Forget EVERYTHING you thought you know about putting!

June 17th, 2009 | GEL Golf, Quintic Ball Roll, Tuition

I had the absolute pleasure of visiting East Berkshire Golf Club last Thursday to attend the launch of GEL (Groove Equipment Ltd) Golf’s new putter fitting centres. It was quite simply, the most interesting presentation I have ever seen about golf.

When I say, “Forget EVERYTHING you thought you knew about putting!” I really mean it. What I learned yesterday totally changed how I look at putting and more importantly, how to practice the dark art. I’m going to try and pass this info on to all you lovely Fairway Finders so you can start having some more success on the greens.

The astonishing presentation was made by bio-mechanics expert, Dr Paul Hurrion who has spent over ten years studying the science behind putting. To say the chap knows what he’s talking about is an understatement. Quite frankly, he’s the Don of putting and he can prove it.

He started his presentation by lining up 12 golf balls in a dead straight line. They had been checked with a laser to prove they were dead straight. He then asked me to step up to the first ball and set my aim so that I would hit the middle of the second ball if I putted it. While I did that, he put his leg in the way to block my view of the other ten balls. I’ve shown this in the photos below so you get the idea.

Then Paul simply removed his leg from my view so I could see the rest of the twelve balls. Looking down the line of balls, they looked like they curved to the right, like a fade. It looked so curvy, I would have put money on the fact that the balls were not straight but I knew they were which was very strange!

As you move your head forward and backwards, the line of balls appears to curve one way or the other which, when you think about it, is amazing. You see, it’s all about your perception of straight. Everyone is different and the way they see straight is totally unique and that my little fairway finders is why we always miss putt after putt. If you can get this right on your set-up, you WILL hole more putts.

This theory completely blows everything you’ve heard about putting out of the window. The usual thinking of dropping a ball from the tip of your nose, watching where it lands and always hitting it from there is utter tosh. Fairly unsurprisingly, it turns out that we are all in fact, different and as such we see things differently. This is why we all need a personalised set-up that is completely unique to us. It sounds so obvious doesn’t it?

Dr Hurrion has worked with a host of tour stars and analysed their every putt and the figures he has in his arsenal are just astounding. For instance, a tour pro setting up for a drive, will tee up the ball in almost exactly the same position in his stance every time. In fact, it’s within the circumference of just one golf ball. That repeatability is key to their success, so you’d imagine it would be same with their putting wouldn’t you?

Well, you’d be wrong. Dr Hurrion says that in fact the ball position in the stance can change up to THREE full golf balls width (130mm or 5 inches) in any direction. That’s astonishing when you think about it and these guys are tour pros, the cream of the crop. Just imagine how badly an average amateur gets it wrong…

On tour, apparently 40% of all eight foot putts are missed which is totally rubbish when you think about it. If they missed 40% of their short irons into the green, they’d never be there in the first place, so why is it ok for putting?

I think for the first time, you can see why all these putts are missed. It’s all to do with your perception of what is straight; if that’s not right you’ve got no chance. Yes, you have to have the right balance when putting and a perfect shoulder only stroke but without your perception being right, your body compensates for your eyes and twists your hands, wrists or whatever to get the ball on the right line and that’s where everything goes wrong because it’s not truly repeatable.

In my opinion, this research sets GEL Golf and Paul Hurrion apart from the rest of the putting crowd. They know what they’re doing, and they can prove it.

All this research unequivocally proves that you really MUST have your putter fitted just for you in just the right way so that you can see perfectly straight every time and start holing those putts. This is what GEL Golf is launching and I can see it taking the world of golf by storm.

The new range of Paul Hurrion signature putters are masterpieces. The technology behind these babies is awesome and I’ve seen it proved with my own eyes. They have a wealth of features to help you get seriously better at putting which, with the right practice will pay dividends.

The most significant of these features is the grooved aluminium insert which gives a lovely soft feel for starters and makes the ball roll better off the face. When I say better, I mean significantly better.

Using high speed cameras as they did in their demonstration, you can easily see the benefits of the grooves. A Scotty Cameron putter we tried out made the ball backspin off the face of the club and bounce along the ground for the first few inches or feet depending on the length of the putt. Conversely, the GEL putters made the ball roll almost instantly off the face, getting the ball on the ground and rolling significantly faster than any other putter.

It might not sound that significant until you start to think about the greens you’ll be playing on. If you have a putter that imparts backspin on the ball and you’re putting uphill, the ball will ‘bite’ on the green just like a wedge but to a lesser extent. But how can you possibly know how much the ball will bite and therefore account for it when judging distance? The truth is - you can’t.

A putter that promotes roll straight off the face and also has the perfect set-up allows you to more accurately repeat the same thing time after time and that is the ultimate goal. You can practice uphill, downhill and distance putts and be confident that you can achieve the same thing over and over, removing as much error as is humanly possible. A much, much better idea I’m sure you’ll agree.

The other features of the groundbreaking putters include stiffened shafts to prevent club head twist at impact keeping you on target and weighting in the top of the shaft to help you centre yourself properly.

As I’m sure you’re thinking though, all of this effort is useless without the right tools to allow you to practice effectively and build a repeatable putting stroke that is on target, every time and that’s where GEL’s brand new putting mirror comes in. The nice chaps will show you how to use it properly when setting you up with your new purpose fitted super-putter.

The mirror allows you to set yourself up correctly with your eyes and body in the right position which is totally unique to you and then helps you to practice that set-up over and over. You can use it for a host of putting drills which will help you hit the right distances and get everything in-line, every time.

Using this, together with a fitted GEL putter is quite simply the best way you could ever learn to putt short of booking a lesson with Dr Hurrion himself. It’s based on quality science that’s impossible to argue with and I just can’t recommend it enough. It’s a true revolution in putting…

I was given one of these mirrors on Thursday last week and have practiced with it for about half an hour since. I played yesterday and I didn’t three putt a single green which is unusual for me I can tell you. I also holed a 50 foot dead straight putt, a 30 foot curved killer putt and seven or eight ten footers. It saved an otherwise poor round and proved to me the worth of this system.

It’ll cost you £185 for a Paul Hurrion Signature Putter, £25 to have it fitted and £39.99 for the putting mirror. Fitting centres are now being rolled out across the UK and are sure to be everywhere very soon. Honestly, if you buy one thing to improve your game this year, make it a fitted GEL Paul Hurrion putter. You won’t regret it!

Currently, they are available at the following locations:

UK
East Berkshire Golf Club, Crowthorne, Berkshire
Costessey Park Golf Club, Norwich, Norfolk
Hinksey Heights Golf Club, South Hinksey, Oxford
Nevada Bob’s, Broadgate, London
Nicky Lumb Golf Centre, Hambrook, Bristol
North Berwick Golf Club, North Berwick, East Lothian

Opening soon:
ZFL Golf, Benton, Newcastle
Nevada Bob’s, Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire
The Golf Depot, Straiton Retail Park, Edinburgh

Republic of Ireland:
Martins Golf, Golden Island, Athlone
Charleville Golf Club, Charleville, Cork
County Cavan Golf Club, Cavan
Ballina Golf Club, Mossgrove, County Mayo

For more information on GEL’s new range of putters, please check out their website at www.gelgolf.co.uk or look at Dr Hurrion’s work at www.quintic.com

by Jonathan Ashworth – FindtheFairways.com
http://www.findthefairways.com:80/golfnews/forget-everything-you-thought-you-knew-about-putting-1761.html

High Fives all Round - GEL celebrating another Tour win!

June 15th, 2009 | GEL Golf

GEL Golf is once again celebrating a Tour win, its fifth in just over two years, following Chinese Chen Jian’s victory using a GEL Ruby putter in the Luxehills Golf Championship on the Omega China Tour.

The 34-year-old secured his first title on the China Tour yesterday (June 14) over the Luxehills International Country Club in Chengdu after overcoming Australian Rowan Beste at the second hole of a thrilling sudden-death play-off.

Chen no doubt benefitted from the support of the large local gallery as well as his GEL putter after as he recorded a two-under 70 for an 11-under total of 277 while playing partner Beste shot a 69 to finish level after four rounds.

“I’m so excited. Winning this is a dream come true. I don’t really have the words to express how I feel,” said Chen, a Kunming-based teaching pro. “With so many people watching, I really wanted to prove I could play, that I belonged here. When I birdied the eight and heard the crowd roar, I felt great. It was just an amazing atmosphere.”

With his win, Chen joins an elite group of professionals who have enjoyed professional Tour wins using a GEL putter.

American Anthony Kang secured the Malaysian Open on The European Tour using a GEL Paul Hurrion Rego putter in February at the Saujana Golf & Country Club in Kuala Lumpur whilst in 2008 Hsu Mong-nan of Chinese Taipei claimed the China Tour’s Shanghai Championship with a GEL Jade and American Tom Stankowski clinched the Canadian Tour Championship using a GEL Emerald.

GEL’s first ever win came at the 2007 Johnnie Walker Cambodian Open when American Bryan Saltus won the event on the Asian Tour using a GEL Topaz.

“Given that we only launched GEL at the start of 2007 and already boast five Tour wins, we have made excellent progress into the market with our groove putters,” commented Alec Pettigrew, founder and managing director of Groove Equipment Ltd (GEL) Golf. “Moreover GEL Golf has established itself as the number one groove putter on Tour in Asia and is marketing itself globally so I am sure that we will be enjoying further victories in the near future.”

 

For further information on GEL Groove Putters, visit www.GELGolf.co.uk

GEL Golf Introduces Revolutionary New Fitting Centres into the UK

June 11th, 2009 | GEL Golf, Putting Biomechanics, Quintic Ball Roll

GEL Golf, which manufactures GEL Groove Putters, has introduced revolutionary new GEL Fitting Centres into the UK following its conviction that for the best results on the greens, putters need to be specially-fitted to the individual golfer.

At the official launch today (Thursday, June 11) at East Berkshire Golf Club, renown sports biomechanist and putting guru Dr Paul Hurrion was on hand to teach the GEL Fitting Procedure to 12 PGA Professionals, who will be opening the first GEL Fitting Centres at golf clubs around the country over the next couple of months.

Hurrion, who first linked up with GEL Golf in 2008 to co-design the GEL Paul Hurrion Signature Range of Putters, has developed the fitting procedure, equipment and drills using the biomechanical and practical principles he uses when fitting Tour players.

Each GEL Fitting Centre will benefit from the use of this specially-designed GEL equipment which will comprise a fitting tool, mirror and ProStance (www.pro-stance.com) aid as well as the Quintic 2009 Ball Roll Software (www.quinticballroll.com), designed by Hurrion, to ensure the highest level of customer care and a fitting experience like no other…

In addition, Hurrion will provide the PGA pros with his nine putting drills for them to teach their clients whilst the full range of GEL’s revolutionary groove putters, including those co-designed with Hurrion, will be available for testing at all of the new Centres.

“Through the GEL Fitting Centres, pros will be able to accurately fit each and every golfer with the most suitable putter for the individual; not only will they can ascertain not only suitable length, loft and lie but also blade against mallet, centre versus heel shaft and face-balanced against toe heavy,” commented Hurrion, who coaches putting skills to the likes of Padraig Harrington, Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood. “As a result of being specially fitted for a putter, golfers are both amazed and impressed as immediately they are able to see and feel tangible results for themselves.”

Hurrion, who has over 10 years of experience in sports biomechanics, has established independent testing company, Quintic, (www.quintic.com) with his father which provides a range of quality performance analysis software used at the highest levels in sport, health, and education across the world.

He specialises in biomechanical analysis using high-speed cameras, force platforms and computers and is a leading biomechanist contracted to UK Athletics, the International Cricket Council (ICC), English Cricket Board, and British Diving. His passion for golf however has led to his specialization in putting analysis and advice, assisting European Tour Professionals and holding PGA-accredited Putting Clinics.

The unique Groove and Insert technology that GEL uses in its putters is based on scientific testing that has proved that the use of grooves in putters creates instant forward roll on the golf ball, thus reducing the unwelcome effects of skidding and giving a truer roll.

The precision-cut aluminium face inserts give a softer and more responsive feel than the milled grooves of other groove putters whilst consultation with Tour professionals during the design process resulted in the GEL putters being designed with larger, heavier and more balanced heads, encouraging an even smoother and more rhythmical putting stroke.

Manufactured from 431 stainless steel with a Plated Black SQ finish with a sand blast face and coupled with its distinctive inserts and colourways, GEL has ensured that the putters look as great as they feel.

The GEL Paul Hurrion Signature Range uses even lighter aluminium inserts allowing weight to be distributed elsewhere in the putter head, pulling the centre of gravity up the putter face increasing forward roll. The Hurrion putters also incorporate tungsten weights to create MOI, and different shafts to reduce torque, particularly on miss-hits.

The success of GEL putters, launched just over two years ago, can be measured by the fact that they have already enjoyed four Tour victories; one each on the Asian, Canadian and China Tours and most recently on The European Tour when American Anthony Kang won the Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur in February using a GEL Rego Putter.

Further information can be found by visiting www.GELGolf.co.uk

http://www.gelgolf.co.uk/fitting-centres-coming-soon-1293-0.html

 





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