I was giving a playing lesson several days ago. My student, JM, revived an old question: should he tee it up on a par three. He'd seen a few Tour pros in the fall season NOT tee it up. And JM was about the thrid guy in a week who asked me. So I thought it was time to refresh everyone's memory with an article I wrote several months ago.
Golfers from PGA Tour players to high handicappers play par threes both ways. Some like the ball up, some prefer it down on the deck. Some tee it up sometimes, and sometimes not. Is there any rule or rationale for whether you tee it up or not?
Let's start with examining if there is a rule out there for using a tee or not. One of the greatest players ever, Ben Hogan, had a strong opinion on this tee it up issue. I am sure he is quoted as saying something to the effect, 'I play for money, so I tee it up on par 3s.' That is certainly one powerful and positive affirmation for using the tee.
I agree wholeheartedly with Mr. Hogan's par3 tee strategy and always tee it up. Why? Because any time you can tee it up you should. When the ball is teed up, you improve your odds immensely for having a cleaner and more solid hit. This is especially true for higher handicap golfers. This improved percentage or probability for a more solid contact is the reason many pros re-tee on a par three after hitting into the water rather than use a ball drop, which may even be closer to the green. They now know the club and the distance, but just as important, teeing it up gives them the better lie as compared to taking a chance of dropping it in the ball drop and rolling into a bad lie, or even worse, a divot.
I would also say that this tee it up rule should apply to par fours and fives when teeing off. Teeing it up improves the odds of a clean and solid impact and a better shot whether you are using a three wood, hybrid or long iron, especially for hitting a low screamer.
I have one, I guess you could call it, quirk — call it conservation: saving a tee and ultimately a tree. On par threes, I only use broken tees! I'll scout around to find a broken tee, because I don't want to use a good one that will get whacked in two using an iron. I really like the courses that have a container by the tee marker for players to throw their broken tees into. This makes finding a half tee easy and you have a good selection to choose from, all in one place.
Now there is one alternative to this tee it up or not issue that provides a middle ground answer, the kick tee. Some players prefer making their own tee by kicking the heel of their foot into the ground to push up a small mound of dirt to be their tee. They stand facing the green and kick backwards. This creates a mound with a gentle up-slope to the ball, just like it is on a tee. Many pros do this on par threes and on tee shots when they want to hit a driver or 3 wood off the deck for accuracy and or to keep it low into a head wind.
A final question is, since we are teeing it up, how high should it be? I always play with the ball teed just slightly off the ground. I tee it up around 1/8 of an inch for wedges through 8 iron, to a max of ¼ of an inch for the rest of my irons and hybrids. I go just a smidgen higher for a 3 wood.
So, improve your odds for a cleaner, more solid impact. Tee it up on all tee shots.
The Surge!