One of the things I learned from my college golf coach was how to save shots by using the tee box properly. I distinctly remember hitting a push shot to the right of the green and my coach telling me “with the same swing your ball would be on the green had you teed the ball up on this side of the tee box.” This really hit home with me as a simple way to make sure I played my best. Since then I have payed close attention to where I wanted to tee the ball up.

As a general rule, you want to tee the ball up on the side of the tee box that trouble is on. For example, if there is water all along the left side of the fairway, tee the ball up on the left side of the tee box so you can aim away from the water. In another situation if there is no trouble on the left and out of bounds down the right side of the hole, tee the ball on the right side of the tee box and aim away from trouble. In the picture below, you would want to tee the ball on the left side of the tee box to make it easier to align down the right.

Left side of the tee box and aim down the right side of the fairway.

Windy conditions

In heavy wind you can use the tee box to your advantage to stay in the fairway. If the wind is blowing hard from right to left, tee the ball up on the left side of the tee box, making it easier to align down the right side of the fairway. By doing this, you are essentially using the wind as a backboard to stay in the fairway. With a hard left to right wind, you would want to tee the ball up on the right side of the tee box.

Playing your miss

You can also use the tee box to your advantage is you have a consistent hook or slice. Golfers with a consistent hook need to tee the ball on the left side of the tee box to help align themselves down the right side of the fairway. Golfers with a consistent slice need to tee up on the right side of the tee box and align down the left side of the fairway.

Next time you play golf, pay attention to where you want to tee the ball up and you can save shots before you even swing the club.