Aiming Position vs. Watching the ball

[ejewels]

Hello, I'm new to this forum, as well as new to golf in general. I've been watching instructional videos on YouTube by some pros and I see that a common thing they talk about for hitting irons is finding an aiming point towards the left of the ball. I understand the fact that you are supposed to hit down on the ball and hit it first before taking out a divot. However, If you are focused on an aiming point to the left of the ball, how do you still watch the ball throughout the entire swing? Do you aim / watch to the left of the ball, or watch the ball during the swing??

[TempoIsKey]

Here's what they're talking about, when I'm preparing to address the ball, i stand directly behind it and pick out a piece of grass, leaf, just something a few inches in front of it that is in line with the target and when I address the ball, I square the face up with that object. That should put your club face pointing at the object which should also put it facing the intended target. You don't need to look at the object once you're done setting up, just look at the ball and let er go. Hope this helps.

[saevel25]

Its nearly impossible to watch the ball get hit. Only a few pro golfers in history have said they could see the impact of the golf ball and golf club. Also your head never stays totally still, this will throw off your balance since your head isn't moving with your weight. The old saying keep your head still is more of a mental note because as humans we like to over exaggerate things, so when we say weight shift alot of people will really go at it. So those swing thoughts are to mellow out our thinking. If you have a consistent swing, there will be a natural arch to the swing and you will create a starting point to your divots nearly at the same spot. So all you need to do is put the ball behind this point and swing normally. The club and swing will do the rest.

[ejewels]

Thanks for the replies, although I'm still kind of confused. You need to still watch the ball as best you can, but the aiming point in front of the ball (where the club will take out the divot)... which place are you looking at during the swing. You can't look at both, but everyone says the golf ball is what is to be looked at.

Here is the video that I watched that may / may not have screwed me up!