On the Tee
Find the best position to set up

By Poh Eng Wah
Golf Instructor

When you are on the tee box, do not randomly pick a spot to tee up.  Find an area which is flat and where you can stand comfortably.  You have a depth of 2 club lengths from the tee markers to tee up so take this opportunity to select the best spot. Tee boxes sometimes become uneven over time and selecting a wrong spot will make your shot more difficult than necessary.

Most regular players tend to slice their shot when using their driver.  If this is your shot pattern, try not to tee up on the left side of the tee box. In this picture for example, setting up nearer the left of the tee box and aiming straight will put the trees on the left in play. By aiming down the center of the fairway, a sliced shot will now put the hazard on the right in play as the ball will curve towards the right.

Instead, it is best to set up more to the right of the tee box and aim towards the left of the fairway to allow more room for the ball to react to the curved ball flight. By taking into consideration the behaviour of a sliced shot, setting up and aiming correctly will give you a higher chance of landing your ball on the center of the fairway.

Players who usually hook their drives can apply the vice versa.

Golf Tips by Emma Poh
 Golf Instructor

ON THE TEE
Plan your shot direction

On the tee, regardless of whether you are using the driver, fairway wood or iron,  it is always important to plan and decide where you want the ball to land so that it is easier for you when you take the next shot. Take a few steps behind the ball, imagine a line in front of you and decide on the target landing area.. Other factors to consider include: * yardage * lie * wind direction

Once you have decided on the line, be committed, take your address and make your swing. Food for thought : A good shot will only come about when you tell yourself it will be a good shot.

GOLF TIPS By Serene Poh
Golf Instructor

On the Tee
Positioning your drive on a dogleg hole

There are 2 important factors to consider in placing the first shot on a dogleg fairway as shown in the picture:
1) the carry and total distance of your tee shot; and
2) alignment.

In this picture, the green is behind the tall trees in the far left and there are bunkers strategically placed on both sides of the fairway immediately after the turn of the dogleg. If you are confident of carrying your tee shot 170m over the left bunker, take aim at the position shown by the red line and you shall be rewarded with an almost hazard-free and short distance approach to the green. Take care, however, that the ball will not roll into the bunker on the farther side. If your tee shot averages 150m and is likely to reach the left bunker, aim to land the ball to its right (blue line). Aim further right, the shorter your distance tends to be, e.g less than 150m (orange line). Although you will end up being further from the green by aiming further to the right, you will have more room to negotiate around the trees on the left for your second shot.