Dr Paul Hurrion - Official Site of Putting Coach

McIlory wins the 2011 US Open

June 20th, 2011 | Putting Biomechanics, Rory McIlory

A quite brilliant display from Rory McIlroy saw him capture the US Open Championship by eight shots at Congressional Country Club. Congratulations from myself and all at Quintic, it has been a pleasure to see you develop over the last few years into a Major Champion. Long may it continue.

Rory at 22 became the second youngest European Major winner of all time - and the youngest since 1872, the year Young Tom Morris captured his fourth and final Open Championship at 21.

“The whole week has been incredible - I could not have asked for any more and I am so happy to hold this trophy,” he said. “For such a small nation to win two US Opens in a row is pretty special. I know a few of my friends will be partying and I can’t wait to get home and join them.” Congratulations Rory!

With this win… Rory McIlory

· His second European Tour International Schedule victory in his 90th European Tour event.

· Moves into the top four in the Official World Golf Ranking.

· First Major Championship victory in his 11th Major Championship appearance.

· This victory beats his previous best Major Championship performances of tied third in the 2009 and 2010 US PGA Championship and 2010 Open Championship.

· This victory comes in his third appearance in the US Open Championship, beating his previous best of tied tenth in 2009.

· Aged 22 years and 46 days becomes the youngest European Tour Major Champion since The European Tour was formed. He beat the previous record of Seve Ballesteros, who was 22 years and 103 days at the 1979 Open Championship.

· Second consecutive Northern Irish victory in the US Open Championship, following Graeme McDowell in 2010.

· European Tour Members have now won the last five Major Championships. They are: Graeme McDowell (2010 US Open Championship), Louis Oosthuizen (2010 Open Championship), Martin Kaymer (2010 US PGA Championship), Charl Schwartzel (2011 Masters Tournament) and Rory McIlroy (2011 US Open Championship).

· Joins Harry Vardon (1900), Ted Ray (1920), Jim Barnes (1921), Tommy Armour (1927), Tony Jacklin (1970) and Graeme McDowell (2010) as Europeans to win the US Open Championship.

· Joins Fred Daly (1947 Open Championship) and Graeme McDowell (2010 US Open Championship) as players from Northern Ireland to win a Major Championship.

· Becomes the seventh wire-to-wire winner (no ties) in US Open history. He follows: Walter Hagen (1914), Jim Barnes (1921), Ben Hogan (1953), Tony Jacklin (1970) and Tiger Woods (2000 and 2002).

· Becomes the fifth player to win the US Open Championship with four sub-par rounds.

· Becomes the 27th foreign-born winner of the US Open Championship.

· Here are the US Open Championship record broken: Low first 36 holes of 131 and lowest first 36 holes in relation to par of 11 under. Low first 54 holes of 199 and lowest first 54 holes in relation to par of 14 under. Broke the 72 hole scoring record with 268 and low 72 hole in relation to par at 16 under. He matched the largest 36 hole lead of Tiger Woods of six shots in 2000.

· His eight stroke victory is the fourth largest in US Open Championship history and largest since Tiger Woods won by 15 in 2000.

· Of the eight Major Championship rounds played in 2011, he has now led in seven of them; first three rounds of the Masters Tournament and four of the US Open Championship.

OTHER FACTS

· First European Tour International Schedule victory since the 2009 Omega Dubai Desert Classic.

· This victory beats his previous best 2011 performance of second in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship.

· The 42nd Major Championship victory by a European Tour Member since Seve Ballesteros won The Open Championship in 1979.

· The 21st different European Tour Member to win a Major Championship since Seve Ballesteros in 1979.

· Since The European Tour’s first season in 1972, joins Ernie Els (1994 and 1997), Retief Goosen (2001 and 2004), Michael Campbell (2005), Angel Cabrera (2007) and Graeme McDowell (2010), as European Tour Members to win the US Open Championship.

· Gains a ten year exemption into the US Open Championship.

· Gains a five year exemption into the Masters Tournament, Open Championship and US PGA Championship.

· Gains a place in the 2011 WGC – HSBC Champions PGA Grand Slam of Golf.

· Extends his European Tour exemption until the end of 2018.

· His third win as a professional worldwide.

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The best bits of Rory McIlroy’s press conference

June 20th, 2011 | Rory McIlory

The best bits of Rory McIlroy’s press conference
By TG Features Writer

Tour News : 20 June 2011 10:15

“I have to give a big thank you to Paul Hurrion as well who helped me on the greens. Without the knowledge and the understanding he has given to me about my putting, about my stroke, and about — it’s a very scientific thing, you know, with him. But if I didn’t have that knowledge, then I probably wouldn’t be able to putt as well as I am now.”

To read the full story please click here : http://www.todaysgolfer.co.uk/Golf/News/searchresults/June-2011/The-best-bits-of-Rory-McIlroys-press-conference

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The Putting Doctor - The Roll Model ‘Rory McIlory’

June 17th, 2011 | Putting Biomechanics, Quintic Video Software, Rory McIlory, Tuition

GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM MAY 2011

Analysis by Dr Paul Hurrion
BIOMECHANICS EXPERT & EUROPEAN TOUR COACH ‘www.quintic.com’
PHOTOGRAPHY: DAVID CANNON/GETTYIMAGES.COM

Here’s a question for you: how can you realistically hope to reduce your handicap if you don’t seriously practice with the one club you use most often in every round of golf! It’s time to change. Get yourself a putting mirror, like the one Rory is using here, and commit yourself this season to working on the same drills and practice routines that I use with one the world’s most exciting young golfers. The return on your investment will be worth it…

Roll Model

Mirror, mirror… If I had to choose just one training aid for the players I coach to use regularly in their practice routines it would have to be a putting alignment mirror. I believe it is the simplest and most effective piece of equipment you can buy when it comes to working on all aspects of your aim, set-up and stroke. The graphics on the top of the mirror have certainly helped Rory to make consistent both his eye position and the square alignment of the putterface behind the ball on every putt. It is easy to use for a quick practice indoors at home or in the hotel room as well as on the putting green.

Non negotiable… That the putterface is aimed square to the initial line on which you want to roll the ball is one of the ‘non-negotiable’ elements of good putting technique. Simple, you might think, but you would be surprised at the number of leading professionals I have worked with who fail to take care of this most basic of laws at the set up. It’s that old issue of perception versus reality – what we think we are doing in golf is often a long way from what we are actually doing. Which is why it is vital you check this element regularly. Rory uses the solid transverse lines directly behind the ball as his reference point. He is then able to see the line directly in front of the putter blade, which is at 90 degrees to the target. Rory knows that if he strikes the ball with an open or closed face, not only will it fail to start online but the unwanted sidespin will further be evident in the inconsistency of roll.

Precision alignment to the target – that’s Rule No. 1
The first steps you see Rory running through here are designed to confirm perfect alignment of both his body, eye-line and the putter face. We generally like to start off a practice session with a straight 10-foot putt – Rory will get down behind the mirror to check that the centre line is aimed exactly down the target line. By using the alignment guides on the mirror, Rory can then check his eye position
(for him just inside the middle line), square the putterface to the target line and confirm that the key body lines (feet, hips and shoulders) all run parallel. With the mirror fixed in place, aimed at a straight putt, I would expect Rory to hole putt after putt from 10 feet. And one of the vital checks I make as he hits these putts is that Rory’s eye-line is maintained from the set-up all the way to impact – this helps to ensure that he ‘stays in the putt’. (You don’t ever want to peek too early – that throws the whole stroke off line).

I also like to film all of the putts and drills so I can review them in the Quintic video analysis software (see image below); we have created a substantial library of good putts and this is always very useful to refer back to. Once Rory is confident and rattling in the majority of the putts he hits I then remove the mirror and continue to film his stroke from the same spot on the green. Doing this introduces clubface alignment into the equation – i.e. Rory has to square the face without the benefit of the lines on the mirror. If the percentage of holed putts drops below 80% we need to address the failure of being able to repeat correct alignment. Once Rory is achieving 90% we repeat the drill with varying length putts, and finally we find a slope and repeat the drill with breaking putts. This drill examines and improves Rory’s pace control, which has to be correct for the ball to take the break and find the hole.

To download the full 6 page article please click here : GI101_McIlroy_Hurrion
GOLFINTERNATIONALMAG.COM MAY 2011

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Rory McIlroy working with Dr Paul Hurrion using the Quintic Ball Roll v2.4

March 4th, 2011 | Quintic Ball Roll, Rory McIlory

Rory McIlroy working with Dr Paul Hurrion and using the Quintic Ball Roll v2.4 software at the UBS Hong Kong Open.

Quintic ® Ball Roll state-of-the-art software is portable indoor-outdoor ball roll, with capabilities far beyond traditional video filming the golf ball off the putter face. The putting biomechanics software is quick and easy to set up. Using the latest computer and high-speed video technology (upto 260 fps), the software with unique automatic tracking and pattern recognition characteristics measures the performance of the golf ball during each putt. Quintic Ball Roll is used for golf instruction, club fitting and club recommendation in golf retail stores around the world. Quintic Ball Roll is also used as a golf training aid and for personal practice by tour professionals and amateur golfers alike.

For more information please visit www.quinticballroll.com

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Rory McIlroy working in Hong Kong…

November 17th, 2010 | PGA European Tour Golfers, Quintic Ball Roll, Rory McIlory

Rory McIlroy & Dr Paul Hurrion using Quintic Ball Roll v2.4 : USB Hong Kong Open, PGA European Tour : November 2010

I have spent the last five years developing what is today known as Quintic Ball Roll Software and now use it regularly in all of my analysis when working with my clients on the putting green - see the image above of Rory putting in Hong Kong. Quintic Ball Roll v2.4 software is capable of analysing up to 260 frames per second, automatically recognising markers on the golf ball, and instantly producing fully digitised analysis of each putt. The software tracks the ball for the first 30cm of its journey on a given length of putt. 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. It enables me to very quickly analyse how Rory is striking the putts and more importantly how consistantly the ball is rolling…

www.quinticballroll.com

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Rory shoots course record 62 to become youngest winner on the PGA Tour since Tiger!

May 3rd, 2010 | PGA European Tour Golfers, PGA Tour, Putting Biomechanics, Rory McIlory

What a final round, Rory McIlroy’s 10-under-par final round to win the Quail Hollow Championship on Sunday has drawn superlative-filled praise from the world of golf. The youthful star of European golf, made his mark in the United States last night when he won the Quail Hollow championship in record-breaking fashion, shooting a course-record 62, 10 under par, to become the youngest winner on the PGA Tour since Tiger Woods.

Rory who will celebrate his 21st birthday on Tuesday, covered the first 17 holes of his final round in nine under par but saved his best until the last as he rolled a 45-foot putt into the centre of the hole for another birdie. There was a look of wonder on his face as the ball dropped and he was not alone in his astonishment. He finished his round with a run of six threes – two pars, three birdies and one eagle, at the par-five 15th – and his 15-under-par total beat the field by four shots.

“Ridiculous,” Rory said afterwards when asked to sum up his round. “I just got in the zone. I saw my shots and just hit them and I saw the line of my putts and they just went in.”

Quail Hollow has a reputation of being one of toughest courses on the PGA Tour – Phil Mickelson criticised its “ridiculous” greens the other day – and the Quail Hollow Championship traditionally attracts the best field outside the major championships. Yet McIlroy made a mockery of the course’s reputation and left the best players in the world looking ordinary.

Woods, the world No1, did not even make the cut and Mickelson, the Masters champion, shot a final-round 68 to finish in second place. On another day that would have been good enough to win, as the left-hander conceded afterwards.

“I was out on the course after five or six holes, thinking that 68 was the number [to win the tournament],” he said. ” I have got to congratulate Rory. To shoot 30 on the back nine to win this tournament, on this course; he is some kind of player.”

He really is and Mickelson was not alone in lauding the Ulsterman. It was noticeable that, when McIlroy stepped off the final green, a welter of players, including Lee Westwood and Padraig Harrington, were waiting to shake his hand.

Yesterday’s victory was McIlroy’s second as a professional golfer – his first came at the Dubai Desert Classic 15 months ago – and his first on the PGA Tour, of which he became a member at the start of the this year.

Congratulations Rory from all at Quintic, all the hard work and hours doing your practice drills are starting to pay dividends… You have structure and a rountine to follow each week, plus your feel and tempo are improving each day as a result!!!

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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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Westwood crowned king in Dubai

November 23rd, 2009 | Lee Westwood, PGA European Tour Golfers, Padraig Harrington, Rory McIlory

Congratulations to Lee Westwood after a nerveless final round 64 secured a six shot victory and with it ‘The Race to Dubai’ title for 2009. The putter was certainly working over the weekend… The hard work is certainley starting to pay off!

Westwood, who led by two overnight, produced the finest round of his career to take the €830,675 first prize at the Earth course that also secured his status as European Number One for the second time in his career. With his second victory on The European Tour this season, the win moves Westwood up to World Number Four in the Official World Golf Rankings, matching his highest career position. To cap it all, his closing 64 was also a new course record on the Greg Norman-designed venue.

Congratulations also to Ross McGowan with his second place finish opens up a whole new scheduale for him next year. Ross has also worked hard on his putting and with the ‘palms together grip’. Ross carded a final round 68, including five straight birdies from the 12th, to hold on to second place on 17 under par after a sustained charge from Rory McIlroy, who fired five birdies on his back nine before bogeying the par five 18th to sign for a 67 and with it third place place on 15 under par as well as second in The Race to Dubai.

“I have no complaints. I gave it my best shot and it’s been a great season, but Lee is just in a different class,” said McIlroy, who gains a place in the top ten of the Official World Golf Rankings despite finishing runner up in The Race to Dubai. “Most times coming here leading and then finishing third would be good enough [to win The Race to Dubai], but even if I’d played well I’m not sure I could have got to 23 under!

Further down the leaderboard on tied 4th was Padraig Harrington, so all in all, it was a very exciting weekend watching the top 4 putt there way around the Earth Course. What do they say, Drive for Show, Putt for Dough…

Congratulations once again Lee, you certainley rolled a few in!

Lee Westwood
DUBAI, UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - NOVEMBER 09: Lee Westwood of England lines up his putt on the par five 18th hole during the first round of the Dubai World Championship on the Earth Course, Jumeriah Golf Estates on November 19, 2009 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images)

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McIlroy can learn from Garcia’s putting woes

October 13th, 2009 | PGA European Tour Golfers, Rory McIlory

By Karl McGinty
Tuesday, 13 October 2009

If Rory McIlroy ever gets bored with the daily putting drills prescribed by Dr Paul Hurrion, he need only watch the video of Sergio Garcia beating his own brains out at the Madrid Masters. It was horrible to see Garcia, one of the most majestic ball-strikers in golf, so badly humiliated on the greens at Centro Nacional de Golf.

Stripped of all confidence, he looked muddled, confused and, at times, utterly clueless about what was happening to him. Admittedly, the putting surfaces in Madrid became spiked-up and bobbly in late afternoon. Yet, no matter how accusingly Garcia looked at the line of each missed putt, the real problem lay elsewhere.

The figures for Sunday’s final round tell a tale of maddening incompetence by a player ranked at No 9 in the world. Garcia sublimely hit 17 greens in regulation that afternoon — then two-putted every single one of them. Astonishingly, of the 71 strokes which sent Garcia tumbling into a tie for 17th place in a tournament which he had led at half way, 36 of them were putts!

The likes of Tiger Woods and Padraig Harrington were born with an assassin’s touch around the green.

Garcia wasn’t so-blessed.

Neither was McIlroy — but Dr Hurrion, the English bio-mechanics expert who also works with Harrington, believes that through sound method and hard work a good putter can be made. If anything, McIlroy’s more exciting from tee to green than the mercurial Spaniard. He currently leads the Race to Dubai and the European Tour in stroke average (69.86), despite languishing in 109th place in the putting charts (17 behind Garcia) with 30 putts per round.

So for the past 14 months, McIlroy’s devoted one hour per day — not easy for a young lad with so much excitement in his life — to repetitive putting routines which Dr Hurrion expects will provide the 20-year-old with the feel for a good putt which should stand to him for the rest of his career.

Inevitably, it’s been mind-numbingly tedious but, at this stage of McIlroy’s career, method is the one sure way he has of avoiding the madness of Sergio Garcia.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/golf/mcilroy-can-learn-from-garciarsquos-putting-woes-14529017.html

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