In terms of pre-shot routines, many amateurs copy what they see on TV.
Getty Photographs
Lincoln from Oakland, Calif., writes:
I used to be not too long ago paired with two 15-handicappers who used the AimPoint methodology to learn the greens all day. Not solely did they give the impression of being ridiculous and decelerate play however in addition they did not make a single putt exterior of about two ft. Briefly: unhealthy golfers with unhealthy etiquette. In my view, odd duffers don’t have any enterprise utilizing AimPoint and needs to be laughed (or pushed) off the course in the event that they do. Ideas?
Pricey Lincoln:
Like automotive stunts in sports-car commercials, PGA Tour broadcasts ought to in all probability include a warning: don’t do this at residence.
However they don’t, and so right here we’re. Like plumb-bobbing earlier than it, AimPoint has seeped, by the use of imitation, from the elite ranks into the leisure recreation.
Ought to we push again towards this development?
Whereas the Etiquetteist sympathizes along with your gripe about gradual play — any on-course conduct that bogs down tempo unnecessarily is finest discouraged — that alone shouldn’t be an argument for banning AimPoint. The tactic, in any case, as fussy-looking because it is (what with the line-straddling, finger-pointing and eye-closing) doesn’t need to convey a spherical to a grinding halt, offered the individual utilizing it performs prepared golf and will get as lots of these time-consuming pre-shot rituals out of the way in which as potential whereas their companions are placing.
That’s an enormous if, in fact.
A good larger if is whether or not these rituals will really result in decrease scores. In all probability not, the Etiquetteist suspects. Most individuals can’t dangle an image straight with out a stage, a lot much less really feel one % of slope with their ft. The concept that a way as delicate and concerned as AimPoint stands to learn the common duffer strikes the Etiquetteist as overly optimistic, at finest.
Then once more, the Etiquetteist shouldn’t be a golf teacher. And even when most golfers don’t have any extra enterprise utilizing AimPoint than they’ve flying a rocket ship, that’s not a justification for banning the strategy, both. Within the Etiquetteist’s splendid world, odd duffers wouldn’t hassle with the strategy. They might get a easy learn from the behind the ball, after which step up and yank their five-foot bogey strive. However it’s additionally not the Etiquetteist’s place to dictate what folks do for his or her pre-shot routines.
So long as they’re maintaining the tempo, anybody and everybody has the appropriate to make use of AimPoint, regardless of how unhelpful it might be. That’s the unhealthy information. The excellent news is, the remainder of us have the appropriate to poke enjoyable at them for three-putting with it.
