Aimpoint

[Mandofred]

I've always just used the force.....

As a side note....I had no idea there was a Wookieepedia.

 

[spongebob59]

I use aimpoint, it works

 

[garyinderry]

The Son of my mate uses it...he's a decent putter anyway and from my perspective, he doesn't seem to hole more putts than he did before he started.
One of the facets of Aimpoint relys on you being able to determine break with your feet astride the line of your putt.
I've tried this and, unless it's a 3 foot break, I just can't feel it.
I certainly can't feel half a cup of break....but I can see it.
Add into that..on our greens you'd need 15 fingers on eeach hand to show the breaks on some greens....
I understand the science behind it and, just like having a line on your ball and lining it up, as long as people get on with it I really don't care what they do.
It's not something I feel the need to explore

I'm much the same. Don't really feel too much of anything in my feet so can't really gain anything from it.

Not sure I've played with anyone that does it.

Crack on if you like it.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Excellent, how many shots did it take off your hcp and what are you down to now? I'm always interested in finding ways to improve, I'm a decent putter but maybe I should look into AP a bit more.

Hard to quantify along with swing changes trying to improve short game etc. definitely get better reads and putts have more chances to drop. Definitely worth looking into

 

[SteveW86]

Hard to quantify along with swing changes trying to improve short game etc. definitely get better reads and putts have more chances to drop. Definitely worth looking into

How long have you been using AP for Martin?

 

[srixon 1]

I did the Apoint Express course with Olly Leet earlier this year with some other county senior players. Used it for a short time and during a golf holiday to Turkey. I find that when I do use it I tend to allow more break and always miss on the high side of the hole.

 

[Neilds]

We have a couple in our group who go and stand astride the line, they haven’t done the course or anything so I suspect they are trying what they see on telly (and they aren’t youngsters). They usually miss by leaving it short

 

[DeanoMK]

I'm one of the half dozen Homer refers to and I can safely say I couldn't putt for toffees until I started using it. I don't think I'm slow on the green, I've used it for years and have it down to a fine art.

My bad putting rounds are now down to being upset with two putts rather than three putts. My handicap has come down to single figures over the years, and I recon aim point had a big help in that!

(@HomerJSimpson you can pay me the tenner for supporting your thread on the weekend)

Having played with you at both Puttenham and West Surrey, I wouldn't say you were slow at all - if anything, pretty quick - half the time I didn't actually notice you doing it as I was either playing a shot or reading my own putt. In fact, I remember you sinking one or two long ones.

I mentioned before that I'm interested in learning it, I would say I'm a decent putter but there's always room for improvement. I think the biggest thing is taking the time to learn the slopes and the relative percentages.

 

[Hxck]

It's an interesting discussion topic in my usual 4 ball. All low-mid single figure handicaps, 2 use it, 2 don't.

If I'm being brutally honest the two that use it are pretty inconsistent around the greens, but that said neither of them were good at reading greens before they switched either. Some people have a knack for lining up putts visually, others (albeit a much smaller number) will have a knack for feeling it through balance.

Until you can roll it end over end and consistently control distance up to around 40ft, the entire thing is a waste of time in my opinion. The bulk of amateurs end up 3 putting far more often due to misjudging the weight of the putt rather than the line.

 

[PhilTheFragger]

Let’s just make the hole larger
Simples

 

[badgergm]

I'm much the same. Don't really feel too much of anything in my feet so can't really gain anything from it.

Not sure I've played with anyone that does it.

Crack on if you like it.

I’m very sceptical about the ability to determine amount of slope with the required accuracy using your feet. Has anyone ever seen any tests where say 10 aimpoint practitioners measure the same putt? If so do they come up with the same answer?

 

[Hxck]

I’m very sceptical about the ability to determine amount of slope with the required accuracy using your feet. Has anyone ever seen any tests where say 10 aimpoint practitioners measure the same putt? If so do they come up with the same answer?

Peoples ability to do it will vary, the same as lining it up with sight. For the average Joe that spends virtually no time practicing, I would say the spread would likely be huge, if you pulled 10 people off the Pga tour, I'd imagine it would be very tight.

 

[AussieKB]

Cannot believe that a Pro misses a putt with all this information, like green books etc.

When I see an Amateur using Aimpoint whose handicap is in double digits it just makes me laugh,
told a fellow in my Scramble team to stop as it made him look like a prat, specially when he could not hole a putt.

 

[KenL]

Using Aimpoint is the only thing in golf that is more embarrassing than a “follow me” remote controlled trolley.

 

[HomerJSimpson]

Having played with you at both Puttenham and West Surrey, I wouldn't say you were slow at all - if anything, pretty quick - half the time I didn't actually notice you doing it as I was either playing a shot or reading my own putt. In fact, I remember you sinking one or two long ones.

I mentioned before that I'm interested in learning it, I would say I'm a decent putter but there's always room for improvement. I think the biggest thing is taking the time to learn the slopes and the relative percentages.

You are in a perfect location as Jamie Donaldson the European Senior Instructor works out of Woburn https://jamiedonaldson.co.uk/

 

[HomerJSimpson]

One thing is it does need practicing. When I am working on my putting I always do an Aimpoint read at the same time to keep it going. I will also use a tee in the ground and see if my read was accurate. I also acquired a very basic digital slope level from a builder mate and I can wander around the putting green, assess what degree of slope I think it is and check it against the level. Great for my body to feel different slopes through my feet and calibrating MY feel

 

[Slab]

Most players will find a key aspect/action that (for them) ‘helps’ their putting, whether that plumb bobbing, aimpoint, lining up the ball, claw grip etc etc etc. If you believe it works for you crack on

Law of average says that whatever the cookie idea is, it’ll definitely work for some players & with 60mil players in the world if just 0.5% believe it helps them that’s 300,000 voices saying its great and really really works

If I said ‘to improve your green reading I want you to look at the hole and tilt your head from side to side like a dog does when you ask it how Slope is worked out’ I can guarantee it’ll work for some of those 60mil and improve their putting stats

Aimpoint (& all the rest of the palaver ppl do) is not about what it does, its about what it does for you

 

[backwoodsman]

I know why my putts don't drop as much as I'd like - the majority of the time I've either a) not hit it along the line I intended or b) not hit it hard enough. Rarely is it c) hit it too hard. So, whether I use method "A" or "B" or "C" to read the green is irrelevant. None of them will improve my results until I can consistently hit it where I want and at the right pace. And I suspect the majority of golfers of modest ability are in the same boat as me.

 

[SteveW86]

@HomerJSimpson how long ago did you start using aimpoint?

 

[HomerJSimpson]

I know why my putts don't drop as much as I'd like - the majority of the time I've either a) not hit it along the line I intended or b) not hit it hard enough. Rarely is it c) hit it too hard. So, whether I use method "A" or "B" or "C" to read the green is irrelevant. None of them will improve my results until I can consistently hit it where I want and at the right pace. And I suspect the majority of golfers of modest ability are in the same boat as me.

You may be right although I have done a lot of work with my Visio mat and gates to ensure I am getting the ball through them (middle gate is 0.75 of a degree margin on error and the smallest gives 0.5 degrees of error to get through) so I can feel comfortable I am starting putts where I want to as well as possible. Pace is always going to be key and again pace drills are important. Its no surprise top players spend so much time working on their putting. A good putting day will always hide a lot of bad shots