World number one Scottie Scheffler shares his technique for hitting straighter drives by adjusting tee height to reduce ball flight dispersion.
Scottie Scheffler, the world’s top-ranked player, has revealed a straightforward adjustment that can help golfers find the fairway more consistently: lowering tee height on the drive.
In a recent instructional video, Scheffler explained the mechanics behind what he calls his “fairway finder” shot. The adjustment requires minimal changes to a golfer’s normal swing, focusing primarily on one variable: how high the ball sits on the tee.
The Tee Height Difference
Scheffler described the contrast between his standard driving tee height and his fairway finder setup. “A normal one, let’s say I teed up about that high,” he said, indicating his usual position. “Fairway finder, it’s going to be pretty low to the ground.”
The reasoning behind this adjustment is rooted in launch physics. When the ball sits higher on the tee, Scheffler explained, he achieves a higher launch angle with lower spin, which naturally increases shot dispersion. “When you tee it down a little bit lower, it’s lower launching and a little bit more spin to help you control the flight of the ball,” he noted.
According to Scheffler, the fairway finder tee height sits roughly where a driver would make contact if hit directly off the turf. “I always found that the straightest club in my bag was driver off the deck. It just doesn’t have as much time to curve,” he explained. This observation informed his approach to developing the fairway finder technique.
Ball Position and Shot Shape
Notably, Scheffler does not adjust his ball position when switching to the fairway finder. The lower tee height alone creates the desired effect through a change in strike angle. With the ball positioned lower, Scheffler makes a more downward strike rather than the upward angle typical of a standard drive.
This difference in strike angle produces a natural fade. “When the tee height is higher up, I’m hitting more up on the ball, and when I get it down low like this, it’s more of a downward strike, and it’s going to cause that ball to fade a little bit,” Scheffler said.
The world number one emphasized that deployment of this shot is situational, depending on the specific layout and circumstances presented by the golf course. Rather than replacing his normal driving technique, the fairway finder serves as a strategic option when accuracy takes priority over distance.
For recreational golfers seeking more consistency off the tee, Scheffler’s approach offers a practical starting point: experimenting with lower tee heights to reduce dispersion and improve fairway-finding rates.
🚨⛳️🏌️#GOLF TIP — World #1 Scottie Scheffler explains how teeing the ball down lower will help you get the ball in play easier ✅@SchefflerFans
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) February 22, 2026
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