Putting while looking at the hole

Practice
#1

I know there has been a thread about eye position while putting, so I hope I don’t rehash too much. It’s a nice day in Salt Lake City today, so I found a putting green and worked on some high and low chipping…then moved into putting.

I picked my line (spot on the green about 6-10 inches in front of the ball), set up to the spot carefully, then looked at the hole and putted while looking at the hole. I know Spieth and Sergio and others have done this, so I wanted to give it a try.

It was amazing the results on both short and lag putts. I’m definitely going to game this technique this week (if the weather holds). Has anyone else done this consistently while playing (vs just as a practice drill)?

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Write about your Round
Heads Up Putting
#2

I did this for part of a season. I don’t any longer, but I think it was one of the most important contributors to the sense of touch I have putting right now. I’d definitely encourage anyone who struggles with the pace of putts to give it a go and commit to it for at least a few months.

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#3

I’ll give it a try during my round tomorrow and report back how it goes.

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#4

I’ve done it… not consistently but it definitely helps with pace… I also recommend putting with your eyes closed (on the practice green… though I’ve done it on the course)… I do think it’s easy to over adjust when putting and focusing on the hole can help you commit to a swing. Just need to make sure your mechanics are solid.

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#5

I found it to really freed me up in the head. I had no mechanical thoughts about line…no thoughts about elbows or shoulders or rotating or swing ark or anything else…I didn’t even think about pace or how far to take the putter back…just let my eyes and brain be free and athletic.

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#6

Absolutely agree it can work. Did it for a bit on course and it worked for me. Eventually felt I lost the benefit of it and started thinking too much. Still look at hole during practice strokes.

When on my putting mat inside and trying to roll ball over a line on it, I’m much better when looking at target than when looking at ball. Probably could be better on course but after a while it got mental.

Definitely makes you think more about speed than line which is a huge benefit.

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#7

I’d add: when I’m putting my best, I take a few practice strokes while looking at the hole, step to the ball, and take one more look at the hole. That last glance is designed to fix the position of the hole in my mind, to the degree that I feel I can continue to “see” it out the side of my head. When I put, I’m putting to that imaginary hole.

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#8

No, but it’s worth a try!

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#9

I’ve actually never tried this because I’m fearful it will royally mess up what is already the worst (but improving) part of my game.

I may mess around on the putting green looking different distances down the line. We’ll see how it goes.

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#10

It’s worth a try, even if only on the practice green… that, gate drills and putting with my eyes closed have been the best things for my putting… I still lack distance control but I’m working on it!

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#11

I use my PuttOut gates and mirror a ton. Always with me.

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#12

I absolutely love the “playing catch with a ball” illustration…meaning - we look at the target and our eyes adjust our toss to the correct distance…we don’t look at the ball. It makes so much intuitive sense to me.

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#13

Just as a practice drill here. BUT… very, very immensely useful to help develop a feel for distance control!

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#14

That is an excellent visual tool, and a valuable tip for working on distance control I’d picked up in a clinic - ie. imagine holding a golf ball in your throwing hand and tossing it underhanded towards the hole.

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#15

Not while playing. Its a great drill to turn off the left side of your brain and work on pace and feel. Similar to putting with the eyes closed.

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#16

Finally remembered I was going to do this on the back nine today. Mid and short range putts it seemed good, sank a couple that were no gimmies, so definitely didn’t hurt at all. Didn’t give me any miracles on long distance, but in general I’d say I was probably making a more consistent stroke and impact because I wasn’t looking at it and trying to make adjustments mid-putt.

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#17

I found looking at the hole was hard for me but I’ve tried with some success to look at a spot 12-18" away from the ball. I feel like that’s a good compromise (for me) to have a consistent head position without it effecting other mechanics and I just try to roll the ball over the spot.

Lately though, I’ve been intrigued by the “quiet eye” technique which I’m committing to for a few weeks. You can read about it here (https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2011.00008/full).

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#18

Took the “looking at the hole putting” to the course today. I felt really comfortable with distance control, slightly off on line (but did rush a bit in my set up at times). 35 putts total…only one 1putt, but ZERO 3 putts…I’ll try it again tomorrow.

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#19

I think the biggest success I’ve had on the putting green is a hybrid approach of this when I’m close enough to the hole to keep the ball in my eyesight… focus on the hole but see the ball… I tend to hit those putts straight.

I need to give it another run on the course and see if I can do it well from 30 feet.

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#20

When I was doing it on the course, 10-15 feet was my limit. Outside of that I felt like I was contorting my head/neck in a position to look where I was going that threw off the shoulder swing of the putt

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