Instruction
How your “dominant eye” affects your golf swing, and the proper adjustments
Most golfers know their “dominant eye” heavily influences putting alignment, but did you know the dominant eye affects the long game, too? More specifically, it has a major impact on your backswing. Think of Jack Nicklaus and his pre-swing head turn that accounted for his dominant eye.
Since then, however, few other players have made it a priority to make the similar adjustments. Not factoring in your dominant eye can cause poor backswing movements, particularly with the torso, and will cause problems later on during the transition.
First of all, let’s figure out which of your eyes is dominant. For that, we consult Travis Weza from Combine Golf. Follow the instructions below.
“Begin with your arms out, wrists bent at 90 degrees upward and allow your palms to face away from you (like you are telling someone to “stop” moving). Bring your hands together so that your fingers overlap and form a triangular peephole with your thumbs and index fingers. Focus on a small object across the room. While viewing the object through the peephole, first close your left eye. If you still don’t see the object, switch eyes. The eye that sights the target is your dominant eye.”
Now that we’ve established which is your dominant eye, the next step is to understand how it influences your setup and backswing so you can make the proper adjustments.
Left-Eye Dominance
People who are “Left Eye Dominant” (the ones who sighted the object above using their left eye) must rotate their heads at address towards their rear shoulder and/or bend laterally to the right (for right-handed players) to allow the body to adjust for this dominance. Jack Nicklaus did this perfectly, as you can see again and again in the swing-video montage below — watch how he tilts his head just before he begins the backswing.
If you see the ball in this manner at address, then you’ll eliminate the need to rotate your head during the backswing. Let’s say you set up with a centered head but with a left-dominant eye (as Jack had). What would happen? As you rotated to the top, your head would also want to rotate rightward in order to keep the ball in focus. If you did not allow this to happen, you would greatly restrict your backswing, or you might even lift your head up and lose your spine angle instead.
Jack Grout — Nicklaus’ longtime teacher — understood this and helped Jack to see the ball in a slightly different manner. He simply rotated his head to the right at address to make sure the ball was in the focus of his left eye. This way, his head was already using his dominant eye and was ready to accept the full rotation of the shoulders to the top.
Now, I understand that some players prefer not to do this; if you do not like this feeling of turning your head at address, then you can tilt the spine laterally to the right at address. This will place your head behind the ball and your left eye will be closer to the ball in this setup position. These types of setups will prevent the head from laterally moving to the right during the swing, which causes the backswing to move off plane to the top.
Right-Eye Dominance
Now let’s check out Aaron Baddeley’s swing from a few years ago.
For a player like Aaron Baddeley, who is right-eye dominant, you can see how his head and spine are in a much different position compared to Jack Nicklaus. It is not an incorrect position, but one that just accommodates a different eye-dominance.
A player seeing the ball with their right eye, as in the example above, will require a much more centered spine at address and a head position that is more centered looking down at the top of the ball, not so much the back of the ball. This type of right eye control will give you a slightly more upright swing if you are not careful. These types of players usually require a bigger plane angle shift from the top, or stronger leg action during the transition to hit the ball from right-to-left. Basically, this position requires a touch more flexibility to achieve the rounded swing, so they will tend to play from a more upright position; it’s simply easier on the body.
I would suggest that most right-eye dominant players play the ball primarily from left-to-right, as this tends to match what their set-up position forces them to do. But it’s not a requirement.
If you are right-eye dominant and you set up with too much spinal bending behind the ball, then you will see a noticeable cocking of the head to the right to compensate for this faulty spinal bend at address. We have all seen this player — it looks like his head is tilted with their chin towards the target slightly so they can “see” the ball better. If you want to center your head and make everything work more effectively, then I would make sure your spine is over the top of the ball and things will work much better overall in the backswing.
Hopefully by now you have at least a basic understanding of how your dominant eye affects your backswing. There is NO perfect amount of tilt, rotation, or centering to accommodate for your dominant eye, however, so please take your time and experiment to find your best position. Just make sure your dominant eye and your address position match and you will be off to the races!
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This is a classic drill that has been used for decades. However, the world of marketed training aids has grown so much during that time that this simple practice has been virtually forgotten. Because why teach people how to play golf using everyday items when you can create and sell a product that reinforces the same thing? Nevertheless, I am here to give you helpful advice without running to the nearest Edwin Watts or adding something to your Amazon cart.
For the “scoring clubs,” having a solid connection between the arms and body during the swing, especially through impact, is paramount to creating long-lasting consistency. And keeping that connection throughout the swing helps rotate the shoulders more to generate more power to help you hit it farther. So, how does this drill work, and what will your game benefit from it? Well, let’s get into it.
Setup
You can use this for basic chip shots up to complete swings. I use this with every club in my bag, up to a 9 or 8-iron. It’s natural to create incrementally more separation between the arms and body as you progress up the set. So doing this with a high iron or a wood is not recommended.
While you set up to hit a ball, simply tuck the towel underneath both armpits. The length of the towel will determine how tight it will be across your chest but don’t make it so loose that it gets in the way of your vision. After both sides are tucked, make some focused swings, keeping both arms firmly connected to the body during the backswing and follow through. (Note: It’s normal to lose connection on your lead arm during your finishing pose.) When you’re ready, put a ball in the way of those swings and get to work.
Get a Better Shoulder Turn
Many of us struggle to have proper shoulder rotation in our golf swing, especially during long layoffs. Making a swing that is all arms and no shoulders is a surefire way to have less control with wedges and less distance with full swings. Notice how I can get in a similar-looking position in both 60° wedge photos. However, one is weak and uncontrollable, while the other is strong and connected. One allows me to use my larger muscles to create my swing, and one doesn’t. The follow-through is another critical point where having a good connection, as well as solid shoulder rotation, is a must. This drill is great for those who tend to have a “chicken wing” form in their lead arm, which happens when it becomes separated from the body through impact.
In full swings, getting your shoulders to rotate in your golf swing is a great way to reinforce proper weight distribution. If your swing is all arms, it’s much harder to get your weight to naturally shift to the inside part of your trail foot in the backswing. Sure, you could make the mistake of “sliding” to get weight on your back foot, but that doesn’t fix the issue. You must turn into your trial leg to generate power. Additionally, look at the difference in separation between my hands and my head in the 8-iron examples. The green picture has more separation and has my hands lower. This will help me lessen my angle of attack and make it easier to hit the inside part of the golf ball, rather than the over-the-top move that the other picture produces.
Stay Better Connected in the Backswing
When you don’t keep everything in your upper body working as one, getting to a good spot at the top of your swing is very hard to do. It would take impeccable timing along with great hand-eye coordination to hit quality shots with any sort of regularity if the arms are working separately from the body.
Notice in the red pictures of both my 60-degree wedge and 8-iron how high my hands are and the fact you can clearly see my shoulder through the gap in my arms. That has happened because the right arm, just above my elbow, has become totally disconnected from my body. That separation causes me to lift my hands as well as lose some of the extension in my left arm. This has been corrected in the green pictures by using this drill to reinforce that connection. It will also make you focus on keeping the lead arm close to your body as well. Because the moment either one loses that relationship, the towel falls.
Conclusion
I have been diligent this year in finding a few drills that target some of the issues that plague my golf game; either by simply forgetting fundamental things or by coming to terms with the faults that have bitten me my whole career. I have found that having a few drills to fall back on to reinforce certain feelings helps me find my game a little easier, and the “towel drill” is most definitely one of them.
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You hear that one all the time; I wish I could put my practice swing on the ball! We explain the huge importance of what to focus on to allow the ball to be perfectly in the way of your practice swing. Enjoy!
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The golf teaching industry is slowly coming around to understand how the human machine is a reaction and adaptation machine that responds to weight and momentum and gravity; so this video will help you understand why we say that the club does the work; i.e. the weight of the club releases your anatomy into the direction of the ball flight.
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Thomas A Briscoe
Mar 9, 2019 at 1:14 pm
I’m left-eye dominate and play golf left-handed. Not realizing how eye dominance can play a role in the golf swing, I have a habit of following the club on the backswing instead of keeping my left eye on the ball since I thought that I was right eye dominate. Bad habit and my eyes pick up the ball at the last second on the downswing. Where should I position me head and left eye at address?
Angie
Mar 1, 2019 at 4:30 am
Hi read this with interest and interested to know if any research been done subsequently to look at set up and impact of eye dominance on trunk rotation
cost candle love
Aug 1, 2017 at 5:45 pm
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ooffu
Jul 18, 2017 at 12:54 pm
nope you are a total typo
ooffa
Jul 17, 2017 at 10:31 am
Actually your comments on eye dominance were enlightening. Keep up the good work. You are a benefit to the WRX forum.
All of Europe
Jul 16, 2017 at 8:01 am
You’re wrong about the eye dominance being a thing when one eye is closed and the other open observ…
When u look down at your nose you can see more of one side of it. That’s your dominant eye.
Kisses
Someone
Jul 15, 2017 at 11:49 pm
You’re all focusing on the wrong thing. Binocular vision is primarily depth perception. It doesn’t play a role in aiming. The dominant eye plays a role in aiming. The two combined enable you to hit a target while moving, i.e. Hitting a golf ball while you are turning. Soccer players do tilt their head when they are just about to kick the ball. Baseball players do the same, and any other active sport. So if you were right eye dominant, you could close your left eye to aim at the ball, then open both eyes to help with actually hitting the ball with the club head.
It’s never just one thing, it’s a combination of both.
You can’t hit a golf ball well (distance and power control) with ocular vision alone, and you can’t aim well with just binocular vision either (i.e. If you look at a target with both eyes and then start turning your head all the way to the right and then all the way to the left, you will notice that when you reach your peripheral limits, you will notice you may start seeing double. With one eye, it doesn’t happen because your mind tells you to stop at the peripheral limitation of the single eye.)
Again, it’s the combination of both depth perception and dominant eye aim that help you track the ball during your swing and hit it well. So yes, knowing your dominant eye can contribute to help you hit the ball well, because you can adjust your setup to give you a better chance at hitting the ball well. It’s like a right handed rifleman that holds their weapon up on their left side but aims with their right eye and wonders why they cant hit targets consistently and has a hard time operating their rifle. You tell them that being right-eye dominant, they should setup up with rifle to the right side and it’ll be easier to aim at your target and track it.
Paul
Jul 15, 2017 at 9:38 pm
Tom, I have certainly noticed that how I rotate my head has made a big difference. If I rotate my head slightly towards my rearward should i hook more and if i rotate slightly towards my forwards shoulder I slice more. It seems to shift my plane a bit. To bad a centered head didn’t make me hit it straight.
ooffa
Jul 15, 2017 at 6:32 pm
You have never posted a valid comment. Only negative incoherent drivel.
ooffa
Jul 16, 2017 at 2:29 pm
Please control your negativity. There is no need for that on this forum.
Bruce Rearick
Jul 15, 2017 at 4:20 pm
Tom, I would question the ball flight relationship to dominate eye. We know Jack played left to right as a left eye dominant player and I can names hundreds of right eye who play a hook.
Philip
Jul 15, 2017 at 9:40 am
Great article – thanks! I’ll be re-reading it a few times. I have already started to realize this recently as far as how my right-eye dominance and swing interact – the easiest shot for me to do (especially with woods) is a fade. I can do a high draw, but if I am not careful on my setup it often turns to more of a hook.
Philip
Jul 15, 2017 at 6:25 pm
Maybe it has nothing to do with eye dominance, however, golfers indeed have a large issue with trying to do something side-on, which our binocular vision and brain cannot decode. As far as eye dominance – I know that it is not static and varies day-by-day, as well as, during the day and changes based on the amount of light. That all being said, when we look side-on, eye dominance plays a large role for our alignment , as well as whether we are comfortable at address – since we are not using our binocular vision, but a twisted version of it.
ooffa
Jul 16, 2017 at 3:07 pm
Nah, I don’t buy it.
Philip
Jul 16, 2017 at 6:13 pm
Did you even read what I wrote … there is definitely an issue when we “humans” try to make a side-on golf swing looking down the line … who is talking about seeking out lessons … and guess what – my dominant eye does affect my alignment, causing me to go left with both of my eyes being used … so what do you think is causing this issue that I see most golfers struggling with?
Matt
Jul 14, 2017 at 11:15 pm
Great article Tom, I’d completely forgotten about this aspect of Nicklaus’ swing. Taught myself using ‘golf my way’ years ago followed by a few pro lessons. Luckily I figured out not to copy Nicklaus’ flying elbow!
JD
Jul 14, 2017 at 9:07 pm
Nope. You target with a dominant eye. Even with both eyes open. Ask anyone who’s left eye dominant and right hand dominant trying to shoot a gun. It sucks.
ooffa
Jul 14, 2017 at 5:58 pm
Your information is wrong. The article is correct. Please get yourself new doctors.
sonofooffa
Jul 15, 2017 at 12:10 am
the article if FOSh, like you
ooffa
Jul 15, 2017 at 6:44 am
My Son, When did the doctors release you? They told me you would one day be able to rejoin society. I welcome you back with open arms. Please make every effort not to relapse. You don’t want to have to go through the program again.
ooffa
Jul 15, 2017 at 6:31 pm
LOL, I will stop when your negativity abates. Until then I will continue to expose your arrogance.
Justin
Jul 14, 2017 at 12:02 pm
I am a left eye dominant, left handed. So similar to what you touch on with Baddeley, I completely agree. I always find myself lining up more to hit a cut and a fade and I swing my best when I am standing taller and my weight is more centered. I have a lot of trouble drawing the ball especially with my driver. When I do try and try and draw the ball I have the tendency to hit snap hooks cause it just feels very “Un-natural” for me.
Justin
Jul 14, 2017 at 12:04 pm
*Should read “when I tray and the ball”