No - Soling the driver at address means you have to adjust to get the sweetspot of the clubhead to the ball.

Golf Tip: You’re standing on the tee with the driver in your hand with the ball teed up nicely. So which one — ball, tee or ground — are you going to hit? I always ask my students which one they plan to hit, and they say “The ball, of course.” I then ask them, “So why do you hit all three?” 
Too often, on a tee shot, the player sends the tee flying and the dirt spraying.
Instead, the ideal way to hit a tee shot is to leave the tee in the ground and sweep the ball off the top of the tee. 
Do how do you do that? Very simple: Don’t sole your driver at address. Put the driver head where the ball is and start from there. Make sure the sweet spot of the club is level with the ball when you’re at address. That way, you don’t have to lift it up or drop it down to get the clubhead to where the ball is. Look at the second photo - the driver’s sweet spot is matched up perfectly with the ball.

Craig Shankland is Senior Instructor, LPGA International Golf Club, Daytona Beach, Fla., and Director of Instruction, The Maroon Creek Club, Aspen, Colo. Craig was the 2001 PGA Teacher of the Year in the U.S. He's recognized by Golf Digest as one of America’s 50 Greatest Teachers, and annually in Golf Magazine’s Top 100.

Yes - Now you don't have to lift or drop the club to get the sweet spot to the ball.

Ball-striking is the term that's commonly used to describe the quality of contact between the clubface and the ball at impact.

In pitch shots — and in all shots, for that matter — there's an important distinction between striking the ball and scooping it. 

Striking occurs with the hands and handle leaning slightly forward at contact with the weight on the left side. Conversely, with a scooping motion, the weight stays back and the player tops the ball or hits too far behind it. 

A simply prop can help you overcome the scoop and replace it with a strike.

You've "popped" a towel before, right? This is a great way to train your hands to stay ahead of the clubface at impact. 

You cannot “cast” a towel and get it to pop. The right wrist needs to stay bent back and let the end catch with a snap. This is a great drill to get rid of an early release. 

Rob Akins is Director of Instruction at Spring Creek Ranch in Collierville, Tenn. He is recognized by Golf Digest as a Top 50 instructor in America. 

No. 12 Ernie Els

2011 Golfer Countdown

BORN: Oct. 17, 1969, Johannesburg, South Africa

FEDEX FINISH: 9

2010 PGA TOUR EARNINGS: $4,558,861

WORLD GOLF RANKING: 11 (as of Feb. 12, 2011)

GOLF CHANNEL’S BRANDEL CHAMBLEE GIVES HIS TAKE: Ernie Els will turn 42 this year, but thanks to a swing kissed by heaven, he still has time to add to his 70 worldwide wins and three majors. Ernie is one of the few players in the world who is far better on Sunday than he is on Thursday, thanks to experience and a magical wedge. But to bag another major he needs to putt better inside five feet.

CAREER PGA TOUR STATS (as of Feb. 12, 2011)

• Events — 302
• Cuts — 263
• 1^st  — 18         
• 2^nd — 16        
• 3^rd  — 18        
• T10  — 115   
• T25  — 183

Clarke gives Northern Ireland three of the last six majors.

A sample of post-British Open commentary:
• “I have 294 messages, and the writing is far too small for me to look at them in this state, so I may look at them tomorrow at some stage and figure them out.” — Darren Clarke, after a night of celebrating his Open win
• “I feel a bit funny about putting stuff in the Claret Jug that shouldn’t be in there, so I’m a little bit more reserved as to what I should do. So there’s nothing in it as yet. That may not be the case as the week goes by, but at the moment there’s been nothing in there.” — Clarke, when asked if anything had found its way into the Jug while in his possession
“We're blessed to have obviously two fantastic players in Rory (McIlroy) and G-Mac (Graeme McDowell), and … the old guy coming along behind them … We have fantastic golf courses, we have fantastic facilities, but to have three major champions from a little small place in a short period of time, it’s just incredible.” — Clarke, on Northern Ireland’s recent run
• “Phil has been through an awful lot with Amy, and we have spoken quite a lot. He has turned into a very good friend of mine through thick and thin, and he said some very, very kind words to me there after the thing, which is great. And Amy is looking fantastic, as well.” — Clarke, who lost his wife Heather to breast cancer and has supported the Mickelson’s through Amy’s bout with the disease
• “My game is suited for basically every golf course and most conditions, but these conditions I just don’t enjoy playing in really. That’s the bottom line. I’d rather play when it’s 80 degrees and sunny and not much wind.” — Rory McIlroy after a frustrating Open weekend
• “I had to start trying to make birdies, and that's when I ended up making a couple bogeys.” — Phil Mickelson, whose 6-under start melted away with four back-nine bogeys
• “I hung in there all day, made some birdies on the back to get back in there and just unfortunately made the double-bogey on 14, which really just took all my momentum out.” — Dustin Johnson after another major disappointment
• “Dustin really doesn't think about a whole lot. I don't think he's going to be too worried about it. He's someone that gets over things pretty quickly. He's a great player. I love the way he plays the game. He can hit the ball a long ways, and I wouldn't worry about Dustin.” — fellow American Rickie Fowler
• “Very happy for Darren Clarke, well deserved win.” — post-Open tweet from Tiger Woods