What Length Golf Tee Should I Use?

Setting your golf tee to the right height can feel like a small detail, but it has a surprisingly big impact on your contact, ball flight, and overall consistency. Instead of just guessing, it's time to learn the simple principles that will help you tee the ball perfectly for every club in your bag. This guide will walk you through exactly which tee length to use and how high to set it for your driver, fairway woods, and irons, giving you a repeatable setup for success on every tee shot.

Why Your Tee Height Is So Important

Think of tee height as the foundation of your tee shot. Setting it correctly doesn't just give you a good lie, it directly influences your ability to strike the sweet spot of the clubface. The ultimate goal is to align the center of the golf ball with the center of the clubface at impact. Teeing the ball too low or too high messes with this alignment and forces you to make subconscious adjustments in your swing.

• Teeing it too low: If the tee is too low with your driver, you're more likely to hit down on the ball or strike it on the lower portion of the clubface. This adds backspin, robs you of distance, and can lead to a lower, less powerful ball flight. It essentially turns your driver into a 3-wood.
• Teeing it too high: If the tee is too high, you risk hitting the ball on the top part of the clubface, above the sweet spot. This can cause high, spinny shots that balloon in the air and fall short, or even worse, you might "sky" the ball by swinging completely underneath it, leaving an embarrassing mark on the top of your driver.

By finding the optimal height, you give yourself the best possible chance to deliver the club correctly, leading to better launch, more distance, and far more consistent strikes.

A Quick Guide to Common Golf Tee Sizes

Walking into a golf shop, you’ll see rows of tees in different lengths and materials. While the options can seem endless, they generally fall into a few standard sizes, each suited for different clubs and situations.

• 1.5 Inches: These are the shortest tees, often called "iron tees" or "par-3 tees." They are specifically designed for hitting irons or hybrids off the tee, allowing you to get the ball just slightly above the turf. Many players use broken driver tees for this purpose as well.
• 2.125 Inches: A classic "short" tee. This was the standard driver tee length for decades when driver heads were much smaller. Today, it’s a great option for fairway woods, hybrids, or for players who use small-headed drivers.
• 2.75 Inches: A popular, versatile size. It works well for most fairway woods and many modern drivers, though for some of the largest 460cc heads, it might be a little short.
• 3.25 Inches: This is arguably the most common and popular tee size on the market today. It provides enough length for virtually any modern 460cc driver, giving you plenty of room to adjust the height up or down to your preference. If you're unsure what to buy, this is a very safe bet.
• 4 Inches: These extra-long tees a perfect for two types of players: those who like to tee the ball very high to encourage a significant upward attack angle, and those with very large driver heads. They offer the maximum amount of adjustability.

How to Find the Perfect Tee Height for Your Driver

This is the most important club to get right, as it’s where you have the biggest opportunity for distance. The time-tested rule of thumb provides an excellent starting point.

The Golden Rule: About half of the golf ball should sit above the crown (top edge) of your driver when you address the ball.

This position encourages an upward angle of attack, meaning you strike the ball slightly on the upswing. This is the recipe for high launch and low spin - the two ingredients for maximum distance. Here’s a simple, step-by-step way to check this on the teebox:

1. Tee your ball up and place your driver on the ground right next to it, as if you were about to hit.
2. Look at the ball in relation to the top of your driver's clubhead.
3. The equator, or the middle line of the golf ball, should be just about level with the crown of your driver. Visually, this means you'll see the top half of the ball exposed above the clubhead.

While this rule works for most golfers, you can fine-tune it based on a few personal factors.

Adjusting for Your Driver Size and Swing

The "half-ball above the crown" guideline is a start, but your unique swing and equipment might require you to tweak it slightly. Here’s how:

1. Driver Clubhead Size

The most important factor is the size of your driver. Modern drivers are almost all 460cc, which are much deeper from face to back and taller from sole to crown than older models. If you have a brand-new 460cc driver, you’ll likely need a 3.25-inch or even a 4-inch tee to achieve the ideal height. If you're using an older, smaller-headed driver, those same tees might have the ball way too high, making a 2.75-inch tee a better choice.

2. Your Angle of Attack

Your swing path also plays a part. Angle of attack describes the vertical direction the clubhead is traveling at impact.

• If you tend to be a "steep" player who hits down on the ball (even with a driver), you might benefit from teeing the ball slightly lower than standard. This helps bring your impact point closer to the center of the face. Striking the ball on the downswing with a high tee often results in a a popped-up shot.
• If you're already a "shallow" player who sweeps the ball or hits up on it (a positive angle of attack), you can take full advantage of a higher tee. Teeing it high will help you launch the ball higher with less spin, maximizing your carry distance.

3. The Shot Shape You Need

You can also use tee height strategically to influence your shot shape.

• For a High Draw: Tee the ball slightly higher. This encourages a more in-to-out swing path and makes it easier to hit up on the ball, promoting a high-launching draw.
• For a Low Anti-Hook "Stinger": Tee the ball slightly lower. This promotes a more level or slightly descending blow, keeping the ball from launching too high and helping to prevent a shot that hooks too much. This is a very useful shot when playing into a strong wind.

Choosing the Right Tee Height for Fairway Woods, Hybrids, and Irons

While the driver gets most of the attention, setting the correct tee height for your other clubs is just as important for finding the green on a par 3 or getting yourself in a great position on a short par 4.

Fairway Woods and Hybrids

With fairway woods and hybrids off the tee, the goal is slightly different from the a driver. Because their center of gravity is lower, you don't want to hit severely up on the ball. Instead, you want to sweep it off the tee with a level or very slightly ascending blow. Striking the ball too much on the upswing with these clubs can cause thin or topped shots.

The Guideline: Tee the ball so that no more than one-third to one-half of the ball is above the crown of the club. When you look down, you just want to see a small sliver of the ball peeking over the top. This generally means the tee is about half an inch to an inch out of the ground. Shorter tees, like a 2.125-inch or even a 1.5-inch tee, work perfectly for this.

Irons and Wedges

On par-3s, using a tee isn’t about gaining distance - it’s about giving yourself a perfect lie. With an iron, your goal is to strike the ball with a descending blow, compressing it against the clubface and taking a small divot *after* the ball.

If you tee the ball too high, your body will instinctively know it and you will likely alter your swing, trying to "pick" the ball off the tee cleanly. This often results in a thin shot that sails well over the green.

The Guideline: Tee the ball as low as possible. You want to pretend you're hitting off a perfect fairway lie. Push a short 1.5-inch tee (or a broken driver tee) almost all the way into the ground, so only about a quarter-inch of the tee is visible. The bottom of the ball should sit just barely above the top of the grass blades. This gives you the confidence to hit down and through the shot, just as you would from the fairway.

Actionable Tips for Perfect Tee Height Every Time

Consistency starts before you even swing. Use these simple tips to take the guesswork out of teeing it up:

• Mark Your Tees: The simplest way to guarantee the same driver tee height is to mark your go-to tee. Once you find your perfect height at the range, use a permanent marker to draw a line around the tee at ground level. Each time you tee up, just push the tee into the ground until that line is flush with the turf.
• Use Graduated or Striped Tees: Many manufacturers sell tees with colored lines or measurement marks on them. These are designed for this exact purpose, giving you a consistent visual cue for setting your height.
• Experiment on the Range: Your next range session is the perfect time to dial this in. Hit a small bucket of balls with just your driver. Hit 10 shots teed low, 10 at your "standard" half-ball height, and 10 teed high. The ball flight will tell you everything you need to know about what works best for your swing.
• Pocket Your Broken Tees: Don’t throw out your broken driver tees! Keep them in a separate pocket. They are the absolute perfect height for iron and hybrid shots on par-3s and are completely free.

Final Thoughts

Mastering tee height is a fundamental skill that pays off by creating a stable foundation for every tee shot. For your driver, aim to have half the ball above the crown to promote an upward strike for maximum distance. For fairway woods, hybrids, and especially irons, your goal is to bring the ball progressively lower to the ground to match the club's design and your desired angle of attack.

Getting your tee height figured out removes one more variable, which lets you step up to every shot with more confidence. When you combine that solid setup with smart strategy, you're playing your best golf. For all the other questions the course throws at you - like how to navigate a tricky dogleg, which club to pull for a touchy approach shot, or even how to play from a bad lie in the rough - our Caddie AI is here to help. Using it gives you on-demand, expert-level advice in your pocket, taking the guesswork out of course management so you can play with total clarity and commitment.