A great golf shot requires attention to many components. It is therefore no surprise that the best in the world have long discussions with their experienced caddies before deciding on a plan of action for the shot at hand. As a golfer without the benefit of a caddy for each round, what are some things you can do to give yourself the best chance of a great shot?

Today I am going to focus on the power of the eyes.

How to REALLY aim straight:

Picture another target-based action such as shooting a free-throw in basketball, throwing a dart, bowling a ball at some pins or stroking a snooker ball. There is one large difference to golf. With all the other sports there is a straight line of sight between the object being struck and the target. In golf, we stand to the inside of the golf ball, given ourselves a warped view. From here, it is very easy to align ourselves to the right of the target (for a right handed golfer) which can either make our good shots fly to the right, or requiring some kind of compensation to get the ball back on track.

Next time, as part of your pre-shot routine, try standing back from the ball, keeping yourself directly in line. As you step into the ball from here, it will make it easier to see the straight line from you to the target and align yourself accordingly.

How to use the tee box to your advantage:

Is the tee-box just the well- manicured area where the hole starts? You can make it so much more than that. Picture the trouble hole for your left to right ball flight. The wind is howling to the right and the ‘out of bounds’ there is not helping your confidence. If you tee up in the middle, or left of the tee box, you are already likely pointing to the right, and in an attempt to guide the ball back straight, are probably swinging left, ultimately adding more curve over to the right!

Instead, go over to the far right of your tee box and employ the tips above on how to really aim straight. From here, and the different view point you have, you will be able to ‘open out’ the view of the fairway and may see areas over to the left that were largely hidden and ‘behind you’ from your old position. Let the positioning of the tee-box help you, not hinder you!

How to move the hole, to transform your putting:

That silky smooth putting stroke that seems to work well anywhere up to 25 foot suddenly leaves every putt short from longer distances. In an attempt to hit it hard enough your stroke turns into a jabbing action, fluidity is lost and distance control suffers.
A great way to keep your stroke, even on the longer putts is to change where on the green you view the hole. Instead of seeing the hole as the ‘end of the world’ past which nothing should go, picture the hole beyond the hole and then you can employ your same, rhythmic stroke to great effect. Scared of the speedy downhill putts that you tend to guide cautiously towards the hole instead of stroking confidently? ‘Move’ the hole closer to you and putt to this and allow the slope to take your ball the rest of the way. For those testy left to righters, ‘move’ the hole to the left and make each of your putts a straight putt and let the contours do the rest.

Your eyes are powerful things. Let them work with you, not against you, and you will be on the path to lower scores.