The Quiet Eye
A steady gaze improves all golf shots

In "A Quiet Eye," Joan Vickers of the University of Calgary uses a helmet outfitted with cameras and mirrors to track where athletes look as they play. Donning the elaborate headgear, Alan picks up a putter to see if there's a difference in where a rank amateur looks while putting as compared to a professional golfer.

Vickers has found that almost all novice golfers follow the ball with their eyes after they hit it--and Alan's no exception. By comparison, David Lindsay has been taught by Vickers to use his eyes the way the experts do. He looks steadily at the intended target for a second or two, looks back at the ball and lets his gaze rest there before and even after the stroke--what Vickers calls a "quiet eye."
Will this technique help Alan? On his previous tries, Alan never hit better than three putts in six tries. Using the quiet eye gaze, he improves to four in six.

For several seasons, Vickers has used this technique to improve the free throwing of the University of Calgary's women's basketball team. First, she trains them to say "Nothing but net" to settle themselves down. Then, as they stare at the net, they say, "Sight, Focus," ensuring their gaze remains steady on the target for at least one second.

The team was shooting 54 percent when Vickers started working with them. Within three years, they improved by an extraordinary 22 percent.
Basketball in hand, Alan once again tries the quiet-eye technique. The result: nothing but net.

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A theory of the structure and working of the brain that suggests that: a) different sides of the brain control different "modes" of thinking; and b) that we all have a preference for one or the other of these modes.
Experimentation has demonstrated that the two different sides ("hemispheres") of the brain are responsible for different modes of thinking. In general, the division is:

LEFT BRAIN RIGHT BRAIN
Logical Random
Sequential Intuitive
Rational Holistic
Analyzes Synthesizes
Objective Subjective
Parts Wholes

Most individuals have a distinct preference for one of these styles of thinking; some are more "whole brained' and are equally adept at both modes. In general, schools tend to favor left-brain modes of thinking, while down-playing right-brain modes. Left brain subjects focus on logical thinking, analysis and accuracy. Right-brained subjects focus on aesthetics, feeling, and creativity.

Below is a visual dril I use to train myself to use this QUIET EYE technique for all my golf shots.

Remenber: You must  let go of the target entirely when your eyes go to the back of the ball
and
keep a quiet relaxed gaze throughout the swing.

Your right  brain hemosphere will know what to do.

TRUST IS A MUST!

"Practice makes perfect." But does it really?
If so, why do some practice almost endlessly, only to achieve limited results, while others practice a minimum amount of time and advance rapidly?
Practicing just for the sake of practicing cannot ensure progress, and neither can poorly organized, occasional practice.

While people enjoy possessing skills, few enjoy the process of acquiring skills. Learning is hard work, and most of the work is dull and the efforts are too often unrewarding.
The idea of "play" being a far better and much more fun method of learning and retaining skills and knowledge has not gone unnoticed by the scientific community. Nearly the entire animal kingdom uses some manner of "play" from birth to hone necessary skills for survival. It is still "practice" in it's truest form, but when the dullness and drudgery of rote repetition is removed and replaced with realistic simulated life situations involving immediate risk/reward outcomes, the student not only becomes proficient more quickly but retains it much better. The brain loves to store and recall things that are fun and rewarding while discarding dull and unimaginative experiences. This brain trait can actually sabotage ones efforts.
Case in point 1: Dave Pelz...the well known NASA scientist, golf professional/teacher to the pros, short game & putting guru and author with a Golf Channel instructional series has a real issue with "practice makes perfect".
It seems Dave became frustrated with his putting on tour and decided to fix it for good. He took an entire year off and concentrated only on putting 7 days a week for 6-8 hours a day for the entire year. At the end of that grueling endeavor Dave found that not only did his putting not improve, he putted even worse than before.
When I was beginning to play golf in the 50"s, I was just an average hacker with mediocre putting. Played a 9 hole course twice a day about 2 or 3 times a week As time went on my putting improved dramatically as did Doug's... my regular playing buddy. I knew then, as now, exactly why. Between the nines we had to wait for another start time... sometimes as long as 2 hours. Some players went home and came back, ran errands, played cards in the clubhouse while others drolly practiced putting. Doug and I spent much of this time on the putting green too but we played a simple putting game for "Cokes" we called "Stymie" which is well known by many other names. We liked "Stymie" because the first player's ball would often block the hole for the other.
The rules are simple. One player putts a ball to a hole and if he makes it scores 3 points. The other player makes an attempt and if he holes out also no points are awarded. If neither player makes the putt, the closest to the hole scores 1 point. Play continues until you reach 10 or an agreed number of points. Sometimes we played for a total over an agreed number of holes.
We were having such a ball that sometimes we pushed back our tee time to continue our match. Eventually it became the format for our little putting tournaments before the men's club meetings. Doug or I would win it (pro shop script) nearly every month... kept us both in Spaulding Dots. The bottom line is, as rank beginners and without the drudgery of ever actually practicing, we both quickly became confident and more effective putters than most of the old time regulars we played with. They'd chalk it up to "young nerves" but I don't think so... my nerves are shot at 72 but I'm still a darn good putter.
Why "STYMIE" is not just another putt training gimmick.
I have been obsessed with this "little game within a game" my entire life. A cure for it's never ending source of frustration and insidious inconsistencies continues to haunt me.  My most rewarding efforts to find a fix comes by way of the "sidesaddle" or front-on putting technique. Although I can't claim credit for it's conception... that award goes to Sam Snead and others... I will take the credit for developing unique putters that take the best advantage of the style while exposing tens of thousands of golfers to this most accurate way of putting.
While the "sidesaddle" method is a no brainer when it comes to ease of execution of rolling a ball on an intended line and pace, one still needs to develop a sense of "feel" for that line and pace for each circumstance.
The challenge was to find a better way of achieving that without the time, expense and outright drudgery of other methods.  Endless drills, training aids, gimmicks and gadgets or even improved green conditions have not improved the average golfer's putts per round one bit over the decades.
I have been convinced that competitive "play" without rote repetition will accelerate learning and elevate skill levels best regardless of the endeavor.
Putting is the perfect candidate for such "play". Given the right game to play, putting becomes a pleasure at which to become proficient. There are so many subtle elements in it that it becomes a real chore to keep diligently practicing it without rewards.
"Stymie" ingrains every single element of putting without even noticing it. Play includes reading slope, speed and grain reading. Automatic fine tuning of these elements are unconsciously stored in our brain without effort... putting becomes more intuitive.  More precise strokes are necessary in "Stymie" than on the course... and that's really a big boost since it makes ordinary putts seem easy. Small wagers are encouraged also as it improves focus that will spill over to the course. I drank a lot of "Coke" in my early years and some tasted better than others.