How to Choose Golf Tees for Every Shot

A tee is a tiny bit of kit with a big say in your opening shot. Knowing how to choose golf tees means you can tee the ball at a height that suits the club in your hands, rather than just grabbing whatever is loose in the bottom of the bag. Get it right and the ball sits in the right strike zone. Get it wrong and you can make a perfectly good swing feel like a rough day at the office.

There is no single best tee for every golfer or every hole. Driver, fairway wood, hybrid and iron shots all ask for a different setup. The course matters too: a windy coastal track, a firm summer fairway and a wet Saturday comp each bring their own little plot twist.

Start with the club, not the tee colour

The simplest way to choose a tee is to work backwards from the club you plan to hit. Tee height changes where the ball meets the face, which affects launch, spin and strike. You do not need a launch monitor to make a smart choice. A quick look at how much of the ball sits above the clubhead gets you most of the way there.

For a driver, a longer tee is usually the play. Set the ball so roughly half of it sits above the top edge of the driver face at address. This helps you strike the ball with the upper part of the face and launch it on a strong, high line. Teeing it too low often encourages a low-face strike, bringing extra spin and a ball flight that can look more like a startled quail than a confident drive.

Fairway woods generally need a lower tee. Leave just enough height for the ball to sit slightly above the ground, around 5 to 10 millimetres. A fairway wood is designed to sweep through the ball, so you are after a clean, shallow strike rather than trying to catch it on the upswing like a driver.

With a hybrid, use the same low setup or tee the ball barely above the turf. This is especially useful on tight par 3s where you want the comfort of a tee without changing the strike you would make from the fairway.

For irons, the tee should be almost invisible. Push a short tee down until only the very top is showing, or sit the ball directly on the grass if the teeing ground is tidy. The goal is to make your usual iron swing, brush the turf after impact and send it off with a controlled flight.

How to choose golf tees by length

Tees are commonly sold in a few standard lengths. The names and measurements vary a little, but the practical differences are straightforward.

A short tee, around 38 millimetres, is handy for irons, hybrids and fairway woods. It is also a good all-rounder for golfers who use a compact driver setup or prefer the ball lower off the face. Medium tees around 54 millimetres give most players enough room to set a driver at a conventional height. Longer tees, often 70 millimetres or more, suit larger modern driver heads and golfers who like to tee the ball higher.

That said, tee length is not a rulebook. A taller player with a more upward driver attack may enjoy a long tee, while another player can hit their best drives from a medium one. The right length is simply the one that lets you create your intended tee height consistently without leaving a comical amount of timber sticking out of the ground.

A mixed pack is the easy answer if you regularly hit different clubs from the tee. Keep a few long tees for the big stick and short ones for par 3s. It saves forcing one tee to do every job, which is a bit like wearing spikes to the pub because they worked well on the 18th.

Use the clubface as your reference point

Rather than measuring tee height with your fingers every time, use the clubface. With driver, place the head behind the ball and check that about half the ball is above the crown line. With woods and hybrids, the ball should sit only a touch above the leading edge. With irons, it should look almost as though it is resting on the turf.

This visual check is quick, repeatable and more useful than copying the tee height of the player in your group. Their swing is theirs. Yours has enough to worry about already.

Material matters more than you might think

Wooden tees remain popular because they are simple, inexpensive and easy to find if one snaps. They also have a classic feel that suits any bag. Their downside is durability. A solid driver strike, or a teeing ground baked hard by an Australian summer, can turn a wooden tee into two smaller wooden tees pretty quickly.

Plastic tees last longer and often include height markers, which can make repeatable setup easier. Some players like that consistency, especially when they are settling into a new driver. Others find plastic tees too rigid or simply prefer the look and feel of wood. Neither choice magically adds 20 metres, despite what the packaging might suggest.

Bamboo tees sit in a useful middle ground. They are generally sturdier than standard wood while still offering a natural, lightweight option. They are a smart choice for regular players who go through plenty of tees but do not want their bag filling with broken plastic.

Brush or pronged tees hold the ball on small bristles or arms rather than a solid cup. They can reduce contact between tee and ball, but the difference for most golfers is modest. Their bigger benefit is consistency: if the height is fixed and suits your driver, every tee shot starts from the same place. They can be less practical on hard ground, though, and some players do not love the extra faff.

If you want the low-drama option, wooden or bamboo tees in two lengths are hard to beat. Simple gear leaves more brain space for picking a target and committing to the shot.

Match your tee height to the shot you want

A high tee is not always the answer. It is useful when you are hitting driver and want a higher launch, particularly when there is room to let it fly. But a slightly lower tee can help when the wind is up, the fairway narrows, or you are trying to hit a more controlled, lower driver.

Into a stiff breeze, many golfers instinctively swing harder. A better play is often to tee the driver a little lower, make a balanced swing and keep the launch under control. Do not bury the ball to the point where you start catching low-face bullets, but reducing the height slightly can make the shot feel more stable.

On a short hole with trouble everywhere, consider whether driver is even the right club. If a hybrid or long iron gives you a comfortable number into the green, use a short tee and put the ball in play. There is no style point for outdriving your mates into the trees.

Conversely, on a wide par 5 with a generous landing area, tee the driver at your normal height and give yourself the best chance to move the ball down the hole. Golf is much more fun when your second shot is played from the fairway rather than from behind a lonely gum tree.

Check the teeing ground before you commit

Course conditions can change what works. On soft ground, longer tees push in easily, but make sure they are secure and upright. A leaning tee can subtly alter the ball position and mess with your alignment. On hard ground, a very long wooden tee can be difficult to get down far enough. A shorter, tougher tee is often more practical.

Always tee the ball within the permitted teeing area and use the surface as it is presented. If the ground is uneven, find the flattest patch available so the ball sits at your preferred height without the tee leaning forward or back. It is a small detail, but good drives are often built from boringly good details.

Keep an eye on the tee itself after impact, too. A cracked wooden tee can still work for an iron shot, but a splintered top may not hold the ball properly for your next driver. Toss the broken bits in the rubbish rather than leaving the tee box looking like a timber yard after a rough Saturday morning.

Build a tee setup you will actually use

The best setup is one you can repeat without slowing down play. Carry a small handful of long driver tees, a few shorter tees for woods and irons, and a spare or two in a pocket. Choose a colour you can spot easily in the grass if you like reusing tees, but do not overthink it. Bright colours are handy at dusk; natural wood keeps things classic.

For most players, the practical sweet spot is a medium or long tee for driver plus a short tee for everything else. Spend a few rounds noticing your strike pattern. If you repeatedly catch the driver high on the face, lower the tee a touch. If contact is consistently low on the face, try a little more height before blaming the swing.

The tee shot is your first chance to set the tone for the hole. Pick a height that suits the club, take one clear look at the target, and give the ball a proper chance to fly.