Using your eyes to your advantage!

Your eyes are at work from the time you wake up to the moment you close them to go to sleep. We depend on sight more than any other of our senses to maneuver through the space around us. In a single glance, in a fraction of a second, our eyes work with our brains to tell us the size, shape, color, and texture of an object. They let us know how close it is, whether it’s standing still or coming toward us, and how quickly it’s moving.

Every day, our eyes give us messages that help us shape together the world around us. This is one sense we need to take full advantage of when we play the game of golf. If you utilize this sense to its fullest you will become more focused on the target and take in all the information needed to pull off the shot.

Most players do a nice job of using their eyes for the basic parts of the game, such as finding distance, direction, and trouble spots. Often times, we get into trouble by being too general, with our focus on the intended target. Another problem we tend to struggle with is the low number of looks we take from the ball to the target, before pulling the trigger, for both short game and the full swing.

The advanced players use their eyes to their fullest potential by finding a very specific intended target. For example, if they where hitting a drive from the tee box, they would find a very specific spot down the fairway such as a tree branch in the distance, a bush, 150 marker, cart path etc… to focus their eyes on before they pull the trigger.

The other element we could improve on is number of looks from the ball to the target before pulling the trigger. Did you know the average number of looks from the ball to the target with Tour Players is 4-6 per shot for full swings? What is even more interesting is the “number of looks” almost doubles during short game shots with Tour Players.

The next time you are out on the golf course, don’t be scared to use your most powerful sense, your sight, with a slightly different view!

The Lesson Tee……..
By Director of Instruction, Andy Scott School of Golf

Until next time…….see you on the lesson tee.