Dr Paul Hurrion - Official Site of Putting Coach

World Class Line Up Of Speakers Assembled For Coaching Professionals

March 1st, 2010 | Putting Biomechanics, Tuition

01/03/10
Asian Golf Business : Singapore

Asia’s first-ever conference dedicated to the golf teaching and playing professional is well on its way to setting a new milestone for the Asian golf industry.

The PGA Conference of Asia, scheduled to be staged at the Bangkok International Convention Centre at the plush Centara Grand Hotel in Centralworld, Bangkok, will feature about 20 world class speakers over the two day event on April 30 to May 1.

Presented under the theme “Quality Coaching - Asia’s Road to Golf Glory!” the revolutionary conference is being organised and produced by the Asia Pacific Golf Development Conferences Pte Ltd, (APGDC) the same organisation that owns and produces the highly acclaimed annual Asia Pacific Golf Summit.

“An event of this nature has been needed in Asia for a long time and we thought that given our stake-holdership in the game of golf in Asia, we would take the lead to organise and stage an event especially designed to cater to the needs of the teaching golf professional,” explained Mike Sebastian, managing director of APGDC.

“The primary thrust of the conference is to help elevate the status of the teaching professional in Asia because this individual has a huge role to play to grow the game of golf along the right path as golf expands rapidly in Asia,” Sebastian pointed out. “If Asia is to develop the game of golf well, then it makes a lot of sense for all of us to take the necessary steps to help golf coaches in the region to hone up on their teaching skills so that we can all play golf well regardless of the level of our game,” he added.

The keynote address at the two-day conference will be delivered by the Executive Chairman of the Asian Tour, Kyi Hla Han. “I view this conference as a development along the right path - if we are to stay sharp, especially in the professional game, we need to invest in our golf coaches - there is no short cut to success. Quality coaches mean quality players regardless of whether we are to develop amateurs, club players, juniors or professionals - we need good golf coaches,” Kyi Hla emphasized.

Among some of the top coaches confirmed for the conference are:

1. Tim Mahoney, Director of Golf Education, Troon Golf, USA who is ranked amongst the top golf coaches in America.
2. Brian Moog - the man who coached South Korean giant-killer Y.E. Yang to demolish Tiger Woods and win Asia’s first ever Major.
3. Dr. Paul Hurrion, ranked as one of the world’s top putting gurus and putting coach to Padraig Harrington and Rory McIlroy.
4. Dr. Mac Powell, Dean of the Golf Academy of the National University, San Diego.
5. Blaik Shew, former CEO of Hank Haney’s International Junior Golf Academy.

Other top flight international experts include:

* John Haime
* Shawn Clements
* Mark Bates
* Ed Lebeau
* Colin Field
* Bobby Shaeffer
* Steven Giuliano
* Jason Bierholm
* Tony Meechai
* Bill McKinney
* Kiran Kanwar

One of the many highlights of the conference will be the Asia-Pacific launch of the Swing Catalyst, a computer enabled teaching aid that is going to take the teaching of golf to a whole new level.

Bangkok-based teaching coach, Tony Meechai, who is involved in the organisation of the conference said, “This is an awesome show - never before have we had the luxury of being addressed by so many world class experts in golf coaching. This is really a once in a life time opportunity and I sincerely hope that all teaching professionals in Asia will make an effort to attend this conference.”

It is hoped that the PGA Conference of Asia will become an annual event headquartered in Bangkok. “It makes a lot of sense to locate an event like this in Bangkok because it has everything required to stage a successful event,” said Georgina Wong, executive director of APGDC.

Registration is now open at www.pgaasiaconference.com and interested delegates can register to attend on-line.

The PGA Conference of Asia is being held under the auspices of the Thailand Conventions and Exhibitions Bureau (TCEB), sanctioned by the Sports Authority of Thailand and hosted by the PGA of Thailand.

http://www.asiangolfbusiness.com/news2.php?reg_id=472

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ProStance - 9mins Video Infomercial…

November 26th, 2009 | Full Swing Biomechanics, ProStance, Putting Biomechanics, Tuition

95% of golfers don’t know where their weight is truly positioned…

ProStance has been proved to improve the balance and consistency of even the world’s top golfers, creating a more consistent golf swing thereby delivering more power and accuracy to your game. Good balance is essential to powerful and consistent golf shots, putts, chips, and full swings… It is simple to use, yet the results are instant unquestionable. ProStance - ‘the base for every successfull golf swing’ has created a infomercial video to explain the features and benefits of the product. Please click on the video below to view the video. For more information, please visit www.pro-stance.com

Get the Flash Player to see this player.

www.pro-stance.com

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Wilding Golf launches GEL Golf’s unique horizontal groove technology

September 3rd, 2009 | GEL Golf, Putting Biomechanics

Wilding Golf, Asia’s most advanced golf training and fitting centre founded by CEO Shane Wilding recently organised a media putting workshop to introduce the revolutionary range of GEL Putters with its unique horizontal groove technology as a sole distributor at its new Wilding Golf Performance Center, Bangkok, Thailand.

The event was attended by Alec Pettigrew, CEO of Groove Equipment Ltd and Dr Paul Hurrion, the co-designer of GEL Putter’s Signature Range, who presented a demonstration of a putting lesson as well as a GEL Fitting session.

Photo caption (from left): Dr Paul Hurrion, a co-designer of Signature GEL Putters, Shane Wilding founder and CEO of the Wilding Golf Performance Center, and Alec Pettigrew, CEO of Groove Equipment Ltd

About Wilding Golf:
Wilding Golf is one of the most widely recognised brands in the golf training market and renowned for the high quality of its products and services. The new Wilding Golf Performance Center features 12 Swing Bays with Golf Simulators, 2 Putting Studios and a VIP Corporate Suite complete with Asia’s ONLY 3D SimSurround Simulator. The center also includes an Equipment Performance Lab which features technology that helps match a golfer’s unique swing with the perfect equipment.

The Wilding Golf Performance Center @ Interchange Building (B2 Floor) is open everyday from 07.00 am till 11.00 pm. For more information, please call 02-6112552 or 6112553 or log-on to www.wildinggolf.com

For further information, please contact:
Chanpim Merakate
Public Relations Manager
Vivaldi Public Relations
Tel: 02 718 2191 Fax: 02 319 9303 Mobile: 081 425 7017
Email: chanpim.merakate@vivaldipr.com

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Brewerton bidding to top Henderson Money List

August 27th, 2009 | GEL Golf, ProStance, Putting Biomechanics

Helsinki, Finland – 27th August 2009

Solheim Cup star Becky Brewerton tees up at the Finnair Masters in Helsinki this week with a new goal in mind: to win the Ladies European Tour’s 2009 Henderson Money List.

The Welsh 26-year-old said: “At the start of the year a massive goal was to get into The Solheim and to win another tournament and I’ve done that already. Now looking at the position that I’m in, I have got a pretty good chance of winning the money list and that would be a huge thing to do. “That’s what my aim is for the rest of the season: to play in as many events as possible and keep doing well. While I’m confident I’ll keep playing as much as possible and hopefully try and win the money list.”

Brewerton – currently fifth on the LET’s Henderson Money List – finished equal seventh in Finland last year. This time she is determined to improve and with €145,669.48 already banked, largely thanks to her second LET win at the Open de Espana Femenino, a tie for 13th place at the Evian Masters and fourth place finish at the S4/C Wales Ladies Championship, she sits €127,946 behind top ranked Sophie Gustafson from Sweden.

This week’s €30,000 first prize would see her leapfrog Solheim Cup teammate Italian Diana Luna, who is taking the week off, into third position. However Norwegian Marianne Skarpnord, the current number four, is playing in the tournament. “I’m 30,000 behind Diana Luna at the moment so I could make that up this week with a win. Even if it wasn’t a (money list) win, if it was a top three, that gains you entry into a few extra tournaments next year. It’s a big thing,” she added.

With five top 10 finishes from her last eight tournaments, Brewerton has not been outside the top 20 places since May’s HVB Ladies German Open. She also intends to get off to a fast start in The 2011 Solheim Cup qualification process, which begins this week.

“I’m already just desperate to get to Ireland because I so want to win it more than anything and get some revenge,” said Brewerton, who won two points for the European team in their 16-12 defeat against the Americans at Rich Harvest Farms, Illinois, on Sunday.

“It’s a shame because we came so close and I don’t know if it came across to everyone how close it was in the end. After the front nine on the last day it looked like we were going to win. I think we gave them a good run for their money,” she added. Brewerton says she is reaping the rewards of the work she has put in on her short game with Dr. Paul Hurrion and on her swing with PGA professional Stewart Craig, part of a long overall process.

“I’ve just got to keep doing what I’ve been doing and play well and keep putting well because that’s what’s made the difference,” said Brewerton, who said she enjoyed the Helsinki course layout. “I think it suits me. The par fives, you can get up on in two. There are a lot of par fours where you can hit good drives and hit short shots into the greens,” she said.

The 5918 yard par 71 course at Helsinki Golf Club is hosting the €200,000 event for the fifth time and all four former champions are competing, namely Denmark’s Lisa Holm Sorensen (2005), Frenchwoman Virginie Lagoutte-Clement (2006), Germany’s Bettina Hauert (2007) and Finland’s Minea Blomqvist (2008).

Blomqvist and Brewerton are playing in a marquee group with Spaniard Paula Marti at 9am in the first round on Friday. Day one action begins at 8.30am 28th August 09.

http://host2.ladieseuropeantour.com:80/~ladies/content/let_article_item.php?Id=23217

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GEL Golf expands the Paul Hurrion Signature range…

August 4th, 2009 | GEL Golf, Putting Biomechanics

If you haven’t heard of GEL Golf yet, you’re missing out. They are quite simply, the most forward thinking golf company out there at the moment, full stop. GEL’s new range of putters are just awesome and now, they’re adding four more to into the mix… GEL has just launched four new models, the Ora, Pondera, Vicis and Quasso models which look absolutely stunning. The Ora is an absolute masterpiece in my opinion, beautiful.

Co-designed by GEL Golf and putting master Dr Paul Hurrion, the innovative putters are now available in the UK through GEL distributor, Assay Golf, via selected golf shops and the internet at www.GELGolf.co.uk at a recommended retail price of £185.

In an industry first, the GEL Paul Hurrion Signature Range comes equipped with a GEL True Temper Dynamic Gold S400 iron shaft - rather than a standard putter shaft. This means the club will twist far less on impact with the ball which will help keep you on-line. It also help you to experience increased feel and improved pace control.

The innovation has allowed Dr Hurrion to reposition weight around the perimeter of the putter head using a unique, inline weighting system with tungsten concealed in the putter head leading to a more rhythmic stroke, better response and high moment of inertia (MOI) for a truer roll.

As with his first four models, Hurrion’s new line features the multi-layer, horizontal grooves developed by GEL Golf that are milled at a precise angle onto a soft aluminium insert. The combination of these new technologies creates instant forward roll of the golf ball, reducing the effect of skidding providing a straighter roll off the ball immediately after it has been struck.

Tests prove that the roll of a golf ball immediately after it has been struck is the most crucial element in directing the ball towards the intended target illustrating clearly why groove putters outperform all others on the market. When we say ALL others - we mean ALL others.

“We’re very excited to be releasing additional models to our already-successful line of GEL putters,” said Alec Pettigrew, Managing Director of Groove Equipment Ltd. “With Paul’s expertise in putting and sports biomechanics, GEL has truly delivered a putter for golfers of all abilities.”

Hurrion brings with him over 10 years of research and development in sports biomechanics and is now recognized as one of the top putting coaches on The European Tour. Amongst others, he currently coaches three-time major winner Padraig Harrington, Rory McIlroy, Lee Westwood and recent LET winner, Becky Brewerton.

“Based on the success of the inaugural GEL Paul Hurrion Signature Range, I have designed four new models to help golfers continue to enjoy the key benefits tour players look for on the greens,” says Hurrion.

“A putter designed with horizontal grooves to impart forward roll, peripheral-weighting that maximizes the sweet spot across the putter face and heel-toe weighting to increase the MOI for improved resistance to twisting on off-centre hits creates stability at impact in the area of the game that matters most,” he concludes.

Since its launch in 2007, GEL Golf has firmly established itself as the number one groove putter on the Asian Tour and has already enjoyed six professional Tour wins; one each on The European, Asian and Canadian Tours and two on the China Tour plus one on the Ladies European Tour.

GEL offer truly top class putters and are currently in a league of their own. It’s just a matter of time until all the pros are using putters like these and taking training from bio-mechanics legend, Dr Hurrion.

Just as technology in drivers has changed the game, technology in putting is going to do the same with GEL Golf’s new putters. See our article “Forget everything you thought you knew about putting” for the full story.

Check out the company’s website at www.gelgolf.co.uk for more information or see the tech specs of the new putters below.

Dr. Paul Hurrion Signature Range Tech Specs:

ORA - (Edge)
A modified alignment, face-balanced blade with an inline weighting, a ‘crank-neck’ hosel and full shaft offset. Weight alignment arms create unique weight distribution within the putter face. Three-line alignment system squares the putter face to help focus the putter to the target. Loft 3.0 degrees. Lie 73 degrees. Standard shaft length: 33″ to 35″. 431 stainless steel material. (385gm head weight).

PONDERA - (Balance / Equilibrium)
A heel-toe, weighted mallet with a ‘crank-neck’ hosel and full shaft offset. A single alignment system squares the putter face to help focus the putter to the target. Loft 3.0 degrees. Lie 73 degrees. Standard shaft length: 33″ to 35″. 431 stainless steel material. (360gm head weight).

VICIS - (Time)
A heel-toe, weighted modified blade with a ‘crank-neck’ hosel and full shaft offset. Loft 3.0 degrees. Lie 73 degrees. Standard shaft length: 33″ to 35″. 431 stainless steel material. (365gm head weight).

QUASSO - (Break)
A heel-toe, weighted modified blade with a ‘crank-neck’ hosel and full shaft offset. Loft 3.0 degrees. Lie 73 degrees. Standard shaft length: 33″ to 35″. 431 stainless steel material. (350gm head weight).

http://www.findthefairways.com:80/golfnews/gel-golf-expands-its-epic-range-of-putters-in-2009-2190.html

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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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The doctor’s orders: Putt it like Cristiano Ronaldo

April 20th, 2009 | GEL Golf, Putting Biomechanics, Quintic Video Software

By 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.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk:80/sport/golf/5188757/The-doctors-orders-Putt-it-like-Cristiano-Ronaldo.html

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Guru’s gadgetry helps Padraig Harrington prepare for Augusta

April 6th, 2009 | Padraig Harrington, Putting Biomechanics

by Peter Dixon
The Times - Monday 6th April 2009

You could call it the appliance of science. One reason why Padraig Harrington is the possessor of three major championships and one of the few players comfortable going head-to-head with Tiger Woods.

And it is why Dr Paul Hurrion, Harrington’s putting coach, thinks the Irishman is every bit as good as Woods on the greens and why he believes his man has every chance of winning the Masters that gets under way at Augusta on Thursday.

“There’s no question that he is in Tiger’s class,” Hurrion said. “And the tougher the test, the better it is for him because some of the others tend to give up.” As everybody knows, there is no test tougher than the ice-fast, sloping greens of Augusta. But it is Hurrion - a biomechanist by profession - whose scientific approach to the game within a game has helped to turn Harrington from a very good putter into a great one.

Who, for instance, could forget the way in which the Irishman took the USPGA Championship from under the nose of Sergio García last year with a putting display from out of this world? In his final round he took only 26 putts and had single putts on eight of the last nine greens, every one of them like a blow to the Spaniard’s solar plexus. “It was when all the hard work paid off,” Hurrion said. “It was perfect, the moment when everything came together.”

We are talking at Hurrion’s base, more like laboratory, in a small village in the Midlands, part of an annexe to a house within its own grounds. The only clue that a player with two Opens and one USPGA Championship to his name has been there are the framed and signed flags from each of the majors Harrington has won.

Hurrion, at 37 the same age as the Open champion, describes biomechanics as the science of human movement. He has worked with Jonny Wilkinson, Steve Backley, and the Great Britain bobsleigh team. He is on the International Cricket Council panel that assesses the action of bowlers suspected of throwing.

He has been with Harrington since 2002 and uses all the technology at his disposal to analyse every aspect of the player’s putting. He has high-speed cameras and specially-designed computer software that gives instant feedback on such things as head, shoulder and body movement. The aim, he explains, is to create an efficient, repeatable stroke that works every time.

His cameras record up to 2,000 frames per second and show in the minutest detail how the ball comes off the face of the putter. What the naked eye cannot pick up, the cameras certainly will. If, say, the putter cuts across the ball at impact it will impart side spin that will affect the direction in which it moves.

There are four cameras in all, one to the side, one straight on to show the path the putter takes, one at shoulder height to show how the shoulders move and one above the head. There is also a pressure pad under the feet that indicates how the weight shifts through the stroke. The more the body moves, the more manipulation of the putter head will be needed - and that is the path to inconsistency. “We are looking for perfect symmetry and control, aiming to hit it out of the middle every time,” Hurrion said.

Some of the key areas on which he works with Harrington are posture, stance, balance and stability. The aim is to create a pendulum motion that keeps the putter head as close to the ground as possible. The higher off the ground, Hurrion explains, the greater the margin for error.

Harrington’s unquenchable thirst for improvement means that he knows exactly where to look if things start to go awry. “If you have an eight-foot putt for birdie and it misses left edge, you need to know why,” Hurrion said. “What you need to ask is: Did it miss left edge because I aimed there? Have I pulled it? Have I hit it not quite quick enough and not taken the break out of the putt? Have I just misread it? Did it hit a spike mark or has the wind blown it off course? All of a sudden there are half a dozen variables and unless you can tell the difference, you’re stuck.”

All of which brings to mind García, who had just such a putt for victory in the Open Championship at Carnoustie in 2007 and who stood agog when the ball “lipped” out. It opened the door for Harrington, who went on to claim his first major in the four-hole play-off that ensued.

Watching García on the practice green at the CA Championship in Miami, Florida, recently, it looked as if he has learnt nothing in the interim. It was not so much that he missed the vast majority of the putts he took from about nine feet but the way in which he missed them, with half of them going to the left and half going to the right.

With good technique comes mental toughness. “It’s tough to be positive if you know that your technique is not really good enough to deal with what you are about to face,” Hurrion said. “Is your technique good enough to repeatedly hit the ball on the lines you have read? If you do it wrong, the record books will show you are not as good as you think you are.”

In Harrington, Hurrion has found a hard taskmaster. “After each session you come away with more questions than you have answered,” Hurrion said. “I lie awake in bed at night thinking about it. Then I’ll text him an answer if he’s travelling and he’ll send one back saying, ‘Yep, I’ll try that.’

“The sessions could easily last all day and there are times when you think, ‘Geez I need a break.’ But that’s what makes a major champion. And that’s why our work is done for the Masters.”

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/golf/article6040490.ece

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Padraig Harrington’s major success is mainly in the mind…

April 5th, 2009 | Padraig Harrington, Putting Biomechanics

By Mark Reason
Sunday Telegraph 5th April 2009

Padraig Harrington is a mind apart. Vijay Singh hits ball after ball until his hands are like strips of leather left out to dry in the Fijian sun. Harrington practises thinking, rerunning the same thought time after time, just as he would hit 100 short putts in a row.

The winner of the previous two majors has learned a ruthless sporting intelligence to compare with even the great Tiger Woods.

Silver lining: Padraig Harrington with the US PGA trophy

The other week in America Harrington was answering a few questions as he walked the quarter of a mile from the practice bunker to the practice ground. Harrington was talking about how distractions are a benefit to golfers, how people who have just got married or just had kids often experience a surge in form.

I wondered how much the birth of Patrick in 2003 had contributed to his own surge in form, how much the birth of a son had inspired him to be an “overachiever”. As soon as the awful word was out, there was no scooping it back. Harrington said nothing for a moment. He continued signing autographs, but already he seemed to have walked away.

“Overachiever” is a daft sporting cliché. It is applied to people who reach heights that their physical talents may initially suggest are beyond them.

But why not flip it around and call John Daly, the winner of an Open and a PGA, an overachiever? The American has won two majors and has wonderful physical gifts, but besides Harrington he is a mental pygmy.

Maybe Harrington is still an underachiever. Paul Hurrion has been Harrington’s putting coach since the pair met on a green in Spain at the end of 2002 and continues to be astonished by the Irishman’s attention to detail.

There are flags from each of Harrington’s three major victories on the wall of Hurrion’s putting lab and he believes there are more to come.

Two weeks ago Hurrion flew to Dublin to work on Harrington’s putting ahead of the Masters. He got in on Wednesday evening and at midnight Harrington was still hitting putts, still asking questions, to many of which Hurrion did not have answers.

Hurrion says: “Even now, after seven years, I will receive more questions than I can answer. One of Padraig’s gifts is the mental. But that doesn’t just come. He works just as hard at that as anything else. People don’t fully appreciate that. It’s not a five-minute job.”

For many players, putting is an art. For the world’s best – and Hurrion nominates them as Tiger Woods, Padraig Harrington, Justin Leonard and David Howell – putting is more of a science.

Harrington has worked thousands of hours with Hurrion so that he can release the putter blade square each time. He does not want variables in his stroke, like head movement or an unstable pivot point. And for that half a millisecond when the putter is in contact with the ball, he wants the centre of gravity of the blade to meet the centre of gravity of the ball.

It is not an art, it is an exact science. Understand the science and then you can get creative with things like visualisation. Woods makes a mental movie of the ball tracking into the hole. But Tiger can do that with confidence only because he has near-perfect technique.

Harrington believes that putting, along with strategy, is one of the two keys to winning the Masters. He says: “You’ve got to be in top form with your putter the week of Augusta to be in contention. You can hit a good putt at Augusta from an awkward spot, and if you’ve got it to six feet you’re happy, whereas on a regular flat green if you’re outside two feet you’d be disappointed.”

Mental toughness allied to brilliant technique has brought Harrington to the third leg of the so-called Paddy Slam. It makes him more likely than anyone else in the game other than Woods to keep holing those six footers. Great putting is the aspect of the game that separates the multiple major winners from the rest.

So how would Harrington relish coming down the stretch next Sunday, one of only three men still in with a chance, the other two being Woods and Mickelson. He says: “I wouldn’t be a bit comfortable, but I’d be loving it. I’d be nervous as hell. The shots you have to hit there are so intimidating, so precise, and I’d be panicking big time, but I’d also be loving and relishing the idea.”

But ask Harrington specifically about winning the third leg of the Paddy Slam and his tone changes. He recites monotonously: “If you said to me I’m going to miss the cut at this Masters and win the Masters next year, I’d be very happy with that.”

Harrington has practised that thought and practised that speech and he just keeps hitting it out there, like another practice ball, into the deep blue yonder.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/golf/5099189/Padraig-Harringtons-major-success-is-mainly-in-the-mind.html

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Superstar putting genius Dr Paul Hurrion wants to play Bag Tag

April 3rd, 2009 | GEL Golf, Putting Biomechanics

http://www.findthefairways.com/golfnews/putter-genius-dr-paul-hurrion-plays-bag-tag-1325.html

Superstar putting genius Dr Paul Hurrion wants to play Bag Tag this week and has told us exactly what’s in his bag. Paul is the top man where biomechanical analysis is concerned using high-speed cameras, force platforms and computers at his top class Quintic Lab. He is contracted to a huge number of sporting companies and associations including UK Athletics, International Cricket Council (ICC), English Cricket Board, and British Diving.

His real passion lies with golf though and this has led to a specialism in putting analysis and advice, assisting European Tour Professionals and holding PGA accredited Putting Clinics.

The Quintic hi-tech Putting Laboratory is developing and has already benefited many European Tour Golfers including Padraig Harrington, Paul McGinley, Rory McIlroy, Robert-Jan Derksen, Phillip Archer, David Howell, Darren Clarke, Henrick Stenson and Lee Westwood to name a few.

In his victory speech at the 2007 Open Championship, Padraig Harrington thanked Paul for his work behind the scenes. For the last two years, Paul has collaborated with Groove Equipment Ltd (GEL) to co-design a range of putters, the GEL Paul Hurrion Signature Range, using over 10 years of research and development in putting biomechanics. Wow! Sounds like some nice work then. You’d assume that Paul has more than one putter in his bag then? Read on…

What kind of golf bag do you use?

A GEL Carry Bag - bright yellow & bright blue! I like to carry my bag as often as the courses allow.

What clubs are in there?

Titleist driver 10 degree, 3 wood & 21 degree Hybrid, Irons & wedges, all courtesy of being on the TPI Advisory Board. The guys at TPI fitted me last year, great experience on the launch monitor, testing lots of different shafts and heads. I felt like a PGA Tour Professional for the afternoon (the closest I will ever come!)

My putter is a GEL Sedo 33″ 71 degree lie and 3 degrees loft… It is my personal favourite out of the eight GEL Paul Hurrion Signature Range Putters that I have designed so far! Very solid feel, I like that in a putter.

What else is in your bag?

Plenty of ball markers from different courses, along with a variety of coins from different currencies…they make great ball markers. Plenty of balls (ProV1s), plus food, drinks and chocolate bar wrappers. I still have a bag of 250 wooden tees in the bag! I’m still not sure why I bought so many?

Do you carry a lucky charm?

No lucky charms as I’m too much of a scientist for all that! However, I will never use red tees and I mark my ball with three black dots.

What’s the most important piece of kit in the bag that’s not a club, ball, glove or towel?

The laser comes in very handy for distances and slope, especially playing new golf courses!

What’s the oldest thing in your golf bag?

Probably the bag of tees… and a few chocolate bar wrappers

Which is your favourite club?

My GEL SEDO Hurrion Putter of course! It’s just that it’s the most consistent club in my bag, the one that inspires the most confidence as I am always hitting putts at the Quintic laboratory with it. I just have to remember to take it with me when playing. I have turned up to play without any putters before (when there are over 500 back at the laboratory - it can be a little embarrassing!)

That’s fantastic and a big thanks to Paul for sharing the contents of his bag which surprisingly often doesn’t include a putter! Excellent!

In traditional fashion, we will Bag Tag four others on Paul’s behalf who will hopefully tell us what’s in their bag! Remember that if you write a blog and you want to get involved, just tell us what’s in your bag to be in with a chance of winning some fantastic prizes including an amazing GEL putter! The full details are here http://www.findthefairways.com/golfnews/bag-tag-whats-in-your-golf-bag-452.html

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