Jim Nantz, Paige Spiranac Force PGA Tour Pro to Speak Up After Demanding Ban on Green-Reading Technique

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.