Watch the Ball

Are You Really Looking At The Ball??

By: Bruce Munch
Head Professional, White River Golf Club

Has anyone ever told you “Keep your head down”, or “Keep your eye on the Ball” and you think you are doing it but you still hit bad shots?

Here is the problem. Even if you don’t move your head, you might be moving your eyes in an effort to see how the shot turns out. It is very important that you start to change your enjoyment from the end result of the shot, to the moment of impact. Most of us hit a shot and then look up to see how it turned out. This is very normal but can lead to a situation where you are really looking “Around the Ball”, not “At” the ball.

We are all victims of “Early Anticipation”. We don’t know how the shot will turn out so we start to look too early. I have a frame video of Ernie Els that shows clearly that he is still looking at the impact area until after the club is pointed directly to the target. Do you?

So, why do we peek? We all have the need to seek instant gratification and in doing so, we tend to turn our head or at least move our eyes, before the club impacts the ball. If someone was throwing you a ball, you would most probably watch the ball all the way into your hand. Unfortunately, when hitting a golf ball, we seem to think that once we have addressed the ball, with the club directly behind it, we will return to that point, automatically. This is not necessarily the case. Great mechanics will create repeatability but will not ensure good shots if you are not looking at the ball. Try hitting balls with your eyes closed. Tough to do.

So here is the deal. Suppose that your mechanics are flawed but you focus on hitting the ball, rather than the mechanical thoughts of “take it here, move it here” etc. You might find that you will have more success. Remember, the success of the shot has more to do with the way the club meets the ball than how it gets there.

Try this drill. Throw a tee on the grass, address it and hit it with a club. If you are like most people I have worked with, you will hit the tee and will feel no need to look because it does not matter where the tee goes. Hitting it does. If you can take this thought process to hitting a golf ball, when you do look up you might be surprised at how good the shot is. Over time you will start to trust the impact and the need to look will be diminished. In fact, you can get to the point where based upon the contact you will know where the ball is going well before you look.

So, try to see the club hit the ball. Some say it is not possible, but it is. Start watching the club hit the ball on putts, then on chips, then on pitches and gradually full swings. You will be surprised to find out that you know where the ball is going, not by looking, but by seeing the moment of contact. Why do you think we say “If you want to see a bad shot, look up at it”! After a while you will trust it and you will play better golf.