Losing sight of ball

[chrstianrockboy]

OK I've been working diligently since winter ended up here in MD. Not that it seems to be over. But anyway.

Ive been making pretty solid contact with all clubs; wedges get chili dipped and drivers get dummy marks, more often than id like but all in all more consistent than last year.

I do have one serious problem that's preventing me from taking the big stick out on the course.  I can never seem to find the golf ball in the air.  I keep my eye on it coming down but as soon as i hit it and look up to i cant find it. Ive had one or two of these with each distance club (DR 3w 3h 5h 6i,7i) while on the range. It does seem easier on the course as there is more foliage for a color contrast, but i still worry anytime i hit 3w or lesser so a 3hybrid.

I know it could be I'm not hitting the ball where i think i am, but the hits feel solid.

Does anyone know a solution to losing the ball in the air?

[rr1963]

Have you tried yellow balls? I also have trouble seeing the ball. The yellow balls help.

[boil3rmak3r]

OK I've been working diligently since winter ended up here in MD. Not that it seems to be over. But anyway. Ive been making pretty solid contact with all clubs; wedges get chili dipped and drivers get dummy marks, more often than id like but all in all more consistent than last year.      I do have one serious problem that's preventing me from taking the big stick out on the course.  I can never seem to find the golf ball in the air.  I keep my eye on it coming down but as soon as i hit it and look up to i cant find it. Ive had one or two of these with each distance club (DR 3w 3h 5h 6i,7i) while on the range. It does seem easier on the course as there is more foliage for a color contrast, but i still worry anytime i hit 3w or lesser so a 3hybrid. I know it could be I'm not hitting the ball where i think i am, but the hits feel solid.     Does anyone know a solution to losing the ball in the air?

Better eyesight? The only guys I've personally known to have this problem had terrible eyesight. These guys literally asked their playing partners on the first tee if they could watch their ball for them. Otherwise, there could end up being 4 or 5 lost balls just because no one saw it.

[JetFan1983]

Just thinking out loud here.

Are you really a 36 handicap? Because as your ball flight gets more predictable, it will presumably be easier for you to spot. Also the more you play, you can instinctually know where your ball is just by feel. I know when I block it way right for example. I don't need to see it. I can feel it as soon as the ball comes off the face. That's something you'd just learn over the course of several years, if you're a beginner.

I think all veterans of the game have this type of feel developed. I can usually just guess where my ball ended up and sure enough, it's there.

Of course, you can always get your eyes checked out if you've never worn glasses. It could be something as simple as that.

And they have sunglasses that reduce glare, so that could I guess help, although, I'm not an optometrist.

It sounds like you're fairly new to the game though, and if so, over time, you'll just get better at this sort of thing. Correct me if I'm wrong though, of course.

[colin007]

Better eyesight? The only guys I've personally known to have this problem had terrible eyesight. These guys literally asked their playing partners on the first tee if they could watch their ball for them. Otherwise, there could end up being 4 or 5 lost balls just because no one saw it.

This is me. I have terrible eyesight, due to a degenerative condition called Retinitis Pigmentosa. People are surprised because at 34 years old, I see worse than most geriatrics. At this point, I've been playing long enough to tell if I hit a big slice or a hook. It'll come in time for you if you stick with the game.

[chrstianrockboy]

I have used yellow balls they help on the course, unfortunately the range and the longer clubs are the primary problems.

I usually play alone on the course. I do wear glasses and get my eyes checked fairly often.

On the course i wear glasses, sunglasses and a hat. When i do find them in the sky, i can seem them all the way down the range so its not my eyesight. Ive been hitting golf balls since December 2012, on the course since June 2013, so I'm fairly new.  I do have some feel for the ball and direction.

I did notice that tonight, working on my driver swing at home I've been leaving the face closed a bit more than i thought so i may have been hitting straight pushes instead of draws, and therefore missing the ball as it ca-rooms right into the trees by Hole 1. Though i still lose with other clubs going straight...?

[JetFan1983]

Every now and then we all hit a shot where we say immediately after impact "where'd that go??" But those shots get rarer and rarer the more you play.

This is one of the reasons some newer players subconsciously hate hitting into a net for practice, and veterans like/love/don't mind it.

[David in FL]

Crud. I thought this was gonna be a thread about old guys like me that hit it further than they can see. :-(

[MS256]

I have used yellow balls they help on the course, unfortunately the range and the longer clubs are the primary problems.

I usually play alone on the course. I do wear glasses and get my eyes checked fairly often.

On the course i wear glasses, sunglasses and a hat. When i do find them in the sky, i can seem them all the way down the range so its not my eyesight. Ive been hitting golf balls since December 2012, on the course since June 2013, so I'm fairly new.  I do have some feel for the ball and direction.

I did notice that tonight, working on my driver swing at home I've been leaving the face closed a bit more than i thought so i may have been hitting straight pushes instead of draws, and therefore missing the ball as it ca-rooms right into the trees by Hole 1. Though i still lose with other clubs going straight...?

Do you mean open? If you are hitting draws more open would be pushed to the right.

Anyway. I hit balls every now and then that I don't see. If I'm lucky one of my playing partners might see it, unless it's my wife who never sees it if she watches (sees everybody else's ball but claims she can't see mine) but usually doesn't watch anyway.

I hit one last year that nobody in the group saw and we never found it until we went to the next tee box. It was pushed right but would have been in good shape for a birdie attempt if we had known where it was.

Crud. I thought this was gonna be a thread about old guys like me that hit it further than they can see.

Maybe it is.

[JetFan1983]

Yea, good point, and question to ask ^^.

PS- Just wanted to add that I definitely lose sight of the ball in flight sometimes and feel doesn't help me find it. I was just writing in generalities as best I could. Most of the time, I think over time, we all learn the ability to feel where the ball went, to varying degrees.

But I can relate to your being unable to feel where it may have gone. Because I remember somewhat disliking playing by myself in the first season in part because I was unsure if I could find the ball without my friend or friends to help me.

[Lihu]

OK I've been working diligently since winter ended up here in MD. Not that it seems to be over. But anyway.

Ive been making pretty solid contact with all clubs; wedges get chili dipped and drivers get dummy marks, more often than id like but all in all more consistent than last year.

I do have one serious problem that's preventing me from taking the big stick out on the course.  I can never seem to find the golf ball in the air.  I keep my eye on it coming down but as soon as i hit it and look up to i cant find it. Ive had one or two of these with each distance club (DR 3w 3h 5h 6i,7i) while on the range. It does seem easier on the course as there is more foliage for a color contrast, but i still worry anytime i hit 3w or lesser so a 3hybrid.

I know it could be I'm not hitting the ball where i think i am, but the hits feel solid.

Does anyone know a solution to losing the ball in the air?

Yes, use steel shafts to slow down your swing.

Worked for me.

As for the other comments about hitting so far, this has to do with hitting too high and wild.

[MS256]

Yes, use steel shafts to slow down your swing.

Worked for me.

As for the other comments about hitting so far, this has to do with hitting too high and wild.

Or low and wild, or down the middle and not seeing it. One of our holes is directly into the sun at certain times of the year. Most of the time on that hole late in the afternoon it's just hit the ball and hope you hit the fairway.

If I hit the ball very solidly it's either going to be a straight ball that misses right or a good shot in the fairway. I usually can't tell the difference in those shots by feel.

If I pull or hook the ball I can feel it immediately.

[colin007]

I can feel a pull hook pretty easy, but a straight hook that I absolutely crush usually feels like a great shot...

[Hammer 4]

I too lose sight of my ball. I'm going to see if my eye doctor can't prescribe glasses that will allow me to see long distances. Plus I use the yeller balls, but still lose sight of em...(;

[JetFan1983]

I can feel a pull hook pretty easy, but a straight hook that I absolutely crush usually feels like a great shot...

Haha, actually, that's kind of true for me too. Kind of like a, "nooooo, why are you hooking now?" feel a couple moments after take-off.

[colin007]

Haha, actually, that's kind of true for me too. Kind of like a, "nooooo, why are you hooking now?" feel a couple moments after take-off.

Yeah, for some reason they seem to be the ones I hit the most pure...

[14ledo81]

[quote name="JetFan1983" url="/t/73935/losing-sight-of-ball#post_978398"] Haha, actually, that's kind of true for me too. Kind of like a, "nooooo, why are you hooking now?" feel a couple moments after take-off.

Yeah, for some reason they seem to be the ones I hit the most pure...[/quote] Me too. They definitely feel solid and are probably some of the longer shots I hit.

[Motley01]

Hmmm interesting. Ya I've been fighting a new habit of coming up and out of my swing. So I've been concentrating on watching the club impact the ball.

Anyways, last night at the range I guess I was keeping my head down too long, because I lost of few of my wedge shots. But I just looked in the area where it should come down, and I spotted it bouncing.

Its a timing thing, you need to keep your head down, but also need to bring it up in time to see the ball flight. Maybe you're keeping your head down too long?