2009 US Open champion Lucas Glover's shoe removal at the 3M Open sparked wild speculations of an alleged protest against AimPoint. The truth was far simpler, and the American has broken his silence on the matter.

Time and again, Glover has criticized AimPoint, the time-consuming green-reading technique that uses the foot, but that had nothing to do with his shoe removal in the final round. A complaint was raised against his metal spikes.

“My demonstration yesterday had nothing to do with AimPoint. I have no idea how anyone came to that conclusion," wrote Glover in his Instagram post. "I took my shoes off to get my ball out of hole because that was literally the only way to not make any marks around the hole. Again, no matter what type of spikes were on my shoes.”

Glover's clarification directly contradicted the narrative TV commentators had spun on Sunday.

TV commentators were quick to suggest on Sunday that Glover’s actions were his way of protesting against AimPoint. However, the reality was far from it as we know now. 

A complaint from a group behind Glover regarding his choice of footwear prompted him to take off his spikes at the 10th green. Reportedly, he left spike marks around the hole, and an official approached him for that.

“Alright, let’s clear this up. For 23 years on the PGA Tour I’ve worn spikes. 23 years ago, most of us did. It hasn’t been that long since we were NOT allowed to tap them down. Yesterday was the first time I’ve ever had a complaint,” Glover wrote on his Instagram.

Glover’s frustration is justified. As a matter of fact, the 46-year-old had not violated any rule with his choice of footwear.

The American further justified his stance in his Instagram post.

Lucas Glover did not violate a rule with his footwear

Glover’s final round was seemingly disrupted by the official who approached him regarding his footwear. It’s rather strange because the 46-year-old was well within the rulebook.

“Yesterday was the first time I’ve ever been approached about my spikes. In the middle of the round, by an official, not a player. First of all, it’s not the official’s place. I wasn’t breaking any rules,” Glover wrote in his post. “Secondly, there were people in the groups in front of me and behind me wearing metal spikes as well.”

The USGA and the R&A have allowed players to tap down spike marks since 2019. As a result, the group behind had its solution to Glover's trace, but instead he had to walk around in his socks.

The soft bent grass greens did Glover no favours as he tried to best to limit the damage with his shoes. 

Do you think the official should’ve approached Glover for his footwear? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Written by

Avishek Sarkar

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason