This is one of those little things that could make a big difference by getting it right and getting it the same very time.

They say the ball should be teed up for a driver so the center of the ball is even with the top of the driver’s clubface. You know I question everything, but I’ll let that one go.

Measure the height of your clubface. Mine is 2 inches on the nose (Titleist 983K).

(I know about the post I put up last year about Tiger’s driver and my driver, both Titliest 975D, but I switched. So did Tiger. Anyway…)

Subtract from that half the diameter of the ball (half of 1.68 inches is 0.84 inches). I get 1.16 inches.

That is the height of the tee ABOVE THE GROUND for my driver.

Get a tee and draw a line around the shaft with a Sharpie that is 1.16 inches (or whatever you get) from the TOP of the tee.

Push the tee into the ground as far as the line, with a golf ball on top of it, and address the ball with your driver. That is what a properly teed-up ball should look like with your driver.

Now. How do you tee it up at the same height every time without drawing lines around all your tees? Simple!

With your trial ball and tee still in the ground, put your hand on the ball so the top of it lies in the junction between your thumb and the base of your forefinger, with your thumb sticking straight down.

Notice where the tip of your thumb is in relation to the ground. THAT is how you are going to tell that you have the right tee height.

I know, this sounds really obsessive. But it’s a detail that is easy to pay attention to, which accords with a major principle of playing golf:

The more things you can do the right way every time, the easier the game gets and the better you play it.