On The Tee with Hank Johnson

Your tee shot is like the second serve in tennis. “If you don’t get the ball in play the point is over.” Be conservative with your plan.

Distance is important but unless you are very long, the major objective should be to get the ball in the fairway.

Remember that 75% of scores of double bogey or higher begin with a tee shot that’s hit out of play.

Objective: To improve the percentage of fairways hit from the tee by;

1. Determining your realistic chance of putting the ball in the fairway with your driver and other alternate driving clubs.
2. Determining the basic pattern of your misses from the tee.

Practice Technique:

1. Practice Tee Shots into a realistic target area. Either go on the golf course to practice if that’s possible. If not, put markers on your practice range to simulate a typical fairway width.
2. During practice, try different clubs and keep track of your results. Use this data to make on course tee shot club decisions.

Things to Remember:

More than 75% of scores of double bogey or higher are a result of a tee shot hit out of play.

The number one goal of most players should be to get the ball in the fairway from the tee.

If you are going to play “BOMB AND GOUGE” like a few of the really long hitters on the PGA Tour the you had better be REALLY long.