Dr Paul Hurrion - Official Site of Putting Coach

Hurrion lines up new way to better putting

Quintic software helps determine the right club selection

By Paul Third : The Press and Journal

Published: 14/05/2010
Computer software started as a tool to analyse cricket developed into a major part of sport science and is now available at an Aberdeen golf centre.

World-renowned putting coach Dr Paul Hurrion visited the Granite City’s Aspire golf centre this week to launch his Quintic Ball Roll v2.4 software. Aspire has put two of its professionals, director of instruction Billy Fyfe and head PGA pro Stephen Murray, through one of Hurrion’s PGA-accredited courses, with the aim of developing a new putting programme.

Hurrion, who counts three-time major winner Padraig Harrington, Lee Westwood and Rory McIlroy among his clients, is amazed that so many people pay so little attention to such a vital aspect of the game.

He said: “Too many people buy a putter off the shelf because they like the look of it and there is no real rational thinking.

“People get fitted for drivers and irons all the time but it amazes me how little attention is paid to the club they use more than any other.

“The key thing for me is that people do not know the difference between a good putt or a bad putt and if you cannot determine what you are doing wrong how can you determine what you need to do to correct it? “That’s the basic ethos we follow with the professionals we work with.”

Mention the word biomechanics and it is likely to make the average golfer break out in a cold sweat, but Hurrion believes the process is more straightforward. He said: “The software we have implemented at Aspire will help golfers find the best putter for them. The software records eye perception, weight distribution and posture which will then allow the specialists to best tailor the club required.

“Technically speaking, the process is carried out by analysing how the ball comes off the putter face – the speed, sidespin and what the launch angle is. Factoring in all these results will help the golfer get the best club for them.” Golf is just one sport Hurrion’s company has become involved with, but interest in what he does stretches far and wide.

He added: “Myself and my father started the business in 1998. “The idea behind it was I wanted some software to help with the job I was doing in cricket at the time and it has developed from there. “We did two Olympics with Steve Backley, the javelin thrower, and it is amazing to see how the interest in what we do has grown.

“Today we do quite a bit with cricket. I work with the ECB and the ICC on bowling actions and we have people working in football, equine sport, bobsleigh, diving and archery.

“Basically, if it moves, biomechanics can analyse it and, hopefully, help athletes produce consistency.”

http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/1735390/?UserKey=

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Paul Hurrion and GEL Golf in Korea…

May 4th, 2010 | GEL Golf, Putting Biomechanics, Quintic Ball Roll

http://news.chosun.com/site/data/html_dir/2010/05/04/2010050400018.html

For further information please contact Scott Rie : riescott@hanmail.net GEL Golf Distrubutor, Korea

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Tech in Bio-Mech

December 2nd, 2009 | GEL Golf, Padraig Harrington, Quintic Ball Roll, Quintic Video Software, Rory McIlory

Padraig Harrington and Rory McIlroy may be the stars but Dr. Paul Hurrion has helped both from behind the scenes. By Roger Valberg

Malaysian Golf Digest : November 2009

f you have never heard of Dr. Paul Hurrion, it is no surprise. He is rarely in Asia and even then his work is strictly in the background of the many professionals he helps at his Quintic Labs. If the old maxim of ‘drive for show and putt for dough’ has any truth in it, then this is the man you’d want in your corner. But calling him merely a putting guru is like saying Bill Gates is merely a rich man. There is so much more going on in that head that has shored up Padraig Harrington’s putting so much so that he won three majors and helped Rory McIlroy take his maiden win this year.

It takes a certain kind of human being to not only be able to be an authority on putting, a dark art if there ever was one, but to also establish a company that rolls out putters based on his research. Dr. Hurrion has also ventured into the realms of training aides to help the average golfer. To top it all off, he also advises and assists other athletes in sports other than golf. The base of his work centres around bio-mechanics.

“Sports biomechanics uses the scientific methods of mechanics to study the effects of various forces on the sports performer. Therefore, in short it tells you why something has happened. It is part of the overall picture of sports performance,” explained Dr. Hurrion.

“Biomechanics focuses on the forces that act on the human neuro-musculoskeletal system, velocities, accelerations, torque, momentum, and inertia. It also considers aspects of the behavior of sports implements, footwear and surfaces where these affect athletic performance or injury prevention,” he added.

The subject though is wide and it can be divided up into two sections: Performance Improvement & Injury Prevention. His Quintic Labs work on research for questions that an athlete may ask. “What is the best run-up for a high jumper? How should the knee angle be modified for the delivery stride of a fast bowler in cricket? What is the velocity of the swimmer after the tumble turn?

To download the full article, please click : Malaysian-Golf-Digest-November-2009

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Quintic Ball Roll v1.8 is launched!

October 23rd, 2009 | Quintic Ball Roll

Quintic Ball Roll v1.8 “The Launch Mointor for Putting” is now available to purchase… The latest version of Quintic Ball Roll software contains a number of new feature along with increased tracking capabilities and accuracy. The software tracks the ball for the first 12″ of the putt length. It then instantly and clearly shows the ball speed, sidespin (cut or hook), angular rotation (degrees & RPM), vertical bounce, launch angle and point at which true roll occurs. Crucially – and this is the most significant advance on Quintic’s already pioneering analysis tools – all of the above are reflected graphically, numerically and in a summary sheet in a way that was formerly only available for full swing analysis software for irons and woods.

The edit function enables you to ensure you always have a 100% reading, the feature enables you to go back over a putt and tell the software where a dot is manually, this is if it didn’t track it properly in LIVE mode… The additional ability to create a summary of the putting session is a significant upgrade enabling the user to compare and analyze up to 20 putts. The average, range and standard devaition of the putts is automatically updated after each putt and can be save into a session folder. It is then possible to compare session results, for example, compare two different styles of putter, before or after a lesson, increase or decrease the loft of the putter… The software measures the performances of the golf ball, which at the end of the day, if what matters.

“I sold more putters in the first month I used the Quintic Ball Roll software than I did the entire previous year. It is so fast and easy to use, and gives you the results needed instantly, it completely verifies which putter is right for each customer. Thank you for putting life back into my putter sales”

Eric Simonson
Pro-Vision Golf

“I cannot thank you enough for all your help over the last few weeks; I am very excited to add Quintic’s Ball Roll Software to my Putting Academy at The Club at Cordillera! The data provided by your system adds much more credibility to the skid and roll videos that I show each client currently. This information coupled with the SAM Puttlab offers each student- the true “Facts NOT Opinions” about their stroke. It is really nice to actually be able to quantify what is happening as we alter a putter’s lie, loft, and length over time.

Quintic is on the verge of something great with this simple analysis tool- every serious teacher should have this software on their computer!”

Tom F. Stickney II
The Club at Cordillera

To download the 21 day demo version please goto http://www.quinticballroll.com
Click on the Demo Version Download and follow the instructions on the screen.

www.quinticballroll.com

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The Guinea Pig: The Putting Doctor

July 2nd, 2009 | GEL Golf, ProStance, Quintic Ball Roll, Tuition

Matt Cooper, golfer: a hacker playing off 15. Gentleman, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to build the world’s first bionic golfer. Matt Cooper will be that golfer. Better than he was before. Longer, straighter, holing more putts.

Read the final words of our mission statement again: “Matt Cooper … better than he was before … holing more putts.”

Holing more putts - how does that happen? How about meeting the man responsible for polishing the putting stroke of double Open Champion Padraig Harrington?

That man is Dr Paul Hurrion and meeting him is a bit like finding yourself in an episode of Thunderbirds, becoming a member of International Rescue and discovering that Brains has a putter in his hands and is ready to tell you all about his latest genius idea to save the world (or a few shots on the greens at the very least). If that sounds absurd, trust me, it isn’t - this man has dissected the putting stroke to such a degree that he understands every dynamic, every angle, every force at work on the ball, the putter and the golfer.

We met at the launch of GEL (Groove Equipment Limited) Golf’s new revolutionary Fitting Centres, an initiative that utilises the ethos, expertise and knowledge of Hurrion, allowing golfers of all abilities to take advantage of his research and GEL’s precision equipment.

It was an afternoon of revelation that had one or two cynics wide-eyed with wonder as old notions and myths were blown to pieces by the quietly spoken Hurrion.

To appreciate his methods it is important to understand his background: he is a biomechanist who has worked with Manchester United, the England cricket team and UK Athletics (amongst many others) but his passion for golf and his forensic analysis of putting has led him to work with the likes of Henrik Stenson, Lee Westwood and Rory McIlroy.

But it is with Padraig Harrington that he has formed the perfect partnership because the two thrive on the detailed application of well-researched theories that refuse to be clouded by conventional wisdom. As a simple exercise in the importance of biomechanics Hurrion asked those of us present to sit with our backs straight and feet flat on the floor. “Now, without leaning forward,” he asked us, “stand up.” Of course, we couldn’t: it was a simple, but highly effectively, demonstration of what biomechanics is: the science of human movement.

Using that science Hurrion has sought to develop a coherent technical model of the putting stroke; eliminating all that is bad, highlighting all that is good.

Hurrion is no lunatic evangelist however - he still believes that putting is an art rather than a science but insists that basic keystones are required to produce the ideal stroke. Once those basics are understood and applied, then the skills of the putting artist can shine through.

Ultimately one important element counts: the fact that the putter and ball collide for only half a millisecond and in that short space of time it is essential that there is minimum manipulation of the putter face.

Get it wrong, as traditional putters do, and the ball begins with a slide, a skid or backspin.

Hurrion craves forward momentum: he wants us to “believe in the roll”.

Prior to launching the Fitting Centres, Hurrion deconstructed the putting stroke to demonstrate his points.

The response, as mentioned above, was remarkable: sceptical faces laughed in astonishment and wise men gasped as previously trusted ideas were proved wrong.

Essentially Hurrion craves repeatability in the putting stroke - only when the player has a stroke he can trust and understand can he identify the difference between a poor stroke, an unlucky break or a bad read.

And the one part of the putting stroke everyone can repeat without fail is the position of the ball, right?

Wrong.

Amazingly Hurrion’s research reveals that Tour pros will vary their ball position by as much as three ball widths in just ten putts.

This contrasts with a variance of one ball width in ten drives by the same player - and yet they hit only 14 drives per round and roughly twice as many putts!

Despite demanding accuracy and quality repetition in all other aspects of their game, in putting even the greatest golfers on the planet are slapdash when addressing the most fundamental features of a putting stroke.

Everyone in golf knows the phrase “Drive for show, putt for dough” but this is clear evidence that the message is not getting across to even the smartest brains.

Vijay Singh, for example, is renowned as one of the hardest workers on tour - on the range at least.

He once admitted that he uses whichever putting technique “feels” right at the start of the day. He would never allow such woolly thinking to compromise his long game so why permit it on the greens?

It doesn’t make sense.

If simple research has allowed Hurrion to identify sloppy attitudes, more profound science has proved that our perception of straight lines is fundamentally flawed.

Remember the old notion of positioning the ball below your eyes? Unsound.

How so? Well, one by one we were invited to look down a line of 12 golf balls and confirm that they were in a straight line (they had been laser checked previously).

We then addressed the first ball as if planning to putt along the line of balls whilst Hurrion stood in front of the second ball to block our view. He then stepped away and asked for our perception of the line.

Cue cries of surprise and confused shaking of heads: depending on the golfer, the line (previously confirmed as straight, remember) moved either left to right or right to left.

It had bent before our eyes! To correct this problem each golfer must move the head inside or outside the line until the line is straight. Only then will our eye position reflect reality when looking towards the target and reduce the tendency to manipulate the putter.

The perfect example of this in action is Justin Leonard who famously stands a long way from the ball in his address despite being a fine putter. The experts said it was technically wrong but Leonard had observed the difference between perception and reality himself years ago.

Further enlightenment was provided by Hurrion’s personally-designed Quintic Ball Roll software which filmed our putts at 1,000 frames per second and then allowed us to instantly observe the action of the ball.

The results were astounding. Two of those present used their own putters (manufactured by Ping and Scott Cameron) to strike 15-foot putts. We then watched replays of them in super slow motion and literally laughed out loud as one ball after another skidded off the club face before bouncing along the surface like bombs dropped by the Dambusters.

When viewed in such minute detail it is almost absurd how haphazard the ball’s path appears to be. It becomes clear that the impact of downhill, sidehill or uphill lies on a ball landing with that initial backspin could be incredibly detrimental. It also becomes evident that the sooner the ball assumes forward roll, the more accurate the putt will be. Indeed, tests have proved that the initial performance of a golf ball after strike is the crucial element in maintaining the line of the putt.

Which is where the Groove technology of GEL putters comes in: with its optimal angle milled into the aluminium insert, it creates near instant forward roll and reduces skid. The evidence was right there in front of our eyes: when we used the GEL putter the ball had less bounce and achieved forward roll considerably sooner.

We were astonished by these revelations but you can be, too. Not only has 2009 seen the launch of GEL’s Paul Hurrion Signature Range (featuring a bigger sweet spot, reduced twisting on off-centre hits and a heavier shaft to aid stability through the stroke), but new Fitting Centres are opening right across the UK and Ireland in the next few months.

At each centre you can enjoy the expertise, tools, cameras and software that so wowed us - and leave wielding a putter that has been expertly fitted.

“Our personally-trained pros will be able to use the specially-designed tools to analyse a player’s putting stroke and allow him to accurately fit each and every golfer with the most suitable putter,” explains Hurrion. “Not only will they ascertain suitable length, loft and lie. but also blade against mallet, centre versus heel shaft and face-balanced against toe heavy.”

“Believe in the roll”? I do. For more information, including slow motion footage of putting strokes, go to www.gelgolf.co.uk

by Matt Cooper - The Guinea Pig
http://www.golf365.com/features_story/0,17923,15870_5406217,00.html

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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

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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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Putting to the Nth Degree - Ball Roll

February 24th, 2009 | Putting Biomechanics, Quintic Ball Roll, Tuition

Out of one of the foremost biomechanics software laboratories comes a world first. The New Quintic Ball Roll System gives putting coaches and putter custom-fit professionals the kind of analysis tool they’ve never had before. What it means is that golfers need never be uncertain of the performance of their putters again.

The 2009 Quintic Ball Roll software tracks the ball for the first 12″ of the putt. It then instantly and clearly shows the ball speed, sidespin, angular rotation, vertical bounce, launch angle and point at which true roll occurs. Crucially as well – and this is the most significant advance on Quintic’s already pioneering analysis tools – all of the above are reflected graphically and numerically in a way that was formerly only available for full swing analysis software for irons and woods.

Putter manufacturers can use this tool to test their equipment, design better putters, and as a sales tool to show the golf professionals how to increase putter sales over the counter. The over-the-counter part is key. Pros who make a living out of retail and coaching have been victims of “web-watch-time-wasters” for too long. This is the practice whereby customers waste a pro’s time by trying out equipment in the shop and then sourcing the cheapest price on the internet.

Golf professionals will be able to more accurately fit their customers for a putter, give better coaching and sell more putters as part of a demonstrable package. Golfers themselves can all benefit from using the system because they will be getting facts to back up their decision on which putter is performing best and see if any alterations need to be made to fine-tune the putter to their stroke.

Shifting the Putter Paradigm

The brains behind the new software is Dr Paul Hurrion - Quintic MD and biomechanics adviser to top European Tour Pros and bodies like the Hi-Tec and Titleist Performance Institute (TPI).

“Putting accounts for over 40% of a golfer’s strokes and yet, most players buy a putter by taking a few off the rack and trying them in the shop or on a practice green - often after a bad round,” reasons Hurrion. “Up until now, you could get a vague idea that your ball was skidding and then rolling forward, but there was no actual way to quantify it alongside hook or cut side spin analysis.

“Attaining proper lie and loft will help the ball roll better but there are other factors involved. The ultimate goal is to get the ball to roll as soon as possible with as little side spin as possible. This easy tool shows you exactly what effect the putter is having on the ball. You need to understand what is happening to the golf ball in order to teach putting!”

Another important point is that the software calculates the point at which true roll occurs. Side spin (hook or cut) will have a negative effect on how soon the ball achieves true roll. It’s now possible to know, through this new Quintic Ball Roll Software, that a ball could have more forward rotation at 18″ but not achieve true roll as quickly as a ball that had less rotation at 18″, due to greater sidespin imparted by the putter.

“We introduced the software at the PGA show in Orlando in January 09,” beams Hurrion. “In less than 5 minutes we were able accurately to fit a golfer to the most suitable putter for him - not just from a lie and loft perspective but also as to blade vs mallet, centre shaft vs heel shaft, and face balanced vs toe heavy. Golfers were both amazed and impressed by how simple and easy it was – suddenly they had tangible results that they could see for themselves. Golf Professionals just couldn’t wait for the launch of this Software to enhance their putter fitting and putting coaching capabilities and convert more enquiries.”

The Quintic 2009 Ball Roll Software is available from www.quinticballroll.com. A single licence costs just $1250 and discounts apply for 5 or more licenses or if purchased with other Quintic Video Analysis products. For more information please email: info@quinticballroll.com

Quintic Ball Roll camera stand, light & digital video camera

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