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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The Lipstike Drill

February 8th, 2010 | Tuition

Do you consistently strike the ball from the same part of the putter face? And is that the centre or ‘sweet spot’ of your putter? Actually, do you know where you strike the ball on the putter face? Does matter? Asian Golf Monthly putting guru Paul Hurrion says ‘yes!’

Inconsistency in the strike area may seem a small hiccup, but it can afflict any golfer, even Major Champions. It can either defeat your aim of being a better putter – or be overcome quickly if you use my simple answer. Firstly – yes! It matters. Every time you miss the ‘sweet spot’, the impact twists the putter slightly. This means miss-hits producing misdirected putts and poor strikes leading to short putts. To be a good putter, you have to create a good repeating stroke that enables consistency of strike. Striking the ball out of the ‘sweet spot’ every time not only gives you the best roll, but also the best feel. Importantly, the consistency builds your confidence … plus there is a hidden bonus.

And now my simple answer: The Lipstick Drill. I guarantee it can help you to improve distance control, direction and confidence overnight. And the hidden bonus? Focusing on striking the ball in the centre of the putter will help prevent your eyes following the ball too soon and add another stability factor to your putting style.

The Lipstick Drill

The purpose of this drill is to check if you are striking the ball on the centre of the clubface. Smear lipstick on the face of the putter. Then hit a putt. The mark in the lipstick will show you where the ball is being struck. Is the strike where you thought it was? Is it in the centre? Repeat the drill 10 times and look for the ‘consistency’ of the pattern that you have created. More three-putts are caused by pace control than poor alignment, so in order to control the pace of the golf ball, it is vital that the ball must come consistently out of the sweet spot of the putter face. Importantly, this drill does not interfere with the putter face or deaden the feel of the hands. If your putts are inconsistent in terms of strike (heel and toe), try switching to a putter with a higher Moment of Inertia (MOI). This will help give you greater stability or forgiveness with off-centre hits and cut misdirection and distance control errors.

Working with GEL Golf, I have designed the Paul Hurrion Signature Range of putters to help golfers enjoy the key benefits Tour players look for on the greens. The groove and multi-layer aluminium insert technology enables weight to be positioned around the perimeter of the putter head, creating a high MOI for the precise reason that not even Tour players strike the ball out of the centre every time. Based on the bio-mechanical principles I have studied, I know that consistent strike and putters with a high MOI help you to create stability and consistency at the point of impact in the area of the game that matters most – your putting.

Asian Golf Monthly - Lipstick Drill - March 2010 - p62 : Please find below the tenth in a series of 12 instructional articles for Asian Golf Monthly : ‘Lipstick Drill’ - Asian Golf Monthly - March 2010 : http://paulhurrion.com/tution/

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Don’t Strangle the Putter

January 19th, 2010 | Tuition

In my latest article for Asian Golf Monthly, here is a drill I use for enable players to discover the correct grip pressure required when putting.

The main focus when playing on fast greens is to ensure you do all you can to take the ‘hit’ out of the stroke. The key to putting on fast greens is pace control. Pace control is the result of energy transfer from the body into the club. It is important to remember to ‘swing through the ball’. The key is to let the ball get in the way of the putter. Don’t hit at it!

The only connection you have with the putter is via the grip … and how much grip pressure you exert onto the handle can significantly alter the energy transferred from the body into the club head. Constant ‘grip pressure’ for me is the key ingredient into consistent distance control with your putting stroke. The image here was taken at Quintic indoor putting laboratory, which serves as an excellent practice facility for pace control.

Avoid muscular ‘Gridlock’

If you can see the whites of the knuckles when you take your grip, you’re already in trouble. Too much pressure in the hands reduces the feel in the forearms and shoulders; you end up with a muscular ‘gridlock’. Here’s a simple, yet very effective, drill I use to ensure you always have the correct grip pressure during your stroke.

Hold the club out in front of you horizontally using you normal grip (pictured); Slowly relax the grip pressure in both hands until the toe of the club starts to drop slightly (no more than one centimetre), as I am doing in the picture; At the moment the putter-head begins to fall, you have found your ideal grip pressure;

Once you have that sensation, take your putting posture. My guess is that your grip pressure is now lighter on the club than it is when you are getting ready to make a putt. It should be. This lighter, more sensitive pressure will ensure that both hands work together as one unit during the stroke;

In the majority of cases (for right-handers), the right hand is the dominant hand with the putting stroke. That can lead to trouble and inconsistency. For a balanced and repeating stroke, they must work together.

Conclusion

To establish the correct grip pressure, hold your putter out at arm’s length and simply relax your hands until the putter-head begins to fall. At that moment you have found your ideal grip pressure. A light, sensitive grip will allow your hands to work together in balance. Squeeze the life out of your grip and you effectively squeeze the feel and rhythm out of your stroke.

Asian Golf Monthly - Don’t Strangle the Putter - Feburary 10 : Please find below the ninth in a series of 12 instructional articles for Asian Golf Monthly : ‘Don’t Strangle the Putter’ - Asian Golf Monthly - February 2010 : http://paulhurrion.com/tution/

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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

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www.pro-stance.com

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GEL Putting Alignment Mirror - 9 Video Drills…

November 24th, 2009 | GEL Golf, Tuition

GEL Putting Alignment Mirror - 9 Video Drills Introduction

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I have been in the world of putting biomechanics and research for over 10 years working scientifically to biomechanically analyse the putting stroke. I work with many PGA Tour Professional golfers and I am constantly using additional input to scientifically reassess principles and push the boundaries in the field of ‘Putting Biomechanics’. The GEL Putting Alignment Mirror is one result - a simple, yet extremely effective training tool, enabling golfers at all levels to improve their putting stroke.

The nine drills on the following page : http://paulhurrion.com/video/ will help you to use the GEL Putting Alignment Mirror to its best to help you ensure perfect alignment, promote consistency and ultimately enable you to make more putts…

The graphics and tools provided by the GEL Putting Alignment Mirror enable you to perfect consistent alignment of the putter face, shoulders, and eye position during each putt. The GEL Putting Alignment Mirror can be used on all manners of putts, breaking, straight and of varying length. Use this product indoors or on the practice putting green where tees can be used in specially designated positions. To purchase the GEL Putting Alignment Mirror please visit : http://www.gelgolf.co.uk or http://www.gelgolf.com

http://paulhurrion.com/video/

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TPI Level 1 - Setanta College - The Sports College

November 18th, 2009 | Full Swing Biomechanics, TPI, Tuition

Setanta College – The Sports College : Specialists in Strength & Conditioning and Golf Studies Courses

Setanta College will be hosting (in association with Harrington Golf) a Titleist Performance Institute Certified Level 1 Fitness Instructor Seminar on 23rd & 24th Jan 2010 in CityWest Hotel, Dublin, Ireland. Tutors on the weekend will include personnel from TPI (USA), Harrington Golf and Setanta College.

Applications are being taken on-line This seminar will be limited to 120 places only and applicants are accepted on a first come - first served basis. For more details check the TPI section of this site. Also visit www.myTPI.com

The weekend course will serve individuals from Golf (the Teaching Pro and Fitness Instructors and Coaches), Medical/Physiotherapy/Physical Therapy, Biomechanics as well as the Leisure Fitness Industry and Strength & Conditioning Coaches who work with or wish to work with golfers at all levels of the game.

An added feature is the On-line Pre-Level 1 reading course which has an additonal cost to the main seminar. While this pre-reading is not essential for participation in the seminar, the course will give you preparatory and background understanding so that you will be well equipped for the seminar. In addition the On-line Pre-level 1 reading course continues after the seminar to help prepare you for the TPI Level 1 Golf Fitness Instructor examination

For delivery of TPI Level 1 Course and Pre-Course Reading Programme : Logon to: www.setantacollege.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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Up your putting know how : London Golf Show 09

April 24th, 2009 | GEL Golf, Tuition

If you’d like to attend a putting clinic by one of the game’a foremost flat-stick gurus, get yourself along to the London Golf Show.

And make sure you do so on Friday, May 1. You’ll find the show at ExCel in London’s Docklands. The clinic is to be given by Dr Paul Hurrion, putting coach to a number of top European Tour and Ryder Cup stars and the designer of the GEL Paul Hurrion Signature Range of Putters at ExCel in London’s Docklands

Hurrion, whose clients include three-time major winner Padraig Harrington and the precociously-talented Rory McIlroy, uses a biomechanical approach to putting that has seen him become one of the most respected coaches in the world of golf.

Visitors to this year’s London Golf Show will be given a rare insight into the putting methods that Hurrion has developed following over 10 years of research into the theory of sports biomechanics and which he now passes on to his star clients.

Hurrion is attending the Show on behalf of GEL Golf, manufacturers of GEL Groove Putters, and Assay Golf, the distributor of GEL Putters in the UK.

In partnership with GEL, Paul has designed a range of putters that combines his expertise in biomechanics with GEL Golf’s unique horizontal groove technology.

The result?

The GEL Paul Hurrion Signature Range, is a range of putters that produce greater grip with the golf ball at the moment of impact, therefore enhancing a putter’s ability to produce the desired topspin roll on the ball.

Says Clive Wood, managing director of Assay Golf: “Paul’s illustrious client list is testament to the esteem in which he is held in golf so his appearance at the London Golf Show is a fantastic opportunity for golfers to glean some insider putting tips normally reserved for the stars of the game,”

GEL Golf will be exhibiting at Stand E20 at the London Golf Show where they will be showcasing both the GEL Paul Hurrion Signature Range and the original GEL Range of Putters.

www.gelgolf.co.uk

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The role of video analysis in self improvement

March 24th, 2009 | Quintic Video Software, Tuition

The commoditization of hardware has put digital movie-making within the grasp of everyone.

Consultancies such as Quintic specialize in capturing action images, and - with a combination of biomechanical knowledge and specifically developed software - clearly show how athletic performance can be optimized and risk of injury minimized.

But specifically how one can use this for best effect is something that not everyone appreciates. Humans have quite slow vision. The human eye can only separate a maximum of ten or twelve images per second. There are even some suggestions amongst scientists that events lasting less than a quarter of a second cannot usually be seen clearly, if at all.

Video cameras create the illusion of motion by ‘tricking’ the human eye. Video cameras play 25 flashing still pictures each second. As the eye cannot separate those pictures, we get the feeling of continuous movement. The use of a video camera is a very effective tool to help you improve sporting technique. Quintic video analysis software enables video capture at 25, 50 and 100fps. At 100fps each still image is 10ms apart, capable of capturing even the fastest of human movement. Add a second video camera, and the benefits of video have just doubled!

More and more athletes, coaches, scientists are using video feedback as a coaching aid. Video can very quickly help athletes to understand the basic fundamentals of a specific movement. Providing athletes with immediate performance feedback via Quintic video software is a very powerful analysis tool… the images are used to assist coaches in their task, as the athlete’s performance can be repeated afterwards and slowed down during critical phases.

“With the assistance of Quintic analysis software I’ve transformed my putting stroke. What you think you are doing, compared to what you are actually doing, can be two totally different things.”
David Howell

By comparing performances of previous movements, or even other athletes, Quintic software enables you to compare video images via the computer screen. Differences between the techniques can be identified (competition vs. training) and this information made available immediately to the athlete. The coach and the athlete can discuss what they see and plan a strategy for improvement, then repeat the process. How the feedback is presented to the athlete when using Quintic is highly dependent upon the skill of the coach or analyst.

By studying your technique in depth, (frame-by-frame), you can start to build a picture of what you’re trying to achieve. Seeing an improvement can boost your confidence. Normally it’s difficult to correct a fault, even if you know what you should be doing. This is because you don’t normally see yourself in action. You can learn a great deal from studying your own technique on video. The benefits of video apply to all levels of performance, from the beginner to the professional golfer.

Some simple tips will greatly enhance the value of your images… There are four basic operations, which can significantly influence the use of cameras and the quality of images:

· zoom
· focus
· iris
· shutter speed

Zoom
During set-up of your camera, it is important to be at right angles, or 90 degrees to the action. The zoom function in the camera changes the picture size and allows you to stand much further back from the action. It is important that the athlete is as large as possible in the camera view. The zoom allows you to have all the details of the performance on the camera, with the view restricted to show only the golfer and nothing else if possible.

Focus
The camera should be set up so that the entire body is contained within each frame. The correct distance between the camera and subject should be recorded, to allow comparisons in the future (Typically 8-10metres). Set the camera to automatic focus. Data collected using Quintic Biomechanics must have a repeatable and consistent set-up protocol. This will ensure the numeric & graphical representation of variables such as speed, distance, acceleration are accurate. Quintic also accounts for any Parallax error values during the calibration of any particular video.

However, if using a panning or moving camera often a manual focus will ensure correct images are recorded. Auto focus constantly checks and focuses based on what is at the centre of the picture. This, though, is not always practical when videotaping athletes. By learning to use manual focus, you can avoid this problem. Manual focus is set for a certain distance (you do not need to know the distance) and anything that distance away from the camera is in focus. This is another reason for you to stand far away from the athlete (and use the zoom function).

A good hint for manual focusing from a long distance is that you zoom in as close as possible, focus your camera using something like the text on an athlete’s clothing and then zoom out to a desired level so that the whole athlete can be seen in the picture. The image stays focused as zoom and focus are independent of each other.

“Quintic Performance Analysis Software provides comprehensive, easy to use, tools to allow me to analyze my full swing, chipping and putting in fine detail, whether I’m on the practice range, indoors or away on Tour.

I am able to immediately synchronize and compare my swing action and tempo, whilst the use of the drawing tools enables me to calculate the speed and acceleration of my club and arms.”
Padraig Harrington

Iris:
The iris is the function in your camera, which allows the light come into the camera through the lens. Many cameras have this only as an auto function and so you may not be able to change it. In any case, auto iris is not such a bad thing as the lighting conditions could change during the session, as happens when clouds go in the front of the sun. If you have a camera with a manual iris option, then you can test out its influence on the picture quality. Obviously, more light (smaller iris number) makes your picture brighter (but can also make it too bright), while closing the iris makes the picture darker.

Shutter Speed:
Shutter speed options are essential for good quality video taping of athletics performance, particularly when the speeds are fast… In a normal situation, the picture is taken over 0.04 seconds (25 pictures in a second). During even that short time, however, an athlete can move a great deal and thus you see a blurred image in your slow motion tape (like TV slow motion repetitions of a tennis ball in a close line call - often you do not really see the ball at all, just a trace of blurred ball images). Shutter speed allows you to reduce the time over which the individual picture is taken. The majority of camcorders today have automatic settings for various filming projects (refer to manufacture’s guidelines). However, the sports setting - typically a picture of a golfer or runner will provide you with the highest shutter speed setting.

Note: That does not allow you to take any more pictures: there are still only 25 / 50 or 100 fps frames per second (as this is pre-determined by the camera and computer software), but each picture is taken over a shorter period of time. A shutter speed of 1/500s means that each picture is taken over a time frame of 0.002s. The down side of increasing the shutter speed is that you need much more light. This is not usually a problem outdoors, and it is recommended to use at least 1/1000s shutter speed for athletics movement if possible, shutter speeds of 1/10,000 can be used for particular sharp and clear images. However, sometimes when filming indoors you need to compromise and use a lower shutter speed. Additional lighting may well be required.

Quintic would recommend you to make a verbal report to the camera after each shot, throw, jump… for example; commenting on the flight, distance, result… Without this information, the subsequent viewing of the tape will not give the best possible information. Finally, remember that the videotapes always rewind slightly at the end of the recording, so be careful not to cut away the end of the performance when you stop the recording. Film a few seconds prior to and after the actual performance. This also makes easier viewing, as there are distinct sequences on the tape.

Ensure that the camera is a 3CCD - CCD stands for Charged Couple Device - it’s the device that colours the pixels (little dots on your screen - comes from the words ‘picture element’). The majority of cameras only have one CCD using a filter to split the colours to RGB (Red Green and Blue). However a 3CCD camera boasts a CCD for each colour, resulting in better picture quality as the colours are more defined and accurate.

For further details please visit www.quintic.com

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