Looking at the Hole when you Putt?

[Golf4life]

Just remember: those who say you "have" to change just because it's unorthodox , well, the oldest saying in golf definitely becomes true: they don't ask you how, they ask you how many. I'm sure over the course of their career, Jim Furyk, Natalie Gulbis, Lee Trevino, et. al. all heard they "had" to change too because of their non-traditional approach.

unorthodox true, in their backswing, but at the point of contact, where it matters, all of the pros are the same. Not looking at the ball at any time as you strike it, will lead to inconsistancies. it's not a matter of saying "you have to change", it's simply stating the facts. Any sport that relies on hand eye, or foot coordination, your focus is on the target but eye is on the ball.

[iacas]

unorthodox true, in their backswing, but at the point of contact, where it matters, all of the pros are the same. Not looking at the ball at any time as you strike it, will lead to inconsistancies. it's not a matter of saying "you have to change", it's simply stating the facts. Any sport that relies on hand eye, or foot coordination, your focus is on the target but eye is on the ball.

Annika and David Duval did pretty well not looking at the ball at impact.

I'm not saying I disagree entirely with what you're saying, but everyone's different and if you can repeat a putting stroke looking at the ball, tilting your head shouldn't change much.

[Clubchucker]

unorthodox true, in their backswing, but at the point of contact, where it matters, all of the pros are the same. Not looking at the ball at any time as you strike it, will lead to inconsistancies. it's not a matter of saying "you have to change", it's simply stating the facts. Any sport that relies on hand eye, or foot coordination, your focus is on the target but eye is on the ball.

I disagree with that somewhat based upon questions I've asked pros what they concentrate on. My question was: do you or playing pros concentrate on the entire ball, a "quadrant" of the ball or a single dimple. He said that for him and other touring pros, they don't even focus on the ball. They focus on setup, alignment, etc. and such. After that, mechanics and repetitiveness pretty much take over. Strange answer I know, but that's what I was told when I point blank asked. Just repeating what I heard from a person who has "PGA Professional" on their business card.

So I'd say your statement is much more based on opinion rather than facts...which is fine. You're absolutely right that not looking at the ball could lead to inconsistencies. But you'll have those in every part of your game as long as you play the game of golf. Again, I'm not saying this is the way to go...what I'm saying is basically if it works for someone, nobody should tell them they "have" to change. Give me 26 putts per round and I'll putt with my driver!

[Xbmchs12X]

I disagree with that somewhat based upon questions I've asked pros what they concentrate on. My question was: do you or playing pros concentrate on the entire ball, a "quadrant" of the ball or a single dimple. He said that for him and other touring pros, they don't even focus on the ball. They focus on setup, alignment, etc. and such. After that, mechanics and repetitiveness pretty much take over. Strange answer I know, but that's what I was told when I point blank asked. Just repeating what I heard from a person who has "PGA Professional" on their business card.

Well the pro that I take lessons from said that he has seen a few guys use the same putting stroke that I use and do very well with there golfing career. He said thats its just a matter of personal peference. Also when ever I look down at the ball and always cut across it, I have tried diff grips and diff stances but none of them seem to work better than just looking at the hole when I putt. So for the time being I think im going to putt by looking at the hole, but thanks everyone for all your imput. =)