Tee Shot
The tee shot is your shot from the tee — the first shot on every hole.
The tee shot opens every hole and lays the foundation for your score on the hole. It is played from the tee, the flattened teeing area on which you are allowed to tee the ball up. That makes it the only shot of the round where you do not have to play the ball out of the grass. Depending on the hole length you usually choose the Driver but on short or narrow holes also a wood, hybrid or long iron. In English, “tee shot” is often simply used as a synonym for the tee as such.
In practice the tee shot decides between risk and calm. For example: a par 4 with a Dogleg to the left, an out-of-bounds strip with trees on the right. Instead of attacking the corner, you aim for the wide middle of the fairway and play the hole in two calm shots. Anyone who blindly pulls the driver instead ends up in the Rough or behind trees and squanders the par before the second shot. On par 3 holes the tee shot is at the same time the approach shot — here precision counts more than length.
A typical mistake is the automatic “always driver”. The driver is the heaviest clubhead and punishes swing errors the hardest. A course strategy makes more sense: on narrow holes you hit your tee shot with the club that gets you safely onto the Fairway, even if it flies shorter. A tee shot in play beats a long ball in the undergrowth every time.
FAQ
Do I always have to take the driver from the tee?
No, the automatic “always driver” is one of the most expensive mistakes in amateur golf. The driver punishes swing errors the hardest, and on narrow holes a hybrid or long iron often gets you into play more safely. A tee shot in play beats a long ball in the undergrowth every time.
How do I play the tee shot on a dogleg cleverly?
Do not blindly attack the corner just because it looks shorter. On a dogleg you aim for the wide side of the fairway and play the hole in two calm shots — the risk behind the trees is rarely worth the par. Only once you know the hole and control your ball flight does the aggressive line pay off.
What is different about the tee shot on a par 3?
On the par 3 your tee shot is at the same time the approach shot to the green — here precision counts more than length. Choose the club according to the real distance, tee the ball up only just above the grass and rather play for the middle of the green than for a flag hidden behind the bunkers. A safe bogey on the card is better than a gambled ball in the rough.