Why 'lazy eye syndrome' prevents you from making more putts
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Why ‘lazy eye syndrome’ prevents you from making more putts

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You're not putting well. So you decide it's the arrow, not the archer, and you decide to buy a new putter. You find one you like, and for a few rounds, you're draining everything. Your golf buddies are going to the hip, and you're raking it in.

Then, all of a sudden, you start putting like you did -- you know, pre-new putter. You're missing short ones, long ones and everything in between. Clearly, it's the putter's fault, right? This thing stinks.

And then you stop and have a moment of realization. Maybe it is me. Maybe I'm bad at putting!

Before you get bummed out, the truth may be somewhere in between. Sure, lots of golfers aren't very good at putting. They struggle with line and speed, and they also struggle tremendously with alignment. The reality is, a lot of golfers don't even aim the putter right, so their putts have almost no chance of going in save for an intervention by the subconscious to steer your blade in the right direction.

One of the biggest problems golfers face in aligning themselves correctly is finding an alignment marker that works for you. Golfers have typically had limited choices in alignment markers. For years, there were none. Then came dots. Then some small, beveled lines. Then those lines got longer, or thicker, or a different color. There have been ball-width squares, and markers that look like one ball or two balls right behind the one you're trying to putt. Even if you like one of those options, you'll develop, over time, what we'll colloquially call "lazy eye syndrome."

Face it, you get used to the alignment marker on your putter head. You take it for granted. You assume it works, even when it doesn't.

Sometimes, you need a reset, to look at something different. Often times, that means going back to an old putter or shelling out money for a new one. The putter itself isn't broken. Your brain just doesn't react to it the same way it did, when it was newer, fresher.

Instead of buying a completely new putter, why not then just change the alignment marker to give your brain something new to use?

That idea is the science behind Brainstorm Golf's Happy Putter Eye Align series.

From one of the founders of both Odyssey Golf and Never Compromise, the Eye Align series has two putter models -- a classic, Anser-style blade and a modern semi-hollow mallet -- which each come with three unique, interchangeable alignment markers. These alignment markers use different colors, contrasts, lines and shapes to create different combinations for the brain to process.

As a golfer, you can figure out which appeals most to you with a basic eye test or using the Happy Putter testing app for iPhone or Android. When you realize which marker helps you align best to your target, you know which one to use. Then you can dial in the interchangeable weights to get the feel in the head you want, and you're off and putting with the confidence that you're more likely to aim where you want. That takes care of half the problem of putting before you even draw back the blade.

Try the Happy Putter Eye Align series for yourself. As a Golf News Net reader, you can save about $15, or 10 percent, off your purchase of either Eye Align putter. Use the code GNN10 at checkout!

About the author

Ryan Ballengee

Ryan Ballengee is founder and editor of Golf News Net. He has been writing and broadcasting about golf for nearly 20 years. Ballengee lives in the Washington, D.C. area with his family. He is a scratch golfer...sometimes.

Ballengee can be reached by email at ryan[at]thegolfnewsnet.com

Ryan occasionally links to merchants of his choosing, and GNN may earn a commission from sales generated by those links. See more in GNN's affiliate disclosure.