the fairway.

Lately though I've been noticing the hazards. My lack of playing had transferred to a lack of confidence and now I'm afraid of the hazards.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I honestly never acknowledge trouble beyond it helping me decide my line. Once I do, it's out of my mind.

Shared how I came to this a few years ago here...

About 17 or so years ago I had the pleasure of playing with a former European Tour pro, very briefly on the tour years prior, by his own admission.

I was playing well but getting into some trouble here and there. On one tee-box, he asked me what I saw. "A bunker in the middle," I said. "About 250 out, OB left and woods to the right."

"Oh," he said in his rather thick Irish brogue. "In all that, where in the ever lovin' fook is the fairway?!"

Lol... point taken.

He told me then to only acknowledge trouble so as to pick my spot on the tee box in wanting to hit away from said trouble and then remove it from your mind, only see tightly mowed green grass.

Still think of him and his advice to this day.
 
I see the shape of the hole and the fairway. All else is blocked from my mind.
 
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