Sink more shots by focusing on this during your stroke

Welcome to Play Smarta regular GOLF.com game improvement column that will help you become a smarter and better golfer.

In the last edition of Play Smart, we explained that becoming a good golfer comes down to two factors: a solid shot and proper reading of the green. In that column, Bryson DeChambeau gave us some great advice on becoming a better green reader. In today’s column, we’ll go over a tip for shaping the number in your shot.

Watch the video below where it appears GOLF Top 100 Teachers Jonathan Yarwood for more.

Setting the ‘last image’

When you watch the best players in the world, you will notice that everything seems very smooth. There isn’t a bunch of extraneous movement. They just rock their shoulders back and forth. This is something all golfers should strive for with their swings.

While you want most of your body to be still, keeping your head from moving is the most critical thing.

If you watch poor putters, you will often see them turn their head and shoulders as they follow the path of their putter and the ball. This bug can cause all kinds of problems.

“It affects the roll of the face, it affects the road — it does all kinds of (bad) things,” Yarwood says. “We don’t see that with a single good shooter.”

When a good shooter is making shots, they will simply let their eyes travel along the target line without much head movement. If you want to become a strong shooter, you should strive for this as well.

To teach yourself how to keep a cool head, try this method Yarwood uses with his students. Place the ball and focus intently on the exact spot where your ball is landing on the green. Then, hit the putt – but don’t look up until a beat after the ball leaves your face.

“You should see a little black image — a little black silhouette — of where that ball was,” Yarwood says. “It’s called the last image on your retina.”

Waiting until you see this last image will teach you to keep your head down—and still—until the ball rolls toward the hole. This will ensure you have a calm head throughout your swing and give you a much better chance of drilling more shots.

Zephyr Melton

Editor of Golf.com

Zephyr Melton is an assistant editor for GOLF.com where he spends his days blogging, producing and editing. Prior to joining the GOLF team, he attended the University of Texas followed by stops with the Texas Golf Association, Team USA, the Green Bay Packers and the PGA Tour. He assists with all lessons and covers amateur and women’s golf. He can be reached at zephyr_melton@golf.com.