When you stop to think about it, the game of golf requires an incredible level of attention to detail.

If you are going to make it around the course successfully and walk away with a good score, you need to handle an amazing number of variables from start to finish. There is the design of the course, the condition of the turf, the weather, and much, much more to consider. This is why experience is so important in golf. It takes an experienced player to pay attention to what matters while blocking out the rest of the distractions.

At first, the topic of this article – figuring out which part of the ball to look at during the swing – might seem incredibly detailed and unimportant. However, when you take a step back and think about it for a moment, you will see that there is a powerful lesson to be learned here. Deciding to look at a specific part of the ball during your swing is a focused thought, and one that will help you leave nerves and distractions behind. In other words, this is a great way to focus your mind on a simple task, rather than the complex task of navigating your ball around a golf course.

There are a couple things we would like you to take away from this article. First, we want you to understand how you can improve your quality of contact by looking at a specific part of the ball. We are actually going to present a few different options on this point, and it will be up to you to figure out which works best for your game. The other takeaway that we hope you will have at the end of the article is the fact that simplifying your way of thinking on the course can have a powerful effect. Whether that means focusing on one part of the ball while you swing or dialing in on a very specific target for each shot, directing your mental energy intentionally is a great thing in golf. Most golfers wander through their rounds, letting the distractions take over one after the next. If you can play with more intention, and more focus, you’ll have a big leg up on the competition.

All of the content below is based on a right-handed golfer. If you happen to play left-handed, please take a moment to reverse the directions as necessary.

Three Options

A golf ball is not a very big object. For the beginning golfer, it would be easy to think that just looking at the ball in general would be good enough. That might work for some players, but others will find their attention wandering when then just try to look at the ball as a whole. If you find that your ball striking could use some improvement, try focusing your gaze on one specific part of the ball. This is something you can easily try on the range before taking it to the course if you have success.

The list below highlights three different parts of the ball you may decide to use as your point of focus.

• The back of the ball. This is the obvious place to start, as it is where the actual impact will be taking place when your club strikes the ball. You are trying to hit the back of the ball, so doesn’t it make sense to focus your eyes on that spot? Yes, it does, and this will work for many players. At address, try looking at the very back edge of the ball and hold your eyes there throughout the swing. If you are trying to hit a specific kind of ball flight, such as a fade or a draw, you may want to look slightly to the inside or outside of the back of the ball as your ideal contact point. For example, if you want to hit a draw, look just to the inside of the back of the ball and do your best to hit that spot with your club face. Remember, being specific is a good thing in golf, so don’t be afraid pick out a very detailed spot on the ball. Hopefully, watching the back of the ball will help you to clear your mind and make a free, relaxed swing time after time.
• The front of the ball. You might be a little bit surprised to read this one as an option, since you aren’t trying to make contact with the front of the ball when you swing through impact. However, many golfers find that watching the front of the ball helps them to swing all the way through impact – rather than giving up on the swing as soon as they reach the back of the ball. You want to swing all the way through and into the finish, so looking at the front of the ball might place you in the right mindset to do just that. Also, when you are playing iron shots, watching the front of the ball may help you to hit down through impact properly. Sometimes, when the player watches the back of the ball, he or she will have a tendency to hit the shot fat, as the club won’t quite be high enough when it enters the hitting area. If that is a problem you’ve been fighting, try moving your point of focus to the front of the ball and see what happens.
• The top of the ball. For the last option on our list, you can simply decide to split the difference and watch a spot directly on the top of the ball. For some, this will be the most comfortable way to go, as they will feel like they are watching the whole ball when using this approach. While we think this option can work effectively for some players, we’d recommend starting with the first two methods and only opting for this last choice when the other two are not successful.

One of the challenges that you are likely to face when trying to watch a specific part of the ball is the fact that your golf ball is probably all one color, with only a little bit of writing in another color. If you are like most other golfers, you use a white golf ball with black lettering. It can be a little difficult to focus your attention when looking at something that is mostly one solid color. To get around this problem, consider making a few marks on your ball with a permanent marker. On the tee and on the green, you’ll be able to place your ball down in such a way that you can use those marks as visual cues. While you can’t adjust the position of your ball while in the middle of a hole (in the fairway, rough, etc.), you can still hope that one of the markings will wind up in a suitable position to hold your gaze. As an added benefit, placing a few marks on your golf balls will help you identify your ball as you move around the course.

Range Experiments



One of the nice things about working on this part of your game is the fact that it will be easy to experiment on the driving range. We aren’t talking about overhauling your swing or anything like that, so you can quickly test out different options during a practice session to see what works best for you. When you do get a chance to visit the range and test out how you perform while looking at different parts of the ball, use the tips below to guide the process.

• Keep everything else constant. Any time you are running an experiment – no matter what kind of experiment it may be – it’s a good idea to keep everything constant except for the variable that you wish to test. In this case, that means hitting the same kinds of shots over and over again, while only changing the point on the ball where you are focusing your eyes. So, for example, you may pick out a target on the range and decide that a seven iron is the right club for the job. With nine total golf balls, try hitting three shots while looking at the back of the ball, three while looking at the front, and three while looking at the top. What do you discover? Does one option seem to perform better than the rest? Were the results mixed? Once you’ve gone through a set like this, feel free to reset with a new club and new target before hitting another set of shots.
• Keep an open mind. One of the problems many golfers run into when trying to make any kind of change is a closed mindset. Basically, these players have decided what will work before they even head out to the range for a practice session. In this case, that might mean that you’ve decided looking at the back of the ball is the right option for you – even if you’ve never hit a single shot that way. Don’t close yourself off to possibilities before you try things for yourself. Keep an open on this topic and all other areas of your golf game. Sometimes, big breakthroughs come from unexpected places.
• Be Patient. It would be a mistake to declare a ‘winner’ in this debate after just a few swings. Sure, the first few shots that you hit while looking at the front of the ball may come off perfectly, but that doesn’t mean the pattern will continue. That the long-term perspective on this and try to resist making any sweeping generalizations early in the process. Keep working at it during your visits to the range and the best option for your game will likely make itself clear over the long run.

One of the most valuable skills you can develop as a golfer is the ability to experiment on the driving range. The range is the perfect place to test out all of the different ideas you may have for your game. Whether it is something as simple as where you are going to look while making the swing, or if it is something more complex like the actual dynamics of your swing, the range should be your best friend while trying to improve. Only when something has been thoroughly tested on the range should it be deemed ready for use on the course.



Staying Away from Distractions

Part of the benefit of learning to watch a specific part of the ball during your swing is the fact that you should be able to make better contact on a consistent basis. However, that is only part of what you are trying to accomplish by controlling your eyes. Also, you are trying to block out the distractions that can limit your ability to perform at a high level on the course. The act of focusing your vision on a very specific point will hopefully cause your brain to ‘lock-in’ on the task of striking a solid golf shot.

With that in mind, we would like to offer some additional tips on how to maintain your focus and avoid distractions on the course. This is always going to be a challenge simply due to the nature of the game of golf. Since the game is played on a course which may stretch for miles around a large piece of property, there are sure to be things which will distract you from the task at hand. It may be other golfers, cars driving by, wildlife, or just about anything else. Your ability to focus on the task of playing good golf will largely determine how you perform at the end of the day.

To help you do a better job of preventing distractions from taking away from your game, consider the points below.

• Allow your mind to wander. This might be a surprising first point, but one of the biggest keys to remaining focused on the course is to allow your mind wander when you aren’t involved in playing a shot. Most of the time you spend on the course during a round of golf is not spent making a swing or preparing to make a swing. If you walk the course, most of your time is simply spent walking – and you should feel free to let your mind wander during that time. Or, if you drive a cart, you’ll ride up to your ball and then probably have to wait for the group in front of you to play their shots. Either way, you can use the downtime to look around, chat with your playing partners, and enjoy the day. Then, when it is time to get ready for your shot, you need to switch your focus on and get to work. Going in and out of focus like this throughout the day is a great way to keep your mind fresh and ready to perform.
• Reset when necessary. Every golfer knows the feeling of being distracted while getting ready to play a shot. For instance, you might be going through your pre-shot routine when you hear someone yell ‘fore!’ on a nearby hole. Or, you are getting ready to take your stance when a police car drives down a nearby street with its siren on. Whatever the case, you shouldn’t try to ‘play through’ these distractions. Instead, take a moment to step back, refocus, and start over. It will only take a matter of seconds to reset but doing so can do wonders for your performance. If you try to simply ignore the distraction you will struggle to commit your mind 100% to the shot at hand.
• Immerse yourself in the plan. As you get ready to hit a golf shot, you should be putting together a plan in your mind for how the shot will be played. Rather than just taking a certain club from your bag and swinging away, take time to formulate a very specific plan that you can then try to execute successfully. If you get deep into the process of creating a plan, you may find that your mind is no longer so easily distracted by the things going on around you. For instance, another golfer in your group making a bit of noise might not affect you, as your mind is too dialed-in to the task at hand to worry about the sound. It will take some practice to learn how to fully engage yourself with the plan you are trying to execute, but it’s a powerful feeling once you can reach this point.

It's going to take some time before you learn how to avoid most of the distractions that can pop up on the course. This is not something that is as simple as just telling yourself that you ‘won’t get distracted anymore’. Improving at anything in golf takes time and attention, and the story is no different here. Stick with it and you should find that you eventually have an improved ability to zero in on the task at hand during your rounds.

Your Eyes and the Short Game



Let’s finish up this article by talking about how your eyes should be working in the short game. What part of the ball should you watch when hitting short game shots? Is this the same as when hitting full shots, or are there differences to consider? We’ll answer those questions and more in the points below.

• Stick with it. Assuming you are able to settle on a part of the ball to watch during your full swing, there is no reason why you can’t use that same part of the ball to focus your eyes on short game shots. Whether you are putting or hitting a chip shot from the side of the green, it should be just fine to keep things consistent from the long game to the short game. Of course, if you find that watching the same part of the ball in the short game doesn’t seem to work as well as it works in the long game, feel free to change it up. You can experiment on the practice green or in the chipping area just like you can experiment on the range.
• Bunker shots are different. When you step down into the sand to play a greenside bunker shot, you’ll want to make a change from the way you use your eyes on other shots. Assuming you are playing an ‘explosion’ shot, try looking an inch or two behind the ball during your swing. There is a very good reason for this adjustment – you aren’t actually trying to hit the ball when hitting an explosion shot. You are trying to hit the sand behind the ball, which will cause the ball to float up out of the bunker and (hopefully) onto the green. By looking at a spot a couple inches behind the ball, you will encourage the club to enter at that point.
• Resist the temptation. You are going to be strongly tempted to look up early when playing short game shots. Since the hole is close, you’ll feel like you should look up quickly to see if the ball is headed in the right direction. Work hard to fight this urge and keep your eyes down until you are sure the ball has left the club. If you look up even slightly too early, your swing may be affected, and the shot may miss the target as a result.

You may not have thought much previously about how your eyes work during the golf swing. While this point might not be quite as important as your actual swing technique, it should not be taken for granted. If you can manage to watch one specific spot on the ball throughout your entire backswing and downswing, the quality of your ball striking should improve as a result. Good luck!

Great question, this one and really interesting answers, which part of the golf ball should you be looking at to get the best contact? In all the years of teaching I’ve never actually been able to define which part of the golf ball my clients get the most success out of, because so many people look at different parts depending on the different swing issues they have. Some of my clients don’t even look at the golf ball at all. So I think you’ve got to understand what is your fault and therefore how can you correct it by looking at the different paths. I tell you the one part you can’t look at, it’s not that you shouldn’t look at it, you can’t look at it, you can’t look at the bottom of the ball; everyone says I’m looking at the bottom of the ball I’m trying to hit the bottom of the ball. Well you are not trying to hit the bottom of the ball because the bottom of the ball is the bit that hits the floor. See you can’t hit that there and you definitely can’t see it.

So let’s not look at the bottom of the ball, let’s choose an area of the golf ball that we are going to look at. Now if you are slicing the golf ball fairly common fault we’ll start with that one, if you are slicing the ball it’s because you’re coming from the outside of the line and you’re hitting across, you are probably hitting the outside back quadrant. So let’s break this down into a clock face idea with clock face being straight up he’s 12 o’clock, three o’clock is the camera, six o'clock being the exact back of the ball. So if you are hitting a slice you’re probably hitting the outside back quadrant, you are hitting the five o’clock-four o’clock quadrant first and then spinning back across the golf ball. So for you if you are slicing golf ball, you’ll be better of opposing that and swinging from the inside line hitting the sort of seven o’clock, eight o’clock area, feel like you are trying to hit more from the inside line. So if it’s a slice is the problem look at the seven o’clock-eight o’clock area. If it’s a draw that’s the problem or a hook that’s the problem, you are hitting too much from the inside you need to go the other way, you need to swing out like a slice who is doing and then swing it more from the five o’clock, four o'clock area. So that should help you encourage the right swing path by looking to hit the right part of the ball.

The other area that I see a lot of people get confused with here is, is the toping the golf ball. That’s because often you’re looking at the top of the ball. You literally can’t see the bottom of the ball because you’re looking down on it, so you see the top but you hit the top but you hit a bad shot. So for those golfers don’t try and aim at the bottom of the ball you can’t see that, but aim at the grass and aim at the grass in front of the ball. Maybe pick a blade of grass one two inches ahead, try and get your club to bottom out in that space because simply put if your club bottom is out here, the ball just gets in the way as the club is coming down and that will the lowest part of your swing. So any good golf swing the lowest part is two inches after the ball.

So focus on that area, make sure two inches after the ball the club is in the floor, then the ball will come out really nicely. So depending on your fault, it can depend on which part of the golf ball you stand and aim and look at, have a little practice on all of the different parts, look at one side, look at the other side. Maybe if you are hitting it badly with a bad strike, look ahead because that's where the club should be bottoming out. Then when you go to the practice range, work on those different areas hitting those different quadrants then when you go on the golf course stay focused to the same bit. Don’t start changing your process just because you're on the golf course. Stay focused looking at the right area that works well for you, commit to hitting through that area and see how that can help you improve.