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“Drive for show, putt for dough.”
We’ve all heard it. We all know it’s true. After a great drive and shot into the green, 3-putting is a momentum breaker. A lack of confidence with your putting and/or green reading sabotages your score.
What Is AimPoint?
In the image above, World #1 Lydia Ko is using her arms and fingers, aspects of AimPoint, to determine the break of her putt. No more squatting down, no more looking for mountains or where a creek might be running. For Lydia, it’s pure physics and math, meaning the elimination of any guesswork. Which way the green slopes is the way her ball breaks.
In this post, I’ll explain AimPoint, a system that’s particularly helpful for those three- and four-foot knee knockers. It’s used by Ko, Stacy Lewis, and other current or past World #1s and more than 200 touring pros, plus at least 75,000 amateurs. I’ll also let you know how you can schedule private and group AimPoint workshops at your course or club. If my experience is any indicator, you’ll be glad you did.
I spent 90 minutes last month with certified AimPoint instructor Sean Lanyi on our putting green. I’d had some basic instruction in AimPoint several years ago, but his training session was far more explicit covering uphill and downhill putts, and tempo and length of my putting stroke. He was at our club for two days and offered both individual and group workshops. He explained AimPoint’s three steps: determine the slope of your putt, aim your putt, then roll the putt the correct speed to make everything.
The Perfect Putter
I know, I know. It sounds ridiculous for me to write “to make everything.” Let me quickly explain why it’s true. Sean had a device with him called The Perfect Putter. This adjustable device allows you to repeatedly roll balls on the green on the same path at the same speed. Once you set it up to roll the ball so it goes beyond the hole the correct distance and on the correct line, ball after ball ALWAYS go in. It’s uncanny to watch. So, it proves that if you hit a putt on line at the correct speed you will make everything. Everything.
Why Should You Learn AimPoint?
The reason: AimPoint is based on math and physics. You can trust it works because it employs unalterable laws of the universe. Once practiced it will not slow down the pace of your play either. “You should be able to read a putt in 10 seconds,” Sean said, adding, “Be decisive and quick.” It took me a couple of rounds, but I can do it in 10 seconds now. To help speed things along, I begin figuring out the slope of the green BEFORE it’s my turn to putt which is helpful for pace of play.
What Next?
Before you try to use AimPoint on the course you have to learn how to determine the amount of slope your putt is going to roll over. That’s what Sean teaches you in his clinics. And it’s going to require some practice afterward.
Once you are confident you can determine slope Sean teaches you how to find the correct break. That involves using the fingers up in front of you like Lydia is doing above with your first finger centered on the hole.
Putts of less than four feet are handled uniquely (and the system taught does work, as I’ve found out!). It’s money, believe me.
Of course there’s more to improved putting than just being able to read the greens well. That’s where having Sean Lanyi, or if you are back east, another certified AimPoint instructor, come to your course for workshops is important. Length of stroke and tempo of your stroke all factor into how well you putt and were part of what Sean taught. My stroke was too long, was a bit across the ball and I aimed to the right every time I set up to putt. That’s why I left putts short. He’ll also explain how to adjust for the speed of greens, which we know varies from day to day and from course to course, as well as various other tidbits that will help you perfect your putting.
For more information on Sean Lanyi:
- Monarch Beach Golf Links in Dana Point, CA
- Anaheim Hills Golf Course in Anaheim, CA
- Native Oaks Golf Club in Valley Center, CA
- Spanish Hills Club in Camarillo, CA
- Tierra Rejada Golf Club in Moorpark, CA
- The Saticoy Club in Somis, CA
- Horseshoe Bay Resort in Austin, TX
- Red Rock Country Club in Las Vegas, NV
- Canterwood Golf & Country Club in Gig Harbor, WA
- Punta Mita Resort in Riviera Nayarit, Mexico
- Kapalua Golf Resort in Maui, HI
- Ko Olina Golf Club in Oahu, HI
For more information on AimPoint clinics near you click here.
