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So, you're not hitting the ball as far as you need to, but don't want to make any swing adjustments or buy new equipment. What's the easiest way to gain that extra yardage? Tee the ball up higher.
Years ago, Golf Magazine did a study on this and published an article with it's findings (click here to read it) In summary, their findings showed that the higher you tee the ball, the more distance you can obtain. Basically, the higher the tee height, the higher the launch angle and the lower the spin equated to more distance.
The longest distance was gained by teeing the bottom of the ball above or even with the top, or crown, of the club. Low handicappers (0-9), using a high tee, gained an average of 12 yards. Mid handicappers (10-19) gained an average of 8 yards, and High handicappers (20 & up) gained an average of 17 yards! I've tried this with poor results, ie. I would either "wiff" the ball, or severely pop it up. As a Mid Handicapper, I've found it much easier to use the Mid Tee height, which is with the equator of the ball being even with the crown of the club (see photo). The Golf Magazine study showed that the Mid Handicapper using a Mid Tee height averaged an additional gain of 6 to 7 yards off the tee. While that doesn't sound like a whole lot of distance, depending on the conditions (wind, etc), that could mean the difference between going up or down a club on your next shot.
Now combine the above information with the idea of "consistency". Most golfers, when using regular wooden tees will "eyeball" the tee's height when placing it in the ground. This usually results in the tee height being a little low one hole, a little high the next, etc. How many times have you heard someone say after a pop up, "I teed the ball too high!" What if you could tee the ball the exact same height everytime? That would make one more part of your game more consistent wouldn't it, and isn't that the holy grail of golf? Consistency! Obviously there are conditions where you don't want the tee the same height from day to day, i.e. high winds, etc. But for the "average" golf day, you want everything to be as consistent as possible, including the height you are teeing the ball up.
Now how do you tee the ball up consistently and at the correct height for you each and everytime? There are great products out there that will let you do it such as the Optimal Tee, the Consistent Tee, and the TwistTee to name a few. You can also purchase brush tees and specialty tees from your golf store that will achieve similar results. One thing all of these have in common is the cost. They can get outrageously expensive if you go through tees like I do. Most of them cost from $1 to $2 each compared to a bag of regular wooden tees costing $.02 each (I just bought a bag of 200 tees at Walmart for $5).
So, what's a poor (cheap) guy to do? If you're bored and it's raining out today, you can do what I did. Create your own! Read on to see how I did it for a total estimated cost of 3 1/2 cents each:
Ben Hogan was thought by a lot of folks to have one of the best golf swings ever. Now, according to an article by Brent Kelly of About.com, Ben could very well become your own personal golf instructor. Like David Ledbetter's Wii game, this game is going to be designed as more of a training aid than a video game. A company out of Michigan, Pixofactor Entertainment, has budgeted 2.7 million dollars to create the game. It will be based on Hogan's Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf, and will be using golfers who have perfected Ben's swing in the game including Mayia Tanaka of Golf Channel's Big Break Sandals Resort.
Should be interesting. Click HERE to read more on About.Golf. Ben in action:
Ran across these things on About.Com. Apparently they are the new thing.....can't see myself wearing them anytime soon, but I'm betting if the claims they make about them are true, that one of you will be trying them out come spring.
The are called Vibram Fivefingers and golf professional Oliver Wilson recently wore them at the Dubai World Championship where he shot par and tied for 35th place.
I will admit that I would love to try some on and give them a spin around the golf course, but I think I'd be too embarrassed to wear them. I also have tender feet, so the thought of stepping on a rock with these things is not pleasant.
The maker, Vibram Fivefingers, does carry a pretty wide variety of "shoes" like this in all sorts of different styles. Below are some that caught my eye. I couldn't find anything on their website that was directly related to golf, but in dry conditions I don't think you'd have a problem playing in them. The retail for around $85. Here are some other styles you may like:
Well, I finally got around to setting up the store. We're set up with Amazon to provide you with some great deals on all sorts of equipment. Just click on Golf Store on the menu and you're set. Check it out.
So, you're not hitting the ball as far as you need to, but don't want to make any swing adjustments or buy new equipment. What's the easiest way to gain that extra yardage? Tee the ball up higher. 
