Something To Keep an Eye On
I have another all time favorite myth for us to tear apart: Your eyes need to be over the ball at address.
Everyone has heard it. Many people mention it when they visit The Garage for The Putting Experience. And I'm here to tell you that we need to stop being so certain of things that have been passed down from generation to generation without doing a little fact checking. It's my job to put a stop to this mess, so here we go.
Why It's Bad (For Some)
My friends that use the Sharpie line on the ball or the lines on the putter to get set up will know exactly what I'm talking about here.
Have you ever set the line on the ball down from behind and thought it looked good only to stand over it and mutter to yourself "That's not right. That can't be straight?" I've been there too, but years ago I didn't have the tools to solve this problem. The solution was "just trust it" or "the sun's going down, so just hit it." Both of those are hard to do with you can't "see the line."
Sound familiar? Without any surprise to me, you keeping your eyes over the ball could be causing that.
Here's a look at a series of accomplished players that have visited The Garage. You'll notice that none of them actually have their eyes over the ball. Less than 20% of Tour players set up with their eyes over the ball, so why should you?
The Closer Look
When you're looking down at the ball, you don't simply lean forward and expect everything to perfectly align. Because your setup is a complex structure of body segments that need to cooperate with your optics, we need to take the time to find exactly what does work for you.
Ball Position
If you took a look at the myth about the letter Y (click to view if you haven't in the past), you know that the ball position for most golfers is some amount forward of center. Your eye dominance can influence how far forward is too far forward, but that's individual. Given that, I don't teach a particular setup built specifically around eye dominance.
And here's one to keep you on your toes. Did you ever think about ball position in terms of distance from the ball? I have. And it influences...
Upper Body
How upright or crouched you are at setup will definitely change where the head is positioned. And don't forget how about if it is slightly open or closed to the target line.
If you're struggling to see the line on some days, but not others, perhaps your setup could use a bit more structure.
The Head
This is one of the more complex pieces in this puzzle. Rather than bore you with the details, here is the crash course. You have head bend (nodding yes), head turn (shaking your head no), and head tilt (like you're moving either ear closer to either shoulder). There is some combination of bend, tilt, and turn that allows you to see the line better in addition to the other pieces we touched on today.
The Wrap Up
So how are we going to get you seeing straight and building a setup that's best for you? We have a couple options. If you can't make it to Orlando before the year is done, check out the online lesson offerings. Sign up for any session between now and November 30, 2023 and I'll send you a FREE Speed Kit! If you are going to come to Orlando, sign up for The Putting Experience here. And because it's a holiday, sign up between now and November 30, 2023 and I'll you'll get a FREE Preston's Putting Template AND Speed Kit!
