The Teacher

• Mike Shannon, 55, helps Tour pros and Average Joes take dead aim on the greens

"You may be aiming wrong on the greens and not even know it. The aim of the putter is the foundation of good putting. Without it, the stroke must be manipulated to get the ball on the correct path. I've seen players of all levels — from Tour stars when I was a pro at Isleworth Country Club [near Orlando] to everyday players — think that they're
aiming correctly when they're actually three or four inches off line for every ten feet of a putt. To get to the bottom of this, I worked with a team of
optometrists to analyze thousands of putts, to better understand the way your eyes can mislead you. We found that your aim is influenced by your
vision and your dominant eye, which, unfortunately, can deceive you on the greens. Depending on ball position, when many players look down at address,
they see a perceived line that's actually right or left of the true line. That costs you strokes.
"I've found that every player has a unique front-to-back ball position that works for them, with their vision. If you have the ball one inch too far back in your stance, you'll aim about three inches right of the true line on a 10-footer, but you'll think your aim
is correct. One inch too far forward? You'll aim left. I help players find the right ball position. I've seen
guys move the ball an inch at address and become perfect aimers, dropping four, five strokes just like that. You could say it's eye-opening." Learn Shannon's putting secrets.

Mike Shannon is the putting instructor at the Golf Learning Center at Sea Island Resort, on St. Simons Island, Ga. (888-732-4752; seaisland.com)