I’m always amazed at how, when our eyes don’t like what they see, our body instinctively tries to adjust, often to our detriment—both in performance and mentally. This happens to me a lot when I’m putting. I tend to focus too much on the putter head during the backswing, and if it’s even slightly off, I try to correct it mid-stroke. This usually results in a worse putt, either a push or a pull.

I experimented with different balls—plastic, heavier ones, even tennis balls—and noticed something interesting: when I closed my eyes, my stroke didn’t change. So I made the decision to putt with my eyes closed whenever I could see the target. Doing this forced me to trust my chosen swing length and power and commit fully to the stroke. The result? More consistency and fewer self-induced errors.