Here’s a quick little video showing you how to use AimPoint Charts to find the stimp on the green to add to my written post on the same topic. Please note that 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock represent a position that is 90 degrees to the Zero Line or to put it another way, directly across the slope. 6 o’clock is straight up hill on the Zero Line.
Hope you enjoy it and please leave any comments or questions.
It’s finally here. The long awaited AimPoint Golf I Phone App. It went live yesterday (10-14-10) and it is really something that impressed me. I think most people, myself included, thought it would just be the AimPoint Charts in a digital form. This App is much more than that. The standard AimPoint Chart provides great information but the detail included in the App is far more extensive. For most AimPoint users that have taken a Level 1 clinic, the information provided in the App will be new.
The App includes Angular Reads for both level crowns and saddles. This information is not covered in a level 1 clinic but rather a level 2 clinic. Other things the App provide are 1 foot increments instead of the standard 5 foot increments you’d find on the AimChart, a menu of review videos, instructor search and a few others.
Screen Shot of Crown App
Screen Shot of Videos Menu
Screen Shot of Instructor Search
Players can purchase an AimChart from Mark without attending a clinic from an AimPoint Certified Instructor for $20. This App sells for a cost of $29.95 and I think for the extra $10, it is more than worth it. Like anything, the player’s using AimPoint information will get the most out of the App and those that haven’t been fully informed may need to seek out an AimPoint Instructor to help make sense of it all.
Like most Apps, the AimPoint App is a supplement to instruction. It is not intended to replace instruction. The amount of information that can only be learned from Mark or a Level 2 instructor is still extensive. It covers more green shapes and combination reads are a couple of examples.
If you are using AimPoint and you’re looking for more detailed reads, I fully recommend purchasing the App.
Here’s a quick little reminder on how to find the stimp. We all know that the stimp on the putting green may be different than the stimp on the course but that shouldn’t be an argument for not trying to find it out. You’ll need your AimPoint Charts, Breakmaster and a digital level.
Go out to the practice green and find a hole location that is on a consistent planar area of the green. Determine the location of the 6 o’clock position at the hole using your breakmaster. Go 5 feet away at 3 o’clock and place a tee in the ground. Use your level and measure the slope in 1 foot increment in the direction of the slope to find the slope percentage.
Take a guess at the stimp you think it is, find the AimPoint from the chart, aim your putt at that location and hit a putt that rolls 6 feet. If this putt goes in center cut, then you know what the stimp is. The charts are so accurate that this is the fastest and easiest way to determine the stimp.
Be honest. If you hit it the wrong speed, try again. If you hit it the right speed and it misses low, try a stimp number that is higher. If you miss high, try a stimp number that is lower. Also pay attention to starting direction to see that you are starting it on line. Having a buddy confirm would be the best way.
To the left is a picture of a drill where you try to roll the ball through a gate. I’m using it to discuss another drill that I see often to help people work on their focus and targeting. It goes something like this. Instead of aiming at the hole, place a tee in the ground and see if you can hit it with the ball. Because the tee is so much smaller compared to the hole, it will make the hole seem so much larger.
Let’s look at the reality. Is this Tee Drill really that much harder than making it in a hole? We know the hole is 4 and 1/4 inches across. We also know that the ball is 1.68 inches in diameter. The width of tee stem is .19 inches so if we double the width of the ball and add the width of the tee we get 3.55 inches. Hitting the tee is nearly as wide as the hole itself with only a .70 inches difference. This is the case for a die in the hole speed. As the speed of the ball increases the width of the hole that will actually capture the moving ball decreases.
If we have an 8 stimp green and roll the ball a speed that would go 6 inches past, the capture width of the hole shrinks to 3.8 inches. With a speed that would go 1 foot past, the capture width of the hole becomes 2.6 inches. The next time you are working on that tee drill realize that hitting the tee (3.55 inches wide) with a speed that goes a foot past is actually easier to hit than making a putt (2.6 inches wide) with the same speed(assuming a stimp of 8). Obviously, as the stimp increases, the ball will be rolling slower so the hole becomes wider assuming the same distance past the hole.
The point of this post is just to show you that the tee drill isn’t really different than putting at the hole. It may look a lot smaller but in reality it can be wider than the hole. Who’d a thunk it?
I’ve had a couple questions recently on finding where the 3 and 9 o’clock positions are in the AimPoint Golf Green Reading Model. Many are confused and think that 3 and 9 fall directly between 12 and 6. That is only true on a clockface or a green that has a consistent slope percentage and direction. So since we know that almost all greens are not like that, let’s find the real 3 and 9.
AimPoint Golf Green Reading - Planar
Let’s use this picture here. This is a contour map of green that has a planar pin location and is basically a planar shaped green through out. The red line represents the Zero Line where the putts are straight aimed. The contour lines represent places of equal elevation.
The key to remembering 3 and 9 o’clock is that they are level with the hole. When I say that, I mean they are directly across the slope. They are neither uphill or downhill putts. They are at the same elevation as the hole. In this example, you can see the hole is right on that contour line. This means that 3 and 9 o’clock are also on that line. Hopefully, you can see that 9 o’clock is closer to 6 o’clock than it is to 12 o’clock. This means that the putts from 6 to 9 o’clock are more volatile. The amount of break changes quickly.
Now, here are some real world tips. You can see that the 3 and 9 o’clock line also curve. This means the green is changing elevation. If I had my golf ball at the end of the 9 o’clock line, that would break a little less than the same length putt on the 3 o’clock. Why? The answer is because the contour lines on the 9 o’clock side are spaced farther apart. That means the area is flatter. Now the 7 and 8 o’clock areas are real volatile and have more slope farther from the hole than at the hole. I would generally play the 7 and 8 o’clock areas leaning toward the highest amount of break. For example, if I feel like I am at 7:30 I’m going to figure out the estimate and add a couple to deal with the volatility. In either case, these putts will be very hard to make because of the slope and speed sensitivity. You’d also have to estimate the slope % here because it is changing on the way to the hole. It goes from steeper to shallower.
I hope you enjoy and let me know if you have questions.
JG
© 2012 John Graham Golf · Proudly powered by WordPress & Green Park 2 by Cordobo.
Valid XHTML 1.0 Transitional | Valid CSS 3
