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What do your eyes do?

• ComplexP 250 Posts

  Mon, May 3 2010 4:03 AM

  When hitting a shot that is.

  I've tried keeping focused directly on the ding point throughout and I've also tried tracking the meter throughout but met with varying success in both cases.

  I seem to do best when I track the meter for about 1 second initially and then focus on the ding, waiting for the meter to appear in my peripheral vision. It's still not that consistent though.

  Recently I've been changing my mind set from trying to hit a single line to trying to hit the blue zone. It's a totally psychological thing but seems to work because when only trying to hit the blue zone it takes some pressure off and seems to get close to the ding most times.

  It's a bit like putting in real life: when you go for the hole you often end up 3 ft past but if you just putt to be near the hole you can often end up with a tap in and occasionally get lucky.

  I'd like to hear people's techniques for hitting shots. Does anyone do it purely on timing alone? If you got good enough at that you could theoretically hit the ding with your eyes closed... right?

• YankeeJim 25,827 Posts

  Mon, May 3 2010 8:16 AM

  ComplexP:

  If you got good enough at that you could theoretically hit the ding with your eyes closed... right?

  This is highly unlikely as there is too much inconsistency in the meter, whether or not by design. I use what you laid out with the peripheral vision with a slight variation. When I click and drag the swing icon up I watch the meter. When I let it go I move the swing icon down to the area of the ding mark. If the icon doesn't follow smoothly the shot is let go. If it does come down smoothly when it gets to the area I have enough time to pick up the meter movement peripherally while focusing on the ding spot. It's definitely a tempo thing because the actual meter speed does vary slightly from game to game.

  Oddly enough, the angle that I view the screen at seems to make a difference. Viewing straight on versus slightly angling the monitor off center makes a difference. It might be one of those dominant eye things, something that made a big difference hitting a baseball. 

• xSTILLFLY 66 Posts

  Tue, May 4 2010 1:11 PM

   

  ComplexP:

  When hitting a shot that is.

  I've tried keeping focused directly on the ding point throughout and I've also tried tracking the meter throughout but met with varying success in both cases.

  I seem to do best when I track the meter for about 1 second initially and then focus on the ding, waiting for the meter to appear in my peripheral vision. It's still not that consistent though.

  Recently I've been changing my mind set from trying to hit a single line to trying to hit the blue zone. It's a totally psychological thing but seems to work because when only trying to hit the blue zone it takes some pressure off and seems to get close to the ding most times.

  It's a bit like putting in real life: when you go for the hole you often end up 3 ft past but if you just putt to be near the hole you can often end up with a tap in and occasionally get lucky.

  I'd like to hear people's techniques for hitting shots. Does anyone do it purely on timing alone? If you got good enough at that you could theoretically hit the ding with your eyes closed... right?

   

   

   

  I do every single technique you just mentioned. timing would be almost impossible unless all of your clubs had exact same speed and you played for a year or more to psychology know when to click.

   

  p.s. I usually watch it at the beginning to get the timing and then focus on the excellent line. 20% of the time I hit it on Master level. but When I'm on fire it's about 66% for 9 holes of swinging

   

• neildiamond11790 1,115 Posts

  Tue, May 4 2010 1:46 PM

  I try different things, including putting my cursor right before the ding as a line to initiate the click.  Works sometimes.

• rehill 431 Posts

  Tue, May 4 2010 8:00 PM

  I watch it at first to get a feel for the speed, then I move my eyes to the ding meter and give it a go. I can't say it's a flawless technique, but I have found it the easiest for me.

• RChapman2010 172 Posts

  Thu, May 6 2010 11:38 AM

  I kinda get the feel for the speed it's going and then do kindof a 1-2-3 deal...   works sometimes, but, since I only have a 74.something rating, obviously not good enough lol

  and yeah, i also put the cursor right above the line - not sure why, but seems to make more sense than clicking anywhere...

• BigRichardSmoker 5 Posts

  Sat, May 8 2010 2:57 PM

  i put a piece of tape on  my puter screen with a mark on it about 1/8 inch or 2 mm left of the ding line and aim for that.  i dont hit the ding every time but am usually close

• TheLighterDark 1,404 Posts

  Mon, May 10 2010 10:47 PM

  I look at the Ding and nothing else. 

• dorkfeatures 712 Posts

  Mon, May 10 2010 11:28 PM

  Hi Guys,

  I tend to notice when I get it right - my eyes follow a certain routine. Funny !! lol  If you can get that routine down pat then you're on the way.

  Hard to explain - but in essence, I do 3 practice swings to clear the swing meter, that puts the warning dialog box right at the ding line - I use that to focus on. If the swing meter plays up I go for another practice swing etc.

  On my 4th and final swing I tend to watch the swing meter down to the beginning of that blue zone (track its speed), and then my eyes switch rapidly to the ding line and then its timing after that. 

  When I get it right, I wonder why I cant do it every time. My last round I was really good, not hitting the ding line all the time - no way. But my misses weren't by much and didn't have any adverse effect on the ball direction or flight. 

  I have found that you need to be really sharp ALL the time. You cant get lazy, thinking you have an easy shot. I tend to plan my rounds ahead of schedule - maybe when I have an afternoon off or an evening when I'm doing nothing. So - I put in a few practice rounds and then, having set myself for a particular day and time  - I find I'm fresh and ready to go. Then I go for it.

  It seems to work for me. I dont play if I'm feeling weary, or just not in the mood - I just give it away. Dont play if you've ever had a drink or two either.

  So - to answer your question - Its all in the eyes. Hand / eye co-ordination thats it !!

  Happy Hitting

  Cheers

  Doug.

• ComplexP 250 Posts

  Tue, May 11 2010 5:19 AM

  dorkfeatures:

  It seems to work for me. I dont play if I'm feeling weary, or just not in the mood - I just give it away. Dont play if you've ever had a drink or two either.

  That is such a good piece of advice.

  I seem to play much better at the weekend during the day when I'm more alert. All of my lost balls have occurred on a week day evening after a 9 hour day at work when I really struggle to time it right.