Ask any teaching pro what is the number one golf fundamental to work on constantly and consistently, and they’ll reply “alignment.” That’s why Sight Ball is such a simple and effective sight for sore swings.
Sure, there are plenty of alignment tools to add to your practice arsenal, but few involve the ball itself, beyond that little putting stripe or line either built into the cover or drawn on with a Sharpie. Sight Ball takes those alignment marks into three-dimensional territory, giving golfers a variety of ways to incorporate it into their routines, with every club in the bag.
Harry Briggs, Sight Ball’s inventor, developed the acronym “F.A.S.T.” for Focus, Accuracy, Stance and Training. That about covers it.
Each ball is marked with six bold red “targets” of circles at each “pole” of the sphere, with crosshair-type lines at right angles within them. This allows a quick-glance reference for any element of alignment — ball position at stance, club face to target line, center of club face to center of the ball, feet to target line, etc. — and a consistent way to check those positions as you work on different shots.
Golf Tips testers came up with several ways to put Sight Ball through its versatile paces:
- Place the ball with one “target” pointing directly up, and you’ve got an apt focus point for maintaining a steady head and spine angle through the swing
- Align four crosshairs to your target, square the face to them, and you’ve got a failsafe check on whether you’re opening or hooding the club at address
- Keep the face and those lines at right angles whether you’re employing an open stance for pitches and chips, a slightly closed toe line for draw bias or a square toe line for most full swings, and your eyes won’t lie to you.
- On the practice green, use Sight Ball to better read breaks, align the putter face to the chosen target line and work on center-face strikes to and through the ball
- Another putting plus: Use the top “target” to make sure your dominant eye is properly positioned directly over the ball so you’re getting an accurate sense of direction with each stroke
- Transfer the mental image of spot-on alignment with the Sight Ball to your regular in-play ball — or, put a Sight Ball into actual play during your round. One or two approaches from the fairway or pitches or chips around the green will tell you whether your alignment is still off-kilter
Briggs sells Sight Ball in packs of three for $7.50 or six for $15, and if you’re really serious about practicing full swings with it, you can even buy a bucket’s worth (36 balls) for $70. Just have your shag bag handy because you don’t want to lose ’em.
