AimPoint Green Reading

[dennyjones]

14 minutes ago, IowaGreg said:

Absolutely.  Obviously, the closer you can get to the hole, the easier the putt. 

I am debating how well buying the AIMPOINT DVD would help me vs driving 100 miles to go see an instructor for a face to face session...

I have done both.   I purchased the DVD after taking the class.   Drive the 100 miles to get first hand experience and the instructor can answer any questions you have.   Learning how to judge the slope % is key and the feel is important.  For me, this is a no brainer.

[boogielicious]

22 minutes ago, IowaGreg said:

Absolutely.  Obviously, the closer you can get to the hole, the easier the putt. 

I am debating how well buying the AIMPOINT DVD would help me vs driving 100 miles to go see an instructor for a face to face session...

I agree with @dennyjones. I've taken the Mid Point and Express Classes and have the DVD. The classes give you a much better, hands-on feel for the method. Instructors are excellent too.

[IowaGreg]

Just sent the email for more info to the closest instructor. 

Thanks for the push in that direction.......

[dennyjones]

53 minutes ago, IowaGreg said:

Absolutely.  Obviously, the closer you can get to the hole, the easier the putt. 

I am debating how well buying the AIMPOINT DVD would help me vs driving 100 miles to go see an instructor for a face to face session...

I also just sent an email to an instructor that is about 1 hour away.    He is having two clinics next weekend and I'm inquiring about a refresher.

[mellison24]

4 hours ago, boogielicious said:

The best thing about AimPoint is you don't have to worry about the read. Just get the speed right. It simplifies the game around the green. Don't forget to use it for chips and pitches.

Hadn’t considered it for chipping, although today I didn’t have that many opportunities.

Now that I’ve seen it work IRL, I plan to just aim for the middle of the green and hopefully that will improve my mid-irons by relaxing. That was my weak point today, actually getting to the green, but Darwen GC is a hilly course, and a storm came over from hole 14-18 😂

#OnceAHacker...

Edited April 26, 2019 by mellison24

[dennyjones]

5 minutes ago, mellison24 said:

I plan to just aim for the middle of the green

It's in the book...

[Big Lex]

I own the DVD and did some reading about the method too. I've been putting this way for a little over a year. I would definitely spend $200 for an actual class, because the AimPoint express thing I have simplifies things I think. 

General thoughts....I love the method. I love when people come up with novel ways to solve problems. I love some of the things the method shows you, such as how, often, these things you hear people say like "every putt breaks toward the water tower" are often absolute bullshit. The first time I used it I was amazed. While no doubt there was some confirmation bias in my opinion of the round, I think it's safe to say that I'd never had a round where I had at least the direction of break (and some feel for the amount) correct on EVERY putt. 

It's also kind of tedious, and I've learned I need to be really awake on every green and do as much of the work as possible when other players are taking their turns, otherwise you can really slow people down and piss people off. The system doesn't per se take any longer than any other method of reading putts I suppose....you can be super slow at anything, including eyeballing the line....but for some reason it seems to piss people off or provoke needling when people do this. And God forbid if you conscientiously AimPoint every putt and have a crappy putting day. I've never played with anyone who does the full-monty method calculating every putt, but someone I played with told me of a round he played with someone doing this, and by the end of the day he was ready to stick a fork in the guy's eye. 

[boogielicious]

15 minutes ago, Big Lex said:

I own the DVD and did some reading about the method too. I've been putting this way for a little over a year. I would definitely spend $200 for an actual class, because the AimPoint express thing I have simplifies things I think. 

General thoughts....I love the method. I love when people come up with novel ways to solve problems. I love some of the things the method shows you, such as how, often, these things you hear people say like "every putt breaks toward the water tower" are often absolute bullshit. The first time I used it I was amazed. While no doubt there was some confirmation bias in my opinion of the round, I think it's safe to say that I'd never had a round where I had at least the direction of break (and some feel for the amount) correct on EVERY putt. 

It's also kind of tedious, and I've learned I need to be really awake on every green and do as much of the work as possible when other players are taking their turns, otherwise you can really slow people down and piss people off. The system doesn't per se take any longer than any other method of reading putts I suppose....you can be super slow at anything, including eyeballing the line....but for some reason it seems to piss people off or provoke needling when people do this. And God forbid if you conscientiously AimPoint every putt and have a crappy putting day. I've never played with anyone who does the full-monty method calculating every putt, but someone I played with told me of a round he played with someone doing this, and by the end of the day he was ready to stick a fork in the guy's eye. 

I find it to be much faster than what anyone else does. Most people don’t notice I’m doing the read in the middle. When, I get behind my ball, I do the quick aim and I’m done. 

[billchao]

3 hours ago, dennyjones said:

I also just sent an email to an instructor that is about 1 hour away.    He is having two clinics next weekend and I'm inquiring about a refresher.

I've taken it a bunch of times. It never hurts to get a refresher.

You should be able to take the class again for free, but that may be up to the individual instructor's discretion.

27 minutes ago, Big Lex said:

It's also kind of tedious, and I've learned I need to be really awake on every green and do as much of the work as possible when other players are taking their turns, otherwise you can really slow people down and piss people off.

That's interesting. I find the method to be quick and inconspicuous since most of my basic reads I don't even need to do the finger thing. I'll often have my putt read while other people are marking their balls or whatever.

[Big Lex]

3 minutes ago, billchao said:

 

That's interesting. I find the method to be quick and inconspicuous since most of my basic reads I don't even need to do the finger thing. I'll often have my putt read while other people are marking their balls or whatever.

I shouldn't have said it was "tedious," and I didn't mean to imply that AimPoint takes a long time under normal circumstances.  What I was getting at is that the method, while simple from a "science" perspective, requires adherence to a specific and somewhat exacting process. Determining the slope of a green quantitatively way is not something most people do naturally or intuitively. And for people who _don't_ know what you're doing, standing with your feet near the line while you sense the slope can look weird to someone, as can the finger thing, etc. 

I simply meant that I try to do all of this stuff as efficiently as possible so that when it's my turn, I'm ready to putt. Just like on any shot. 

And the story of the guy who had an AimPoint book or chart or cheat sheet that he consulted on every putt is true...but I realize it's probably an anomaly and not at all typical of people using the method.  

[boogielicious]

1 hour ago, Big Lex said:

Determining the slope of a green quantitatively way is not something most people do naturally or intuitively. 

This is the part that just needs practice like anything in golf. I liken it to learning to do chipping or distance control in putting. It doesn’t take long to dial it in. But the feel for uphill and downhill is absolutely natural. 

[iacas]

7 hours ago, IowaGreg said:

Absolutely.  Obviously, the closer you can get to the hole, the easier the putt. 

I am debating how well buying the AIMPOINT DVD would help me vs driving 100 miles to go see an instructor for a face to face session...

The DVD can’t replace an in-person session.

4 hours ago, Big Lex said:

I own the DVD and did some reading about the method too. I've been putting this way for a little over a year. I would definitely spend $200 for an actual class, because the AimPoint express thing I have simplifies things I think. 

General thoughts....I love the method. I love when people come up with novel ways to solve problems. I love some of the things the method shows you, such as how, often, these things you hear people say like "every putt breaks toward the water tower" are often absolute bullshit. The first time I used it I was amazed. While no doubt there was some confirmation bias in my opinion of the round, I think it's safe to say that I'd never had a round where I had at least the direction of break (and some feel for the amount) correct on EVERY putt. 

It's also kind of tedious, and I've learned I need to be really awake on every green and do as much of the work as possible when other players are taking their turns, otherwise you can really slow people down and piss people off. The system doesn't per se take any longer than any other method of reading putts I suppose....you can be super slow at anything, including eyeballing the line....but for some reason it seems to piss people off or provoke needling when people do this. And God forbid if you conscientiously AimPoint every putt and have a crappy putting day. I've never played with anyone who does the full-monty method calculating every putt, but someone I played with told me of a round he played with someone doing this, and by the end of the day he was ready to stick a fork in the guy's eye. 

That doesn’t make any sense to me. When I had the books those too were faster than reading putts “traditionally” too. Express is, as the name implies, even faster.

[saevel25]

On ‎4‎/‎26‎/‎2019 at 12:12 PM, Big Lex said:

The system doesn't per se take any longer than any other method of reading putts I suppose

Compared to someone who just walks up behind the ball and makes a quick glance, it's probably not faster.

If you consider that you can read your putt while other's are getting ready to putt. It's pretty fast to the guy who takes over 15 seconds to read a putt. Especially the golfers who walk up near the hole, reads the putt from different angles.

On ‎4‎/‎26‎/‎2019 at 12:12 PM, Big Lex said:

but for some reason it seems to piss people off or provoke needling when people do this. And God forbid if you conscientiously AimPoint every putt and have a crappy putting day.

I never had that issue. I've had people ask me what I am doing. Some do make the joke that they thought I was flicking off the hole ;)

 

[mellison24]

15 seconds is a bit of an exaggeration imo unless you’re hitting 40-footers or something.

I reckon it takes me less time to simply work out which foot is higher in two spots than to stare at the hole from several angles.

There’s a lot to be said for ‘letting your brain do the work’ with a quick glance, but why take a chance? A few extra seconds (although I don’t think it takes longer) is hardly holding anyone up.

[grubby98]

I played a round with buddies I used to play all the time with a few years ago, and they were surprised how fast it was to use the book.  I used to take forever as I struggled reading and putting, almost a scratch golfer but would have 3 or 4 3 putts a round, now I can play a 3 day tournament with maybe 1.  He’ll one that I was just looking at book calming my mind to relax, they were impressed with improvement in putting and how fast it actually was.  

[IowaGreg]

Ok - Took the lesson.  I need to get out there and practice more........

Out of 18 holes, only made 1 - 1 Putt and that was about 4 ft.  All the others were 6 to 30 feet.  3 were a 3 putt.  All the rest were pretty much close enough for a tap in.  Had trouble with the speed more than anything.  So, 14 2 putts is a nice improvement over what I was doing. 

 

[boogielicious]

1 hour ago, IowaGreg said:

Ok - Took the lesson.  I need to get out there and practice more........

Out of 18 holes, only made 1 - 1 Putt and that was about 4 ft.  All the others were 6 to 30 feet.  3 were a 3 putt.  All the rest were pretty much close enough for a tap in.  Had trouble with the speed more than anything.  So, 14 2 putts is a nice improvement over what I was doing. 

 

Trust the read, work on bead and speed. When I go to a course, I don't really work on the read at the practice green, I test out the speed then finish with a couple of short putts that have no break and check out my start line (bead). 

[IowaGreg]

47 minutes ago, boogielicious said:

Trust the read, work on bead and speed. When I go to a course, I don't really work on the read at the practice green, I test out the speed then finish with a couple of short putts that have no break and check out my start line (bead). 

I'll keep that in mind and give it a shot.  Thanks.......