How to use the edges of the tee box to your advantage

We’ve all had rounds where things start to go south. Your swing starts to feel foreign and the big numbers begin to add up. It seems as though nothing is going right. It’s a helpless feeling.

This is a lonely place to be. All you want to do is walk off the course and head to the range, desperate to find a cure for your woes. Problem is, you’ve got to finish the round — and you’ve got to work with the swing you’re gaming that day to get through it.

Changes are obviously necessary if you want to hit the ball better, but you’re at a loss for where to start. A training aid would be helpful, but those are illegal to use during the round. So, what do you do? Fortunately for you, there is a training aid you can utilize mid-round — and it’s totally legal. All you have to do is make it to the next tee box.

At most courses, tee boxes are cut in a uniform rectangle or square. They have fairway heights on the box, and rough surrounding the edges. But how will this help you? Because you can use these straight lines and distinct edges to check your fundamentals.

A large number of issues in your swing can be corrected by sorting out your fundamentals, and the edge of the tee box is a great place to see where things are off.

You can use the straight lines to check your alignment. You can use it to check your ball position. Or, you can use it to check your clubface angle at impact. With the straight line as a feature of the course, you can use it to your advantage and use it as a makeshift alignment aid — and it’s totally legal.

“A lot of little checkpoints I can use in my swing that just reinforce good fundamentals,” says GOLF Top 100 Teacher Brian Mogg. “Use where you can see definition. Very easy to check good points in your golf swing.”