Point of sight at address

[TN94z]

What are you guys focusing on when at address?  I remember being shown a drill for learning ball first contact where you focus on a point about an 1" or so in front of the ball and I have tried that in the past and it works.  Over the weekend while doing some range work, I noticed that I tend to really focus on my club head at address. Taking into consideration that you can focus on a point 1" in front of the ball and it promotes a more forward bottom of the swing arc, would that not be the same in reverse? If I'm focusing on my club head (which is an 1" back, give or take), would that not trick me into mentally having a more rearward bottom of the swing arc? It's just a thought that went through my head while on the range as one possible cause of fat shots...

[DaveP043]

4 minutes ago, TN94z said:

What are you guys focusing on when at address?  I remember being shown a drill for learning ball first contact where you focus on a point about an 1" or so in front of the ball and I have tried that in the past and it works.  Over the weekend while doing some range work, I noticed that I tend to really focus on my club head at address. Taking into consideration that you can focus on a point 1" in front of the ball and it promotes a more forward bottom of the swing arc, would that not be the same in reverse? If I'm focusing on my club head (which is an 1" back, give or take), would that not trick me into mentally having a more rearward bottom of the swing arc? It's just a thought that went through my head while on the range as one possible cause of fat shots...

I know that when I watch my putterhead during my putting stroke, my head tends to follow its motion, which in turn leads to my body moving just a bit.  Not a good thing, really.  I'd be concerned that focusing on your clubhead during a full swing could have the same effect, your eyes might follow the motion of the clubhead, leading to unwanted movement of your head or body.  You might consider putting your attention on the back of the ball instead, which could accomplish the effect you're looking for.

[TN94z]

4 minutes ago, DaveP043 said:

I know that when I watch my putterhead during my putting stroke, my head tends to follow its motion, which in turn leads to my body moving just a bit.  Not a good thing, really.  I'd be concerned that focusing on your clubhead during a full swing could have the same effect, your eyes might follow the motion of the clubhead, leading to unwanted movement of your head or body.  You might consider putting your attention on the back of the ball instead, which could accomplish the effect you're looking for.

Exactly. What I started doing (once it hit me where my focal point was) was focusing on the middle portion of the ball instead. I found that this was a VERY odd feeling and I really had to force myself to change that point. Those feelings assure me that I have been focusing on the club head this entire time. Otherwise, it would not feel so strange to focus on the ball. It is something that I am going to work on going forward. I'm honestly not sure why I have never noticed this before...

Edited May 8, 2017 by TN94z

[Club Rat]

I like to use the brand logo or any marking on the ball.
When I tee it up, I like to center the logo mark. When I putt, I rotate the ball perpendicular to the mark.
I find my focus is better when viewing the markings as opposed to just seeing a balls plain surface.
It also benefits fairway play or other lies. Such as a ball in deep rough with only the top visible or a plug ball in the sand.

 

[TN94z]

8 minutes ago, Club Rat said:

I like to use the brand logo or any marking on the ball.
When I tee it up, I like to center the logo mark. When I putt, I rotate the ball perpendicular to the mark.
I find my focus is better when viewing the markings as opposed to just seeing a balls plain surface.
It also benefits fairway play or other lies. Such as a ball in deep rough with only the top visible or a plug ball in the sand.

 

Very good suggestion. I will try that in my next range session and see if that makes it easier.

[alfriday]

My mental focus is on the target.  Specifically, the imaginary line from the ball to my intermediate point such that I swing on that line and to the target (the flag, middle of the green, tree in the distance...).  I look at the ground between the ball and the club head with the intent to swing through the ball catching ball first, grass and ground second.  If I focus on a part of the ball, I then make the ball the target and all sorts of bad things happen.   

[onkey]

For everything except the putter, I focus on a distinct part of the golf ball (a letter in the logo, the number, a dimple).  However, mentally I am always focusing on "throwing my club" at the target.  This helps me to drive the ball at my target instead of simply swinging to hit the ball.

With the putter, my number 1 rule is to never look at the putter head--if I do that, I get caught up worrying about the path of the club and lose focus on putting the ball to a target.  Instead, I kind of focus on the path I want the ball to travel on and don't really focus down on any details.  I am looking at the ball, but it isn't my focus.

[iacas]

The area where the ball is, but nothing specifically

[Buckeyebowman]

It sounds to me like you are talking about iron swings. I've heard all kinds of ideas, Look at the front of the ball, look at the top of the ball, look at the back of the ball. Like iacas said above, even Ben Hogan said he "lost sight" of his ball at some point during his swing.