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Lucas Glover went barefoot at the 3M Open.
Lucas Glover took his shoes off on the 10th hole at the 3M Open on Sunday. Many speculated that he’d been protesting AimPoint techniques being used by fellow golfers.
After the tournament, he provided clarity. There was a different reason for going barefoot. He rejected a false narrative currently circulating social media.
AimPoint was not on Glover’s mind. Instead, he says he was singled out by a competitor for supposedly damaging the greens. Removing his shoes after sinking birdie was his version of trolling. He insists he was not guilty of scuffing up the playing surface.
Lucas Glover went barefoot.
The former Clemson star teed off in the 3M Open this weekend at TPC Twin Cities. He played well over the first three days.
Glover went -6 on Day 1 before shooting even over the next two rounds. He entered the final day of the tournament in contention for a strong finish.
It, unfortunately, wouldn’t happen. The golfer shot +1 on the afternoon. He tied for 57th on the leaderboard.
While his final round wasn’t all that exciting, he did provide some hijinks on the back nine.
HERE FOR THIS pic.twitter.com/4jcVZpYJ2c
— No Laying Up (@NoLayingUp) July 26, 2026
Glover sank a birdie putt on No. 10. He took his shoes off before retrieving the ball. Announcers immediately began speculating that it was linked to AimPoint.
AimPoint is a growingly popular method of reading greens. There are a few different steps to the technique.
- Find a spot between your ball and the hole and straddle that spot with one foot on either side of your line. Use your feet to feel which direction the slope is moving.
- Determine the severity of this slope, on a scale from one to five. Once you’ve determined this number, go stand behind your ball.
- Stand behind the ball and close one eye. Lift your hand so that your pointer finger is just outside the cup. Based on the percent slope you think is affecting your putt, put up that many fingers on your hand.
Some are for it. Many are against it. It’s time-consuming. Pace of play is always top of mind.
Lucas Glover is a critic. He does not believe it provides an advantage. All it does is force others around you to wait.
“Statistically, AimPoint hasn’t helped anybody make more putts since its inception on the PGA Tour,” he said in 2025. “It’s also kind of rude to be up near the hole, stomping around figuring out where the break is in your feet. It needs to be banned. It takes forever.”
Glover has gone as far as to suggest it should be banned. For that reason, the connection was made to his barefoot protest. After the tournament, he rejected the narrative.
What was the real reason?
“No, not even close. Nothing to do with Aimpoint actually,” he responded to an Instagram post. “(There were) complaints behind me about spike marks. I wear metal. Someone in the group ahead of us was, too. Singled me out. Just goofing off.”
Apparently, someone in the group behind Glover complained about spike marks. He wears metal spikes. His competitor singled him out. He was making light of the situation.
Michael Kim further confirmed that account on X.
The real backstory… someone with metal spikes wasn’t walking cleanly creating some bad spike marks and some player or players complained about it to rules officials thinking it was Lucas. Officials told him about it and that’s the reaction.
(We can fix spike marks now)— Michael S. Kim (@Mike_kim714) July 26, 2026
Glover was called out, he believes unnecessarily. He responded by going barefoot. The golfer got his message across to the person it was intended for. Fans now have some clarity.