When teeing off on each hole, you are not restricted to playing your shot from the same position every time. The height of the tee and where you have the ball in your stance will have an impact on your shot but so can the location of the ball in the tee box.
When placing the ball in the tee box, you can go anywhere, if you remain inside the designated area. While you can place the ball anywhere you like in the tee box it should not be a random choice and you must have some idea of what you are trying to achieve before pushing your tee into the ground.
If you are playing a tournament on the same golf course which is spread over several rounds or you return to the same course regularly to play a round with friends, you have the opportunity to change your ball position in the tee box and learn from previous shots.
Many beginner golfers will place their ball in the centre of the tee box every time and this is great if you want to hit the ball straight down the middle on every tee shot. The question is, do you want to hit the ball straight down the middle of each hole on the course?
Firstly, you may not be accurate with the driver and many people see the ball drift either left or right when using the driver. If your shots tend to curve to the left or right when using the driver, why would you tee the ball in centre of the box every time?
For example, if you are a right-handed golfer and the ball tends to swing (slice) to the right when playing a tee shot, starting from the middle of the tee box and aiming down the middle could see you in trouble down the right side of the hole.
Instead, try teeing the ball as close to the right side of the tee box markers as possible and aiming to the left side of the fairway. If you happen to hit the ball straight, you will still be on the left side of the fairway but if you see the ball swing to the right as usual, your ball has plenty of fairway on which to land.
However, do not be tempted to set yourself in the tee box to hit directly at trouble. If there is a water hazard in play, never hit the ball directly at it in the hope your usual curve on the ball will move it away.
If you hit the ball straight, the ball will be in the water and you do not want to be punished for hitting a straight shot. Tee the ball on the side of the box the trouble is on and hit away from the trouble. So, if the water is on the right side of the hole, tee the ball on the right side of the tee box and hit away from the hazard.
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