What is a Skying golf ball flight and how to fix it (Video) - by Pete Styles
What is a Skying golf ball flight and how to fix it (Video) - by Pete Styles

The question that I get asked a lot by amateurs is all about how to tee the golf ball up. Let's just presume that when you come to the driving range the tee peg is always in the mount there where you stand up when you whack it. And some people say, "Oh, I did have a very good practice I think because the tee was the wrong size and how should I pick the right tee. And then what do I do when I go out to the golf course as well?" The tee peg is size is really important to you because the club had its sweet spot. It also has its edges. We've got to try and strike the ball in the sweet spot more often avoid the edges a lot more.

Now, if I set the ball up there I think now is exactly the right height for my driver. What I want to see is about half a ball sitting above the top of the golf clubs so half the ball air above the top. If have the entire ball above the top of the golf club, there's a real risk and I'm going to go underneath it and sky it. So if I have a high tee peg and then a golf club that has a slightly shallow of face, you can see how all of that club sits cleanly above the top of the ball. If I make a swing here and hit down at the ground, I'm going to sky the golf ball. The ball will go shooting straight up into the air far higher than the loft on the golf club would indicate. It would go no distance at all and come down vertically with no roll. I would probably also see a mark on the top of my golf club instead of ball-shape, dimple-shape imprints.

Now, if you are seeing those on your club the clear indication that the tee peg is the wrong size for you. So go ahead and address the ball with the right size of tee peg and that's one way of stopping skying the ball. Another great way here is to make sure you're not taking debits with your big clubs. We don’t want to have a downward angle of attack that hits down underneath the ball that I make the ball can far too much off the top end as well. So particularly with your bigger clubs, just set up and feel how you have a slight backwards lean. A little bit more body weight on to the right side helping you hit up on the golf ball. And the sort of ascending angle of attack this way is going to hit the ball nice and high without skying it and a descending angle of attack getting forwards and jamming the club down is going to lead the leading edges of this position and actually now you have right on the top edge shooted up into the air and take a debit. So having the tee at the correct height, the spine angle at the right tilt and make sure you're not digging down into the ball is a great way of getting rid over a sky shots and maximizing your distance.

 2012-12-03

The question that I get asked a lot by amateurs is all about how to tee the golf ball up. Let's just presume that when you come to the driving range the tee peg is always in the mount there where you stand up when you whack it. And some people say, “Oh, I did have a very good practice I think because the tee was the wrong size and how should I pick the right tee. And then what do I do when I go out to the golf course as well?” The tee peg is size is really important to you because the club had its sweet spot. It also has its edges. We've got to try and strike the ball in the sweet spot more often avoid the edges a lot more.

Now, if I set the ball up there I think now is exactly the right height for my driver. What I want to see is about half a ball sitting above the top of the golf clubs so half the ball air above the top. If have the entire ball above the top of the golf club, there's a real risk and I'm going to go underneath it and sky it. So if I have a high tee peg and then a golf club that has a slightly shallow of face, you can see how all of that club sits cleanly above the top of the ball. If I make a swing here and hit down at the ground, I'm going to sky the golf ball. The ball will go shooting straight up into the air far higher than the loft on the golf club would indicate. It would go no distance at all and come down vertically with no roll. I would probably also see a mark on the top of my golf club instead of ball-shape, dimple-shape imprints.

Now, if you are seeing those on your club the clear indication that the tee peg is the wrong size for you. So go ahead and address the ball with the right size of tee peg and that's one way of stopping skying the ball. Another great way here is to make sure you're not taking debits with your big clubs. We don’t want to have a downward angle of attack that hits down underneath the ball that I make the ball can far too much off the top end as well. So particularly with your bigger clubs, just set up and feel how you have a slight backwards lean. A little bit more body weight on to the right side helping you hit up on the golf ball. And the sort of ascending angle of attack this way is going to hit the ball nice and high without skying it and a descending angle of attack getting forwards and jamming the club down is going to lead the leading edges of this position and actually now you have right on the top edge shooted up into the air and take a debit. So having the tee at the correct height, the spine angle at the right tilt and make sure you're not digging down into the ball is a great way of getting rid over a sky shots and maximizing your distance.