Eye on the ball

[Kiwi]

Had some time to kill after my round yesterday so went to the putting green and hit some shorter (inside 5 feet) shots. Tried, again, to keep my eye on the ball rather than lift it to see how the shot went. Tried to focus on seeing the spot where the ball had been immediately after the stroke. I was amazed at my accuracy on those shots. I went from maybe 5/10 to 8/10. I have been pushing those lately so this may be something for me to work a little harder on.

My question though is does/should this also work with the other shots such as fairway and off the tee. Should I be trying to focus on the divot or the tee after my shot or does the theory only work for the putting because it is at a slower speed? Does taking your eye off the ball too early have the same detrimental effect on the other shots as it apparently does for the putts?

[Gangrel]

I am by no means an expert (yet to break 100, hopefully soon) but I find that one of my trouble spots is "watching the ball" during my swing, rather then "looking at the ball".

I sometimes do what you describe, moving my head to "watch" how the ball is going to fly. What this does is completely nerf up my swing, usuall resulting in a duff off the heel that rolls 20 yards down the fairway.

If I just stare at where the ball IS, make my swing, leaving my gaze on that same spot and only life my head as I follow through after hitting the ball, I find my swing plane, etc. are much better and I have a greater chance at hitting a solid (well, for me) shot.

However, I've learned that knowing what you're doing wrong, and telling your brain NOT to do it is one thing, but actually avoiding bad habits is a tad harder. I still will pull my head up a few times a round.....

[Goshawk]

My question though is does/should this also work with the other shots such as fairway and off the tee. Should I be trying to focus on the divot or the tee after my shot or does the theory only work for the putting because it is at a slower speed? Does taking your eye off the ball too early have the same detrimental effect on the other shots as it apparently does for the putts?

Lots of golfers have this same problem. I call it the Anika symdrome. If you watch her full swing (especially in slo-mo), you'll see that her head/eyes are looking at the target at impact. She's been doing this from the beginning so it's second nature to her. Some golfers can get away with this, but most can't. Taking a "peek" is the killer of a good swing as it usually will usually change your spine angle, thereby changing the path of the clubface.

On a full swing, the one thing that I tell my students is to let your trailing shoulder (right for righties) bring your head around to find the ball after contact. Even on chips, delay looking for the ball until you think it's about halfway to the target. On putts of over 8-10 feet, don't look until you think it's almost in the hole. On the short putts, don't look at all, you'll hear it drop. If it doesn't, you'll only be a foot or so from the hole so watching the "break" after the hole is immaterial.

[leftylucas]

My CPGA teacher has me looking at the inside quadrant of the ball. To fight the urge to look at the ball go he suggested that I feel my back shoulder push under my chin after impact as a cue to look up. Works like a charm.

[Mightiestmik]

I only rarely do this, once every 2 or three rounds and I immediately catch it... It is usually something like this.

Swing, Really bad sound, Really bad shot, (usually hitting it thin) and a ball that just skims along the ground, followed immediately by an expletive and Damn it Michael keep your head down!

[Gangrel]

What I find frustrating is when I do move my head early, I *know* it. HOwever, on a bad day this can happen to me multiple times a round, no matter how much I tell myself not to do it.

Golf is very frustrating....... my brain is even more frustrating.

[bobcat 2]

Problem with looking at the ball as most folks do is they become ball bound and hit to the ball not swing through it. Try looking at a spot close to the ball but not the ball itself to see if that helps swing through and beyond the ball. For putting you would want to look at the ball and ideally still be looking at the spot where the ball was after you struck it ala Tiger hearing the putt drop.

[Chambokl]

Playing ball or golf I always try to see the club/bat hit the ball. For me it is the difference from being a 10 hdcp to maybe 7 or 8. Last year I improve a lot on chipping and basically it was to concentrate more, keeping my eyes on the ball.

Same for putting... you have to keep your head down.

[Tourstriker]

Had some time to kill after my round yesterday so went to the putting green and hit some shorter (inside 5 feet) shots. Tried, again, to keep my eye on the ball rather than lift it to see how the shot went. Tried to focus on seeing the spot where the ball had been immediately after the stroke. I was amazed at my accuracy on those shots. I went from maybe 5/10 to 8/10. I have been pushing those lately so this may be something for me to work a little harder on.

My question though is does/should this also work with the other shots such as fairway and off the tee. Should I be trying to focus on the divot or the tee after my shot or does the theory only work for the putting because it is at a slower speed? Does taking your eye off the ball too early have the same detrimental effect on the other shots as it apparently does for the putts?

I grew up in Toronto and was fortunate to spend a lot of time with George Knudson at the National.

He absolutely hated the notion of "keeping your head down." I've been teaching golf a long time now and owe a debt of gratitude to George Knudson and Ben Kern, my mentors.

The only folks that need to keep their head down are those that don't have educated hands and a decent concept of what the club needs to do through impact. "Peeking" is the expression for someone that doesn't have lag and flips the club. They flip, don't want to hit 1' behind the ball and adjust their body to fit in the flip. Sometimes they catch the ball, other times they blade it.

Someone mentioned Annika in a thread above. Truth is, she didn't make that move her whole life. Her coach Henri Ries (sp?) got her doing that later in her golf life because she was hanging back. She did the drill he taught her and she got to hitting it so well, she just kept on doing it.

Others that come to mind that DON'T keep their head down but allow it to rotate:
Robert Allenby (highly regarded ball striker by his peers)
Joe Durant (again highly regarded)
David Duval (#1 in the World pivoting off the ball)
Canada's Jamie Sadlowski (World Long Drive Champ)

Bottom line. Bad golfers love to blame missed shots on what their head did. When's the last time you heard a Tour player say they lifted their head? NEVER! Because they don't need too. Their hands know what not to do...