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Author Topic: Eye dominance- how does is affect your bowling  (Read 16019 times)

looseleftie

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Eye dominance- how does is affect your bowling
« on: March 30, 2007, 09:54:40 PM »
HI all,

I have only just recently found out that I am right eye dominant. I am a leftie (everything I do is as a leftie), and I have always seemed to have problems with targeting the arrows, I seem to miss in most instances to the right, and when I am aiming for cross lane spares, I am all over the place at times.

I had to have a go of archery for work, and from there I had to line up as a right hander for the first time in any sport, anyway to cut the story down I went pretty well. The instructor advised me that the eye dominance determines whether you shoot as a leftie or rightie...

My question to anybody who has knowledge or personal experience regarding this is what do I do, continue as a leftie, or line up as a rightie with the knowledge that being right eye dominany may actually help me out long in bowling.
Any help and advice appreciated.
Regards LL
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rexb300

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Re: Eye dominance- how does is affect your bowling
« Reply #1 on: March 31, 2007, 06:11:26 AM »
I am right handed with left eye dominant I do all right
with a lot of practice just shot a 299 last sunday
in a tournament

but I shoot a gun left handed because of the eye
 but can shoot right no problem and write right handed.

I stand to the right and walk left that just my way.

good luck and good bowling   any questions write
RB
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Strapper_Squared

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Re: Eye dominance- how does is affect your bowling
« Reply #2 on: March 31, 2007, 07:23:20 AM »
I've shot shotguns competitively for 23 years.  This is a problem as when you look down the barrel of a gun, you will see the proper alignment and the side of the barrel.  Since the dominant eye (for people with your problem) sees the side of the barrel there is a lot of "cross-firing" or alignment issues.  Most people who run into that problem (at least in shooting) will do one of three things.  Probably the most popular is that they will close one eye, therefore making the non-dominante take over.  The second is that they will place a piece of scotch tape (or some other material) on their glasses over the dominant eye to obstruct their view...essentially doing the same thing without having to close their eye..  The final option is to switch hands.  

What that being said, I can't imagine it would be nearly as important in bowling.  You are fixing your sight on a target that is several feet away from the foul line (in most cases).  There is no "double" vision or anything...  but if you think this is an issue, maybe try closing your dominant eye (at least to line up your shot).

S^2
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Amleto

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Re: Eye dominance- how does is affect your bowling
« Reply #3 on: March 31, 2007, 09:04:13 AM »
You don't need to do anything about it, you just need to know that it exists.  Then you may either alter your follow through - try and aim it a bit left of target, or just accept that you will hit inside of your target.

It doesn't really matter as long as it's consistent, but knowing about it will help you calculate where you need to be to shoot a specific line.
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DukeHarding

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Re: Eye dominance- how does is affect your bowling
« Reply #4 on: March 31, 2007, 09:47:23 AM »
How bad is the vision in your left eye?
I'm right eye dominant, and will drift 5-7 board the further left I stand. When I stand at, say the 22nd-27th I don't drift.

When I need to slide at 16-17, say targeting the 10 board, I start on the 10-12th board, drift to 16-17. The dominant eye will pull me right. If I start out standing on the board I want to finish on, I willd rift right, and loose leverage, as I end up targeting to far left from my finish position.

Any questitons, feel free to PM me.


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Amleto

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Re: Eye dominance- how does is affect your bowling
« Reply #5 on: March 31, 2007, 10:28:57 AM »
quote:
How bad is the vision in your left eye?
I'm right eye dominant, and will drift 5-7 board the further left I stand. When I stand at, say the 22nd-27th I don't drift.

When I need to slide at 16-17, say targeting the 10 board, I start on the 10-12th board, drift to 16-17. The dominant eye will pull me right...


I don't think that can be attributed to eye dominance.  It's the wrong direction for a start.

Ignoring what you actually do whilst approaching, consider this scenario:

You aim your approach, using your nose and centre of your chest towards an arrow.   Left eye dominant people would end up slightly RIGHT of aligned, as they would align their centre more with their left eye, ie they align their left eye with the arrow because they perceive their left eye to be (closer to) their centre.


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Am-1337-o

Edited on 3/31/2007 10:29 AM
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Amleto

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Re: Eye dominance- how does is affect your bowling
« Reply #6 on: March 31, 2007, 10:33:56 AM »
quote:

...
    When you are playing catch with a baseball, you dont think about dominance, you just toss the ball to the other person.

    Too much is made of the dominance thing.
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Bones



Of course you generally play catch at a greater distance than 15ft though.  The closer the target, the more dominance plays a part.  You stated you miss what you look at by two boards.  For arguments sake, lets say it's all down to eye dominance, and the effect is 2inches.  Can you really play catch accurate to 2 inches?  I think you're in the wrong sport if  you can
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Am-1337-o

Edited on 3/31/2007 10:33 AM
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Amleto

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Re: Eye dominance- how does is affect your bowling
« Reply #7 on: March 31, 2007, 10:41:06 AM »
quote:
Amleto, no I can not toss a baseball within two inches of the other person but neither does one have to be within 2 inches of a target on the THS which is what most of us are bowling on today.
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Bones


your point was that eye dominance doesnt affect tossing a ball - well of course it doesnt if the effect is less than two inches and you can't throw it that accurately anyway!

edit:
the point of eye dominance in bowling is that you CAN be accurate enough for it to matter.  It's not that hard to consistenly hit the same spot to within a board and a half.  That magnitude is similar to the affect eye dominance can have.
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Am-1337-o

Edited on 3/31/2007 10:44 AM
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DukeHarding

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Re: Eye dominance- how does is affect your bowling
« Reply #8 on: March 31, 2007, 11:03:44 AM »
quote:
quote:
How bad is the vision in your left eye?
I'm right eye dominant, and will drift 5-7 board the further left I stand. When I stand at, say the 22nd-27th I don't drift.

When I need to slide at 16-17, say targeting the 10 board, I start on the 10-12th board, drift to 16-17. The dominant eye will pull me right...


I don't think that can be attributed to eye dominance.  It's the wrong direction for a start.

Ignoring what you actually do whilst approaching, consider this scenario:

You aim your approach, using your nose and centre of your chest towards an arrow.   Left eye dominant people would end up slightly RIGHT of aligned, as they would align their centre more with their left eye, ie they align their left eye with the arrow because they perceive their left eye to be (closer to) their centre.


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Am-1337-o

Edited on 3/31/2007 10:29 AM


I'm left-handed. If a lefty is right-eye dominant, your right eye will draw you towards the center of the lane. I have Amblyopia and do not see out of my left eye. If I was bowling on lane 8 (for example), I targeting at 2nd arrow, my left eye would see the headpin on lane 1 or 2. My brain eventually, shut the left eye  off. If it didn't shut the eye down I would continue to have double vision, which is very "brain-tiring".

I have been tested numerous times. I was told that I was right-eye dominant.

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Duke Harding

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Amleto

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Re: Eye dominance- how does is affect your bowling
« Reply #9 on: March 31, 2007, 11:13:03 AM »
being drawn to the centre of the lane is not eye dominance imo.
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Am-1337-o
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Re-Evolution

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Re: Eye dominance- how does is affect your bowling
« Reply #10 on: March 31, 2007, 01:19:24 PM »
I have no definitive eye dominance or what is considered alternating eye dominance. When I do the test where you look through a hole and center up a distant object and then close one eye to see which is dominant the result varies for me. If I concentrate on the hole first and use what would be similar to peripheral vision to determine what is centered I am usually left eye dominant but if I first look through the hole it is generally my right that seems dominant.
When I point at an object or align 2 object and close one eye at a time the object shifts equally in each direction depending on which eye is closed.
I have the ability to zone out either eye for alignment which causes big issues if my concentration is broken due to the fact that my brain will pick either eye for dominance at random. This is the reason that I generally target around 40-45' where the affect of eye dominance is minimal. I use the spot I am looking at more to determine my approach and body angle and use feel for ball trajectory.

When I first discovered my lack of eye dominance I thought it was pretty cool but now I sometimes consider it a curse.

Here is a quote from one of the articles I read when I first discovered that I didn't have a dominant eye.

Dimensional approach to the study of sighting dominance.

This study proposes a dimensional and non-categorical approach to research on sighting dominance. Let us suppose that no eye dominance exists as well as results concerning right and left eye dominance. We modified a classical alignment test to measure along a continuum the ocular dominance of 47 female undergraduate students in psychology. Data seem to confirm the hypothesis emphasizing the presence of subjects with no ocular dominance as well as right- and left-dominance subjects. Moreover, another group has been classified. The subjects with fluctuating dominance show an alternation in their dominance. Thus an hypothesis of the functionality of the two hemispheres is suggested.


Edit: I have no way of knowing for sure but I think that my lack of eye dominance may be a side affect of many years of playing pool with both hands.
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Edited on 3/31/2007 1:23 PM
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agroves

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Re: Eye dominance- how does is affect your bowling
« Reply #11 on: March 31, 2007, 11:13:11 PM »
Right handed, but left eye dominate.  

I miss two boards left of my intended target.  The only time that it is even an issue is when I am trying to play straight up the gutter.  Any other time, I know where I stand, where I hit, how much I drift, etc.

Andrew
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Amleto

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Re: Eye dominance- how does is affect your bowling
« Reply #12 on: April 01, 2007, 11:48:44 AM »
quote:
agroves, its interesting that you and I both hit two boards left of what we are aiming at, yet you are left eye dominate while I am right eye dominate.
   As long as one keeps both eyes open it should make no difference which eye is dominate.  To test this, check your vision by holding your hands to make a small hole in which to focus on an object in the distance.  With both eyes open you can clearly see the object.  Only when you close one eye will you still be able to see the object or not.  That test only tells you which eye is dominate but in no way should affect your ability to aim at a target on the lane as long as you keep both eyes open.
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Bones

Depending on the lateral distance between the eyes and the plane of the swing, eye dominance *can* have a significant affect on your follow through direction.  That in turn may affect your ability to consistently repeat your preferred trajectory.
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Am-1337-o
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qstick777

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Re: Eye dominance- how does is affect your bowling
« Reply #13 on: April 01, 2007, 11:58:13 AM »
quote:
I've shot shotguns competitively for 23 years.  This is a problem as when you look down the barrel of a gun, you will see the proper alignment and the side of the barrel.  Since the dominant eye (for people with your problem) sees the side of the barrel there is a lot of "cross-firing" or alignment issues.  Most people who run into that problem (at least in shooting) will do one of three things.  Probably the most popular is that they will close one eye, therefore making the non-dominante take over.  The second is that they will place a piece of scotch tape (or some other material) on their glasses over the dominant eye to obstruct their view...essentially doing the same thing without having to close their eye..  The final option is to switch hands.  

What that being said, I can't imagine it would be nearly as important in bowling.  You are fixing your sight on a target that is several feet away from the foul line (in most cases).  There is no "double" vision or anything...  but if you think this is an issue, maybe try closing your dominant eye (at least to line up your shot).

S^2
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Thank You... Only a Year Late!

I was shocked! says Theismann



That is what I do, just close my dominant eye (left eye, right handed) while shooting.

I don't know if it affects my bowling, although I've wondered about it a couple of times.

The way I look at it (no pun intended!) is that as long as my mechanics are consistent, it doesn't matter if my eyes are off by a couple of boards.  I get lined up in practice and as far as I'm concerned if I "think" I'm targeting the 15 board and actually hitting the 12 or 18 board, as long as I'm hitting the same spot every time it doesn't matter.  If I get to the point that I need to make a 2 board adjustment I just assume my aiming will be off the same as before.  I should always be off by the same amount.
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looseleftie

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Re: Eye dominance- how does is affect your bowling
« Reply #14 on: April 02, 2007, 05:52:08 AM »
Thanks guys for all replies. very appreciated. Its good to know that I am not alone out there.

Duke, I miss pretty much 2-3 boards right of my target, I will like Sawbones has mentioned ,let this be a welcome inclusion, and to accept and allow for it. I like the idea of shutting my dominant eye, although I might try that in practise, rather than tonight's league.

Its funny because I'd always get frustrated with myself being all over the place as a resut of missing my target, then find the next ball I would somehow attempt something slightly different in my approach, just so I can hit my target. Again, shots firing here, there and everywhere.

Thank you everyone, please contniue this discussion, as it is very interesting reading.
Take care LL
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