Golf After 50: What makes great putters? It's all in the (quiet) eyes

By Hershel Sarbin and Jim Brown
Golf After 50 Editors

We've been watching and writing about the work of Joan Vickers, a respected researcher at the University of Calgary, for several years. Dr. Vickers is an expert in sports vision and her studies are -- deal with the pun -- opening eyes in golf and other sports.

Vickers has developed a body of information on something called "The Quiet Eye." (See the January issue of Golf Digest for a detailed account of her theories and findings.) It turns out that elite athletes, including golfers who are world-class putters, do something that is different with their eyes than the rest of us. Their "quiet eyes" remain absolutely still immediately before contact and during the putting stroke. Less-than-elite putters, to put it mildly, have eyes that roam all over the place. The differences between the two groups are measured in fractions of seconds, but that micro-time period is enough to separate them from us.

Here is a capsule of what Dr. Vickers has observed through the use of high-tech and intricate measurements of vision and brain waves.

• Good putters focus either on the top of or back side of the ball. There is slightly more evidence pointing to the back of the ball as a more effective visual target.

• Expert putters' eyes remain still on the average of 2-3 seconds, while lesser putters average 1-2 seconds.

• The ability to master the Quiet Eye technique is one of the most important indicators of concentration.

• In looking at the hole, the good putter's target is neither the hole itself or the area around it. Rather, it's a very specific location on the hole, such as a blade of grass.

• Elite putters fix their eyes on the spot-on-the-hole for 1-2 seconds and then shift their gaze between the hole and the back of the ball for 300-500 milleseconds (there are 1000 milleseconds in a second).

• Good putters take about eight seconds and ten gazes on made putts; ten seconds and more gazes on missed putts.

• On putts that break, experts deermine the exact breaking point on the green and aim for that target instead of the hole.

When a golfer is under stress, Vickers says the first thing to go is the "quiet eye" phenomenon. When we choke, we have trouble stabilizing our gaze, especially during putts. Our brains simply can't deal with all the variables.

Although it may be difficult to transpose Vickers' observations into our putting technique, it can be done. Elite athletes appear to do it almost naturally, but the rest of us just need more time to incorporate it into our games. The starting point is to work on a short, focused routine before and during putts. Dr. Vickers says the quiet eye is something all of us can learn and add to our putting technique right now.

Let us know if you try the quiet eye strategy and whether or not you notice a difference. Contact Jim at GolfAfter50@mindspirng.com; Hershel at Hershels@aol.com.

©2004 Hershel Sarbin Associates