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USA Today via Reuters

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USA Today via Reuters

In recent times, the pace of play at golf tournaments has come under significant scrutiny. During the 2023 Masters, the likes of Patrick Cantlay and Viktor Hovland received quite a bit of flak for their alleged slow play.

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Most recently, LIV’s Brooks Koepka reiterated his frustration with slow play and even called for the at-fault player to be stroked. With the pace of play becoming a hot topic in the world of golf, a clip from the ongoing Charles Schwab Challenge has greatly angered fans. Here’s why!

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PGA Tour pros unconventional technique comes to light

The 2023 Charles Schwab Challenge kicked off in Fort Worth, Texas, on Thursday, and golf fans are already frustrated with the pace of play. A clip from the event doing the rounds on social media shows not one but three PGA Tour pros using the controversial AimPoint method for deducing the greens. For the uninitiated, the method allows golfers to feel the slope of the green with their feet. By getting on the ball’s path, they tend to measure the slope percentage of a given putt.

Golf enthusiasts have taken jibes at this unique green-reading technique in the past as well. During the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play, cameras caught Max Homa taking quite a bit of time to gauge the slope while his playing partner, MacKenzie Hughes, sported a frustrated expression. The World No. 7 eventually responded to the barrage of complaints on social media, saying that he would work on improving his game’s pace.

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LIV golfer and 2-time major winner Dustin Johnson is another player with a particular affinity for this much-talked-about technique and even used it during the 2020 Masters, where he emerged as the winner. Despite golfers’ love for AimPoint putting, fans are yet to warm up to it, as evidenced by their exasperated reactions.

Fans express anger at the slow AimPoint technique

After the clip from the Charles Schwab Challenge process came to light, golf fans were quick to vent their frustrations. Some even wished for tournaments to do away with the technique completely. One fan noted that there are better ways to measure the severity of green than the AimPoint technique.

AimPoint putting has been a mainstay in major events as well. In April, golfing influencer Paige Spiranac also raised her fingers at the use of the method at Augusta National. She even called for players to be penalized if they slowed down the game’s speed. A vocal critic of the process, Spiranac had made her feelings clear about it last year as well. And it seems like many in the golf world feel the same way as well!

Despite its fans’ disapproval, AimPoint putting enjoys great popularity among golfers. Justin Rose, Viktor Hovland, and Keegan Bradley are some other players who have adopted this green-reading method to improve their play.

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What is your opinion on the AimPoint technique? Do you think tournaments should curb its application down the road? Tell us in the comments!

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Abantika Ghosh

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Abantika is a fresh writer at EssentiallySports who was chosen in the recent round of ‘ES Draft’ for her strong passion for golf writing. Even in her early days, Abantika has displayed an impressive ability to cover golf with gripping and insightful stories backed by thorough research. Her inspiration comes from the words of the legendary golfer and flag-bearer of the PGA Tour, Rory McIlroy: "As long as I keep enjoying my golf, then hopefully I'll be able to play well," which motivates her to continue writing engaging pieces. Aside from golf, Abantika loves spending her free time exploring her creative side by trying her hand at painting and other artistic endeavors. She also enjoys hiking and traveling to scenic destinations to refresh her mind and find inspiration for her writing.

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Sheldon Pereira

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