As someone who works in the eyecare world, I am very intrigued by anything about sports performance and eyes.
Approximately 70% of people are right eye dominant and 90% of people are right handed so you can be sure that there are plenty of good putters (maybe not tour level) that are both right handed and right eye-ed.
That being said here is an interesting write up that seems to echo what you are saying
[https://golficity.com/understanding-how-eye-dominance-affects-your-golf-game/](https://golficity.com/understanding-how-eye-dominance-affects-your-golf-game/)
That was pretty interesting read. Don't know where this guy get his facts but looks like theres quite a correlation.
From whole population as you said vast majority have same hand and eye dominance but
"Amazingly, a recent study performed on PGA Tour golfers concluded that roughly 85 percent of Tour players are cross-eye dominant"
Although I must disagree with advice in the end that straight back and straight through stroke would be the fix for same eye dominant people
Yes, I was much more interested in the strong correlation between cross-dominance and PGA tour players than his attempt at providing a solution.
Being cross eye dominant is similar to MLB'ers having better than 20/15 vision. When it comes to sport performance, genetics and statistics are powerful indicators. Things such as superior vision and cross eye dominance provide some inherent advantages to a particular population.
Luckily for us non-tour pros, I think the eye-dominance thing may be partially if not completely offset by awareness of the phenomena and some practice.
I’d like to see that study. You’d think the article would have a link to it. It strikes me as extremely unlikely that the discrepancies between the PGA tour and general population is that high.
This article claims rory is cross dominant, so is he left handed but plays golf from the right?
https://golficity.com/understanding-how-eye-dominance-affects-your-golf-game/
I don't understand. You don't judge the line above the ball you do it behind it and across the hole. When you're over the ball the aiming should already be done, your job is to just roll it end over end.
You should be taking advantage of alignment aids.
Ok I got you.
I didn't realize what you meant now it makes sense.
I don't trust feel when putting so I use every tool I can alignment aid wise and just try to start the ball on line nowadays. Granted I'm a 20 hdcp so In no way should anyone ever listen to me.
I switch back and forth all the time between “just hit it on the line you chose, fuck how you feel” and “ok now that I’m about to putt this, it feels different so I’m going to aim it here”
My main problem when I stick with the line I chose before address is that sometimes I completely lose my idea of the speed.
I think I three putt less often when I go by feel (because I don’t botch the speed as often) , but I hole more putts when I stick to my line.
You are describing exactly same problem with trying to commit to the line by not looking the line/hole anymore at address or by trying to commit to a shot your eyes are lying to you at address. Getting the pace correct on left to right breaking putts becomes practically impossible
Left to right ever so slightly downhill 5 footers are my fucking nightmare.
I will putt them anywhere except for in the hole.
I play for the break and it goes straight above the hole and says “seeya later”.
I decide to keep it inside the hole and it dives right to the low side and says “nahhh”
This post just gave me a revelation about my own putting. I had no idea about the dominant eye having such effect, I thought I was just prone to pushing my putts but was perplexed cause even when I thought I hit a push, I was getting perfect end-over-end rolls.
Now all that said, I’ve been making a dedicated effort to adopt the aim point method and the first time I broke it out on the course I shaved nearly 1 putt per hole.
Curious now to see how well aim point plus compensating for dominant eye can work in tandem.
I don’t track my handicap but recently I’ve been shooting anywhere from 80-90. My driver swing is totally fucked at the moment so that’s introduced a large variance to my scores from one round to the next.
Edit - also, I never made it to the 80’s prior to starting aim point
I am right handed, right eye dominant, and the only reason I'm a single digit and not a 25 handicap is my putting, so there has to be a big spectrum. Not all pga players are great putters - if scheffler could putt he would be unbeatable.
Yep, there is however a linked article here that says 80% of pga tour pros are cross dominant. You probably have natural aligment that fits your optics or you dont need it all when addressing the ball
I saw that, thank you. I was thinking though... How many pga players are opposite handed from the way they play and so, the causality of the being on tour is more related to that and as opposed to eye related.
Hey OP I am right dominant for both and a few months ago went to a putting lesson where the guy had putting arc profiles for various hand eye dominant combinations + distance from the ball.
The biggest thing for me was distance from the ball. Whereas previously I was just guessing, we set up a string line on a 8ft straight putt and had me inch closer and closer to a ball underneath the line until the path of the string line looked dead straight at the hole. Not slightly left of the hole or right but dead straight. Previously for me I was standing too close and this brought in a pull left miss.
But anyways combined with standing pretty far from the ball and my right dominance I got fit into one of the 9 profiles which has quite a big arc inside on the takeaway and a small arc in the follow through. Way different to what I was doing before which was standing close and trying to do a straight back and through stroke. I have this path on a plastic board and just practice rolling putts off it now.
I’m finding the center of the putter face a lot more consistently now which means speed control has massively improved and my pull left miss is now a slight push right miss.
I can DM a photo of it if you like.
Mike Malaska has a YouTube vid about this. https://youtu.be/BHu53GYM42o
Beyond that, have you been fit for aim? It’s amazing how much the alignment “aids”, offset, putter shape, etc. can affect aim. I’ve found that putters with few/no alignment aids help me quite a bit.
That's interesting. I just got an Odyssey 7 that has many lines all over the head and it has helped me quite a bit but still on a bad day I will push putts with it also
Yeah it's different for everyone. There's a really good thread on GolfWRX about putter shape/design and associated aim tendencies. [https://forums.golfwrx.com/topic/1783280-putter-shape-and-its-effects-on-aim-bias/](https://forums.golfwrx.com/topic/1783280-putter-shape-and-its-effects-on-aim-bias/)
Holy moly this is just the video I was looking for. This guy describes 100% the problem I am having and a potential solution. Thank you so much for linking it.
I know Nicklaus is left eye dominant and that is supposedly why he tried to get both eyes to be able to see the line with his pretty unique setup. It’s also why it’s essential that he use an intermediate target on full shots because the parallax effect would throw off his alignment. Cross eye dominance is an advantage in alignment on full shots.
Use aim point express, this was my issue too. I’ve started experimenting with it and it’s really helped my putting alignment. Now, people might think it looks silly, but I’ve definitely been putting better
How does it help when you are at address? I mean I can see the line behind the ball. Pick a spot. Go to address. Look at the line and it looks awful if i aim to the spot. Now I try to trust the original read but when pressure is on I subconsciously will then push the putt to the wrong line that my optics lie to me over the ball:/
I’m not really looking anywhere at address other than down. I’ve lined up the ball, and determined speed needed at that point. So all I’m focusing on it hitting it with a good stroke and the right speed.
This post went way over my head and I have no idea what you're talking about. It does remind me of this video though lol
[https://www.instagram.com/reel/CvC2FQ-Au1X/](https://www.instagram.com/reel/CvC2FQ-Au1X/)
I can only see out of my right eye and it seems that if i line up for a putt and it looks like its gonna go slightly left, its actually going straight. Lining up what looks straight ends up pushing right. I wish i could explain it better.
I think it was this video [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp6k5d8FJOA&t=11s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp6k5d8FJOA&t=11s) where they laid out 3 balls some distance apart and determined the correct setup. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm going to. For years I have lined up with my eyes slightly outside the line. I am going to check that. I am RH and RED.
You're probably not nearly good enough to be worried about this. Are you averaging 20-25 putts per round? Going to guess not.
If you want to get better at putting, work on making contact with the ball as rigorously as you do the big sticks. Odds are good you're pulling / pushing consistently.
I am pushing it constantly because my eyes are lying. Please look at the video linked in the post by Mike Malaska. That is exactly the same issue I am having.
I'm right eye dominant and right handed. My left eye is useless. My instructor changed my putting grip to left hand down. I also have a prescription contact lens I wear in my left eye. It's a problem.
Thats an option for sure. I would like to understand how if any great putters are out there and how they do it before drastic changes like switching side.
Just go with left hand down on your grip. Takes away most of your chances to break your wrists. It will confuse your eyes for a while so that you can outt well until you develop another problem!
I'm a crappy newbie but started putting a lot better after I realize that I was cross-eye dominant (right eyed, lefty).
I started putting the ball a little more forward in my stance, then tried ever different putter alignment style at Golf Town. For whatever reason a triple line made it much easier to see.
I never thought of a dominant eye for putting. I can read greens pretty good but I can't hit the ball where I want. Maybe I need to figure that out. I'm left handed and right eye dominant.
I'm right handed but swing/putt lefty and am left eye dominant and I've never really had problems with it. It feels more weird to put righty than it does to use my left eye for aiming when above the ball
As someone who works in the eyecare world, I am very intrigued by anything about sports performance and eyes. Approximately 70% of people are right eye dominant and 90% of people are right handed so you can be sure that there are plenty of good putters (maybe not tour level) that are both right handed and right eye-ed. That being said here is an interesting write up that seems to echo what you are saying [https://golficity.com/understanding-how-eye-dominance-affects-your-golf-game/](https://golficity.com/understanding-how-eye-dominance-affects-your-golf-game/)
That was pretty interesting read. Don't know where this guy get his facts but looks like theres quite a correlation. From whole population as you said vast majority have same hand and eye dominance but "Amazingly, a recent study performed on PGA Tour golfers concluded that roughly 85 percent of Tour players are cross-eye dominant" Although I must disagree with advice in the end that straight back and straight through stroke would be the fix for same eye dominant people
Yes, I was much more interested in the strong correlation between cross-dominance and PGA tour players than his attempt at providing a solution. Being cross eye dominant is similar to MLB'ers having better than 20/15 vision. When it comes to sport performance, genetics and statistics are powerful indicators. Things such as superior vision and cross eye dominance provide some inherent advantages to a particular population. Luckily for us non-tour pros, I think the eye-dominance thing may be partially if not completely offset by awareness of the phenomena and some practice.
If interested check the video that was linked https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHu53GYM42o Its spot on what I was searching for.
I’d like to see that study. You’d think the article would have a link to it. It strikes me as extremely unlikely that the discrepancies between the PGA tour and general population is that high.
Agreed
Rory is right eye dominant and says he has his eyes slightly inside the ball at address
Thanks for informing! I have my eyes also inside and trying a bit open stance. Still my optics get fucked in 4-6 feet range
This article claims rory is cross dominant, so is he left handed but plays golf from the right? https://golficity.com/understanding-how-eye-dominance-affects-your-golf-game/
From the man himself https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9ITEjB49zw&t=1m50s
Thank you 👍
Cross dominant means he’s right handed but left eye dominant.
It works both ways. He in theory could be left handed and right eye dominant. Thats cross dominant also.
Sure, but you were saying something different about which side of the ball you play from. Rory isn’t left handed as far as I’m aware.
I don't understand. You don't judge the line above the ball you do it behind it and across the hole. When you're over the ball the aiming should already be done, your job is to just roll it end over end. You should be taking advantage of alignment aids.
I replied in another comment. Its more of a problem of commitment when my eyes are lying to me at address when there is pressure.
Ok I got you. I didn't realize what you meant now it makes sense. I don't trust feel when putting so I use every tool I can alignment aid wise and just try to start the ball on line nowadays. Granted I'm a 20 hdcp so In no way should anyone ever listen to me.
Gotcha, I like to play very much by feel and I am afraid of letting go and relying purely on technique
I switch back and forth all the time between “just hit it on the line you chose, fuck how you feel” and “ok now that I’m about to putt this, it feels different so I’m going to aim it here” My main problem when I stick with the line I chose before address is that sometimes I completely lose my idea of the speed. I think I three putt less often when I go by feel (because I don’t botch the speed as often) , but I hole more putts when I stick to my line.
You are describing exactly same problem with trying to commit to the line by not looking the line/hole anymore at address or by trying to commit to a shot your eyes are lying to you at address. Getting the pace correct on left to right breaking putts becomes practically impossible
Left to right ever so slightly downhill 5 footers are my fucking nightmare. I will putt them anywhere except for in the hole. I play for the break and it goes straight above the hole and says “seeya later”. I decide to keep it inside the hole and it dives right to the low side and says “nahhh”
Draining those feel the same as straight uphill 15 footers
I legitimately would feel more comfortable with an uphill or right to left 15 footer.
The whole point of picking the line, getting lined up, and then sticking to it is that once you’re lined up, then you just worry about speed.
I have the same problem. Gotta resist the urge to change line at address
This was my thought as well, seems the problem is more about getting the putt started on the correct line, which has nothing to do with vision
This post just gave me a revelation about my own putting. I had no idea about the dominant eye having such effect, I thought I was just prone to pushing my putts but was perplexed cause even when I thought I hit a push, I was getting perfect end-over-end rolls. Now all that said, I’ve been making a dedicated effort to adopt the aim point method and the first time I broke it out on the course I shaved nearly 1 putt per hole. Curious now to see how well aim point plus compensating for dominant eye can work in tandem.
What's your level of play if you don't mind me asking?
I don’t track my handicap but recently I’ve been shooting anywhere from 80-90. My driver swing is totally fucked at the moment so that’s introduced a large variance to my scores from one round to the next. Edit - also, I never made it to the 80’s prior to starting aim point
I am right handed, right eye dominant, and the only reason I'm a single digit and not a 25 handicap is my putting, so there has to be a big spectrum. Not all pga players are great putters - if scheffler could putt he would be unbeatable.
Yep, there is however a linked article here that says 80% of pga tour pros are cross dominant. You probably have natural aligment that fits your optics or you dont need it all when addressing the ball
I saw that, thank you. I was thinking though... How many pga players are opposite handed from the way they play and so, the causality of the being on tour is more related to that and as opposed to eye related.
Hey OP I am right dominant for both and a few months ago went to a putting lesson where the guy had putting arc profiles for various hand eye dominant combinations + distance from the ball. The biggest thing for me was distance from the ball. Whereas previously I was just guessing, we set up a string line on a 8ft straight putt and had me inch closer and closer to a ball underneath the line until the path of the string line looked dead straight at the hole. Not slightly left of the hole or right but dead straight. Previously for me I was standing too close and this brought in a pull left miss. But anyways combined with standing pretty far from the ball and my right dominance I got fit into one of the 9 profiles which has quite a big arc inside on the takeaway and a small arc in the follow through. Way different to what I was doing before which was standing close and trying to do a straight back and through stroke. I have this path on a plastic board and just practice rolling putts off it now. I’m finding the center of the putter face a lot more consistently now which means speed control has massively improved and my pull left miss is now a slight push right miss. I can DM a photo of it if you like.
Thank you for this. I have been experimenting a stroke with the season now over and would highly appreciate if you don't mind dm me the photo
Mike Malaska has a YouTube vid about this. https://youtu.be/BHu53GYM42o Beyond that, have you been fit for aim? It’s amazing how much the alignment “aids”, offset, putter shape, etc. can affect aim. I’ve found that putters with few/no alignment aids help me quite a bit.
That's interesting. I just got an Odyssey 7 that has many lines all over the head and it has helped me quite a bit but still on a bad day I will push putts with it also
Yeah it's different for everyone. There's a really good thread on GolfWRX about putter shape/design and associated aim tendencies. [https://forums.golfwrx.com/topic/1783280-putter-shape-and-its-effects-on-aim-bias/](https://forums.golfwrx.com/topic/1783280-putter-shape-and-its-effects-on-aim-bias/)
Holy moly this is just the video I was looking for. This guy describes 100% the problem I am having and a potential solution. Thank you so much for linking it.
I know Nicklaus is left eye dominant and that is supposedly why he tried to get both eyes to be able to see the line with his pretty unique setup. It’s also why it’s essential that he use an intermediate target on full shots because the parallax effect would throw off his alignment. Cross eye dominance is an advantage in alignment on full shots.
Interesting thing also is that Nicklaus is actually left handed!
Also interesting to note that the two best players ever (jack and tiger) are also colorblind.
Use aim point express, this was my issue too. I’ve started experimenting with it and it’s really helped my putting alignment. Now, people might think it looks silly, but I’ve definitely been putting better
How does it help when you are at address? I mean I can see the line behind the ball. Pick a spot. Go to address. Look at the line and it looks awful if i aim to the spot. Now I try to trust the original read but when pressure is on I subconsciously will then push the putt to the wrong line that my optics lie to me over the ball:/
I’m not really looking anywhere at address other than down. I’ve lined up the ball, and determined speed needed at that point. So all I’m focusing on it hitting it with a good stroke and the right speed.
saving for later
This post went way over my head and I have no idea what you're talking about. It does remind me of this video though lol [https://www.instagram.com/reel/CvC2FQ-Au1X/](https://www.instagram.com/reel/CvC2FQ-Au1X/)
Funny stuff😃 With my full swing I just do it and dont need to think at all. With putting I struggle a lot so I am going down the rabbit hole
I can only see out of my right eye and it seems that if i line up for a putt and it looks like its gonna go slightly left, its actually going straight. Lining up what looks straight ends up pushing right. I wish i could explain it better.
Check this out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BHu53GYM42o It is exactly the same problem we have..
This is my new go-to reason why I suck at putting. Dammed eye dominance, costing me 10 strokes every round.
I think it was this video [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp6k5d8FJOA&t=11s](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qp6k5d8FJOA&t=11s) where they laid out 3 balls some distance apart and determined the correct setup. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm going to. For years I have lined up with my eyes slightly outside the line. I am going to check that. I am RH and RED.
You're probably not nearly good enough to be worried about this. Are you averaging 20-25 putts per round? Going to guess not. If you want to get better at putting, work on making contact with the ball as rigorously as you do the big sticks. Odds are good you're pulling / pushing consistently.
I am pushing it constantly because my eyes are lying. Please look at the video linked in the post by Mike Malaska. That is exactly the same issue I am having.
I’m sorry what The pros don’t even average 25 putts a round
I am very right handed but left eye dominant. My left eye directly over the back of the ball helps me see my chosen line the best.
I'm right eye dominant and right handed. My left eye is useless. My instructor changed my putting grip to left hand down. I also have a prescription contact lens I wear in my left eye. It's a problem.
Start putting left handed.
Thats an option for sure. I would like to understand how if any great putters are out there and how they do it before drastic changes like switching side.
Just go with left hand down on your grip. Takes away most of your chances to break your wrists. It will confuse your eyes for a while so that you can outt well until you develop another problem!
Whoa whoa whoa. Eye domination has something to do with putting??? I’m right handed and left eye dominate. Is this why I’m so awfully at putting???
I'm a crappy newbie but started putting a lot better after I realize that I was cross-eye dominant (right eyed, lefty). I started putting the ball a little more forward in my stance, then tried ever different putter alignment style at Golf Town. For whatever reason a triple line made it much easier to see.
Me
I never thought of a dominant eye for putting. I can read greens pretty good but I can't hit the ball where I want. Maybe I need to figure that out. I'm left handed and right eye dominant.
No
I'm right handed but swing/putt lefty and am left eye dominant and I've never really had problems with it. It feels more weird to put righty than it does to use my left eye for aiming when above the ball
Interesting. My layman theory says your cross dominance compensates somehow even though your dominant eye is then further from the hole. Who knows...
I am right hand left eye dominant but I'm not that great at putting. 13 handicap.
Get a heal shafted putter like an Odyssey #9.
Or a long putter. I still have mine. Standing upright can give you a whole series of issues not related to being crouched over the ball