Tom Kim positioned himself quite close to this tee mark – but for good reason.
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If you watched the opening round of the Sony Open, you may have noticed Tom Kim taking a tentative stance near the tee mark on the 18th hole.
Golf Journal colleague Stephen Hennessey was the first to point out the strangeness, and plenty of Golf X (formerly known as Golf Twitter) users showed up on the scene.
Most people agreed that placing the ball so close to the tee mark would introduce: ton anxiety as they stood over the ball. (Some even suggested they would take out a few tee markers if they did it on every hole.) However, when pros set up in an extreme spot like this, they do it for a reason.
A clever tee shot hack
First, when pros attack this close to the tee mark, there is no danger of them hitting it. These guys are so good that it would take a historic mistake to match them scare tee marker. The reason for this, however, is the clever trick they use to manage their club path.
Using Kim’s shot on 18 as an example, you can see that the tee marker is on the outside edge of the ball. This tells us that it is preparing to fade away. Why? Because there is no choice but to swing from the inside out path.
With the tee marker set where it is, Kim is forced to swing from outside to inside through the hitting zone. If he were to swing from in to out, his club would hit the tee mark after impact.
You will often see such methods used in practice when trying to manipulate a path (you can read more about this Here). By placing a barrier in the way of a specific path, you are forced to bypass it, resulting in the desired path being reached. Kim applied the same principle on the 18th tee.
(Before you ask: Yes, it is perfectly legal. There is nothing in the rules that says you can’t use the tee marker in this way. As long as you set up between the tee markers and within two club lengths of them, you’re fine Is.)
There’s no doubt that pros are so good that they don’t necessarily need a barrier to redirect their swing path, but it doesn’t hurt to have one – it’s just a useful visual cue to help them hit the right shot.
I don’t recommend doing this on a course for most weekend warriors, but next time you go to training, give it a try. Throw your water bottle or hat on the ground where you are NO you want your swing path to go, and try to avoid it. You’ll be surprised how much easier it is to change your swing path.
