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PGA Tour caddie Tim Tucker launches True Aim ball markers to help you read greens better (plus, Bryson’s feedback)

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Tim Tucker – a veteran PGA Tour caddie, who most notably worked with Bryson DeChambeau from 2016 until 2021 – has turned his green reading expertise into a new True Aim Marker, which is a ball marker designed to simplify the green reading and alignment process in order to make more putts.

Tucker’s True Aim ball marker designs started as prototypes for testing on the PGA Tour, and now that Tucker has proven they to work effectively, he’s teamed up with Bettinardi Golf – and its parent company X-CEL Technologies – to manufacture a retail version for the public to purchase.

Bettinardi is currently CNC milling the True Aim ball markers out of its Tinley Park, Illinois, headquarters, and the ball markers have officially become available on the True Aim website.

Before we get into how and why the True Aim markers work, let’s first get into how they came about.

When DeChambeau and his team reached out to Tucker to fill a newly opened caddie position in 2016, Tucker was fresh off a five-month PGA Tour caddie gig with Tyler Aldridge, and DeChambeau was without a caddie himself. As Tucker told GolfWRX.com in a recent interview, he believes he got the call due to his already-proven green reading abilities.

The history between Tucker and DeChambeau dates back to when Tucker taught a young 15-year-old DeChambeau his green reading techniques at River Bend Golf Club (now called Dragonfly Golf Club), in Madera, California. Years later, the duo met back up – this time professionally – in 2016 when Tucker began caddying for DeChambeau on the PGA Tour. The duo eventually won multiple Tour events together, including the 2020 U.S. Open, before they split in July 2021.

Tucker was a military man out of high school, and after working for the state department in Washington D.C. for three years upon his return, Tucker entered the golf business as a PGA apprentice. His journey took him to him Bandon Dunes to work as a caddie; during that time, Tucker was fully committed to learning everything he could about putter fitting and green reading. He was a sponge for knowledge, reading books and picking the brains of the industry’s smartest putting experts such as putter maker David Edel, top-100 golf instructor Mike Adams, and Aimpoint inventor Mark Sweeney.

At the time, Tucker was amassing invaluable knowledge of how to help golfers make more putts. In the mid-2000s, as an established green reading authority, Tucker was tasked by DeChambeau’s golf coach Mike Schy to come teach green reading techniques at his golf school. It was there that DeChambeau and Tucker first hit it off.

DeChambeau, the ever-fascinated and willing-to-learn student that he is, came to all six school sessions over the three days that Tucker was teaching.

As Tucker revealed to GolfWRX.com in a recent interview, there’s five things a golfers needs to know before reading a putt:

  1. The stimp speed of the green, or, “friction value”
  2. Where on the green is the “straight putt” to the hole?
  3. What angle in relation to the “straight putt” is the golf ball?
  4. How far are is the golf ball from the hole?
  5. What is the percentage of slope that the ball will roll across?

If it seems difficult to process all of that information for a single putt… that’s because it is.

“Green reading is amazingly complicated,” Tucker told GolfWRX. “There’s five things you need to know to read a putt, and it’s very difficult.”

Also, according to DeChambeau, amateurs struggle to commit to the correct target line even when given the proper amount of break to play.

“The biggest thing is that we tell amateurs to aim at a certain spot, and they never aim at that spot,” DeChambeau told GolfWRX. “They can’t aim there. They just are too afraid it’s not going to go in the hole. So they always pull it to the hole, rather than hitting it on the line that designates it’s going to go in the hole if you have the right speed.”

In order to help amateur golfers simplify the green reading process, and commit to playing the proper amount of break, Tucker developed a serviceable ball marker design that functions as an alignment aid.

Here’s how it works:

When approaching your golf ball on the green, place the marker down behind the golf ball, and aim the center line of the marker at the golf hole, without adjusting for slope. Tucker suggests drawing a line on your golf ball, using both center lines to aim directly at the hole, and using your putter shaft as a visual aid to ensure the line is pointed at the center of the hole.

When you’ve decided that the line is pointed at the hole, then you can pick up your golf ball to clean it, await for your playing partners to putt, and begin the process of reading the slope of the green.

Tucker’s new patent pending True Aim ball marker – manufactured by Bettinardi Golf – has nine lines on the top; there’s a center line, then four lines on the left and four lines on the right. Each line is designed to sit at a certain precise angle, but Tucker is keeping those angles a secret, because it’s proprietary information that’s crucial to its functionality.

While assessing the slope of your putt, and whether it breaks to the right or the left, simply grade the slope on a 0-4 scale.

0 means the putt is straight, so match the line on your golf ball with the center line of the ball marker, because it’s already pointed at the hole.

1 is a mostly flat putt, with a slight amount of break, so match the line of your golf ball with one of the white lines closest to center. If the ball is going to break to the right, then use the line to the right of the center line, so the line on your golf ball projects out to the left of the hole. If it breaks to the left, then use the line to the left of center.

2 is an average amount of slope, so use the red lines.

3 is a steep slope, so use the white lines toward the outer portion.

4 is severe, so use the small black lines on the outer most portion.

The ball markers have been tested and approved by several PGA Tour players, including DeChambeau and Adam Svensson (Tucker has also caddied for Svensson on the PGA Tour).

DeChambeau says: “I’ve definitely used it. It goes back to the principles of Vector putting from a long time ago. Whatever percentage of slope you believe to be on, it allows you to aim it down that line. If you start it on that line with the right speed, it’s going to go in the hole. It’s a great tool for amateurs out there, and even professionals, too, that are looking to line the ball up a little bit better and give you a perfect line for whatever percentage of slope you need… It’s a pretty ingenious device that will help a lot of golfers out.”

Svensson says: “True Aim is an extraordinary tool that has helped me understand how to read greens better and start the ball on line more consistently, day after day. Confidence is a huge part of putting and True Aim has allowed me to free up and sink more putts. I highly recommend this product and will be in my bag every time I tee it up!”

The simplified aiming concept started as an idea at the 2022 Valspar Championship while caddying for Svennson. While Tucker first experimented with engraving the lines onto a putter head, he realized that a ball marker would be more effective and consistent. That’s when he began making prototypes of the ball markers through Jayme Coggins, who owns Coggins Machine & Design, a company that makes boutique putters and golf accessories.

Needing more inventory after garnering positive feedback, and with plans to provide the ball markers to the public, Tucker needed a supplier to manufacture the markers on a larger scale.

That’s when Tucker successfully pitched the concept to Robert and Sam Bettinardi. The father-and-son Bettinardi duo runs Bettinardi Golf, a high-end putter company in Tinley Park, Illinois that specializes in CNC milled golf products. Tucker still owns 100 percent of True Aim Marker, LLC and its intellectual property, but Bettinardi manufactures the designs through its parent company, X-CEL Technologies, which is a manufacturing company that’s also owned by Robert Bettinardi and headquartered in Tinley Park, Illinois.

Tucker was drawn to Bettinardi and the company’s product fulfillment for two main reasons:

“One, they’re Made in the United States, and me being a veteran, I love that,” Tucker said. “And two, the high quality that they have. Bettinardi is known for having the finest milled putters, and I want my marker being the finest milled marker on the market. And I think that it is.”

With a price point of $100, Tucker’s new True Aim ball markers, which are milled from 303 stainless steel, are now available on the newly launched website. Tucker says that orders are received and shipped on the same day, and they will come inside of custom True Aim Marker packaging.

For feedback and additional photos of the product, head over to our GolfWRX forums.

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He played on the Hawaii Pacific University Men's Golf team and earned a Masters degree in Communications. He also played college golf at Rutgers University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism.

19 Comments

19 Comments

  1. Ball marker

    Jul 16, 2023 at 9:40 am

    But it comes with custom packaging so I can c why it’s $100 !!!!!

  2. Wait_What

    Sep 23, 2022 at 7:28 pm

    Isn’t this just a rip off of a Scotty Cameron ball marker? I have one let me dig it out and see.

  3. Kf

    Sep 22, 2022 at 9:27 am

    Sooo, its aim point. Got it.

  4. Pete

    Sep 21, 2022 at 7:50 pm

    Another aid, they need to start banning this stuff, along with aim point, lines on balls and all the other time waisting rubbish, we need to speed the game up a lot..!

    • Mike

      Jan 20, 2023 at 5:19 pm

      Yeah, that line on the ball slows me up at least 5 seconds on every putt. How about you play the properties for your ability after you’ve taken a few lessons and understand both the rules and the etiquette of what to do out there. That’ll speed up play immensely, much more than worrying about a damn line on my ball.

  5. Paul Runyan

    Sep 21, 2022 at 2:18 pm

    I’ll wait until they show up at Costco for $9.00!

    Vector putting… no wonder a 14 year old.can better first time out than Mr D.

    Just sayin’

  6. Whitey

    Sep 21, 2022 at 11:31 am

    USGA illegal?

  7. Anthony C Simmons

    Sep 21, 2022 at 10:56 am

    Scotty Cameron invented and patented the same ball markers over 10 years ago, how easy to pretend to invent something that has already been on the market for such a long time. I hope this clown has really deep pockets, i wouldn’t want a copyright/Patent fight with Titleist.

    • El Kabong

      Dec 1, 2022 at 11:57 pm

      Cameron only copies, changes a thing or two then patents,,, besides, this one is square and the degrees are different

  8. Dr Tee

    Sep 21, 2022 at 10:49 am

    this is basically an aim point-like technique but lacks the aim point means of assessing the % slope with your feet. unfortunately choosing the correct alignment line is subjective and flawed based on using visual cues. also unlike aim point it does not correct for distance.

  9. Ryan

    Sep 21, 2022 at 10:40 am

    The angles are 3,6,9,12 degrees on each side.

    You’re welcome.

  10. jamho3

    Sep 21, 2022 at 12:40 am

    I’ll pay ANYTHING to put better.

    $100.

    Oh IDK….

  11. Tyler Durden

    Sep 20, 2022 at 12:37 am

    Ain’t buying anything from this arrogant Bettinardi’s

    • Will

      Sep 21, 2022 at 11:39 am

      Love the Bettinardi’s! Best in the biz, amazing family business story

  12. Karsten Solheim

    Sep 19, 2022 at 10:34 pm

    Gadget

  13. Joey5Picks

    Sep 19, 2022 at 2:57 pm

    $100?! I was guessing $15 on the high end. Ludicrous.

  14. Ezekial

    Sep 19, 2022 at 12:42 pm

    Cameron made this about 15 years ago…

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Whats in the Bag

Chesson Hadley WITB 2024 (March)

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Driver: Titleist TSR3 (10 degrees, D1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 70 TX

3-wood: Titleist TSR2+ (14.5 degrees, A1 SureFit setting)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Diamana D+ 80 TX

Irons: Titleist T200 (3), Titleist 620 CB (4, 5), Titleist 620 MB (6-PW)
Shafts: Graphite Design Tour AD DI 105 X (3), True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 (4-PW)

Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (52-12F, 56-14F), WedgeWorks (60-K)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: Odyssey White Hot OG 2-Ball
Grip: Odyssey

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Check out more in-hand photos Chesson Hadley’s clubs here.

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Whats in the Bag

Gary Woodland WITB 2024 (March)

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Driver: Cobra Darkspeed X (8 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TZ5 70 M5

  • The white circle that appears at the top of the face a removable sticker that’s used for launch monitor tracking, and Woodland removes it for competition!

3-wood: Cobra Darkspeed X (14 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TZ5 GW100 Prototype

7-wood: Cobra LTDx LS prototype (20 degrees)
Shaft: Accra TZ5 GW100 Prototype

Irons: Wilson Staff (18 degrees), Cobra King MB (4-PW)
Shafts: KBS Tour C-Taper Limited X

Wedges: Cobra SB (48), Titleist Vokey Design SM10 (52-08F, 56-14F), Cobra King (60)
Shafts: KBS Tour C-Taper Limited X (48 degrees), KBS Tour V-Ten 125

Putter: Scotty Cameron T-5 Proto
Grip: SuperStroke Zenergy Tour 3.0P

Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Grips: Golf Pride Tour Velvet Cord

See more in-hand photos of Gary Woodland’s WITB in the forums.

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Equipment

Q&A: Martin Trainer on his Bobby Grace “Greg Chalmers” putter, 6.5-degree driver, and “butter knife” 2-iron

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As unbiasedly as I can put it, Martin Trainer has one of the coolest club setups in professional golf. (At some point soon, I’ll put together a top-10 list of “coolest club setups on Tour,” but I know that Trainer will be in the top-10)

What a lineup. He plays a 6.5-degree Wilson prototype driver, a 13-degree Wilson prototype 3-wood, a true blade Wilson Staff Model 2-iron, and a Bobby Grace “Greg Chalmers Commemorative” putter!

 

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A post shared by GolfWRX (@golfwrx)

I mean, look at this 2-iron from address…

To quote the great author R.L. Stine: “Goosebumps.”

On Wednesday at the 2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open, I caught up with Trainer to learn more about his bag setup.

Here’s what he had to say:

You have the Internet going crazy over your bag setup, and your putter. Where’d you pick the Bobby Grace-Greg Chalmers putter up? How long have you had it?

MT: This was from when Bobby Grace came to my course in California: Cal Club. And for whatever reason, they just started having them in the shop. So then I took my buddy’s, started using it, and made, like, a million putts in a row, which is how every putter story begins, I guess.

And then, I bought a couple of my own, used it for years, got to the Tour with it, won on Tour with it (the 2019 Puerto Rico Open). Then, about a year later, started using another putter, did that for a couple years, but now it’s back in the bag.

When did it come back in the bag?

MT: December of this past year. So a few months ago.

What year would you say was the first time you threw that in the bag, or, like, when you bought it?

MT: God…Probably, 2016, maybe? 2018?

Do you remember how much you paid for it?

MT: I don’t know, actually. Maybe $100-150 bucks or something. I think that’s the only golf club I’ve bought between high school and now. Well, two, since I bought two of them.

The driver is interesting, too. What went into the prototyping process?

MT: That was a version of the current driver, but it was the prototype that they first came out with for Tour guys to try. And for whatever reason, I just never switched out to the new one.

It’s just 6.5 degrees, right?

MT: Yeah. Very low loft, yeah.

What kind of ball speed do you have with that these days?

MT: Like high 170’s.

Yeah, that’ll work. And then a 2-iron blade? We’re seeing fewer and fewer of those out here.

MT: Yeah. The butter knife.

Very cool thing to have in the bag. Have you done any testing with driving irons? 

MT: Yeah, I used to have a thicker one, but it was a little offset, and I never hit it that well. And then finally, I started messing around with the butter knife. And I remember the first time I looked down at it, I was terrified. And then I ended up getting used to it, putting it in play, and it’s been in place since. It’s a pretty good club for me.

How far do you carry that? 

MT: Like 235.

A good little wind club, I’m sure.

MTL Yeah, exactly. I can hit it very low. It’s great.

I love it. You have people shook looking at that. Thanks for the time, man. 

MT: Absolutely.

To see more photos and discussion of Trainer’s bag, click here.

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