The doctor’s orders: Putt it like Cristiano Ronaldo
April 20th, 2009 | GEL Golf, Putting Biomechanics, Quintic Video SoftwareBy Mark Reason - Daily Telegraph : 20 Apr 2009
It’s all very well hitting the ball like Ben Hogan, as the Masters winner Angel Cabrera is said to do.
The trouble usually arises when Cabrera reaches the green. Then the big Argentine tends to be more Wogan than Hogan.
We all know the feeling. Think Scott Hoch, who became tagged Scott Choke after missing a two-feet putt to win the 1989 Masters. Or think Doug Sanders, who lost an Open after a nervous stab on the final green at St Andrews in 1970. Sanders said: “Do I ever think of that putt? - only once every four or five minutes.”
Yet we all believe in a cure, in a sort of national health service of putting. Cabrera went to Charlie Epps who showed him a video of all the putts he made when he won the US Open at Oakmont. Suddenly Cabrera believed again and was able to make crucial putts on the 16th (most people forget that one) and 18th greens (twice) at Augusta.
I went to see a bloke called Paul Hurrion. When you walk in the front door you get the same sort of feeling as you do when entering the doctor’s surgery.
But when you go to see Dr Hurrion, the putting coach of Padraig Harrington, you believe he’s got a cure for the disease. Hurrion says: “I need a player to take ownership of his stroke and this applies just as well to all the amateurs.
“Most amateurs, when they have that 10-foot putt for birdie on the first green and miss it left, they haven’t got a clue. Unless they know the difference between a good and bad putt it’s pure guesswork.”
I confess that I know the difference between a bad putt and a very bad putt, but the rest is a bit of a haze. Hurrion points up to a screen and tells me to watch.
He then shows a short clip of a well known European Tour player broken down into 2000 frames per second. The result is startling. When the ball leaves the putter face you can see it take off and travel 15 inches in the air before it hits the ground. You can also see the ball’s rotation and the fact that it carries backspin.
Hurrion explains the implications. He says: “You’ve got 8 feet uphill on the first green of the monthly medal, but the ball comes off the putter in the air (unbeknown to you). It’s like a bit of a chip. It hits the slope and digs in and misses low left.
“On the next green you’ve got a slightly downhill putt, but after that first one you are thinking: ‘These greens are a bit slower today.’ So you hit it a bit harder.
“But it’s still taking off with spin and this time it kicks off the downslope. Suddenly you’re five feet past and about to give the greenkeeper hell.” Hurrion’s goal is to create what he calls “pure roll.” The first task in this process is to get a putter that fits you. He has co-designed a special grooved GEL putter and according to Hurrion one per cent of loft at impact is optimum.
He says: “A lot of people have a putter that is too long and the lie too lofted.”
The second and third keys are down to you. Hurrion draws a parallel between Ronaldo and Beckham freekicks. Ronaldo hits the ball so purely, with so little spin, “You can see the logo flying”. Beckham hits it with loads of spin. You want to putt like Ronaldo.
The grip, the forearms and the shoulder need to be square and you need to be stable. Most people tilt slightly forwards or backwards during their stroke. Stability and balance form the second key.
The third key is more depressing. Hurrion says: “The secret to solving most amateurs’ putting is they don’t practice.” And you thought Hurrion had a magic wand. Wrong.
Harrington’s got a magic wand and it’s because he has the right ball position, the right putter, good balance, square technique - and because he practises and practises. And that’s all there is to it.
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