Does anyone know the way Adam Scott Reads greens?

I see him with the slope and his fingers. What does he do?

I don't know how it works but its called Aim Point if you want to do more research.

aimpoint express

He points at the hole and says to his playing partner - "watch how much im gona miss that thing by" - not so much lately - but my theory was solid for a good few years there :swoon:

Aimpoint / Aimpoint express I do believe.

It's the AimPoint Express read. You train yourself to feel the percentage of slope with your feet and then you use that number to determine how many fingers to hold up. This gives you the point at which you should start the ball, i.e., the aim point.

Simple in concept, but there's a bit more to it. Depending on the length of putt and whether or not the putt is a double breaking putt, there are different protocols for exactly where you should read the slope value. You also need to calibrate yourself before the round so you know how far out to extend your arm (or how far back from the ball to stand if you use a consistent arm length).

Sounds complicated, but it's a very fast, very accurate way of reading greens. It's especially helpful on courses where your eyes can be tricked due to hills, large bodies of water, etc.

made me think "scruffy nerf herder" for some reason.... I just don't get this at all... suppose you have fat fingers? then what? miss them all? the putt doesn't know how big your hands are.... I would bet casting a spell before each round would give the same results...

made me think "scruffy nerf herder" for some reason.... I just don't get this at all... suppose you have fat fingers? then what? miss them all? the putt doesn't know how big your hands are.... I would bet casting a spell before each round would give the same results...

If you learn Aimpoint from an actual Insteuctor registered to teach it , they calibrate you and give you your calibrations based on green speed and slope

made me think "scruffy nerf herder" for some reason.... I just don't get this at all... suppose you have fat fingers? then what? miss them all? the putt doesn't know how big your hands are.... I would bet casting a spell before each round would give the same results...

If you learn Aimpoint from an actual Insteuctor registered to teach it , they calibrate you and give you your calibrations based on green speed and slope

I guess. But as a certified head case I think my opinion is that it's just a crutch Someone invented to sell to tour Guys and gals who struggle. Feel and natural talent will never be out done. I for one think Scott doesn't need any gimmicks.

That's like saying that you don't think a book you haven't read is very good, or a movie you haven't seen isn't good.

Aw come on. Everyone else gets to judge before trying. Why can't I!? Lol.

Hey can someone tell me where to stand and where to put your fingers? I learned the standard aimpoint method before there was aimpoint express. So you stand over your ball and aim the fingers in the middle of the cup? Or outside edge?

I refuse as a 64 year old to stand on the green with my fingers up in the air and looking stupid when the ball breaks in the opposite direction my fingers tell me it will.

My trouble has never been reading the greens. Now my stroke... that gives me trouble from time to time.

This explains why he always looks genuinely shocked when he misses a putt!

made me think "scruffy nerf herder" for some reason.... I just don't get this at all... suppose you have fat fingers? then what? miss them all? the putt doesn't know how big your hands are.... I would bet casting a spell before each round would give the same results...

If you learn Aimpoint from an actual Insteuctor registered to teach it , they calibrate you and give you your calibrations based on green speed and slope

 

 

I guess. But as a certified head case I think my opinion is that it's just a crutch Someone invented to sell to tour Guys and gals who struggle. Feel and natural talent will never be out done. I for one think Scott doesn't need any gimmicks.

That "crutch" has already won him several million dollars on Tour this year. What are your career earnings on Tour?

It's called the hit 'n' hope method.

This is timely:

John Hobbins ‏@aimpointed 15m15 minutes agoManhattan, NY

Adam Scott teaching AimPoint to an amateur partner. What could be better?@AimPointGolf @TOURMISS

made me think "scruffy nerf herder" for some reason.... I just don't get this at all... suppose you have fat fingers? then what? miss them all? the putt doesn't know how big your hands are.... I would bet casting a spell before each round would give the same results...

If you learn Aimpoint from an actual Insteuctor registered to teach it , they calibrate you and give you your calibrations based on green speed and slope

 

 

I guess. But as a certified head case I think my opinion is that it's just a crutch Someone invented to sell to tour Guys and gals who struggle. Feel and natural talent will never be out done. I for one think Scott doesn't need any gimmicks.

 

That "crutch" has already won him several million dollars on Tour this year. What are your career earnings on Tour?

Horseshit. He has won multiples this year because he ditched the broom stick and realized he could actually putt. If he would ditch the rest of his crutches imagine what his free mind could do.

made me think "scruffy nerf herder" for some reason.... I just don't get this at all... suppose you have fat fingers? then what? miss them all? the putt doesn't know how big your hands are.... I would bet casting a spell before each round would give the same results...

If you learn Aimpoint from an actual Insteuctor registered to teach it , they calibrate you and give you your calibrations based on green speed and slope

 

 

I guess. But as a certified head case I think my opinion is that it's just a crutch Someone invented to sell to tour Guys and gals who struggle. Feel and natural talent will never be out done. I for one think Scott doesn't need any gimmicks.

 

That "crutch" has already won him several million dollars on Tour this year. What are your career earnings on Tour?

As for my career earnings on tour. I'm up $400 in the upstate , beanie weenie , sams club , smiths short haul trucking , roscoes chicken tour .... And that's in one Saturday. So I'm pretty certain I have you beat.

made me think "scruffy nerf herder" for some reason.... I just don't get this at all... suppose you have fat fingers? then what? miss them all? the putt doesn't know how big your hands are.... I would bet casting a spell before each round would give the same results...

If you learn Aimpoint from an actual Insteuctor registered to teach it , they calibrate you and give you your calibrations based on green speed and slope

 

 

I guess. But as a certified head case I think my opinion is that it's just a crutch Someone invented to sell to tour Guys and gals who struggle. Feel and natural talent will never be out done. I for one think Scott doesn't need any gimmicks.

Speaking of pros who are struggling... Lydia Ko also uses aim point express...

made me think "scruffy nerf herder" for some reason.... I just don't get this at all... suppose you have fat fingers? then what? miss them all? the putt doesn't know how big your hands are.... I would bet casting a spell before each round would give the same results...

If you learn Aimpoint from an actual Insteuctor registered to teach it , they calibrate you and give you your calibrations based on green speed and slope

 

 

I guess. But as a certified head case I think my opinion is that it's just a crutch Someone invented to sell to tour Guys and gals who struggle. Feel and natural talent will never be out done. I for one think Scott doesn't need any gimmicks.

 

Speaking of pros who are struggling... Lydia Ko also uses aim point express...

Aliens and robots ( in not sure which she is ) cannot be counted.

To be fair I use Aimpoint express . In my eyes it's great . It's a scientifically established guess that's consistent . Like always hitting on 16 you win some and you lose some but it beats losing them all .

APE was developed by Sweeney in an effort to teach kids (GROW THE GAME) what break is and how to see it and then he found out he can apply it deeper

made me think "scruffy nerf herder" for some reason.... I just don't get this at all... suppose you have fat fingers? then what? miss them all? the putt doesn't know how big your hands are.... I would bet casting a spell before each round would give the same results...

If you learn Aimpoint from an actual Insteuctor registered to teach it , they calibrate you and give you your calibrations based on green speed and slope

 

 

I guess. But as a certified head case I think my opinion is that it's just a crutch Someone invented to sell to tour Guys and gals who struggle. Feel and natural talent will never be out done. I for one think Scott doesn't need any gimmicks.

Hey Blade,

You have every right to say it's not for you, but I would encourage you to at least become informed before you criticize.

Aimpoint express is very simple. Every green has grade right? A certain amount of break, tilt, slope, whatever you want to call it. Some course designers are very good at creating illusions around greens, such as slopes and mounds that would visually distract you or influence you to believe a putt would break away from them. Some players are also just not very good at visually estimating how much a putt will break. All aimpoint is doing is teaching the player to feel the % break in their feet, rather than using their eyes to read the putt. If you read/feel the % break correctly, which isn't terribly difficult, you know exactly where to aim based on their protocols. All that's left is to match the speed to your line and chances are very high that you'll make the putt (can't be 100% perfect, obviously). It's very simple, very effective, and not a crutch at all.

That said, it's not for everyone, so if you've legitimately tried it and still don't find it useful, critique away! Just know that it's not "mumbo-jumbo."

made me think "scruffy nerf herder" for some reason.... I just don't get this at all... suppose you have fat fingers? then what? miss them all? the putt doesn't know how big your hands are.... I would bet casting a spell before each round would give the same results...

If you learn Aimpoint from an actual Insteuctor registered to teach it , they calibrate you and give you your calibrations based on green speed and slope

 

 

I guess. But as a certified head case I think my opinion is that it's just a crutch Someone invented to sell to tour Guys and gals who struggle. Feel and natural talent will never be out done. I for one think Scott doesn't need any gimmicks.

 

Hey Blade,

 

You have every right to say it's not for you, but I would encourage you to at least become informed before you criticize.

 

Aimpoint express is very simple. Every green has grade right? A certain amount of break, tilt, slope, whatever you want to call it. Some course designers are very good at creating illusions around greens, such as slopes and mounds that would visually distract you or influence you to believe a putt would break away from them. Some players are also just not very good at visually estimating how much a putt will break. All aimpoint is doing is teaching the player to feel the % break in their feet, rather than using their eyes to read the putt. If you read/feel the % break correctly, which isn't terribly difficult, you know exactly where to aim based on their protocols. All that's left is to match the speed to your line and chances are very high that you'll make the putt (can't be 100% perfect, obviously). It's very simple, very effective, and not a crutch at all.

 

That said, it's not for everyone, so if you've legitimately tried it and still don't find it useful, critique away! Just know that it's not "mumbo-jumbo."

No worries. I'm just sceptical is all. I get the premise. But I look at green reading as something you either can or can't do. I suppose if your " green blind " that it is surely better than nothing. But if it were so great we would see a lot more people using it. Scott started using it while in the depths of despair. I suspect he could putt just the same without it. What he lacked was confidence. He's got that back with the short putter. Which means he has some feel now. But hey it's cool. It's not for me. And that's fine.

I do have one question though. Doesn't it border on illegal at times in the vain of touching the intended line of the putt ? Can you get a true feel with your feet if you aren't on the line ?

No worries. I'm just sceptical is all. I get the premise. But I look at green reading as something you either can or can't do. I suppose if your " green blind " that it is surely better than nothing. But if it were so great we would see a lot more people using it. Scott started using it while in the depths of despair. I suspect he could putt just the same without it. What he lacked was confidence. He's got that back with the short putter. Which means he has some feel now. But hey it's cool. It's not for me. And that's fine.

 

I do have one question though. Doesn't it border on illegal at times in the vain of touching the intended line of the putt ? Can you get a true feel with your feet if you aren't on the line ?

In regards to people either "can or can't read greens," the reason I like APE is that I tend to overread greens by sight, so APE is helpful in giving me confidence that I'm not overreading. In that sense, I agree with you. Confidence in your read is huge in putting, so yes, there is a mental aspect to it, but I don't think that is any different from any other method of reading a green. If you are successful with something, it builds confidence. That doesn't make it a crutch, it just could be that's the best option for the individual. For me, I make significantly more putts using APE than I do reading greens by sight. At the end of the day, that's all I care about.

As to why everyone isn't using it, I would say that perhaps some people are already great at reading greens by sight, so there is no benefit to them in switching. Others simply may not have ever taken the time to learn or try it :), still others may be too concerned with how they look while doing it. I think it's worth noting that there are quite a lot of pros on all tours using it though, it's not just Adam Scott out there by himself.

And you can straddle your line or stand just on the low side (what I do) and get an accurate read without any rules issues.

made me think "scruffy nerf herder" for some reason.... I just don't get this at all... suppose you have fat fingers? then what? miss them all? the putt doesn't know how big your hands are.... I would bet casting a spell before each round would give the same results...

If you learn Aimpoint from an actual Insteuctor registered to teach it , they calibrate you and give you your calibrations based on green speed and slope

 

 

I guess. But as a certified head case I think my opinion is that it's just a crutch Someone invented to sell to tour Guys and gals who struggle. Feel and natural talent will never be out done. I for one think Scott doesn't need any gimmicks.

 

That "crutch" has already won him several million dollars on Tour this year. What are your career earnings on Tour?

He won that money because he is 2nd in strokes gained tee to green, not because he is 103rd in putts from 3 feet, 189th from 4 feet and 137th from 5 feet. Interestingly, his performance gets better from 6-10 feet out, so if he is using Aimpoint for all putts, it either isn't as reliable for the shorter ones (for him), he's doing it wrong, or he has some other issue going on than reading. Would really be interesting to break out the data on other finger-wavers and see if their results are similar.

Either way, I am with Blade. Giving the hole a "one/two salute" before the putt is even struck carries a sort of karma of it's own.

Aim point or some form of it is used to determine the line you see during the broadcasts. I've never used it and don't completely understand it as I've not so much as seen a video that truly describes it. That said, there are way too many players using it for there not to be some merit to it and those lines on tv are very very close.

Aim point or some form of it is used to determine the line you see during the broadcasts. I've never used it and don't completely understand it as I've not so much as seen a video that truly describes it. That said, there are way too many players using it for there not to be some merit to it and those lines on tv are very very close.

Why do you validity is tied to prevalence? The reverse could be true, in that the majority of tour players don't use it because it isn't as effective for them as it needs to be. I am guessing that it works for those who can't adequately visualize what is before them in a putt, but I don't think it is a superior method as such. I'm not seeing any tour players burning up the greens while using it.

I'll take Aimpoint Express over anybody squatting behind a ball, plumb bobbing, or relentlessly pacing around a green trying to find a line.... It's quick, effective, and far more accurate at predicting the correct line than any other manner of guessing.

I'll take Aimpoint Express over anybody squatting behind a ball, plumb bobbing, or relentlessly pacing around a green trying to find a line.... It's quick, effective, and far more accurate at predicting the correct line than any other manner of guessing.

Lets get a WRX letter together for all the top 10 putters on tour and demand that they stop "guessing" the break of their putts.