Where do you focus your eyes?

[MPS67]

what do you mean purposely blurs vision?

You know, look at the ball and then relax your eye muscles so that the ball and surrounding area isn't in sharp focus. For us with the weaker eyes in the 40 plus crowd , it's easier to do. ;)

For me, it was a good tip. I used to swing from the top with my arms, with a lunging motion in an attempt to hit down hard at the ball. Johnson's blur technique helps a golfer envision a striking zone through which he/she can accelerate their swing versus a focal point at which to hit.

[Belly]

I focus on the back quarter of the ball, if the ball was a clock it would be the 7. This helps me keep an inside swing path as I used to come over the top. It works for me on all my clubs helps the most on long irons. This tip helped me put the 3i back in my bag!
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[ganjagolfer]

He must spit on his finger and rub it in his eyes.......

i tried the spit thing today and didn't seem to help, maybe didn't use enough

[dave39]

I was always told to look at the back of the ball. I prefer to look at the rear half though, so not quite at the top of the ball but a little further toward the back.

[VTGolf]

i look at the tail end of it. so basically the back

[silliwilli]

i think he meant 2 inches, not 2 feet, it was a supposed cure for fat shots!

[larlev]

i tried the spit thing today and didn't seem to help, maybe didn't use enough

I did some more research....it's 1/2 spit, and 1/2 booger. I guess the spit is just used to get the booger in easier. The booger definetly does work.

[The23rdMan]

Inside back for me, but I'm interested in the blurred vison thing.

[Sherpat]

i think he meant 2 inches, not 2 feet, it was a supposed cure for fat shots!

Hi Silli -

I've got the article in front of me ("Golf", March '08, pg.74). He does say two FEET, not inches. The photo example shows him at address with an iron, his head turned well to the left, and they've drawn a dotted yellow line from his eyes to the ground waaaaaay in front of the ball. I tried it in my yard out of curiousity. I put a penny on the ground 2 measured feet in front of the ball and focused on that during my swing. I have to say I was suprised as all hell when I not only didn't whiff, but struck the ball pretty cleanly. My main swing flaw complaint is hitting the ball fat on occassion, and looking at the penny forced me to unconsciously move my weight forward on the downswing, bottoming my swing arc at the ball instead of behind it. It was an odd sensation at first, but on the other hand it's really reinforcing the feel of a proper weight shift. I doubt if someone who already strikes the ball pure already will be interested in this, but for my specific shortcoming it worked pretty well! :)

[cockergod]

I concentrate on the back of the ball as well.

[Neil]

Heck, 2 feet in front of the ball sounds mental - no chance I'm ever trying that under pressure!

I've never really thought about looking at anything other than the ball; the key for me is to try and keep my head relatively still as I swing down and through.

[marpr]

when my hands/club are in the correct position at the top of the swing, i fix my vision approximately 4-6 inches in front of the ball and do not move my eyes until i see/hear the ball bounce off the club face.

actually, when i drive the ball. i fix my eyes on a spot about the same distance behind the ball.

i use these age-old coaching methods to ensure that when im hitting my drive, it is on-the-upswing. it is the exactly opposite when hitting my irons, im hitting the ball before my swing hit's it absolute bottom. ie. on-the-downswing.

this doens't work for everyone, but i have been using these techniques since i was about 19. they seem to work for me.

[SwinginCaveman]

when my hands/club are in the correct position at the top of the swing, i fix my vision approximately 4-6 inches in front of the ball and do not move my eyes until i see/hear the ball bounce off the club face.

I do what you do with my driver only because it's one of the harder-to-hit clubs in my bag. For everything else, 3 wood included, I focus on the ball.

I've found that when I make my mind do too many things before a swing I'm not going to concentrate on impact and I'll end up with a poor shot. I go through everything I need to do before I address the ball. That way I can just approach the ball and swing away. I make a much more rhythmic and smooth swing when I just go with it and let my muscle memory take control. Someone earlier used a car analogy. I use the same one. You're not going to drive a car while trying to do math and read and fix your hair. It's just too distracting. You drive better when you just let it happen; unless you're road-racing of course.

[StrayCat]

I have a tendency to catch it a little fat sometimes. It helped alot when I started focusing at the front of the ball or even a little ahead of that, but not 2 feet.

[Leek]

For whatever it's worth, The Golfing Machine says your club should bottom out 4" past the ball for iron shots. There is a concept called "aiming point" which basically says you should aim your HANDS past your target side leg for impact, because with a flat left wrist at impact, your hands will be well past the clubhead and ball at impact.