Everyone knows Min Woo Lee is long. That’s usually the first thing you notice when you watch him play.
But in a recent video with Grant Horvat, Lee gave us a better look at what makes his driver game so good. It’s not just speed. It’s the shots he chooses, the windows he sees and the times he knows not to force it.
Here are three takeaways worth paying attention to.
He has a wind shot with driver
Most amateurs have one driver swing. If the wind picks up, they usually just tee it lower, swing harder and hope the ball doesn’t balloon.
Lee does something different.
During the round, Horvat points out one of Lee’s tee shots and how stable it looked. Lee explains that he has developed a lower fade for the wind. The idea is to keep it down, take some spin off and control the flight.
That’s a big difference from just trying to hit a “safe” driver.
A controlled wind shot doesn’t have to be perfect. It just needs to be predictable.
The key is having a shot you can go to when the stock driver is too high, too spinny or too unpredictable. You don’t always need all of your speed on a tee shot. This is a shot you’ll want to practice before you need it on the course.
He uses a mini driver to fit the hole shape
One of the more interesting comments Lee makes is about using a mini driver on a right-to-left hole.
A lot of golfers think of a mini driver as a safer driver replacement. While that may be part of it, Lee talks about it more like a shot-shaping tool.
Choosing less than driver isn’t always about being scared of trouble. Sometimes it’s about choosing the club that best fits the shape of the shot the hole is asking for.
If your driver wants to fade and the hole bends hard the other way, you may be making the hole harder (and longer) than it needs to be. A fairway wood, hybrid or mini driver could give you a better window. Think of these clubs as providing shot-shaping options, not just safety.
He still knows when the window is too tight
At one point, Horvat asks Lee about a tight shot around 300 yards and whether he would go for it in a tournament. Lee says no. The window is too tight.
Lee has the distance but the target doesn’t give him enough room to miss it. Amateurs do the opposite all the time. We see a number we can theoretically reach and convince ourselves that means we should try it.
Distance gives you options but it doesn’t mean every option is smart. Start asking yourself how much has to go right for a shot to work.
Final thought
Min Woo Lee’s driver is fun to watch because of the speed.
But the better lesson is how much thought goes into those tee shots. He has a wind shot. He uses different clubs to match the shape of the hole. He knows when a target is too small, even when he has the distance to take it on.
Even if you don’t have his distance, thinking about tee shots in this way could help your game.
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