Have you ever looked at the hole while lining up a putt, looked down at the ball, then looked up at the hole again and to your suprise the hole seemed to move?  I know I have.

Putting can be frustrating at times.  Sometimes putting seems so easy that the ball tracks to the hols on line as if it is being pulled by a string.  Other times the ball breaks in the opposite direction from what you read!  Like I said, puttng can be frustrating.

I have recently learned that I am right eye dominant.  I also recently learned how eye dominance affects your putting.

Because I am right eye dominant,  I am predisposed to aiming to the right with my putter.  I then swivel my head and look across my body at my target, effectively throwing my left eye out of the way so that my right eye can take over.  This is something that I will have to be aware of for as long as I play golf.  The left eye dominant people that I work with usually have the opposite problem.  They aim left of their target and then use their left eye to focus on it as they look away from their bodies.  Please understand that these are general statements.  I have seen left eye dominant people aim right and vica-versa.  But to be honest, I have never paid much attention to any of this, even though it makes for interesting conversation.  I am more concerned with how to aim properly.

So What Does  All This Mean?

Golfers who are right-eye dominant tend to see the hole to the right of its true location. The reason is that they set up with their right eye too far inside the ball and the target line. Initially, they push their putts to the right. Then they adjust their stroke accordingly (outside to in) and then pull their putts to the left on a regular basis. (The opposite is true for those who are left-eye dominant if the left eye is out of position.)

You can read your putt’s break and hit a perfect stroke, but still end up missing it because your eyes deceived you. Learn which of your eyes is dominant to account for this optical illusion.

About 70 percent of the population is right-eye dominant, which puts the trailing eye (that’s the one farthest from the hole) in the driver’s seat when putting. If this eye is not positioned properly, your view of the hole becomes distorted, lessening your chances of holing out. Not sure which eye is your dominant one? Take the following test.

The Test To Determine Your Eye Dominance

1. Take a toilet-paper tube and fix it over the ball so that both eyes can see it in the center of the tube.

2. Close your left eye. If the ball remains in the center of the tube (top photo), you’re right-eye dominant. If the ball jumps out of the tube and out of your line of sight (bottom photo), you’re left-eye dominant.

To set up correctly, follow this routine

For more putting help with your straying eyes I recommend you check out The Pro’s Edge – Vision Training for Golf!

Good luck and happy putting!

I recently received an interesting email from one of my readers. He asked “My putting was always okay until recently. However, lately I seemed to have developed a case of the putting yips.  How do I deal with these dreaded yips? HELP!!!” – Jason

I thought it would be a good idea to share this email and my response with all the other followers of this blog since this is something that others may be facing.

First let me explain just what the yips are in case you are unaware. The yips are the inability to make a smooth swing or putting stoke, particularly due to tension in the hands causing jitters, uncertainty, fear, tremors and a general feeling of anxiety while addressing the golf ball. If you have ever had the yips, it is not a good feeling.

So what causes the YIPS , and what can be done to cure it ?

First the cause. It has been confirmed by world wide studies (including studies at the Mayo Clinic, U.S.A.), that the YIPS is a PSYCHO-NEUROMUSCULAR affliction. A PYSCHO-WHAT??? In simple language – it’s a MENTAL PROBLEM!

You need to restore your Confidence in your putting and get your back to enjoying the game of golf. I highly recommend Renegade Mindset Techniques for Golf.

I also recommended to Jason that he try a couple different putting grips to also help with his yips.  The first grip is the clamp grip.  With this grip, the left hand reaches down the shaft while the right hand clamps the left forearm to the club to help steady the wrists.  The second grip is the reverse hand grip.  With this grip you just reverse your hands.  This helps lock the left wrist to create a pendulum swing.

If you guys have any other questions you would like me to address, just shoot me an email and I will review it and get back to you.  Heck, I might even share it with the other readers.

You have probably heard the saying “drive for show and putt for dough.”  One of the quickest ways to lower your golf scores and beat your golf buddies is by improving your putting.

If you want to shave a few extra strokes from your next round of golf, you need to practice using this quick drill.

On the practice green put a marker or tee down 3 feet from the hole.  No you do not need a measuring tape, just get it close.  Put another mark down on the same line 6 feet from the hole, and a third marker down 9 feet from the hole.

Start at the three foot location with three balls.  Sink all three balls consecutively and move on to the 6 foot mark.  You can not move on until you have sank all three golf balls consecutively.  Sink all three consecutively again to move on to the 9 foot mark, but if you miss a shot at any point you must start again at the 3 foot mark.  Finish when you have made all 9 shots in a row, 3 from the 3 foot mark, 3 from the 6 foot mark, and 3 from the 9 foot mark.

Once you sink all 9 putts, you can either challenge yourself by move back 3 more feet or you can move the markers to a different line with different breaks on the putting green.

This drill will be challenging at first but progress comes faster than you would expect.

Do this drill a couple times a week and watch your putting improve dramatically.

Leave a comment below and let me know how this drill is working for you.

Sink Every Putt with Pinpoint Accuracy and Clockwork Consistency