AimPoint vs Plumb Bob which is Better for Putting?

Great topic Matt! A couple of things regarding AimPoint as I took an AimPoint class here in South Florida. My instructor had me do things even differently than what you will typically see. To make judging the slope easier he had us visually look at the slope to determine right to left or left to right. Then he had us always stand with our heels on the down direction in the line of the putt where the biggest break is to figure the degree of slope. That way you get the “feel” faster on different degree slopes and you can more easily remember what a 1 degree, 2 degree, 3 degree slope feels like. Then you have to stand over your ball (not way back like you were). He then had us using our fingers held toward us instead of the way you traditionally see AimPoint done, of your fingers away from you (come here vs. stay away). You outstretch your arm in towards you (very close with bent elbow) if the greens are fast (so your fingers appear bigger) or more away from you if the greens are slower (fingers appear smaller). I use AimPoint quite a bit (as the more you use it, the better you get the feel of it). Then of course is you have execute to putt at your target and you must putt the correct distance. He said to always try to putt to get just past the hole or you won’t have a chance to get it in the hole. Another thing is if you feel that the slope might be 1 and a half degrees, then simply cross one finger partially over the other (pointer and middle finger) to give you the AimPoint off of the (as always) the flagstick. Works for me! In addition you should practice how far you need to take the club back to make a 5 ft., 10 ft., 15 ft. putt so you know to learn to hit those distances regularly. Could be a could subject for you to cover on one of your upcoming great videos!

I use the plumb bob method because it's fairly accurate and quicker. First, calibrate your putter by using a door jamb in your house. All putters are going to hang differently depending on the head shape. Holding it lightly in your fingers slowly rotate/twist the putter until the shaft is parallel to the jamb. Once you see that it is vertical, put a small mark on the putter grip facing you. You now have a vertical putter shaft for your plumb bob. Great topic for a vlog Matt!!!

You are supposed to stay right over the ball when aimpointing. No wonder you saw more break than there was for 10 feet.

Your standing way to far behind the ball for Aimpoint. I dont think you know how to do it correctly 😂😂

When picking your starting line for the putt, the AimPoint method calls for you to stand over the ball when holding up your fingers. However, you appeared to stand 6’-10’ behind the ball, which will over-read the break, since the farther back you stand, the more break your fingers will indicate. The correct method is to stand over the ball.

I've only watched the first 2 minutes, but ALREADY this is the best in-depth but detailed description of aim-point I've seen! And I've watched about 10-15 videos so far!

I think they also use the Stimp speed to vary how far their arm is stretched out as well. That can put your aim point degree off as well

Aimpoint is deadly accurate ❤ This is a 1 degree putt , you need to put your hand over the ball and use one finger for an accurate aimpoint read . Just saying that this video needs to be redone with a proper aimpoint method.

I was taught to discover the plumb line of your putter by balancing your putter across your finger, and then mark (or take note of) the 12 o-clock position of the shaft. You would then pinch the putter shaft at the 12 and 6 o-clock positions, having either the 12 or 6 facing down the target line. I was also taught to eyeball the center of the shaft over the ball inline with the hole and the pick your aim point wherever the center of the shaft (or grip) landed. I only recently began using this technique again (not sure why I stopped) and it's pretty good. It at least gives me confidence on break so that I can focus on pace. On a side note: Recently while practice putting I took a phone call, and while on the phone I tooled around the practice green one-handed. WTF! I was draining one putt after another and getting inches from the hole on 30' putts. After the call, I continued to putt one handed and OMG, the results were insane. In fact, I got better results if I just walked up and struck the ball vs taking time to align the face. Even the pace was instinctual, almost as if all the calculations for face angle, clubhead speed, and center of the club were instantly updating the closer the club got to the ball. It seems our reptilian brains are better than any of these time demanding techniques. I'll be honest though, I'm too chicken sh... to do it on the course... For now. Great Video BTW!

I've tried both and settled on plumb bob. You definitely need to "calibrate" your putter to determine which angle you should be pointing the putter face in order for that specific putter to be hanging truly plumb. Once found, I place a small yellow paint marker dot on the shaft so it's repeatable every time. There's other videos on how to get this all sorted. I would not use this method unless you take the time to do that.

The real benefit of any green reading methods is having some kind of a read that you trust to make a confident stroke. If you don't trust your read, most golfers will tend to make a crappy stroke. Find one that works for you, and learn to do it quickly!

👍👍⛳⛳Great subject. Thanks. I practice and use both methods. Learned Aim Point about 2 years ago. Overall, I usually have better results with Aim Point - often amazing results. I find ways so neither method slows us up. I detest slow golf. I used mainly Aim Point yesterday morning at wonderful Columbia GC in Minneapolis - we played 9 holes in 1' 20". Less putts takes less time. Plumb bobbing your 3rd putt doesn't help pace of play.

Aimpoint took their approach from H. A. Templeton's book "Vector Putting", published in 1984. I am paraphrasing, but basically he says that for an average speed and average sloping green of 2%, at 90 degrees to the fall line, putts will break 2" per pace. He published charts for various speed greens and slopes, you can probably find them online. For amateurs, this is as accurate as you need to be. Anything over 10', odds are you're not going to make the putt anyway. You just want to give it a reasonable chance to fall in.

Charzander has it figured out below, but I find it most convenient to hold my putter up to an outside corner of a building or a straight communications tower every time I play. Rotate the putter until the putter shaft matches the straight line. Use that putter head angle for the day. I'm a hobby woodworker, and am always checking lumber for straightness. I've watched putts that broke three inches and the person hitting the putt said "look at that, it didn't break at all". Speed is more important than line to me. If I've got the green speed down, then I'll really try to tighten up on my line.

I'm sorry but this is not correct. For Aimpoint system you have to stand right OVER the ball, not 10 feet behind, that's why it gives you too much break. And for Plumb technique you have to hold the putter with the OPPOSITE hand to your dominant eye.

i would like to see more on this and do you do this to find your landing spot for chipping as well ? thanks bro keep knocking them down !

I use Plumb bob on anything over say 6 ft, but inside that I just use my eyes and pick a spot and roll over that spot. I've never had success with Aim point because I can't really feel the slope when it's not obvious. That being said, I am a decent putter, but I am NOT a great green reader. I need a green reading course. I am just trying to get to about 3ft or better and move along. I can't stand watching people line up putts for ever. I try and keep it moving and do it quickly.

Both are a rough guide in trying to determine your start line...w PlumBob: must determine how the putter hangs (must find vertical plane), w left to right break downhill will break more (.5 times more for instance) vs an uphill putt (which will break less), plus you will have to add additional break on faster greens vs slower greens (green speed of an #8 is allot slower than a #12). For instance: 10 ft putt, left to right downhill, the shaft is about 1 cup outside the hole; your aim is now 1 1/2 times the original plumbob...so its actually 1 and 1/2 cup outside the hole to account for the slope and faster green going downhill. On an uphill putt, the plumbob shows right edge, but because its uphill the actual start line maybe inside the cup (between the flagpole and the edge). So there are variables: how grainy the greens are, the slope, speed, uphill/downhill/side hill, whether the ball will die into the hole or its rammed into the hole (pace).

when you use aimpoint, you stand at your ball to do the fingers. so in your examples, you over read by standing too far back! also, aimpoint uses percentage of slope, not degrees. so 1%, 2% and so on. to learn properly you can use a level app on your phone and drop it on the ground to check the slope percentage on the practice green. when you use aimpoint correctly, it's amazing. you will see more tour pros use it in the future. when i play casual rounds and it's a bit slow i use both to make sure my reads are correct. i would love to see you learn a bit more about aimpoint and then do this video again correctly.

Thanks MSG! Outstanding content with this one.