Hit the High Draw . . . When you need extra yards

I’VE ALWAYS felt more comfortable playing a cut off the tee, and I don’t swing out of my shoes nearly as often as I did in my 20s and 30s. Still, there are certain times when I need to hit a high, hard draw to maximize distance like you see me doing here. Maybe I have to fly it 290 to carry a bunker, or maybe I need to squeeze every yard out of my drive to get home in two on a par 5. When I decide I’m going to send one deep, the first thing I do is tee the ball a little higher. It’s an old-school trick and something I’ve used for pretty much my whole career.

- TIGER WOODS

A higher tee height promotes hitting up on the ball, which keeps it in the air longer with less backspin. If it has too much spin, the shot will balloon and go nowhere. The high tee also makes it easier to create an in-to-out swing path, which allows you to put draw spin on the ball. That’s key.

I also make a second setup adjustment by dropping my right foot away from the ball and standing a little wider. It’s something I started doing after my back injuries. The foot position does two things: (1) It gives me a wider base so I can shallow my downswing and catch the ball cleanly on the upswing. (2) It helps me make a deeper turn so I can generate more clubhead speed.

My main thought for this shot is to create as much width as possible. It starts with the backswing—you want to feel like you’re creating a massive semicircle on the way back. I don’t move as much laterally away from the target in the backswing as I used to, but I still want to feel like I’m loading more on the right side than I would for a straight shot or a cut. In fact, the shaft in the backswing might get a little past parallel to the ground.