We start the play of every hole from the tee box. Sometimes these tee boxes are tucked up close to and tight against the side of the hole. These tee boxes make it very difficult for most golfers, including the good players and pros, to hit a good tee shot. That is because to hit it straight down the middle you have to hit it at an angle. To double dip into the added extra error scenario is that fact it makes aligning your body parallel to your aiming line difficult for right handers when the tee is up close to the left woods, hazards and OB, and for left handers when the tee is up against the right woods with these obstacles up close to their back. The problem is that seeing these obstacles up close and tight and near to you, especially big trees, causes you to automatically drift your body setup and alignment away from them and more toward the center of the fairway. This means you are now aligned into the opposite rough or even farther and likely into a lot more trouble than being in the rough.
I can't tell you how many times I have played with my students or friends and on a hole with the tee up against the woods, etc., right behind them, they tee it up close to the woods near the left tee marker (for a right hander). Most of the time, seeing the trees or trouble behind them, they will be aimed to the right and hit it straight right into the rough or OB or the right woods with left handers doing the same in the opposite direction.
The First key to overcoming this visual perception that pushes you away from the woods or trouble behind your back is to get a better and straighter look down the middle. In other words you need to have and see a better ANGLE that looks more down the middle when you visualize the straight shot you want to hit. That means moving to the far right of the Tee Box for a right hander and the left side for a left hander.
It is called a tee box because its dimensions are from marker to marker and two club lengths deep. Connect those points and you have a rectangle looking tee box. The ball can be teed up anywhere within tee box, including points where the ball is just inside the approved area but you are standing outside of the tee box. For a right hander this means the ball is near the left tee marker or 2 club lengths deep outside line, so you would be standing well outside the tee box. For Left handers the ball would be teed up near the right tee marker and line.
The better angle view from teeing off from as far away from the woods etc. behind you, gives you a better angle to into the ball and be better aligned, parallel to the your aiming line. Since bad alignment causes 90 to 95 percent of all swing problems, good alignment increases the odds of making a better swing. Add to that a better angle line of sight to the middle and you just increased even more the odds of making a good swing to hit the ball straight down the middle of the fairway.
One of the major precepts of the PPGS states that 'Golf is a game of angles. The Fewer angles the better.' I think, as far as angles are concerned for alignment and hitting better tee shots and better fairway shots to the green, we can add a new angle precept. 'Golf is a game of angles. The better the angle for the shot'¦the better the shot.'
The Surge!