Should the PGA Tour pros stop using AimPoint? Jim Nantz has been quite vocal recently about a lot of the ongoing issues in the PGA Tour. The famed journalist was extremely critical of the players using AimPoint to judge the variations on the green. For anyone who doesn’t know, AimPoint is a process that helps players read the incline, decline, and speed of the green to improve the accuracy and pace of the putt. Fans can often see golfers standing a few steps behind the ball holding up a finger pointed at the whole. That is one of the steps of AimPoint reading.
However, Nantz has always believed that it is nothing more than mumbo jumbo. The reporter has observed players waste a lot of time applying the method before ending up missing the putt. “It really drives me crazy when you see their backs to the hole, and they’re trying to feel the break, and they walk another five feet and they do it again,” said Nantz as he described the entire scenario back in October 2024. Moreover, the entire process of implementing the AimPoint method is extremely time-consuming, leading to increased instances of the PGA Tour’s issues of slow play.
His claims were proven true a few days ago when Aaron Rai went through the entire process at the Mexico Open. After spending 3-4 minutes trying to judge the green using AimPoint, Rai failed to score the putt on the 8th hole in the final round of the event. That cost him a bogey and dropping down to 2 strokes below the top of the leaderboard.
And now, another analyst has provided a database that supports Nantz’s claims. Just like Jim Nantz, Brandel Chamblee has also always been very vocal with his criticism. Sometimes, he also uses facts and figures to back his statements. This time around, he came to Nantz’s rescue by providing vital statistics about players putting in the present. The conversation began when caddie Kip Henley started a poll asking people why putting has gotten worse over the years. To which, a user asked Chamblee “Do the stats support this?”.
A few hours later, Chamblee replied “Yes, they do. On average players putt worse/make fewer putts over the last five years (2019-2024) than they did the first five years (2004-2008) of measurement and from every distance”. This confirms that the average golfer has gotten worse at putting in the past couple of decades. Chamblee further added that the stats are worse, “despite improvements in agronomy, green reading books (since banned) improved putting diagnostic tools, video, more prevalent putting coaches and increased use of aim-point”. The added technology, increased databases, and better methods have actually made putting worse.
Chamblee explained that this could be because the greens have become more challenging. Prolonged digging and dispersion of the soil on the greens might have caused the variations in slops. But then, he also shared a video of Jack Nicklaus showing off his exceptional ability to read the green. Johnny Miller faced a near-impossible 50-foot putt at the 77th KitchenAid Senior PGA Championship. Nicklaus, who was paired with Miller, walked up to the spot, threw the ball on the green, and took 10 seconds to hit an unbelievable stroke. The ball swung like a pendulum from right to left and dropped into the cup as the crowd roared for the GOAT.
Yes, they do. On average players putt worse/make fewer putts over the last five years (2019-2024) than they did the first five years (2004-2008) of measurement and from every distance : 4-8 feet, 10-15, 15-20, 20-25 and >25 feet. This despite improvements in agronomy, green… https://t.co/LDVk7SpqdO
— Brandel Chamblee (@chambleebrandel) February 24, 2025
Jack Nicklaus’s putt was truly magical. But not everyone can match the ability of the Golder Bear. But, what Chamblee was trying to point out was that it is only a question of ability and skill. According to him, the quality of putting of the golfers has drastically dropped in the last few years. But is this a proven fact? Let’s take a look at the numbers from the past.
Have golfers gotten worse at putting in the last few years?
More recently, there have been a few players who have been really bad at short-range strokes and putts. One of the biggest names that comes to our minds after reading that is Rory McIlroy. The Irishman has missed out on winning multiple majors due to bad putts. McIlroy has had 80 top-5 finishes in his career and most of them weren’t converted to wins because of bad putting.
Interesting, it’s not only Rory McIlroy who deserves the spotlight here. Plane Truth Golf shared a post on Instagram back in 2022 showing the decline in the average putting percentage from 2004 to 2021. The difference in the average from various distances is not more than 2%. But, considering that the figures are for every golfer on the PGA Tour, it is still alarming.
Golfers might think that using AimPoint might be helping them, but the statistics say otherwise. In the end, an experienced player should be able to rely on their own skills, abilities, and intuition more than a generalized process that might or might not be suitable for them.
Do you think PGA Tour pros who use AimPoint deserve to be criticized by Nantz and Chamblee? Share your views in the comments section.
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