Unless you’re a seasoned golfing veteran and are well-versed in all aspects of the game, golf tee heights can be a bit of a minefield.
“How high should my golf tee be?” “Is my tee too high or too short?” “Is there a way to tell?”
While most experienced players develop a good feel for tee height, for the golf driver, golf irons, and beyond, it’s never been an exact science - after all, nobody walks around on the golf course with measuring tape, right?
Having said that, if you’re struggling with your tee heights and you think this aspect of play may be throwing you off at the first hurdle, there are some guidelines you can follow to improve your chances of catching the ball as sweetly as possible, whatever club you’re using…
Tee heights for different clubs
What exactly is golf tee height?
Before you go sticking your tees into the tee box and hoping for the best, based on the above, we need to do away with misconceptions surrounding golf tee heights:
- Proper tee height is NOT the length of the tee that is still visible above the ground.
- Tee height IS the distance from the ground to the top of your golf ball when it’s teed up.
If you teed up your golf balls thinking the above figures represent how much tee should be on show, you’ll be launching every shot straight up into the sky, instead of towards the target, so don’t make this mistake.
Golf tee height for driver
The golden rule is that a normal tee height for a driver means the top half of the ball should be visible above the crown of your clubhead and the lower half in line with the face, making it a very high tee. Having the ball positioned high should promote a higher ball flight while still offering a maximum distance on tee shots.
Given that driver heads are the chunkiest of the lot, it only makes sense that they should have the most impressive tee heights. A higher tee doesn't always equate to more distance, though. More on that in a moment.
3-wood tee height
Again, with 3-woods and 5-woods, it’s a smart move to have around half the ball higher than the clubhead at address. After all, fairway woods and drivers are close cousins, sharing much of the same shaping and technology.
That doesn't mean your tees should be the same height as your driver shots, though. For fairways, many golfers tend to opt for a low tee, but it’s important to leave a little “wiggle room” so the ball is slightly lifted off the deck. It won’t need to be as much as your driver, though, thanks to the reduced clubhead size.
A low tee height for clubs like your fairways generally offers more control and lower flight, rather than more loft, and can help you combat a strong headwind. So this should be one of your key considerations.
Tee height for irons
Because there are many different lofts among your golf iron collection, it’s only natural that your tees should be set up differently depending on the iron you’re using. But, of course, we don’t have time or the acute vision to offer every iron its own bespoke tee height.
That’s why, as a rule of thumb, you should split your tee sizes based on whether you’re using a long iron (with less loft, requiring more height) or a mid-to-short iron (with greater loft, requiring less height).
Keep in mind, though, that you'll usually only use your irons at the tee on shorter holes, like Par 3s.
Is there a way to tell how high to tee a golf ball?
Beyond the visual cues we’ve discussed above, there’s no set way to determine precisely how high to tee your golf ball - that’s why practice and adaptability are key.
If you’re a beginner and want to master the correct tee heights for each club, be sure to spend as much time on practice tees or in actual play as possible, and experiment. Eventually, you’ll find certain tee heights work better than others, and you’ll be able to commit these heights to memory over time.
What is the best golf tee size for beginners?
Tees come in all different lengths, sizes and materials - from plastic tees to bamboo tees and beyond. But, as we've mentioned above, pretty all the clubs carry different tee heights, making it difficult for newbies to determine the best tee height for their needs.
However, for many players just starting out in the game, castle tees might be the right golf tees to choose. These are tees that can only be inserted into the ground to a certain height, helping create consistent tee height for your strikes. You’ll find differing height variations between drivers, fairway woods and irons, so new players can shoot their first shots with confidence, before moving onto more traditional tees.
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