Jack's eye position in putting

[dchoye]

I have a video from Jack Nicklaus discussing short game and in it, at about 15:43  he talks about having " eyes over the ball. ...down the line over the ball" for putting.

I feel more comfortable my eyes along the target line to the hole but sometimes I feel the ball more comfortable place when the ball is so  that my eyes are slightly inside not directly over the ball. This is especially true for me in longer putts. However for shorter putts eyes directly over the ball-target line works too.

Im not sure which method is better. I tend to slightly "cut stroke" my longer putts and "draw stroke" my shorter ones.

[boogielicious]

I have a video from Jack Nicklaus discussing short game and in it, at about 15:43  he talks about having " eyes over the ball. ...down the line over the ball" for putting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnkK2pkcM-A

I feel more comfortable my eyes along the target line to the hole but sometimes I feel the ball more comfortable place when the ball is so  that my eyes are slightly inside not directly over the ball. This is especially true for me in longer putts. However for shorter putts eyes directly over the ball-target line works too.

Im not sure which method is better. I tend to slightly "cut stroke" my longer putts and "draw stroke" my shorter ones.

In Stan Utley's book, The Art of Putting , he discusses how most good putters in the PGA are slightly inside the ball and not over the ball.

[mvmac]

In Stan Utley's book, The Art of Putting, he discusses how most good putters in the PGA are slightly inside the ball and not over the ball.

Yeah tend to see better players with their eyes over it or slightly inside the ball. Either one works.

[iacas]

Yeah tend to see better players with their eyes over it or slightly inside the ball. Either one works.

Center of the ball to inside edge of the putter's heel. That's what I like to see.

[dchoye]

Center of the ball to inside edge of the putter's heel. That's what I like to see.

I'm confused by the putter's heel. I have a plumbers neck. Is the heel where the hosel meets the putter head ? Or even more rear than that?

[iacas]

I'm confused by the putter's heel. I have a plumbers neck. Is the heel where the hosel meets the putter head ? Or even more rear than that?

The heel. Not the hosel. The inner edge of the putter.

[dchoye]

Brought this topic back as I been missing some semi easy short putts like DJ in his final round during Us open week.

I haven thought eye position all year until I was missing some easy putts.

I been finding that my eyes need to over the target line either over the ball or slightly behind the ball but remain on the target line for breaking putts that move left to right or straight putts.

If I have right to left breaker my eyes naturally move inside the ball without thinking about it, but Im looking more at my putter shaft. This seems to the case for longer putts regardless of break as well.

[dchoye]

Another update. I putted better without thinking where my eyes have to be. Sometimes they feel like they are several inside the ball sometimes right on top of the ball I usually trace a line to the front of the ball(left to right uphill) or look inside ball ( right to left uphill) However never outside the ball. I'm now convinced looking outside the ball leads to bad misses