Welcome to MythBusters, a Golf Digest+ series where we explore answers to some of golf’s most common questions through a series of tests with real golfers. While our findings might fall short of definitive, they still aim to shed new light on topics that have consumed golfers for years.
Should you tee up an iron shot on a par 3? The data says emphatically yes. As we have previously reported, Arccos shot tracking data from 2023 across all golfers and all irons found that players averaged about 12 yards more distance when using a tee versus no tee. This distance gain was true no matter the iron—every club had a least a 9.7 yard increase when using a tee.
Of course, it’s easy to say more distance equates to better results, but what does that mean on a real golf hole, like the island green 17th at TPC Sawgrass’ Stadium Course, host of the Players Championship?
MORE MYTHBUSTERS: Does a higher tee really produce more distance? What our test reveals
Our test
To dive deeper into whether using a tee is really worth a significant benefit, two Golf Digest staffers—Drew Powell (+2.4 Handicap Index) and Sam Weinman (11.4 Handicap Index)—hit a series of iron shots with and without a tee.
The shots were hit on a 140-yard par 3 at Tamarack Country Club in Greenwich, Conn., about the same distance as the 17th at TPC Sawgrass. Admittedly, the initial test was meant to determine the effectiveness of using a tee on any given hole, but a natural extension was to then overlay the results onto the island green at Sawgrass to determine how we would have fared on that hole. Both Powell and Weinman hit five shots with a tee and five shots without a tee. We measured carry distance with Foresight Sports’ GCQuad launch monitor, as well as proximity to the hole.
What we found Weinman tee
Shot 1: 131 yds., 60 feetShot 2: 125 yds., 46 feetShot 3: 126 yds., 25 feetShot 4: 130 yds., 40 feetShot 5: 130 yds., 18 feet
Average: 128.4 yds., 37.8 feet
Weinman no tee
Shot 1: 125 yds., 18 feetShot 2: 99 yds., 120 feetShot 3: 123 yds., 22 feetShot 4: 29 yds., 210 feetShot 5: 102 yds., 75 feet
Average: 95.6 yds., 89 feet
(Note: Removing the outlier of 29 yards creates an average carry of 112.3)
Powell tee
Shot 1: 148 yds., 60 feetShot 2: 136 yds., 35 feetShot 3: 140 yds., 3 feetShot 4: 138 yds., 10 feetShot 5: 130 yds., 40 feet
Average: 138.4 yds., 29.6 feet
Powell no tee
Shot 1: 150 yds., 60 feetShot 2: 143 yds., 25 feetShot 3: 142 yds., 18 feetShot 4: 140 yds., 40 feetShot 5: 130 yds., 63 feet
Average: 141 yds., 41.2 feet
What it means
We didn’t set out to merely repeat the study already conducted across thousands of golfers by Arccos. Instead, we’re interested in applying our results to a real golf hole.
The 17th at TPC Sawgrass is approximately 137 yards to the middle of the green, 121 yards to carry the water and 150 yards to the back edge. In the middle of the green, the island is about 28 yards (or 84 feet) wide, meaning to a pin cut in the center of the green, players can miss their shot 42 feet left and right and stay dry.
With this information, we’re able to overlay our results. Remember, we hit shots on a 140-yard hole, so we’re assuming the pin on our simulated island green hole is about three yards past the center of the green.
Here you can see how Weinman fared with both a tee and no tee.
Weinman with tee 
With a tee, Weinman found land four out of five times (three on the green, one in the bunker), with most shots landing toward the front and bouncing up near pin high. His lone water ball was his first shot, which although it carried far enough to get to the green (131 yards), it was 60 feet left.
Weinman with no tee 
Without a tee, Weinman only hit the simulated island green two out of five times. Three of his shots would have found the water. Weinman’s carry distance without a tee was the issue, as three of the shots (29 yds., 99 yds., 102 yds.) did not come close to reaching the front edge.
This shorter carry distance was largely due to contact issues. While Weinman found the center of the face consistently with the tee, he had two shots that were struck quite thin and one shot hit a little fat without a tee. Weinman’s tendency is to get a little steep in the downswing, which he felt was exacerbated without a tee.
This specific case study reveals the potential cost of hitting an iron shot without a tee. If we throw out the outlier shot that only carried 29 yards, then Weinman’s average carry without a tee was about 112 yards, compared to 128 yards with a tee. That 16 yards of gain with a tee has real consequences, as any hole with a forced carry, like at TPC Sawgrass, Weinman’s shots hit with a tee will have a far better chance of carrying the trouble.
Powell with tee 
Powell with no tee 
Powell’s results were more muted. He would have hit the island green four out of five times with the tee and three out of five times without a tee. Yet interestingly, his carry distance was a few yards more without a tee.
These different results are likely due to the level of player. As a mid-handicap, clean contact is a focus for Weinman, but Powell was able to make solid contact with and without a tee. The difference, he says, is that hitting shots without a tee caused him to take slightly bigger divots, possibly compressing the ball a little more to squeeze out an extra few yards.
That extra distance didn’t translate into better results, as Powell’s proximity was significantly better with a tee (29.6 feet vs. 41.2 feet). Powell’s shots without a tee tended to leak to the right, likely because of that steeper angle of attack that he observed.
What it doesn’t mean
Since this is a case study with two golfers on one golf hole, we’ll avoid drawing definite conclusions for all golfers. The Arccos data has already done that. Golfers carry iron shots significantly farther with a tee versus without a tee.
That said, Weinman’s shots without a tee would have fared much better on a hole that doesn’t have a forced carry than they did on the 17th at TPC Sawgrass. The data and our test show that using a tee is beneficial, but that benefit varies depending on the hole and what type of shot is required.
Verdict
On a hole with a forced carry and trouble around the green, like the 17th at TPC Sawgrass, using a tee has a significant benefit. Cleaner contact produces a farther and more consistent carry, giving golfers more of a chance to carry trouble and finish closer to the hole.
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This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
