We've launched the new forums! Read more here

The importance of the tee shot, own your fairways!

Tadashi70

Tadashi70

Well-known member
Joined
Nov 10, 2010
Messages
62,648
Reaction score
385
Location
Orlando
Handicap
2.7
I think it's safe to say golfers covet the long ball that finds the fairway. After all the further you can hit it off the tee and in the fairway, scoring chances increase (in theory).

We watch DJ, Rory, Day and others bomb it off the tee and have short irons into greens. These guys are not only long but accurate, to point. To be blessed with power and accuracy like that would be grand.

Sadly, the mere mortal doesn't hit as many fairways or even close to the tour average. But there are plenty of weekend warriors that can find the short stuff on the regular. What is their secret? Why are they or you so accurate?

I'd like this thread to serve as an area for people to talk about the long game and the advantages of having such a game. Now long is relative, so this isn't just for bombers but everyone that plays golf as a recreation.
 
I consider just being in the primary a win for me. The more offline I am it just reduces options for approach. I envy anyone that hits fairways consistently.
 
Cool thread! For me I'm not a bomber, I average in the 235-240 range with a good one out in the 250 area. I used to try to obliterate the ball and would cause myself to lose many a ball out of play etc. Over the winter months, I worked on shortening my backswing to something more controllable and thus far have found great success. (Think Rahm minus 150yards :laughing:) It's so much nicer playing from the short stuff, than having to punch out from under a tree or take a penalty for losing one. My desire to smash comes back every now and again, and I'll launch one two fairways over but for the most part I like to think I've gotten my tee game under control.
 
My last 4 rounds, I had 15 penalty strokes, the majority (at least 2/3) of which were off the tee. If it's OB that's pretty much a 2 stroke penalty since I'm hitting 3 off the tee. If I eliminate those penalty strokes I save @25 strokes over those 4 rounds. That over 6 strokes per round and gets me from a high 80 to a low 80 average.
 
I believe they have the combo of power and accuracy based on hours of work on the swing mechanics and building a repeatable and efficient swing. They have the ability to properly sequence the swing especially in the transition.

Having started at a young age with the game and professional instruction IMO has been probably the biggest reason they have a lot of these abilities.

for me I have days where I'm accurate and avg to above avg distance but lack the consistency on a regular basis that I plan to resolve this year. Off the tee I'm ok with missing the fairway as long as I have a **** to advance the ball down the hole and close to the green.
 
The key for me getting more accurate was 1) learning and accepting taking less than driver off the tee if it wasn't needed, and 2) finding a driver that worked with my misses when I did use it. That and working on understanding driver head/face control turned a big corner for me. I was someone who could go rounds without finding more than a handful of fairways combined, but now I'm not too bad at it, and my confidence is way up.
 
I really like this thread. Depending on the length of the rough at a particular course or when I play in tournaments, I typically try to play to the widest portion of a fairway. Even if that means having a longer approach, I'd rather be in the fairway hitting a 7 iron than a 110yard shot out of the rough that won't have any spin at all. This is when I hit the most fairways due to the larger margin for error and usually have the most success.

There's also something to be said for playing public courses all the time and a lot of the time, the rough isn't "longer grass" but poorly manicured areas or dirt patches and such. It's such a bad spot to be and only sets you up for a poorly struck approach.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I experienced the opposite of the OP during my last round. My tee game was atrocious, and ultimately it cost me. Alternatively, when I'm hitting competent tee shots I am almost always in a position to score, and my scores reflect that. I have plenty of length when things are working, but like a lot of amateurs, I can get a bit squirrely off the tee at times. It's an area that I definitely want to improve in an effort for more consistency!
 
For me there are degrees of winning when it comes to my drives.

A Level 1 win is not OB!! A Level 2 win is a shot not blocked out . . . so I have a shot forward and not sideways. A Level 3 win is in either the fairway or the primary rough. Distance plays no part here.

I strive for those Level 3 wins and I'm fairly successful now versus my past. Why? Simply that I want accuracy over distance. It's fun to hit a long drive to the fairway and when you do it makes the game easier. But for me I'm striving for accuracy first. And my scores have improved dramatically. So for me . . . that is the win I'm looking for. I'm 67 and hit it around 215-225 and I'm okay with that. If I try to add distance I can get 260 or so but no telling where the ball will end up!!! Hahaha!
 
emart2173 said:
I believe they have the combo of power and accuracy based on hours of work on the swing mechanics and building a repeatable and efficient swing. They have the ability to properly sequence the swing especially in the transition.

Having started at a young age with the game and professional instruction IMO has been probably the biggest reason they have a lot of these abilities.
Click to expand...

You don't think they have an 'it' factor? I know guys that spend hours on their game and are just good golfers. And others they have chance of ever being better than they are now.
 
I'm a little guy so my drives sneak out there to the 230-250 range pretty consistently. I generally hit between 8-11 fairways a round and my misses usually are pretty close. I do have the occasional WTF moment off the tee and have to really search. But happy with my tee game at the moment, just have to remind my self to take a nice easy swing and not try to kill it. Getting a 1 inch shorter shaft seemed to help my tee game a considerable amount.
 
I prefer to think the Driver is the most important club in the bag. It starts the hole & depending on the course it's hit 10-14 times & I have a much better chance of scoring if I am hitting the driver straight, in or close to the fairway, sure the putter can save shots & is used much more, but if I am playing my tee ball from the trees, water or someones backyard a good score is the least of my concerns.
 
cbaker2882 said:
The key for me getting more accurate was 1) learning and accepting taking less than driver off the tee if it wasn't needed, and 2) finding a driver that worked with my misses when I did use it. That and working on understanding driver head/face control turned a big corner for me. I was someone who could go rounds without finding more than a handful of fairways combined, but now I'm not too bad at it, and my confidence is way up.
Click to expand...

So to your point 1) when do you step off the gas and hit less then driver? From a course management standpoint how much width do you need to pull driver? If you are playing a short par for that has that width with no penalty inducing trouble will you hit driver or do you back off and hit something less?
 
I have no middle ground. I'm either dead center 250 yards, or off on the other fairway someplace. I'm not sure how I can be so consistently inconsistent when it comes to driver. worst is, its round by round. One round I'm knocking it stiff every drive it seems, the next day I couldn't hit the same zip code to save my life.

I should add, when my drives are on, I score easily 10 strokes better. the rest of my game is consistently crap, so it's easier to predict it
 
The_Dude said:
I consider just being in the primary a win for me. The more offline I am it just reduces options for approach. I envy anyone that hits fairways consistently.
Click to expand...

I envy you guys that hit it far
 
When I'm hitting fairways, it's a HUGE advantage to be able to hit the ball deep. But when I'm having control issues, it becomes the biggest score killer. Case in point... The last round I played, I had one of my best driving days. And the score showed it. I hit 12/16 fairways with 3 of the 4 I missed being in the first cut. I had short irons in to every par 4, and even had 149 left in to a 534yd downwind par 5.

On the other end of the spectrum, a couple weeks ago I hit 4/13 fairways, lost 6 balls and had to punch out from under the trees on most of the drives I didn't hit OB or in hazards. The result was the worst round I've shot this year on a day where I putted and hit my irons pretty well. I need to learn to throttle back and hit less than driver on the days where I just don't "have it."
 
I think the secret for casual golfers who find most FW is hard work with the club, a sound setup, they don't swing out of control, and they use a shaft that isn't too long for them, they figured out that finding FW is the first step to good scores and did what it takes to get there.
 
I know why I'm not, and to the point why some guys are I guess, the driver is just a club that I haven't worked hard enough on yet to get a consistent result. I've played with guys that it seems like they move the ball 30-40 yards one way or the other, but they do it consistently and they seem to find the fairway religiously.

When I'm hitting the highest % of FIR it's usually because of club selection and course management. So on any average par 4, when I'm hitting a lot of fairways, I'll look the hole over and decide what the safest club I can hit is. It just depends on if the fairway funnels in or if there's some kind of hazard, but I play what I have to to hit the fairway and still have an approach with a shortish iron in hand. At my home course there's a shorter par 4 I almost always tee off with a 5i just so I'm not giving strokes away if I do miss with my driver, FW, or hybrid.
 
I am definitely not a bomber, but when I'm hitting it well I notice that I have a "confidence" that trickles into everything... I have been working on drawing that confidence from other areas, but with mixed results. I think that this confidence leads to being more decisive, precise, and deliberate...
 
This is a conversation you you and I have had panda. Its Very easy for me to pull a driver out and try to rip it down the fairway. But chances are i am probably not gonna find a fairway as often as I'd like. So instead, thanks to you, anything under 400 yards I just pull a 3 wood or a long iron or something like that. That leaves me, worst-case scenario, if I hit a bad shot no more than an 8i or 9i into a short par 4. But Ion par 5's I'm still working on being confident and not going with driver
 
I kid you not one of my nicknames on the course when hitting a tee shot is "Straight Man Mercer" Thus I choke down on the driver and stay in sync with the swing to hit it 235-245 more with roll on certain holes. KEY no OBs....

-Ol'Mercer-
 
I'm not long off the tee, so have to rely on trying to be accurate.

One thing that I've worked hard on is removing the far right side off the tee. I feel like eliminating one major miss gives confidence and with confidence come better swings. So that's my theory...I can live with being just off right; just not way right.

Sent from my LG-H810 using Tapatalk
 
Tadashi70 said:
You don't think they have an 'it' factor? I know guys that spend hours on their game and are just good golfers. And others they have chance of ever being better than they are now.
Click to expand...

I think both have the it factor and along with Day and probably Bubba are blessed with power. Rory is relatively short and generates the power of the bigger guys.

Curious how much is "it" factor and how much is also because if their work ethic. DJ is a pretty good athlete that chose golf so that probably helps. I'm sure many of the pros would love to have what they have.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
LordByron said:
So to your point 1) when do you step off the gas and hit less then driver? From a course management standpoint how much width do you need to pull driver? If you are playing a short par for that has that width with no penalty inducing trouble will you hit driver or do you back off and hit something less?
Click to expand...

It kind of comes down to how I'm hitting my driver currently and how I'm hitting my other shots. Some days I can hit it straight and consistent, and on those days I may play it more. But, at the same time, if my touch shots are off, my distance I want off the tee may change to give myself more full irons in. If my irons are off and I'm driving better, I may try to get a little closer to give myself a wedge or partial iron in. It's a lot of course management, but they are quick decisions for me, and once I make them I stick to them. I know it's not a cut and dry answer, but I don't think it's good to play that way as an amateur. My game fluctuates as I go, and some days my strengths may change. Playing to what I usually do well might not work every round, and knowing that helps keep my scores consistent.

So for me, it's just all about knowing your own game and playing to your strengths while avoiding your weaknesses. If driver is a weakness that day, understand how to avoid it and what layout allows you to be comfortable hitting it. Driver tended to always be my danger club, so I practiced a lot and got good with a 3 wood. I don't lose too much distance with it, but gain a lot of confidence and accuracy. It's a good weapon for me, but I also understand that it's not always an option for some people, because it's just as bad for them as driver.
 
One thing I learned watching a Hank Haney video that I'll never forget is a really simple rule. He said to a group of amateur golfers, and I'm paraphrasing, it's better to be offline closer to the green, than offline further away from the green; which in layman's terms basically means you should always try to maximize distance off the tee. This came after he saw them missing the fairway while teeing off with irons and fairway metals. I have always thought that was good advice, especially if you are not the most accurate off the tee with any club. Now there are obvious situations where this doesn't pertain but it makes a lot of sense to me.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top