AimPoint Green Reading

[Golfingdad]

  Ernest Jones said:

Not sure I'm reading your mail on this one Drew...do you mean you're reminded by the fact that you're reading the 30 up number as opposed to the 30 down number???

Once I have my "number" I start to get my feel for weight, during that part of my routine I'm drinking in the look of the putt and feeling how heavy or lightly I need to stroke it. Distance control is all intuition for me.

Yeah, I guess it struck me that perhaps you would remain ignorant of the fact that your putt was up or downhill ... but obviously you'd have to have blinders on for that one, so it's probably not something I should be worrying about.

---

Light-hearted question:  Who here (besides me) is a dumbass?  Anybody else ever occasionally get a read, then doubt it, then overrule it, then putt it good, then miss, then realize that if you'd have trusted the aimpoint read, you'd have probably made it??

[Ernest Jones]

  Golfingdad said:

Yeah, I guess it struck me that perhaps you would remain ignorant of the fact that your putt was up or downhill ... but obviously you'd have to have blinders on for that one, so it's probably not something I should be worrying about. [rule] Light-hearted question:  Who here (besides me) is a dumbass?  Anybody else ever occasionally get a read, then doubt it, then overrule it, then putt it good, then miss, then realize that if you'd have trusted the aimpoint read, you'd have probably made it?? :dance:

I used to do that dumbass move a couple times a round! Now I'm a slave to my read and a better putter for it. I'm still a dumbass though. :banana: But... Not so much of a dumbass that I need a chart to tell me if I'm facing an uphill putt. :banana: :banana:

[rkim291968]

  Golfingdad said:

Light-hearted question:  Who here (besides me) is a dumbass?  Anybody else ever occasionally get a read, then doubt it, then overrule it, then putt it good, then miss, then realize that if you'd have trusted the aimpoint read, you'd have probably made it??

Same question with line putting -  Many a times, I lined up the ball on a line, had doubts b/c visually it didn't look right, go with my "look"  putting line, and miss the putt that was perfectly "lined" up before I went with the "look" line.  Aaaarrggg!

[Ernest Jones]

  rkim291968 said:

Same question with line putting -  Many a times, I lined up the ball on a line, had doubts b/c visually it didn't look right, go with my "look"  putting line, and miss the putt that was perfectly "lined" up before I went with the "look" line.  Aaaarrggg!

That's why I spot putt. Pick the spot and then trust it. I find that trust plays a huge roll in good putting. Trust your read, trust your line, trust your stroke. Practice helps too. :-P

[rkim291968]

So, here's what I am gonna do in the next few rounds.   I am just going to use basic Aimpoint lesson taught in Express 1.

( Real golfers don't carry digital levels. )

[Golfingdad]

  Ernest Jones said:

That's why I spot putt. Pick the spot and then trust it. I find that trust plays a huge roll in good putting. Trust your read, trust your line, trust your stroke. Practice helps too.

Ahhh ... we think we're funny, don't we????

[RFKFREAK]

This past weekend I found that on putts I feel that I have a good chance of making without it being certain (anything from a tap in to 10 feet), I picked a spot and aimed on having the putt roll over it and if I didn't get it in, I was close.

So, my dumbass move was not implementing this on all the holes I played this past weekend.

[Golfingdad]

  RFKFREAK said:

This past weekend I found that on putts I feel that I have a good chance of making without it being certain (anything from a tap in to 10 feet), I picked a spot and aimed on having the putt roll over it and if I didn't get it in, I was close.

So, my dumbass move was not implementing this on all the holes I played this past weekend.

Those of you guys that "spot putt", @RFKFREAK and @Ernest Jones , ... after you go through your Aimpoint routine and find your number, do you trace a line back towards your ball to find an intermediate spot to aim over?

I don't and I think that's right for me, because I feel like focusing on anything that wasn't the correct distance away might toy with my brain and screw up my distance control.  I just trust my ability to pick a spot hole high that is X inches away from the edge of the hole and I line up to that as best as I can.

Just curious what others think?  (Yeah, I know, a little OT)

[Ernest Jones]

  Golfingdad said:

Those of you guys that "spot putt", @RFKFREAK and @Ernest Jones , ... after you go through your Aimpoint routine and find your number, do you trace a line back towards your ball to find an intermediate spot to aim over? I don't and I think that's right for me, because I feel like focusing on anything that wasn't the correct distance away might toy with my brain and screw up my distance control.  I just trust my ability to pick a spot hole high that is X inches away from the edge of the hole and I line up to that as best as I can. Just curious what others think?  (Yeah, I know, a little OT)

I stand behind the ball and look for a spot on my line, preferably within a foot or so of the ball. I don't trace the line back. Once I'm aligned to that I look back at the hole to get my feel for weight. Couple of light practice strokes focusing on how heavy I make the putter head feel and try to get it to correspond with the weight I think the putt will need to get there. I usually get it to a no stress distance for the second putt and occasionally it goes in.

[RFKFREAK]

  Golfingdad said:

Those of you guys that "spot putt", @RFKFREAK and @Ernest Jones , ... after you go through your Aimpoint routine and find your number, do you trace a line back towards your ball to find an intermediate spot to aim over?

I don't and I think that's right for me, because I feel like focusing on anything that wasn't the correct distance away might toy with my brain and screw up my distance control.  I just trust my ability to pick a spot hole high that is X inches away from the edge of the hole and I line up to that as best as I can.

Just curious what others think?  (Yeah, I know, a little OT)

What I do is I get my number, get behind the ball and pick a spot between 6" and 1' that's on that line, then set up a few inches away from the ball, take two or three practice swings, set up over the ball and try and roll it over that spot.

[iacas]

  None said:

  rkim291968 said:

I used the level in one direction to measure slope going up or down, and use the level in perpendicular manner to measure slope going left to right.   I.e, I am using the level correctly.

You aren't.

In Express, you only care what the number is across your feet. That's perpendicular to your line.

You don't measure the slope in one direction and then turn the level in another direction.

[rkim291968]

  iacas said:

Quote:

Originally Posted by rkim291968

I used the level in one direction to measure slope going up or down, and use the level in perpendicular manner to measure slope going left to right.   I.e, I am using the level correctly.

You aren't.

In Express, you only care what the number is across your feet. That's perpendicular to your line.

You don't measure the slope in one direction and then turn the level in another direction.

Correct.  I checked my Exp 1 & 2 notes and it is not there.  The instructor was giving me an extra I think.  E.g, he said on a downhill putt, things will break more so you add a specific number based on downhill slope percentage.   In field, I was measuring left/right, and downhill/uphill slopes, making simple addition/subtraction.   That was unproductive and I will try what's on Exp 1 lesson in my next attempts.

[iacas]

You confused some things. I'd try to go back and audit another set of classes. Most instructors let you do that free.

[boogielicious]

  Golfingdad said:

Quote:

Originally Posted by RFKFREAK

This past weekend I found that on putts I feel that I have a good chance of making without it being certain (anything from a tap in to 10 feet), I picked a spot and aimed on having the putt roll over it and if I didn't get it in, I was close.

So, my dumbass move was not implementing this on all the holes I played this past weekend.

Those of you guys that "spot putt", @RFKFREAK and @Ernest Jones , ... after you go through your Aimpoint routine and find your number, do you trace a line back towards your ball to find an intermediate spot to aim over?

I don't and I think that's right for me, because I feel like focusing on anything that wasn't the correct distance away might toy with my brain and screw up my distance control.  I just trust my ability to pick a spot hole high that is X inches away from the edge of the hole and I line up to that as best as I can.

Just curious what others think?  (Yeah, I know, a little OT)

I do my read and pick a spot past the hole if it is uphill or before the hole if it is down hill as my aim point (and to the right or left the amount of break).  Distance from the hole depends on the slope. I am essentially making a flat putt to that spot.  Then I line up my putter behind the ball and aim at that point.  Lastly, when I look down, I pick a spot an inch or two in front of the ball to roll the ball over.  I do agree that midpoint reads give you a better sense of how uphill or downhill a putt is.

[Ernest Jones]

  boogielicious said:

I do agree that midpoint reads give you a better sense of how uphill or downhill a putt is.

Why?

[cipher]

  iacas said:

You aren't.

In Express, you only care what the number is across your feet. That's perpendicular to your line.

You don't measure the slope in one direction and then turn the level in another direction.

  Ernest Jones said:

Why?

The bold above is why.  With midpoint you feel the read two different ways with your feet.

[Ernest Jones]

  cipher said:

The bold above is why.  With midpoint you feel the read two different ways with your feet.

Hmmm. Seems redundant to me. I feel the break in the difference between my two feet but I can also tell if I'm walking uphill or downhill. I mean I walk to the midpoint to take my read so I can sense if I'm walking up or down and really, if the up or downslope is so subtle that you need to read it with your feet than its effect on distance is going to be negligible, no? Anyway, whatever works!

[Mr. Desmond]

  Golfingdad said:

Yeah, I guess it struck me that perhaps you would remain ignorant of the fact that your putt was up or downhill ... but obviously you'd have to have blinders on for that one, so it's probably not something I should be worrying about.

Light-hearted question:  Who here (besides me) is a dumbass?  Anybody else ever occasionally get a read, then doubt it, then overrule it, then putt it good, then miss, then realize that if you'd have trusted the aimpoint read, you'd have probably made it??

First two rounds with Express, I doubted the reads a couple of times or shaved the break ... to my regret. Learned from it. Mid-round in Round 2, I stopped the doubting.