Focus on the ball.

Most golfers believe that they focus the eyes and maintain this focus at all times, but I can assure you that although they focus on the ball during the down swing movement, most golfers take their eye off the ball a milli-second before the precise moment the club head makes contact with the golf ball.

What I believe happens is that a fraction of a milli-second before the club head makes contact with the ball, the mind anticipates the ball being struck and at that precise moment the eyes are fooled into tracking the movement of the golf ball -- before the ball has been struck instead continuing to focus on the ball as the club head swing into and through the contact area.

The ability to maintain your focus on the golf ball as the club head swings into the contact area and to continue to look at the spot where the ball was lying and actually see the ball move from this position, is a basic principle that you must master if you wish to play very good golf.

Unfortunately not enough attention is given to this very basic principle of the golf swing.

I can assure you that there is a difference in simply looking at the ball, rather than actually focusing intensely on the golf ball as the club head swings into the contact area.
If you are correctly focusing intensely on the ball, you will notice that immediately after the ball has been struck you will see a dark patch on the ground where the ball was resting - - this dark image, which only shows for a milli-second, is an automatically reaction of the retina converting the white image into a dark image, therefore when you see this dark image on the ground after the ball has been struck, you know that your focus on the ball is correct

The difference in the timing is only a nanosecond, but by focusing on the back of the golf ball as the club head swings into the contact area and actually see the ball move away from the resting position, the quality of the striking action is dramatically improved.

As a point of interest, although you may be one of the gifted golfers who are able to keep the focus on the ball until the precise moment the club head makes contact with the ball, you probably still allow the eyes to move towards the target area as soon as the club head strikes the ball.
Therefore if you wish to play better golf, try to actually see the ball moving away from the resting spot so that you see the dark patch on the ground .

At the address position, most golfers simply stare at the golf ball but the image they actually see, also includes an area of the grass around the ball -- they do not define the focus of the eyes on the back edge of the golf ball.

You do not believe me?? -- carry out the following test to see if you define the focus of your eyes solely on the golf ball.

Take your normal stance and address the ball and absorb what you see. -- You will notice that as you look at the ball you are basically staring at an image that includes the ball and an area of grass that the ball is resting on.

Now pick up the golf ball and hold it so that you can read the manufacturer`s name and whilst continuing to read the name on the ball, bend over and place it back on the ground/tee peg. -- Then whilst continuing to read only the manufacturers name on the ball, gradually raise your body until you are back to the normal address position.

By concentrating solely on the manufacturers name on the golf ball, you will notice that you are actually focusing the eyes exclusively on the golf ball and you are not aware of the grass around the golf ball.

By focusing your eyes on the ball in this way, it clearly demonstrates how vague your perception of the golf ball may have been before you carried out this exercise.

As I have stated earlier, to compound things, most golfers take their eyes off the golf ball a fraction of a second before the precise moment the club head actually strikes the golf ball and simultaneously they also allow the head to move away from the original address position too soon.

So if you wish to improve your golfing skills you must define the focus of your eyes on the actual golf ball and maintain this focus until the club head makes contact with the ball, but importantly you must continue to look at the spot where the ball was lying and actually see the ball move from this position..

Therefore it is importantly you continue to focus on the spot that the ball was lying until well after the club head has made contact with the ball and also continue to hold the head slightly behind the ball with "pin point accuracy", keeping the head in the Fixed Frontal condition, and also maintain the upper body angles until both arms are straight.

At first you will find it very difficult to define the focus of the eyes fully on the back of the golf ball until the actual precise moment the club head makes contact and then actually see the ball move away from this position, but by constantly reminding yourself of this action and seeing the results of this action, you will accept the significance of the action and it will begin to enter the long term memory.

So practice, practice and practice this action and in time you will never forget carry out this basic fundamental principle.

I was recently chatting to a member of my golf club as we played a round of golf and I mentioned how important it was to actually focus on the ball as the club head swings into and through the contact area.

He immediately responded by saying that this is exactly what he used to do when he was playing to a handicap of three but he had completely forgotten about this basic principle. -- He simply assumed that as he was getting older he was simply loosing the ability to play good golf.

After being reminded of this action he began hitting the ball long and straight off the tee and the rest of his game also improved dramatically. He will try not to forget this basic principle again.

So there is actual proof from a previously low handicapped golfer of the importance of this basic principle.

Top class golfers have a natural ability to focus intensely on the back of the golf ball as they swing the club head into and through the contact area.

Therefore if you can train yourself to fully focus on the ball whilst the club head swings to the bottom of the swing arc, the quality of your golf will improve dramatically.
( When a top golfer says that he is striking the ball well, what it actually means is that they are fully focused on the ball whilst the club head swings through the contact area.)

Make a black mark on the golf ball and place the ball on the tee so that the black mark is just visible as you address the ball. -- Fix your eyes on this black mark and keep your eyes fully focused on this mark as you make a back swing, and then as you perform the down swing movement keep the eyes fully focused on this black mark as the club head swings into and through the contact area and actually see the ball move away from the resting position.

You can compare the use of the club head to strike a golf ball with the action of trying to drive a nail into a piece of wood - unless you watch the head of the nail very carefully until the precise moment the hammer head strikes the nail, you would probably miss-hit the nail with every strike of the hammer.

You can begin to teach yourself to literally watch the clubhead strike the ball on the practice putting green.

On the putting green, focus your eyes on the back of the ball and as you return the putter face to the ball, concentrate on literally seeing the precise moment when the putter touches the ball, but importantly keep this focus on the ball until the ball actually begins to move -- This is an action that is easily said than done simply because your mind rushes ahead of the movement and the eyes begin to track the line of the ball, even before it has been touched - however with concentration it can be done.

Expand this method to the chipping area and again force yourself to watch the ball throughout the chipping action and you will notice how crisply you strike the ball, but even more importantly, how accurately you strike the ball.

Always begin your practice sessions on the putting green with this "watch the club head touch the ball" practice routine - this will encourage this action to enter your long term memory.

I can guarantee that if you can train yourself to focus on the golf ball as suggested, the quality of your golf shots will improve dramatically, but you must focus on the ball with such intensity so that the only image that you see as you perform the down swing, is the black mark on the back of the golf ball.

But importantly, although you must watch the ball as the club head swings into the contact area, more important, you must continue to the look at the spot that where the ball was lying as the club head swings to the bottom of the swing arc, so that the head remains in the Fixed Frontal position until both arms are straight.

However as well as focusing on the ball it is also absolutely vital to ensure that the head is slightly behind the ball at the point when the club head strikes the ball and also maintain the upper body angle until both arms are straight.

This principle also applies to the pitching, chipping and the putting stroke.

Therefore in order to dramatically increase your golfing skills it is absolutely vital that you learn to watch the ball until the club head makes contact with the ball but concentrate on swinging the club head to the bottom of the swing arc -- Total concentration on this task is essential if you wish to play better golf.

Many golfers are able to hit the ball off the tee with no particular problem. However when it comes to the second or third shot to the green, they often miss-hit the shot.

The reason for this is that their concentration is at its highest level on the tee and therefore the golfer is totally focused on the ball, but when it comes to playing the ball off the fairway the golfer does not take enough care to fully focus on the ball as the club head swings into and through the golf ball.

So if you experience this problem, tighten up your concentration when playing of the fairway.

If you carry out a golf swing whilst focusing on a black mark on the back of the ball or the dimples of the golf ball you will immediately notice a dramatic improvement in the strike of the golf ball.

At first you will find it very difficult to maintain the focus on the back of the ball until the both arms are straight, but persevere and you will eventually reap the benefit of your efforts.

Do not simply take my word that this basic principle will dramatically improve the quality of your striking action - try it for yourself.

The same applies when you are putting --- After you have lifted the ball in order to clean it, replace the ball so that the manufacturer`s name is on the surface facing towards you and fully focus your eyes on the words on the golf ball -- but importantly you must focus your eyes on the ball and maintain this focus as you perform the putting stroke.

Importantly, as the putter makes contact with the ball, do not allow the eyes to follow the movement of the ball, you must continue to focus on the spot that the ball was standing and keep your head in the original address position with a "pin point accuracy" and swing the putter into the follow through movement.

If you can maintain the focus on the ball whilst performing the mechanical actions of the putting stroke, you will begin to notice that the ball rolls on the exact line that you intend, but beware, you must not allow the eyes to follow the ball and also do not allow the head to move with a lateral motion.

Clearly defining the focusing of the eyes on a particular spot on the back of the golf ball and maintaining this focus as the club head swings into and through the contact area is one of the major keys to playing very good golf, so make this aspect of the golf swing a priority.

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