Practice Smarter: How to Set Up Your Own AimPoint Putting Drills at Home

Improving your putting doesn’t always require a pristine practice green. While on-course practice with a certified instructor like Sean Carlino in Oakville is invaluable, you can significantly enhance your AimPoint skills right in your own home with simple, everyday items. Coach Carlino shares his tips for setting up effective at-home AimPoint drills.

“The beauty of AimPoint is that its core principle – feeling slope – can be practiced almost anywhere there’s a subtle incline,” says Coach Carlino. “You don’t need fancy equipment to develop your feel for contours.”

1. The “Tilted Surface” Slope Detector: “Find a hard, flat surface like a kitchen counter or a sturdy table,” suggests Carlino. “Now, introduce a very slight incline. You can do this by placing a thin book, a folded towel, or even a few sheets of paper under one end.” Stand at different spots around this “green” and practice feeling the subtle slope with your feet. “Even these minimal inclines help train your brain to register weight distribution,” he explains. Focus on identifying the high and low points.

2. The “Digital Level” Calibration Check: “This is a must-have for home practice,” Carlino emphasizes. “Most smartphones have a built-in level app. Use it!” Once you’ve set up your tilted surface, place your phone on it to get an accurate percentage reading of the slope. Then, stand over the slope and try to estimate the percentage with your feet. “Compare your estimate to the phone’s reading,” Carlino advises. “This immediate feedback is critical for calibrating your personal ‘slope meter’ for all those putts on the greens in Oakville.”

3. The “Bookcase Break” Drill: If you have a slightly sloped floor or even a firm carpet, you can simulate a breaking putt. “Place a small object, like a book or a shoe, as your ‘hole’,” Carlino suggests. “Now, find a starting point that requires a break due to the floor’s subtle slope. Go through your AimPoint Express or Conventional routine to find your aim point, and then putt towards it. Use a straight edge or string to visualize your intended line.” This drill helps bridge the gap between feeling the slope and executing the putt on a breaking line.

4. The “Gravity Gauge” Experiment: “Take a golf ball and simply let it roll down various subtle slopes in your home – a ramp, a slight incline in a hallway,” says Carlino. “Observe how gravity influences its path. This simple experiment reinforces the physics behind AimPoint and how the ball will always want to move downhill, even on very gentle slopes.”