Something strange happened to me at school today. It all started when I asked PGA Professional Ed Ekis to take a look at my putting stroke. Ed is a great instructor. He’s helping me to overhaul my swing this semester, and so far, I’m impressed with what he’s done. His methods may seem unconventional to some, but in my opinion, they’re right on. I’m convinced Ed is a golf savant who could teach every class at the Golf Academy (from Anatomy to Club Fitting) if he really wanted.
But back to my story. So after attempting a few putts out on the practice putting green, I expected to Ed to offer me some pointers on how to improve my grip, my set-up, or perhaps even my technique. He didn’t.
Instead, he grabbed my putter and calmly illustrated that the hole, at 4.25,” was the same width as the length of my putterhead. Then he said, “Put the putterhead into the hole.” The idea here is to be more target conscious and less ball conscious.
After a few more minutes of trying to do just that, Ed got me to adjust where I was aiming the putterhead. If the putt had some break to it, I simply moved the hole to the right or to the left to account for the break and then putted to that hole.
Then Ed told me to get a good look at the hole, take a picture with my eyes, and “putt to the picture” in my mind… with my eyes closed.
I looked at him like he was crazy. “Are you serious?” I thought. To me, that sounded crazy. But I closed my eyes, and wouldn’t you know it, I started making putts. Just started pouring them in from 30 feet away. When I missed, Ed told me it was because I didn’t “trust the picture” I had taken. I have to tell you, the experience blew my mind. We’ve all made the act of putting out to be this Mt. Everest, when all it really takes is closing your eyes and letting it happen. How can this be?
I walked off the putting green a little rattled, but in a good way not quite knowing what to make of what I had just experienced. But perhaps I shouldn’t be so surprised. There have been plenty of examples of this “eyes closed” phenomenon in recent years. There are stories on the internet that Justin Rose supposedly shot a 31 while putting with his eyes closed, and LPGA star Suzann Pettersen did it over the second half of the 2007 season.
Rumor has it that Payne Stewart won the 1999 U.S. Open at Pinehurst while putting with his eyes closed, and Champions Tour veteran Colin Montgomerie has done it in competition. In fact, Johnny Miller famously did it en route to his last Tour win at the 1994 Pebble Beach Pro-Am as a way to overcome his putting yips.
Jordan Spieth has been making headlines this summer long for looking at the hole when he putts, which if you think about it, is the same thing as the eyes closed method. But instead of “putting to the picture,” he’s looking at the picture – his target.
We look at the target when we’re playing other sports such as tennis, baseball, or even basketball. So why can’t we look at the target when we play golf too? Isn’t the brain smart enough to send the ball where we’re telling it we want it to go?
In Golf Performance Enhancement last semester, PGA Professional Gary Balliet had us practice chipping and putting with our eyes closed. At the time, I remember thinking that those were some of the most solid chip shots I had ever hit. But it felt too weird to put into play. Maybe I need to rethink things. If it works, but it’s unconventional, who cares?
I believe there’s something to chipping, and now putting, with your eyes closed, and I encourage you to go out there and prove me wrong.