This is one of the main keys to playing very good golf.
Keeping your eyes focused on the back portion of the golf ball from the moment you begin the back swing, right up to the precise moment the club head strikes the ball is one of the fundamental principles to playing very good golf.
But more importantly, you must keep your eyes focused on the spot that the ball was resting until well after the ball has been struck -- until the momentum of the golf swing forces the head to rotate away from the frontal facing position.
**** You will probably dispute this, but if you are a mid to high handicapped golfer I am fairly confident that you do not actually see the club head strike the ball --- you probable keep your eyes focused on the ball for most of the down swing movement but like most amateur golfers, your eyes begin to look towards the target a split fraction of a second before the club head actually makes contact with the ball.
It is that split fraction of a second that makes the big difference between a poor golfer and very good golfer. ****
Do not take my word for it, watch the ball for that extra split fraction of a second so that you actually see the club head strike the ball and keep looking at the spot that the ball was before it was struck for a milli-second longer--- and see the difference.
Therefore the length of time that
you focus on the back portion of the golf ball whilst playing the golf shot is very important.
Basically the longer you can maintain the focus on the back edge of the golf ball before you strike the ball, the better the quality of the shot in both the strike action and the direction of the shot.
But importantly, also holding your focus on the spot that the ball was resting, after the ball has been struck is absolutely vital to striking the ball well.
Perception of the Golf Ball.
Speaking from experience I can assure you
that there is a difference between simply
just looking at the golf ball -- as opposed to keeping
your eyes fully focused on a particular point on the back portion of the golf ball as the
club head swings into the contact area.
You do not believe me?? -- carry out the following
test.
Take your normal stance and address the ball
and absorb what you see.
You will notice that as you look at
the ball you are basically staring at an image that includes an
area of grass that the ball is resting on - you are not focusing
on any particular point on the golf ball.
Now pick up the golf ball and hold it so that
you can read the manufacturer`s name - and whilst continuing to
read the name on the ball, bend over and place it back on the
ground/tee peg with the manufacture`s name in a position where
the club head would make contact with the ball. -- Then whilst focusing solely on the manufacturer`s name on the ball, gradually
raise your body until you are back to the normal address position.
You will instantly notice that by concentrating
solely on the manufacturer`s name on the back edge of the golf
ball, you are unaware of the grass around the golf ball.
You
are actually focusing the eyes exclusively on a particular spot
on the golf ball.
By focusing your eyes on the ball in this way,
it clearly demonstrates how vague your perception of the golf
ball may have been before you carried out this exercise. ( Top Golfers focus on a dimple on the ball)
I cannot stress too strongly how important
it is to maintain your focus on the back edge of the golf ball
until the precise moment the club head strikes the ball and then continue to focus on the spot where the ball was resting, until well after the ball has been struck in order
to achieve a very good contact of the ball, but also to achieve
accuracy of the golf shot.
This action will ensure that the head is held
in the correct position until after the ball has been struck.
To enable you to understand what happens when you watch the ball until the club head strikes the ball, try out this test.
Address the ball with a golf club as normal but focus your eyes intensely on the manufacture's name on the golf ball.
Whilst keeping your eyes fixed on the manufacture's name on the golf ball, get someone to flick the ball away (Do not allow your eyes to follow the ball but keep looking at the spot the ball was resting.)
You will notice that as long as you hold your focus on the spot that the ball was resting, a black image of the ball can be seen on the ground, an image which is only visible for a milli-second after the ball has been struck.
( You need to look very closely at the ground with intensity where the ball was resting before it was flicked away in order to see the black image after the ball is moved because the black image very quickly fades.)
Therefore when playing golf, try to see the black image after every shot.
The mid to lower handicap golfers focus on the back edge of
the golf ball and also watch the golf ball a little bit longer than the average golfer,
almost until the club head is just about to make contact with
the ball.
However the top professional and top amateur golfers actually
watch the back edge of the golf ball until the precise moment
the club head strikes the ball and continue to focus on the spot on the ground after the ball has been struck - with practically every shot.
However it is on the odd occasion when the top players do not watch the ball until
the club head strikes the ball that inevitably results in a poor
shot.
Imagine trying hit a nail into a piece of wood without actually
focusing on the head of the nail until the precise moment the
hammer head hit the nail.
Without a shadow of doubt you would
miss- hit the nail.
This is why you must watch the ball right
up to the precise moment the club head strikes it.
So my analysis is that the longer you are able to maintain
your focus on the back edge of the golf ball before the club head
strikes the ball, the better golfer you will become.
Perform this action with every shot and your golfing skills
will move to a much higher level.
Therefore be it on the tee, the fairway or
the rough, it is absolutely vital that as you address the ball
you must focus your eyes on the back edge of the golf ball.
For example, from the moment you begin the
back swing you must focus your eyes on the back edge of the golf
ball, but you must continue to hold this focus on the back edge
of the golf ball throughout the back swing movement and the down
swing movement - right up until the precise moment the club head
strikes the ball.
( If you want to understand what
I mean by watching the ball until the club head strikes the ball
-- If you hold a very sharp sewing needle in your left hand and
then tried to physically touch the tip of the needle with the
index finger of the right hand, you will note that to avoid being
pricked by the needle you have to watch the tip of the needle
very carefully so that you literally see the tip of the finger
of the right hand actually touch the tip of the needle - this
is how intensely you must watch the back edge of the golf ball,
i,e until the precise moment the club head strikes the ball.)
This is the number one priority that all golfers should adhere
too and I cannot stress too strongly how much this basic principle
contributes to playing very good golf.
Unfortunately not enough attention is
given by the top golf instructors in order to teach this very
basic principle of the golf swing - in fact I have never heard
a top class golfing instructor or a top class golfer mention how
important this basic principle contributes to playing very good
golf.
These people
assume that everybody is aware that you had to watch the ball
with such intensity.
Therefore if you wish
to play better golf you must teach yourself to actually watch
the ball until the precise moment the club head strikes the ball
and then after the ball has been struck, hold the focus on the spot where the ball was resting for that extra mill-second so that you actually see the ball
moving away from its resting position.
Even as you practice this action
you will forget it from time to time, but if you can teach yourself
to perform this action on every shot, I can assure you that you
will see a dramatic improvement in the accuracy of the golf shots.
At first you will find it very
difficult to hold the focus of the eyes fully on the back edge
of the golf ball until the club head actually makes contact with the ball
on every shot.
In addition, you will also find
that at first it is almost impossible to keep the focus of your
eyes on the ball until the precise moment the golf ball actually
moves away from its resting spot.
However by constantly reminding
yourself of this action and then seeing the results of this action,
you will accept the significance of the action and it will begin
to enter the long term memory.
So practice, practice and practice this action,
and in time you will never forget carry out this basic fundamental
principle.
Top class golfers have a natural ability to
focus intensely on the back of the golf ball as they swing the
club head into and through the contact area.
( When a top golfer says that he is striking the ball well,
they may not realise why they are striking the ball well, but
what it actually means is that they have maintained their intense
concentration on the back of the ball for practically every shot that they made during
the round.)
Therefore when you have your next practice
session, experiment as follows:-
Make a red round spot on the golf ball and
place the ball on the tee so that the mark on the back section
of the ball and is just visible as you address the ball. -- Fix
your eyes on this mark and keep your eyes fully focused on this
mark as you make a back swing and the down swing movement.
Continue
to keep the eyes fully focused on this precise mark until the
club head makes contact with the ball, but importantly hold the
focus on the golf ball for that extra millisecond so that you
actually see the golf ball move away from its resting position.
(You can compare the using a club head to strike
a golf ball with the action of using a hammer to drive a nail
into a piece of wood. You do not look at the hammer head when
trying to hit a nail -- you watch the head of the nail
very carefully until the precise moment the hammer head
strikes the nail.)
Self Teaching Method.
You can begin to teach yourself to watch the
club head strike the ball on the practice putting green.
On the putting green, focus your eyes on the
back of the ball and as you return the putter face to the ball,
concentrate on literally seeing the precise moment when the putter
touches the ball.
But importantly keep this focus on the ball until the ball actually
begins to move.
This is an action that is easily said than done, simply because
as I mentioned earlier, your mind rushes ahead and the eyes begin
to track the line of the ball even before it has been touched
- however with concentration it can be done.
Therefore always begin your practice sessions
on the putting green with this "watch the club head touch
the ball" practice routine - this will encourage this action
to enter your long term memory.
Expand this method to the chipping area and
again force yourself to watch the back edge of the golf ball until
the club head actually makes contact with the ball and then hold
the focus so that you literally see the golf ball move away
from the resting position.
When you perform this action correctly, you
will notice how crisply you strike the ball, but even more importantly,
how accurately you strike the ball.
Many golfers are able to hit the ball off the
tee with no particular problem. However when it comes to the second
or third shot to the green, they often miss-hit the shot.
The reason for this is that their concentration
is at its highest level on the tee and therefore the golfer is
totally focused on the ball.
However when it comes to playing the ball off the fairway or from
the rough, the golfer does not take enough care to fully focus
on the back edge of the golf ball as the club head swings into
and the contact area.
So if you experience this problem, tighten
up your concentration when playing from the fairway or the rough.
If you carry out a golf swing whilst focusing
on a back section of the ball or the dimples of the golf ball
on the back edge of the ball, you will immediately notice a dramatic
improvement in the strike of the golf ball.
At first you will find it very difficult to
maintain the focus on the back section of the golf ball until
you actually see the ball move away from its resting position,
but persevere and you will eventually reap the benefit of your
efforts.
Do not simply take my word that this basic
principle will dramatically improve the quality of your striking
action - try it for yourself.
Putting.
The same applies when you are putting --- After you have lifted
the ball in order to clean it, replace the ball and fully focus
your eyes on the very back edge of the golf ball where the putter head will make contact -- but importantly
you must focus your eyes on this very back edge of the golf ball
and actually see the putter head make contact with the ball.
Importantly, as the putter makes contact with the ball, do
not allow the eyes to follow the movement of the ball, you must
continue to focus on the spot that the ball was standing and keep
your head in the original address position with a "pin
point accuracy" and swing the putter through the contact
area.
If you can maintain the focus on the ball whilst performing
the mechanical action of the putting stroke, you will begin to
notice that the ball rolls on the exact line that you intend,
but beware, you must not allow the eyes to follow the ball and
also do not allow the head to move with a lateral motion.
This principle of actually seeing the club head strike the
ball is equally important when you the chip shot.
Clearly defining the focusing of the eyes on a particular
spot on the back of the golf ball and maintaining this focus as
the club head swings into the contact area is one of the major
keys to playing very good golf, so make this aspect of the golf
swing a priority.
Donation.
If would like to make a small donation towards the upkeep on this site, please press the button below.
