Quiet Eye — An Epiphany
Today after work, I went to the Golden Bear Golf Center to see if I could figure out why I couldn’t get the driver going on Sunday. I started out as usual hitting 7-irons into a strong 2-club breeze. My tempo was good, so I got out the 5- and 3-irons and hit some alternating shots. I hit the ball pretty well, hitting a lot of draws or very long, high hooks with the longer clubs (if only I could get that hook to go straight — I’d probably gain 20 yds). Next up, I got out the hybrid, and couldn’t hit that club at all, or the 3-metal or driver, just like on Sunday. Finally, I had an epiphany…
Following a link posted on Bomb Squad Golf, I read an interesting article on putting in Golf Digest about The Quiet Eye, which describes how good putters have “quiet eyes” when putting. I had planned to work on this technique on the putting green later in the week (time being short today). Since I was hitting the long clubs so poorly, I decided to try the same technique with the driver, focusing very carefully on the spot on the ball where I wanted to hit it. The first ball zoomed straight and true, with exceptional distance for me, even into the strong wind. Wow!!! I hit another, same result. Try it with the 3-metal. Perfect draw! I’m on to something, I’m thinking. I hit a few more balls with the driver and 3-metal, and although not all were perfectly straight, I saw definite improvement in the number of balls that would have hit the fairway.
I’ve only a few balls left, so I decide to go pin-hunting and see how this technique works with all the clubs. First up, the pitching wedge. Hit it fat. With the driver and 3-metal, I’ve been focusing on the spot I want to hit the ball, but that didn’t seem to work well for the wedge. Next shot, I focused on the front edge of the ball and hit a great shot, pulled just a bit, 85 yds into the strong wind. In fact, with the exception of a badly chunked 5-iron (I blame lack of concentration on that particular shot), I hit all the balls well, some with fades or draws, but with improved distance and better accuracy. I was hitting (I thought) a 4-iron at the blue flag about 190 yds away and hit what I thought was a perfect draw right at the flag but it came up a bit short. I’m a little stunned that the ball is a little shorter than I normally would hit a 4-iron into the wind, but then I look down and see it’s a 7-iron. Hey, not bad! Probably 20 yds farther than I usually hit a 7-iron, and into a 2-club breeze! I also hit a perfect 3-iron fade that carried 180 yds into the 2-club wind; that distance is a bit longer than I usually hit a 3-iron with no wind.
OK, maybe there’s something to this “quiet eye” stuff. More later, and tomorrow I will practice the technique with the putter as well.