Golf Instruction Zone: Know Your Yardages and Where to Set Up

In this installment of our video instruction series, Ted Frick and Stefany King of the Classic Swing Golf School at Legends Golf Resort in Myrtle Beach, S.C. take us out on the Parkland course for some on-course demonstration on how to manage the tee boxes you play from, and how to set up properly once you’re there.

Ted Frick:

We’re going to do a series of tips on the golf course. We’re out on the Parkland Course today, on Hole No. 10.

Here’s a note for all of you coming down south to golf: the ball doesn’t travel that far; we’re at sea level. If you want to help your scores when you come down south, know your yardage that you’re comfortable with playing, and not the color code of the tee box.

Stefany and I play often. I like to play from 6,500 yards. I don’t like to play the tips; I’m getting ready to be 55, and 7,000 is out of my range. But Stefany, being 26 years of age, I don’t let her play the red (forward) tees; I make her play 6,000 yards. We’re trying to educate our students on knowing your number, and not the color of your tee box. That’s really, really important.

You think that’s helping?

Stefany King:

Oh, yeah.

Ted:

Right. I mean, at one golf course, the blue tees are the championship tees and at the next course, the blue tees might be the senior tees. Know your yardage, that’s gonna help out.

Alright, here’s a little course management tip. We’re out here on No. 10 at Legends-Parkland, and it’s a short par 4. Remember, Stef’s gotta play at 6,000 yards when she’s playing with me, and that makes us even up when we play against each other.

We’ve got trouble on the left on this hole. Our driving range is to the right so you can miss it by a country mile on that side, and the only place you can’t miss it is on the left because that’s where the water is.

But let’s say you’re coming down here and you’re a fader of the ball, and you’re not going to work on your golf swing (while you’re here). Stef, if you’re on No. 10 and you fade the ball, should you set up on the right side of the tee box, or the left side?

Stefany:

The right side.

Ted:

The faders must walk in from the right side. Now, even though trouble is on the left and you’re going to set up on the right side of the tee box, where is the fader going to aim?

Stefany:

A little bit left.

Ted:

A little bit left. So if you start on the right side and aim a little bit left, you’re playing your standard ball flight which opens up the fairway. That’s our second tip in this sequence: know your yardage, and know where to set up on the tee box.

Now, Stef hits it really straight so let’s check this out. She’s aiming right down the middle, because that’s where she hits it …

OK, so there you go. She probably missed the center of the fairway by about five yards. That’s very boring golf, she’s tough, so have your game face on when you come out to have lessons with her!

So let’s take it out to the middle of the fairway!