This cheat sheet will tell you if you’re looking at the wrong part of the golf ball

July 9, 2019

It’s so simple — obvious, even — but something almost no golfer thinks about. Are you looking at the wrong part of the golf ball? You might be. But the good news is there’s a few subtle ways you can improve your game simply by looking at a different part of the golf ball….

Sketchy Putts

As we wrote about in a recent article that was based off a 2012 study, low-skilled putters tend to shift their focus around rapidly while they stand over their putts, keying-in on a number of different spots on and around the golf ball. To improve your putting, practice honing-in your focus by looking at one very specific dimple in the middle of the golf ball, and nothing else.

Fat Shots

As reported in a 2005 issue of GOLF Magazine, sometimes a change in perspective is all it takes to fix a fault…

Take fat contact, for example. If you’re continually hitting the ground before the ball, focus your eyes on the front edge (target side) of the ball during the swing. It may not seem like much—the diameter of the golf ball is just 1.68 inches—but shifting your sight line forward even this small amount nudges your center of gravity toward the target. This forward shift will help the club reach its low point at the ball instead of behind it.

Thins/Whiffs

Of course, the opposite is true, too. If you’re thinning or whiffing shots, try pulling your center of gravity back away from the target by looking at the backside of the golf ball.

Slices

Hitting a slice? You’re likely swinging too far out-to-in with an open clubface. To fix it, try swinging more in-to-out by aiming for a spot on the inside the golf ball and hitting that.

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Hooks

And finally, the opposite of that is true, too. If you’re swinging too far from in-to-out with a closed clubface, resulting in some nasty hooks, look at a spot on the outside of the golf ball and try hitting that.