[PHOTO: Andrew Redington]
A few years ago I noticed Tiger Woods doing something interesting, so I wrote about it. In short, before every shot he hit, he would carefully roll the golf ball so the logo was positioned at the back. It was clear that he was using the logo as a kind of target, both to look at and hit with his clubhead during his swing.
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I’ve been looking for that subtle detail ever since, and now I see it everywhere. Jason Day does it, and he even helped Bridgestone design golf balls to help others do it, too. Justin Rose uses the design on his putter to do something similar.
Photo: Harry How
I’ve spotted Rory McIlroy doing it, and on the range at a recent tour event, I noticed still more tour pros adopting the practice in some fashion. Here’s a picture I snapped of one of the best wedge players in golf, J.T. Poston.
Why do they do it?
Glad you asked. They do it for two reasons:
1. It gives golfers something to do, instead of think about
High-level golfers often talk about reacting to the target, acting instinctively and athletically. Using the logo on the golf ball helps you do that.
For example: let’s say you tend to swing over-the-top. Instead of thinking, swing from the inside, you could in theory just try to hit the inside of the golf ball, and use the golf ball as a kind of mini-target. You’re keeping things external, and if you do that, you’re swinging from the inside – without you having to think about it.
2. It quiets your eyes
A famous study in 1996 – which spawned a mountain of future research – found that elite level athletes, when focusing on a target, keep their eyes much quieter than the rest of us. Put simply, whether you’re staring at a basketball hoop before shooting a free throw or a golf ball before hitting a putt, amateurs’ eyes dart around the entire surrounding area. Pros keep their eyes locked onto a single, small target.
Using the logo on your golf ball can be exactly that: a small target to keep your eyes locked onto during your swing.
How can you do it
It’s pretty simple: place the logo of the golf ball so it’s like a target that you try to hit with your clubhead.
Obviously, you can only do this sometimes. On the range, or when you’re on the course, off the tee or on the green. A few things to keep in mind when you do:
- Place the logo directly in the middle of the back of the ball on full shots, to get the feeling of making a square strike directly into the back of the ball.
- Alternatively, you could place the logo at the very top of the golf ball so you’re staring directly at it when you’re standing over the ball.
- If you tend to swing over the top and hit slices, positioning the logo towards the inside of the back of the ball can give you a visual cue to hit the inside of the ball, and swing more in-to-out as a result.
- Place the logo in the opposite direction – on the outside-back of the ball – if your problem is the opposite. This will give you a visual cue to swing more outside-in – it’s why Rory McIlroy positioned the logo this way before hitting a left-to-right cut.
