Rock Solid

March 8th, 2013 | Golf International, ProStance, Putting Biomechanics, Tuition

The best putters in the world eliminate unnecessary movement and hone a stroke that is built around the stability of a consistent platform. Key to achieving that is a stable pelvis – and improving that alone will make you a better putter the next time out.

Putting represents half the strokes played in the average round of par golf and is, in many ways, a miniature version of the full swing – yet, perplexingly, it remains the area of the game least taught, least seriously practised and, perhaps, least understood.

The majority of coaching features and videos, manuals and textbooks suggest ‘feel’ as the key to success, along with ‘a good technique.’ However, thinking logically, a good technique must surely come first in order to create the consistent platform necessary to replicate the stroke that enables you to develop the ‘feel’ to hole putts. So, what factors contribute to a good technique? Strength may not spring to mind but I am of the firm belief that putting is a strength exercise. It is strength which gives you a stable posture and balanced pivot point – essential to the putter being returned consistently to impact from address.

Also, it is often advised by golf teachers that it is best to stand comfortably at address and relaxed over the ball prior to hitting the putt. However, it has been my experience that ‘comfortable’ does not necessarily translate into well-balanced and (potentially) creates an individual style of putting which often encourages (and indeed requires) a degree of manipulation during the stroke.

I believe one of the fundamentals to good putting is a strong, balanced set-up, and over the following pages I will introduce three specific drills designed to help you improve that quality in your own game. They will help you create that sound base for a consistent strike (and that same sound base will help the rest of your game, too).

At Quintic, we recently carried out research to study the set-up position of 30 elite PGA professional golfers and 30 amateur golfers (handicaps ranging from +3 to 9), all of whom were filmed whilst attempting the same level 20-foot putt on a surface with a stimp reading of 12. All 60 performed their regular putting action with their own putters whilst standing on an RSscan Footscan pressure measuring platform. The results were interesting. We found that there was a difference between the amateur and professional groups in set-up; the weight distribution of the amateurs was approximately 60:40 (in favour of the right side for right handed golfers), whilst the professionals were much closer to 50:50 at set-up.

There was also a trend to suggest that the wider the stance, the smaller the centre of pressure movement (i.e. sway) during the stroke. And although there was no appreciable difference in stance width between the two groups of players, there was a difference in the amount of sway with significantly more movement seen in the amateurs. As you will appreciate, the more (lateral) body movement, the more the likelihood of inconsistency in the path and tempo of the putting stroke – factors that contribute to inconsistency at impact and a loss of feel.

So, as ever in this game, the key is to get yourself correctly positioned at the set-up.

Let’s get to work.

www.golfinternationalmag.com

Click here to download Rock Solid

March/April Edition

PGA Holland – Teaching Conference March 2013

January 21st, 2013 | 'The Academy', PGA, Tuition

What a year….

December 21st, 2012 | PGA European Tour Golfers, PGA Tour, Rory McIlory

Congratulations Rory for being named PGA Tour Player of the Year, capping an outstanding season for the world number one, becoming the youngest recipient since Tiger Woods in 1998.

Rory won four PGA Tour titles in 2012, including the PGA Championship by a record eight strokes. Rory also won the Honda Classic, Deutsche Bank Championship and BMW Championship and the Vardon Trophy for the lowest scoring average.

He also won the money lists for the PGA and European Tours… Time to get some rest, ready for 2013…

Congratulations once again from all at Quintic.

 

 

 

 

 

Padraig wins PGA Gland Slam…

October 25th, 2012 | Padraig Harrington, PGA European Tour Golfers, PGA Tour

Padraig Harrington celebrated a return to winning form in the Anniversary 30th PGA Grand Slam of Golf in Bermuda at the Port Royal Golf Course, with victory over US Open champion Webb Simpson, Masters champion Bubba Watson and defending champion Keegan Bradley.

Harrington, shot a 67 on the second day to his opening 66 for a winning 36-hole nine under par aggregate of 133 – one ahead of Simpson, who shot a best of the day 65, and six in front of Watson (71) and Bradley (67).

Harrington, one of only 12 players in 2012 to make the halfway cut in all four Major Championships which included tying fourth and eighth in the US Open and Masters Tournament respectively, only received his call-up last Saturday as a late-replacement for injured Open Champion Ernie Els – but the 6,500 mile round journey enabled him to become only the second European golfer to win the title following Ian Woosnam’s success in 1991.

“It feels really good. I have not won in a while and it would be a nice habit to get back into. When it happens, you’ve got to enjoy it and we’ll be doing that tonight.

“I’m playing really good golf. There is some good stuff in my game right now; and there’s other stuff I need to tidy-up. I have realised with experience that wins do not come around as often as you would like. But I believe I’m going into a nice period in my career.

Congratulations, good to see you back in the winners circle!  Need to work on your cricket batting technique though…

 

BEACH BREAK!

October 19th, 2012 | Golf International, Putting Biomechanics, Tuition

Green reading is a fascinating and yet sometimes frustrating concept to master, trying to visualise break and speed, the effects of grain, wind and the occasional spike mark – is it any wonder that at times putting becomes nothing more than a case of hit and hope? Learning to recognise the true line of a breaking putt is the first step to building up your confidence – and this impromtu beach lesson can help…

By Dr Paul Hurrion

Photography Mark Newcombe / Shot on location at Trevose Golf Club, Cornwall

www.quintic.com

LEARN TO RECOGNISE THE FULL VISUAL
One of my keys to putting is to understand the difference between a good putt and a poor putt. You can misread a putt, pull it and hole the putt – does that make you a good putter?  Hey, you got lucky… but two wrongs don’t always make a right. This style of putting would perhaps at best be streaky, but not one that will deliver a consistent, repeatable stroke. I find the majority of amateurs and even seasoned professionals tenoctd to underand through the course of this article I’m going to explain why. And how about this for a prop : using the golden sands of Constantine Bay here at Gi HQ in Cornwall, I’m going to provide a graphic illustration that will enhance your ability to visualise the true break.

To read the full artilce please click here : GFI113_Beach_Break_Inst_Hurrion

By Dr Paul Hurrion www.quintic.com / www.quinticballroll.com
Golf International – Issue 113, Oct/Nov 2012  p82-85

 

A Rolling Brief – Putter Face vs Path

July 25th, 2012 | Golf International, Quintic Ball Roll, Tuition

“Quantifying the relative and conflicting effects of putter path and face angle on the direction and motion of the golf ball” – that was our goal in producing a research document based on our own extensive testing.

The putter: the most used club in the bag but the most overlooked part of the average golfer’s practice. Golfers around the world are using the technology available in today’s market to help analyse and improve their golf swing. Technology is transforming teaching and club-fitting, offering golfers three-dimensional, frame-by-frame swing analysis, high-speed video and precise spin rates and launch angles that apply to the golf ball after impact. However, when it comes to putting, rather than analysing what our putting stroke and the ball are doing in detail, we simply opt to buy another putter with little more than hope that it will truly improve our putting performance.

Factors such as alignment of the putter face, path of the putter, launch angle, speed, impact location, grip pressure, forward or backwards rotation, hook or cut spin, grain, spike marks, slope and even wind can play a significant part in the outcome of a putt.

The vital question we like to ask our players is simple: “Do you know the difference between a good putt and a poor putt?” Without feedback on the launch conditions of each putt, is it possible to begin to answer this question?

Read the full article here… A Rolling Brief – Putter Face vs Path

By Dr Paul Hurrion & Jim MacKay
www.quintic.com / www.quinticballroll.com
Golf International – Issue 111, July/August 2012

10 ‘MUSTS’ for the start of the golfing season…

June 14th, 2012 | Golf International, Putting Biomechanics, Tuition

(ASSUMING YOU WANT TO SHOOT LOWER SCORES…)

By Dr Paul Hurrion
WWW.QUINTIC.COM / WWW.PAULHURRION.COM
SHOT ON LOCATION AT DESERT MOUNTAIN, PHOENIX, ARIZONA, USA.
WWW.DESERTMOUNTAIN.COM

I have recently returned from Phoenix, Arizona where I presented some of my research on putting at the World Scientific Congress of Golf. Here, I have summarised some of my findings in order to give you what I hope is valuable advice as you look forward to a summer season. Time to put in some quality putting practice – that’s if you want to reduce your handicap!

1/ POSTURE
2/ NEW PUTTER GRIP
3/ GET CUSTOM FIT
4/ PALMS TOGETHER
5/ ENERGY TRANSFER
6/ THROUGH THE GATE (TIGER DRILL)
7/ COIN DRILL
8/ PACE CONTROL
9/ PUTT TO THE FRINGE
10/ PRACTICE!

 Golf International : 10 ‘MUSTS’ for the start of the golfing season…  June 12 : Please find below a PDF file ’10 Musts’ – To download the article please click on the following links GI_110_Hurrion_Page_130-131 & GI_110_Hurrion_Page_132 Golf International – June 2011 pp130-132

Please visit http://paulhurrion.com/tuition/ for all my Tuition articles and http://paulhurrion.com/video/ for my Video articles… Please enjoy and I hope it helps!?!

 

Dutchman Huizing lifts the 2012 St Andrews Links Trophy

June 12th, 2012 | 'The Academy', Putting Biomechanics, Robert-Jan Derksen

Daan Huizing cruised to victory in the St Andrews Links Trophy today and set a new record low score for the tournament.

The 21 year-old Dutchman finished on a 23 under par total of 264 after rounds of 65 on the New Course and 64, 68 and 67 on the Old Course. He shaved nine shots off the previous record score in the 72 hole tournament and finished 14 shots clear of 2009 champion Alan Dunbar from Rathmore in second place.

Huizing became the first player to win the St Andrews Links Trophy and the Lytham Trophy in the same year following on from his 11 shot victory at Royal Lytham.

The only blemishes in two near faultless rounds on the Old Course today were twice putting his second shot at the first hole into the Swilcan Burn. Having led the tournament from start to finish, Huizing did not let these mistakes bother him and went on to birdie the 3rd, 5th, 7th, 9th, 14th and 15th holes on his way to a final round five under par 67.

“This afternoon I hit my second to the first a bit fat but after that had a lot of birdie chances through good wedge play to the first ten greens,” he said. “I was hitting them close and didn’t hole many big putts. I have improved my attitude this year and have been concentrating on distance control.”

Final leaderboard
-23 Huizing
-9 Dunbar
-8 Robertson
-7 O’Donovan
-7 Hinton

Daan Huizing is one of many members of the National Golf Holland amateurs who use the Robert-Jan Derksen ‘Academy’ within Nunspeet Golf Club. ‘The Academy’ works closely with the NGF to improve their structure in coaching putting to the Dutch top amateur golfers. The Academy is based on the technique that Paul uses in his own ‘Hurrion Quintic’ putting laboratory, located in Birmingham, England. By using multi high speed cameras, Quintic Ball roll, Force platform and special computer analysis software allow the coach to observe even the smallest detail in your putting stroke, which the naked eye can not see…

“I am extremely proud of our Academy and assume that we will soon all together will witness the enhanced level of our putt-Dutch top golfers”, says Robert-Jan Derksen.

Robert-Jan Derksen, THE ACADEMY, Sophiaweg 412, 6523
NJ Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Telephone +31 (0) 24 360 3418, Telefax +31 (0) 24 388 8576, GSM manager Jan Derksen: +31 653 15 09 21
THEACADEMY@robertjanderksen.com : www.theacademy-rjd.eu

Flying Dutchman Daan Huizing wins Lytham Trophy by 11 shots!

May 12th, 2012 | 'The Academy', Putting Biomechanics, Robert-Jan Derksen

Flying Dutchman Daan Huizing, ranked No 7 among the world’s amateurs, won the Lytham Trophy by an astonish margin of 11 shots with a seven-under-par total of 273 over the Royal Lytham Golf Club venue for this year’s Open championship.

He led from start to finish with scores of 67-67-71-68 over the par-70 lay-out and probably never noticed that the course has been toughened up for ‘The Open’ in July this year…

It was a Continental 1-2 with Germany’s Moritz Lampert the distant runner-up on 284 (69-72-71-72).

Daan Huizing is one of many members of the National Golf Holland amateurs who use the Robert-Jan Derksen ‘Academy’ within Nunspeet Golf Club. ‘The Academy’ works closely with the NGF to improve their structure in coaching putting to the Dutch top amateur golfers. The Academy is based on the technique that Paul uses in his own ‘Hurrion Quintic’ putting laboratory, located in Birmingham, England. By using multi high speed cameras, Quintic Ball roll, Force platform and special computer analysis software allow the coach to observe even the smallest detail in your putting stroke, which the naked eye can not see…

“I am extremely proud of our Academy and assume that we will soon all together will witness the enhanced level of our putt-Dutch top golfers”, says Robert-Jan Derksen.

Robert-Jan Derksen, THE ACADEMY, Sophiaweg 412, 6523
NJ Nijmegen, The Netherlands
Telephone +31 (0) 24 360 3418, Telefax +31 (0) 24 388 8576, GSM manager Jan Derksen: +31 653 15 09 21
THEACADEMY@robertjanderksen.com : www.theacademy-rjd.eu

The Surrey County Coaching Conference 2012

January 17th, 2012 | Putting Biomechanics, Quintic Ball Roll

Day 2: Presenters:

DR PAUL HURRION : Is the putter or the stroke that creates overspin in putting?
Can you create too much overspin???

Paul is internationally recognised in many sports as a specialist in biomechanical analysis. He is a director of Quintic Consultancy Ltd that provides user friendly 2D analysis via Quintic Biomechanics Sports Analysis software.www.Quintic.com. As well as his work in cricket, diving and UK athletics, Paul works with the Professional Golf Association and assists in R and D in shoe development for Hi Tec Sports. Paul’s passion is golf and he is a member of the Biomechanics Advisory Board of the Titleist Performance Institute. He has his own range of putters produced by GEL Golf which have won on the European Tour. He works closely with many European Tour professionals including Rory McIlroy, Lee Westwood, Padraig Harrington, Oliver Wilson and Robert-Jan Derksen.



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