AimPoint discussions show no signs of fading away. Used by top golfers like Adam Scott, Keegan Bradley, Lydia Ko, and Justin Rose in PGA Tours, AimPoint claims half of the world’s top 20 golfers rely on it to line up tricky putts. To keep it short, it is a green-reading method where a player uses their feet to determine the slope level of the green, and then, depending on that slope, they hold up one to four fingers in front of their eyes relative to the hole to determine the AimPoint. One finger means a small slope, while four fingers would be a significant one.

While the system works for many, it undoubtedly slows down the pace of play. And it is not unknown that the PGA Tour has been plagued by the glacial pace of play lately. Several professional golfers are slow, even those who don’t use AimPoint, but with the system in use, the slowness is far more noticeable. Take Aaron Rai in the Mexico Open for instance.

Rai nearly took 2 minutes to make his stroke on the green using AimPoint and ended up missing it. During the 8 hole on the final day, Rai had the ball a few meters away from the pin. This was his shot for par. He was one shot away from the leaders Campbell and Potgieter and needed to make this par to stay within reach. He seemed to take some steps to the hole and stand. Then proceeded to back up and then stand still again, measuring the incline of the route to the pin. He placed the ball and proceeded to look at the hole from where the ball was placed. And he finally hit the putt. The ball went around the hole before skipping ahead and stopping inches away from its destination.

Meanwhile, A Lim Kim in Honda LPGA Thailand, was spotted using the controversial putting method for a stroke that was 18 inches from the hole, a tap-in. All these only fueled the recent arguments about the system. It all started when earlier this month, Lucas Glover publicly called for it to be banned, saying, “Statistically, [AimPoint] hasn’t helped anybody make more putts since its inception on the PGA Tour,” Glover explained on his “The Lucas Glover Show” on SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio. “Statistics have borne that out. It’s also kind of rude to be up near the hole, stomping around figuring out where the break is in your feet. It needs to be banned. It takes forever.”

However, no one probably hates it as much as Jim Nantz. Back in October the the fabled CBS Sports commentator with nearly four decades of broadcasting career had said that he could not “stand it.” More recently, he again went on a rant during the Genesis Invitational. The latest to join the debate is Paige Spiranac who was disgusted with A Lim Kim’s antics with AimPoint, calling for banning it. While they might have their points to support their argument, there was an addition to the list of the Pro who vouch for the use of AimPoint.

PGA Tour pro South Korean golfer An Byeong-Hun took to X, to reply to a tweet asking if AimPoint should be banned, stating two reasons why the putting method is not the villain everyone thinks it is. One is that, to do it properly, the player who is putting has to walk between the ball and the hole several times. This leads to the other putters, who are lining up their shots, being disturbed as well as creating disturbances near the hole that might cause balls to change in direction or speed.

The University of Berkeley grad acknowledges that. But he has a very simple and direct way around it. “1. I agree it makes lots of spike marks around the hole but people get close to the hole to pick the ball anyway. When I have a short one left, I try to stay away from it until other players finish the hole.”

The second reason is that the method takes a long time to execute. An, however, feels that this is blown out of proportion. “2. It doesn’t slow up my play or some other guys who do AimPoints. Slow players will be slow no matter what they do. There has to be clear data to see which one is slower.” And An has got his supporters as well.

Top Comment by Anonymous

It really slows the game down and has to be very frustrating for those players who don’t use aim point…Honestly...more

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Debate

Keegan Bradley once claimed that every youngster will be using the method to read putts in the future. And Yet the US Ryder Cup captain and An are not the only players who believe that banning AimPoint makes little sense. Most recently Collin Morikawa made his thoughts clear about Lucas Glover’s comments on his beloved putting technique. Interestingly, An had a hilarious social media exchange with Morikawa in this regard.

Collin Morikawa took a jab at Lucas Glover

The two-time major winner, a fan of AimPoint, believes the method has “1,000 percent helped” him. Morikawa believes that more than the method in itself, the issue is with respecting other players’ shots and processes.

“Look, AimPoint does take longer if you’re not doing it properly, right, if you’re not doing it when other players are reading their putts. I think there’s a respect issue. I think some players might get a little bit too close to the hole, and I get that. When you get too close to the hole when someone else is putting it, I don’t want my line and putt to go over someone else’s foot and marks. But are you going to tell other players not to walk around the hole when we’re picking up putts?”

When asked about Lucas Glover’s objection to AimPoint and its effect on the pace of play, Morikawa threw a playful jab. He said, “I don’t have anything against Lucas, but if we’re banning AimPoint, we should ban long-putters,” which caused laughter in the media center at the Genesis Invitational. Glover had struggled with putting for much of his career before switching to a long putter. The change paid off, helping him win twice in 2023 and secure a spot in the Tour Championship. As An came across Morikawa’s comments, he took to X writing, “Me, who is doing both long putter and AimPoint,” adding an anxious-looking gif to his post.

Morikawa, The two-time Major Champion also addressed the issue of time consumption. He argued that only when done wrong does the process take longer than the intended time. He made it clear that it is beneficial and should not be banned. And it is not just Morikawa. The likes of Viktor Hovland, Keegan Bradley, Lydia Ko, Stacey Lewis, and many more use this method to improve their putts.

What do you think of the AimPoint technique? Are you on the team Lucas Glover or Team Collin Morikawa in this argument? Do you think AimPoint really slows down play or is it a matter of perception?