Although Lucas Glover teed up at TPC Twin Cities after a two-year break and made the cut after three years, tied for 57th, he made headlines for his shoe-removal incident on Sunday. Many speculated on social media that it was a subtle protest against AimPoint’s green-reading technique, but the six-time PGA Tour winner shut it down. On X, Flushing It Golf posted a screenshot of his reply to its IG post, revealing the actual reason.

“No, not even close. Nothing to do with Aimpoint actually. Complaints behind me about spike marks. I wear metal. Someone in the group ahead of us was too. Singled me out. Just goofing off.”

The incident occurred on the 10th hole during Glover’s final round. He had rolled a birdie putt on the hole to move six under for the day. Unexpectedly, instead of fetching his ball right away, he walked back to his caddie, removed his FootJoy shoes, then walked to the hole and retrieved the ball. He slipped on his shoes again when he was ready to move on to the next tee. Naturally, that led many to assume that he was criticizing the AimPoint technique.

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The PGA Tour supported Glover’s reply, stating it had requested Glover pay attention to his spike marks, and that he was only joking about it.

Fellow pro Michael Kim chimed in on Twitter, explaining that players with metal spikes had left rough marks near the hole, and onlookers mistakenly identified Glover as the culprit. He added to Glover’s response, saying that he was right to walk to the hole barefoot, clearly a tongue-in-cheek jab at being blamed for something he did not do.

Glover has been one of the technique’s loudest critics. On his SiriusXM show earlier this year, he argued the method has not moved the needle statistically.

“Statistically, it hasn’t helped anybody make more putts since the inception of the PGA Tour. Statistics have borne that out.”

He took it a step further by calling the practice disruptive and recommending an outright ban because it slows down play.

On the flip side, AimPoint has only grown in popularity, with players like Adam Scott, Keegan Bradley, Viktor Hovland, Justin Thomas, and Max Homa among its users. Reports suggest roughly 65% of the Tour has adopted the technique, which, again, remains a matter of perspective and choice.

Glover’s performance suggests the incident didn’t rattle him. He finished the tournament at 5-under for the week, bagging a prize purse of $20,152. This also comes after his powerful performances at the ISCO Championship, where he finished T5, and at the John Deere Classic, where he was T3.

Glover will have a chance to put the spike mark saga behind him soon enough. Glover’s participation in the Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club from August 5-9th is already confirmed. He previously won this event and maintains a solid track record there. It will also be the final chance for players on the bubble to lock up a FedEx Cup playoff spot, giving Glover added incentive to let his golf, not his socks, do the talking.