Tom Kim lined up fairly near this tee marker — however for good cause.
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For those who have been watching the opening spherical of the Sony Open, you would possibly’ve observed Tom Kim establishing precariously near the tee marker on the 18th gap.
Fellow golf journo Stephen Hennessey first identified the oddity, and the scene had loads of Golf X (previously often called Golf Twitter) customers buzzing.
Most individuals have been in settlement that teeing the ball up so near the tee marker would introduce a ton of hysteria as they stood over the ball. (Some even urged that they’d take out a number of tee markers in the event that they did this on each gap.) Nonetheless, when the professionals arrange in an excessive spot like this, they achieve this for good cause.
A intelligent tee-shot hack
To start with, when execs tee up so near the tee marker, they’re in no hazard of truly hitting it. These guys are so good that it could take a historic blunder for them to even scare the tee marker. The rationale they achieve this, although, is a intelligent trick they use to handle their membership path.
Utilizing Kim’s drive on 18 for instance, you may see the tee marker is on the surface fringe of the ball. This tells us he’s setting as much as hit a fade. Why? As a result of he has no alternative however to swing with an out-to-in path.
With the tee marker positioned the place it’s, Kim is compelled to swing from out-to-in by way of the influence zone. If he have been to swing in-to-out, his membership would hit the tee marker after influence.
You’ll typically see strategies like this utilized in observe when making an attempt to govern the trail (you may learn extra about that right here). By inserting a barrier in the way in which of a sure path, you’re compelled to keep away from it, which ends up in the specified path. Kim was utilizing the identical precept on the 18th tee.
(Earlier than you ask: Sure, that is fully authorized. There may be nothing within the rule ebook that claims you may’t use the tee marker on this approach. As long as you arrange between the tee markers and inside two membership lengths of them, you’re fully high-quality.)
There’s no query that the professionals are so good that they don’t essentially want a barrier to redirect their swing path, however having one there doesn’t damage — it’s only a helpful visible cue to assist them hit the fitting shot.
I can’t suggest doing this on the course for many weekend warriors, however subsequent time you go observe, give it a shot. Throw down a water bottle or headcover on the bottom within the place you don’t need your swing path to go and attempt to keep away from it. You’ll be amazed at how a lot simpler it’s to vary your swing path.
