Is Aim Point Useful or just NONSENCE ???

[veryold]

First, don't watch much golf at all, but when I do (only Majors on FREE streaming, of course, LOL) am puzzled, actually a bit annoyed watching players going back and forth, stradling the line of put, first facing the hole than turning their backs to the hole and repeating all this for a minute or more.

Does this slow down the POP and even contribute to damaging the greens with all this straddling BACK AND FORTH ?

And FWIW, yesterday at Braeben, tried it for few holes and it is probably just me, but NO WAY I COULD DETERMINE the slope even on a pretty sloped greens, for which, Braeben is "famous" for, never mind for the puts that break just couple of inches, LOL.

How about u, anyone using it and benefitting from it ???

Cheers

...just watching Scottish Open and some players spending at least a minute repeating this procedure, first facing the hole than facing away from the hole and then repeating it to infinitum on a meager 6' pretty straight put to boot, and missing the hole by quite a bit - give me a break Even the commentator, in a polite, but so funny way at the same time, questioned the "value" of this thing, LOL.

...don't think you'll ever see John Daly doing this

[rgk5]

First, don't watch much golf at all, but when I do (only Majors on FREE streaming, of course, LOL) am puzzled, actually a bit annoyed watching players going back and forth, stradling the line of put, first facing the hole than turning their backs to the hole and repeating all this for a minute or more.

Does this slow down the POP and even contribute to damaging the greens with all this straddling BACK AND FORTH ?

And FWIW, yesterday at Braeben, tried it for few holes and it is probably just me, but NO WAY I COULD DETERMINE the slope even on a pretty sloped greens, for which, Braeben is "famous" for, never mind for the puts that break just couple of inches, LOL.

How about u, anyone using it and benefitting from it ???

Cheers

...just watching Scottish Open and some players spending at least a minute repeating this procedure, first facing the hole than facing away from the hole and then repeating it to infinitum on a meager 6' pretty straight put to boot, and missing the hole by quite a bit - give me a break Even the commentator, in a polite, but so funny way at the same time, questioned the "value" of this thing, LOL.

...don't think you'll ever see John Daly doing this

That's because Daly is too fat to see his feet.

[Cdntac]

I took their course 8-10 years ago.

It works but IMO becomes irrelevant if there are multiple breaks or a hump in your line.

A 12’ putt sloping to the right or left? Aimpoint works well for me in those instances.

[foreright99]

I sometimes use Aim Point. I treat it as a tool rather than a magic bullet. It's a starting point in the putt reading process - there are other elements to consider (green speed, uphill / downhill etc, green condition).

The POP for pros is absurd (for ALL shots). I don't think it's because of Aimpoint. There's a video out there where Tiger took an eternity to line up a putt and he doesn't use Aimpoint. I haven't experienced an issue when i use it - POP wise. It's a relatively quick process for me (for those times i use it). I typically read a putt both ways (while others are in between putts). I quickly assign the putt a small / medium / severe break factor which dictates whether I put up 1 2 or 3 fingers. Aim....Fire! Easy peasy.

It's a tool that you need to practice on the practice green and figure out what works for you. How do you read your putts otherwise? How do you know whether aiming 5 inches left of the hole is right vs 10 inches left of the hole? Your green reading might be fine now, but if you're telling yourself "I should have aimed more left / right on that one, it might be interesting to give Aim Point a try. Something to test out on the practice green.

[rulie]

I sometimes use Aim Point. I treat it as a tool rather than a magic bullet. It's a starting point in the putt reading process - there are other elements to consider (green speed, uphill / downhill etc, green condition).

The POP for pros is absurd (for ALL shots). I don't think it's because of Aimpoint. There's a video out there where Tiger took an eternity to line up a putt and he doesn't use Aimpoint. I haven't experienced an issue when i use it - POP wise. It's a relatively quick process for me (for those times i use it). I typically read a putt both ways (while others are in between putts). I quickly assign the putt a small / medium / severe break factor which dictates whether I put up 1 2 or 3 fingers. Aim....Fire! Easy peasy.

It's a tool that you need to practice on the practice green and figure out what works for you. How do you read your putts otherwise? How do you know whether aiming 5 inches left of the hole is right vs 10 inches left of the hole? Your green reading might be fine now, but if you're telling yourself "I should have aimed more left / right on that one, it might be interesting to give Aim Point a try. Something to test out on the practice green.

I agree that POP on the professional tours is virtually irrelevant to us amateurs. They take a long time to play a round, but the groups are nearly in position (as defined by the tours). The professionals know the tour's limits.
However, for many amateurs that can't start their putt on the line that they've chosen, excess reading of putts (regardless of methods) is nonsense and does impact the POP for others.

[foreright99]

What do you consider to be “excess reading of putts”?

[Bosco]

If am’s could just figure out what their dominant eye is - that would go a long way to aiming their putts.

[bl8d]

reading a break for more than 90 seconds and then taking another minute to setup and stroke.

If you then miss and repeat the procedure, suicide is an option to speed up POP.

you start "reading"your line as you walk up to the green and not wait till it's your turn.

[rulie]

What do you consider to be “excess reading of putts”?

Taking more than 40 seconds for a stroke once it’s your turn to play. Time spent reading putts is included in those 40 seconds.

[Jeffc]

Taking more than 40 seconds for a stroke once it’s your turn to play. Time spent reading putts is included in those 40 seconds.

In my group it's more like 20. Read the break while someone else is putting and then hit your putt. 90% of putts don't require a ton of time to read.

[Pingeye2_fan]

If am’s could just figure out what their dominant eye is - that would go a long way to aiming their putts.

That is literally one of the easiest things to figure out.

Create a triangle with your forefingers and thumbs. With both of your eyes open, center this triangle on an object in the distance like a door knob or a wall clock. Close your right eye. If the object remains centered, then your left eye (the eye that is open) is your dominant eye.

[Lostgolfballs]

I use it to feel the break with my feet and I'm 100% at feeling the slope. Making the putt not so much.

[jimmy3864]

I have a bunch of playing partners (self taught btw) that go through the Aimpoint process and honestly I don’t believe any of them hole anymore putts than they did before.

[dmcdam]

I don't use aim point but I do read putts from the side and will stand close to the line and 'feel' with my feet if it's a really subtle or confusing break.

[Putts4Dough]

I think the value of AP is that it shows you not just the slope but makes you play more break. When using your eyes I think you see less break than what it is.

I find it faster as I used to read from both sides of the hole but now I just read with my feet. I feel more confident with the read vs my eyes.

Holing putts is a different story since AP is useful on breaking putts and those you need the speed right relative to the break you play.