Hi Geoff,

After working indoors for about 3 months now, I finally had a chance to test my new skills outside. because of the nice wheather. Yesterday, I focussed mainly on targeting. I wanted to know whether I could accurately aim the putterface. After testing I found out that I have a serious error in my targeting proces.

It seems that when I try to 'scan the line' to see where my putterface is aiming at, I always end up on the right side of the targetline.

My testing procedure was as follows:
1. I used a 12 feet long rope (aiming line) that I set up to the middle of a hole
2. I setup my putterface and myself to this line
3. I asked a friend to take the aiming line away
4. I scanned the line and see where I thought I was aiming at

--> Every time I tried to scan the line, it ended up on the right side of the hole.

For your information, I have been using the pro-aim glass and worked hard on getting a nice gaze and proper neck-turn (like a ferris wheel). My tendency concerning the neck turn is that I tend to look a little bit too much to the left, not to the right.

I look forward to your comments!

Dear Bastiaan,

If your skull line across the eyes matches the aim of the putterface, so your neck points parallel to the top edge of the putter, and your gaze is straight out of the face, and your head turns on a stable axis, your line of sight will trace a straight line from the putter sweetspot straight along the ground the same as the putter face is aimed. If the putter face is aimed at the target, the line of sight of the unchanging straight gaze will arrive at the target, with the target fitting in the aim spot of the dominant eye.

It sounds like your head-neck axis is shifting during the turn so that the top of your head alters slightly away from the target (backwards). If you can keep your neck aimed straight the same as the top of the putter from heel to toe while turning towards the target, this will not occur.

You may not be squaring the skull line correctly, but may instead be setting up with the head a little "open" -- an arrow thru the two ears is not parallel to the line of aim, but is aimed a little to the outside (right). If you are using the proim glasses, with the slot between the two lines matching the string or rope above the aim line, this should not be the case.

Another thing that may happen is that the eyes change direction in the eye sockets during the head turn. he eyeballs are seated in a pocket of fatty tissue so that they will move about effortlessly without being noticed. If you are right-eye dominant, try closing the left eye once the skull is squared above the putter, and extending the index finger of your left hand as if pointing right across the bridge of your nose, with the tip of the finger just stopping at your right eye's pupil (about 1 inch of finger rightward from the bridge of the nose). Then turn the head so that the finger appears to glide in a straight line and wait to see what appears at the tip of the finger once the turn gets as far as the target. This will keep your skull line / head-neck axis from shifting the top of the head backwards and will also keep the eyeball from changing the way it points out of the face.

In general, there is an arch at the top of the nose for most people as seen by the dominant eye while the other eye is closed. The pupil is not as high as this arch, but a little below it, which you can see in a mirror. If you close the left eye and turn the head targetward and wait to see what shows up just below this arch, that's pretty much keeping the gaze straight. I use this reference often instead of using the left index finger.

Try that and let me know.
Cheers!

Geoff Mangum
Putting Theorist and Instructor
Geoff Mangum's PuttingZone
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Hi Geoff,

Thanks for the response! I will sure give it a try this weekend...

Cya
Bastiaan

Bastian,

A exercise you can use to train your head and eyes for the proper gaze. Especially effective indoors when the weather is a challenge.

You should line up at the right side edge of a long square table or pool table.
Set up to the table into your putting stance so that your eye line is directly above (horizontal) the tables' edge. Now keeping your eye in position and turn your head to the left down the tables edge. This will help examine what is happening in your head turn.

Depending on the table, you can actually set up with your putter head directly under the tables edge also.

I hope this will help you. It really has helped me during the snow filled winter months.