GEL Paul Hurrion Signature Range Debuts at London Golf Show 2008

April 2nd, 2008 | Golf Biomechanics, Putting Biomechanics, Quintic Video Software

GEL Golf will showcase its new range of Groove Putters, the GEL Paul Hurrion Signature Range, to the UK golf market for the very first time at the London Golf Show from April 25 to 27 2008.

Designed by sports biomechanist and putting coach Dr Paul Hurrion in conjunction with GEL Golf, the new range incorporates the innovative groove and insert technology that defined the original GEL Groove Putter Range and reflects over 10 years of research and development by Hurrion into the art and science of putting.

Independent testing at Quintic Consultancy, has proved that the use of groove technology in putters creates instant forward roll on the golf ball, thus reducing the unwelcome effects of skidding and giving a truer roll.

Meanwhile Hurrion’s biomechanical analysis of putting has proved that the performance of a golf ball during the first portion of the roll is the most crucial element to direct the ball towards the intended target, ensuring therefore that grooved putters will always outperform all other putters.

In this latest range, GEL’s unique groove technology, using a firm, multi-layer aluminium insert over a larger area, has allowed Hurrion to position weight around the perimeter of the club head creating a high moment of inertia (MOI) so increasing the forgiveness and creating an even truer roll of the ball.

“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. That is, a putter designed with horizontal grooves to impart forward roll, peripheral-weighting that maximises the sweetspot across the putter face and heel-toe weighting to increase the MOI for improved resistance to twisting on off-centre hits,” explains Hurrion, who works with a host of European Tour and Ryder Cup players.

“Based on the biomechanical principles that I have studied, the new GEL range of putters creates stability at impact in the area of the game that matters most,” he concludes.

The result quite simply is that the Paul Hurrion Signature Range delivers great feel, exceptional feedback and creates immediate forward roll ensuring that good putts are rewarded.

GEL Golf, which introduced its first range of GEL groove putters in 2007, has produced four models in the Paul Hurrion Signature Range, namely the Sedo, Sedo II, Scindo and Rego, which retail at UK£165.

“All the independent testing that has been undertaken on putters proves that grooved putter faces 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,” adds Alec Pettigrew, Managing Director of GEL (Groove Equipment Ltd).

“GEL has further improved groove technology by introducing horizontal, precision-cut grooves to generate an even better topspin roll and now that we have drawn on Paul’s scientific expertise for the Signature Range, I am confident that we have developed one of the best ever putter ranges on the market.

“Given the number of strokes that putting can add to a round of golf, and the beneficial effect that grooves can have on a player’s putting, the potential for grooved putters is enormous.”

Within a year of launching, GEL was proud to secure its first Tour winner. In December 2007, American Bryan Saltus won the Johnnie Walker Cambodian Open after exchanging his regular putter for a GEL Putter. Asian Tour statistics showed that Saltus’ putting average prior to Cambodia had been 30.4 per round but using his GEL Putter that average plummeted to 28.5 putts per round.

The Paul Hurrion putters are all fitted with WINN grips and the distinctive electric blue inserts that did so much to differentiate GEL’s first range of grooved putters when they were first launched into the golf market in January 2007 at the PGA Merchandise Show in Orlando.

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GEL Putters are distributed in the UK by Assay Golf which is based in London and can be found at www.GELGolf.co.uk. For further information, please visit www.GELGolf.co.uk or contact Helen Heady of Heady PR, on behalf of GEL Golf, on T: +44 20 8789 0900 or M: +44 7966 491 509 or E: helen@headypr.co.uk

Paul McGinley : High Speed Video 1000fps Driver SV

March 25th, 2008 | Golf Biomechanics, Quintic Video Software

Paul McGinley : High Speed Video 1000fps 6 Iron FV

March 25th, 2008 | Golf Biomechanics, Quintic Video Software

Quintic technology for The Belfry’s teaching academy

December 11th, 2007 | Golf Biomechanics, Quintic Video Software

As one of the leading golf resorts, teaching and custom fitting centres and the base of the PGA UK and PGAs of Europe, The Belfry is home to the latest technology to provide comprehensive 2D & 3D analysis and advice on every aspect of the biomechanics of the golf swing, as well as ball flight.

This is the result of a long period of planning and collaboration between The Belfry’s Director of Golf and Dr Paul Hurrion – founder and director of Quintic Consultancy.

Hurrion is in more demand than ever on the European PGA Tour, as players and their management have become aware of the serious impact his biomechanical insight and tuition is having with dozens of the world’s leading players – not to mention their financial and Order-of Merit standing. (The current Open Champion is just one example out of dozens, and he actually has an exact replica of Quintic’s central putting laboratory set up at his home in Dublin).

Director of golf at The Belfry Gary Silcock comments,

“As the only PGA National Golf Academy of its kind in England, it’s required of us to offer the kind of facilities here at The Belfry that are better than anywhere else. Not only does the Quintic system give a new coaching dimension for the 25 PGA- qualified teaching professionals based here, Paul Hurrion’s [biomechanical] experience allows the system to work very effectively with the new custom-fitting facility that features cutting edge components from Cleveland and Wilson.”

The technology at The Belfry includes Quintic Biomechanics 2D Software, four High Speed Multi-Camera systems, Advanced Motion Measurement 3D Software, RSscan Pressure Platform and a powerful computer.

Firstly, hitting a ball onto the driving range while using the facility is a much more interactive experience than without it. The objective is to obtain a representative swing, which is captured by four synchronised cameras and a force platform – the latter to help assess and guide balance.

Golfers can see and understand the biomechanics, technique, balance and muscular dynamics of their golf swing in the greatest of depth and detail. Using video capture, they can also learn from comparison with the world’s top golfers and with statistical models to improve their own technique and performance.

Next, user-friendly quick 2D analysis is provided by the high end Quintic Biomechanics Analysis Software – similar to that used by universities and physiotherapy clinics across the world, international sporting organisations, top clubs, golf academies and golf professionals alike.

The force platform is a highly complex and sensitive piece of hardware that provides accurate and reliable data on pressure and timing during the swing. Of the many things Paul Hurrion has learned over the years, arguably the most important factor in golf swing performance is balance. Incorrect balance can negate everything else that may be right. And it’s the one thing that is difficult to detect by the human eye or video camera. Virtually instantaneous dynamic foot pressure analysis enables the golfer to visualise and understand his own body movements. The key then is how to turn the information into improved performance.

Quintic www.quintic.com
Paul Hurrion www.paulhurrion.com
The Belfry www.thebelfry.co.uk

Quintic video analysis lab opens at the Belfry PGA National Academy!

November 5th, 2007 | Golf Biomechanics, Quintic Video Software

The following article is taken from the PGA UK Website, written by Matthew Millard http://www.pga.info/PGAFeatures/40869559.htm

The man who guided Padraig Harrington to Open success is making his mark at The Belfry’s PGA National Academy. Biomechanics guru Dr Paul Hurrion has officially opened a state of the art Quintic lab at the famous Ryder Cup venue, equipping it with the latest technology to measure and analyse the golf swing to the tiniest degree.

Hurrion, who will be a headline speaker at next May’s PGA National Teaching and Coaching Conference, is an expert in the field of biomechanics which is an integral part of the PGA Foundation Degree in professional golf programme.

The principles of biomechanics aim to provide a means for the accurate description and explanation of human movement and the changes of the player and their club through the swing.

The new software at The Belfry gives the resort’s stable of pros a library of measurable data they can utilise to show pupils progress in their lessons.

The Quintic suite, housed in the PGA National Academy, is fitted out with four cameras giving separate angles from above, behind, front and back which provides slow motion footage and enables the coach to see close up what is actually happening to their pupil.

“The big thing for the amateur is that what they think they’re doing might not be what they are actually doing,” said Hurrion.

“They might think they are doing X but actually it’s Y. This is hard evidence and shows them how they get back into the swing.”

Golf coaching has come a long way in a short space of time and has now progressed from simply watching the player through slow motion video to biomechanics which adds swing specific measurements to video motion.

For example, the Quintic system can measure the spine angle at address and impact giving the pro information to the tiniest degree which they wouldn’t see with the naked eye.

It’s useful ammo for a pro who no-longer has to spend endless hours convincing a pupil their spine angle is just out or that their head has dropped too far during the swing, as the software has all the measurements on screen straight away.

This is a great help admits Belfry senior teaching professional Alistair Davies.

“Using the biomechanics software for lessons makes the process a lot easier as you can simply put the pupil’s swing and details on the screen and show them what they’ve done,” he said.

“You can then talk about the problem and show them the changes they need to make. If I adjust someone’s posture, address or swing then it’ll feel horrible, but if I show them how it’ll benefit them on screen they’ll see that it looks better and the ball flies better.

“You can prove you’re not just changing something for the sake of it or to make it look pretty, we’re changing it to make it effective.”

Once the swing has been filmed it is immediately available to view giving the pro an instant record of the pupil’s action and its measurements.

“You can map lines on it, put it side by side with someone like Tiger Woods’ swing to compare the measurements, or you can have two separate images of the pupil’s swing,” added Davies.

The Quintic technology allows comparison of two images, for example, head position at address, then the head position at impact. This is referred to as ‘blending’ and by moving back and forth between the images pros can see just how much the head has moved during the swing and the exact distance it has moved.

“The blend feature is great as it was always impossible or very difficult to see such a movement with the naked eye,” explained Davies. “Now, by using the blend feature, I can draw a line on the head at address, blend the images and see exactly how far the head has moved from the line during the swing.

“You can really prove your worth as a coach because you can see absolutely everything that is happening to the student, allowing you to pick up on the minute details that are going wrong and put them right.

“If my goal is to improve the spine angle by three inches at impact, I can tell the pupil that if they do this or that they’ll play better, and I can demonstrate it to them on screen.

“Every pupil learns differently but if people can see on the screen what you’re trying to tell them it helps, the old saying is true, a picture tells a thousand words,” added Davies.

“Also you can look at the progress pupils have made over a period of time, people will be happier to see that they have made changes and improved.

“Biomechanics has definitely changed the way we teach, it gives the video lesson that added emphasis.”

Why Sports Shoe design isn’t all Cobblers – Definitive

September 18th, 2007 | Biomechanics Consultancy, Golf Biomechanics, Quintic Video Software

The Open Champion Padraig Harrington five years ago approached a sports shoe manufacturer and asked, “Why do I play golf in a pair of dress shoes with spikes? A hundred-metre runner wouldn’t run his race in the same pair of shoes as a marathon runner…”

The shoe that The Open champion wore (to win The Irish Open as well, by the way) was developed as a direct result of this interrogation by Harrington, the golf world’s undisputed man of the moment.

The launch coincided with the time when the rules and regulations of golf balls and drivers were made significantly more stringent, and golfers were looking into new ways of improving their game within the rules of the R&A. Hi-Tec was one of the first shoe manufacturers to do extensive Biomechanics research into hardware development, but according to Hi-Tec’s Frederik Sundstrom, the really unique part of the whole undertaking was that they did it in collaboration with one of the best players in the world.

“After our success with CDT Power most of the major brands have jumped on the bandwagon and tried to create game improvement golf shoes,” says Sundstrom. “I am not sure if all of them do biomechanics research, but I know the company that works with a player of Harrington’s calibre does.”

While Hi-Tec contributed the commercial clout and business acumen, it was towards biomechanist Dr Paul Hurrion and his Quintic Consultancy that they turned for chapter and verse on how actually to design the shoe itself.

Hi-Tec now has a patented technology with its outsole that helps them stay ahead of the competition. It is a combination of parts, says the manufacturer, that make their shoes perform better than any other. Essentially, the concept gives better stability and grip for better balance. The balance gives greater consistency and – consequently – the ability to hit the ball further when desired.

It is the biomechanical perspective that proves the overriding importance of balance in this area of golf.

Hurrion falls short of becoming too high-falutin’ about the biomechanical angle to this, but the contribution of the ‘strictly scientific’ cannot be underplayed. His strength is an comprehensive understanding of the behavioural dynamics and implications of athletes and their environments – and that includes their equipment.

“Our focus is not exclusively on the sort of performance that can be quick-fix addressed,” explains Hurrion. “Performance can be enhanced with chemicals, for example, but we know where that can lead.

“The strategy has to be a more all-encompassing approach that combines performance, comfort, ergonomics, injury-prevention and musculoskeletal optimization. And that informs our product development across all sports and hardware provision from toe to body, hand, shoulder, neck and head.”

Hurrion uses a perspective that is as broad as it is far-reaching. Specifically, as a committed sports fan himself, he sees his mission as ensuring athletic excellence as part and parcel of – and not averse to – physiological well-being and longevity.

Whether he’s involved with a Dubliner golfer in his 30s like Harrington or a javelin-thrower like Goldie Sayers in her late teens, or a cricketing colossus like Graeme Hick, Hurrion is the man with X-ray eyes. Rotate more at the shoulder, you risk injury if you continue on that path, flex more at address, brace during the impact and follow through…

Frederik Sundstrom : “I don’t think the golf shoe industry would have been where it is today if it wasn’t for Padraig Harington and Dr Paul Hurrion. They pushed Hi-Tec to come up with something that helped Padraig swing the club even better… a shoe that gave him better grip and a very stable platform that enabled him to hit the ball with better consistency and with more power. I think the new shoes were a catalyst that enabled Padraig to take his whole game to a new level. According to Padraig, he now has the best clubs, ball, caddie, putting coach, swing coach, management team and now the best shoes. He’s at the top of his game, and we aim to help keep him there, as part of the team behind him.”

 http://www.golfbusinessnews.com/news/news.asp?storyid=4083

Rocket Science for Everyone!

September 1st, 2007 | Biomechanics Consultancy, Golf Biomechanics, Quintic Video Software

Arnold Palmer has recently been credited with being the single most important sporting icon to begin the transformation of golf into the ‘game for everyone’.

A generation before marketing became a byword for charlatanism with testosterone, Palmer’s looks, undoubted athletic prowess and his charisma made him much more ‘bankable’ than any other golf professional of his age. But here’s an interesting thing…

Recently re-produced photos of Arnie in his heyday show the young dragon pouting strangely. This was mentioned in passing to John Lewis from Bay Hill by Palmer UK & Ireland, who explained that it’s because the young Palmer smoked like a chimney, but modern custom forbids this and so the Lucky Strikes have been airbrushed out but the facial expression of the habitual smoker remains.

It’s representative of how sport has turned against nicotine and related sybaritic pleasures – many would have thought that golf didn’t really number among the sports where self-denial and discipline were that evident.

At the Open in 1976, Johnny Miller walked away with the champion’s purse of £7500, having beaten Jack Nicklaus in to second place by 6 strokes. And the biggest attraction on the Royal Birkdale ground was the Guinness Tent, says an observer of the time.

Golf was slightly rarefied, slightly Bertie Wooster, slightly… well…

Then Tiger Woods happened. With his shameless athleticism and firebrand physicality he has 60 PGA victories and 13 majors and will surely go on to break the Jack Nicklaus record of 18 majors … ‘did him no good at The Open, mind you.

Padraig Harrington didn’t gain possession of the Claret Jug at The Open using a metal detector. His training regime is strict, well-researched, rigorously executed. And what’s behind it all?

Biomechanics.

When kids go to school today, if they’re taught physical education by a recent graduate of any decent training college, biomechanics will have been written large in the syllabus of what physical education teachers have to master. For those of us who aren’t aware of the term Sports Biomechanics uses the scientific methods of mechanics to study the effects of various forces on the sports performer. It is concerned, in particular, with the forces that act on the human neuromusculoskeletal system; velocities, accelerations, torque, momentum, inertia… It also considers aspects of the behavior of sports implements, footwear and surfaces where these affect athletic performance and injury prevention.

Harrington has mastered this concept, because as an athlete his in depth knowledge of how his body works in golf competitions allows him to monitor his performance in fine detail, accentuate positive and eliminate negative aspects, as well as avoid strain or injury.

Dr Paul Hurrion is a doctor of biomechanics, and consults regularly with Padraig, as well as with the likes of Andrew Coltard, David Howell, Philip Archer, and Lee Westwood… During interviews with the press at the Scottish Open, much was made of Westwood’s recent visit to a putting lab to sort out his erratic performance on the greens. “The laboratory is a room with a hard floor, green carpet, cameras all over the room and mirrors – it’s a bit kinky really,” Westwood told reporters.

It’s quite an accurate description of The Quintic Putting Lab in the centre of England where Dr Paul Hurrion is based. It would also describe the set up Padraig Harrington has at his home in Dublin; a faithful replica of the lab at Quintic.

“Quintic Performance Analysis Software provides comprehensive, easy to use, tools that allow me to analyse my full swing, chipping and putting in fine detail, whether I’m on the practice range, indoors or away on Tour,” explains Padraig. “I am able to synchronise and compare my swing action and tempo immediately, whilst the use of the drawing tools enables me to calculate the speed and acceleration of my club and arms.”

This science is what is making the single most meaningful contribution to sport in our time.

Quintic’s portfolio of clients embraces professional athletes, amateurs, sports education establishments and professional coaches across disciplines that include cricket, rowing, boxing, gymnastics, skating, rugby and football. The company’s expertise and software has benefited Irish clients such as Musgrave Park Hospital in Belfast, The Maher Sports and Wellness Centre in Dublin, Irish Athletics, The University of Ulster and the country’s water sports governing body, Swim Ireland.

But Paul Hurrion has a special soft spot for golf, and putting in particular. As a gifted all-rounder in sport at school and university, golf did feature among Hurrion’s leisure sports, but it became a commercial interest after he compiled a paper for the World Congress of Golf in Scotland on the principles behind the C-Groove putter. His definitive work here on the mechanics of golf ball roll remains a key component of Yes! Golf’s strategy for C-Groove worldwide, and has earned Quintic lucrative biomechanical and product development work as far afield as China, Hong Kong & Australia.

In an entirely separate undertaking, Hurrion several years ago was retained by shoe manufacturer Hi-Tec to research and develop the ultimate golf shoe. The result was the Custom Directional Traction (CDT) shoe. Three guesses what shoes were worn by the Open Champion Harrington… and the first two don’t count.

Golf is especially interesting from a biomechanical point of view, due to the fact that enormous torque and power are in play when driving a ball off the tee, yet chip shots and putting around the greens involve a much different set of physical movements, relying on control and great deftness of touch. Common to all golfing movements, however, and a key consideration in so much biomechanical study is balance & stability. In looking at sport performance literally from the ground up, the way a golfer distributes his body weight is a factor of which he’s generally unaware, and yet so much depends on it, ‘The power comes from your feet! – How far would you hit a driver in your bare feet?’

For analysis of both the full swing stroke and putting stroke, weight distribution and balance is measured using a force platform. This is a small mat packed with sensors and chips to monitor initial balance and shifting of weight during athletic movement. Hurrion is able to look at unlabelled computer-generated pressure graphics of various golfers’ movements whom he has coached and identify it as a Harrington, Howell, Westwood or Nancy Jones from down the road – each display being so much an individual signature.

This might not appear that interesting at first, were it not for two distinct facts relating to this.

Firstly, there has never been a visitor to the Quintic lab whose athletic aberrations have not been immediately impacted by addressing balance to one degree or another.

Secondly, the experience derived from this type of analysis has allowed Hurrion to design a range of training and adjustment solutions that this year and next will be on sale to the general public. No exaggeration or sleight of hand, the complex methods used to coach the world’s most successful golfers will literally be available to everyone. More of this later…

“I often work with amateur golfers as well as the Tour Professionals,” says the biomechanist in an aside. “Most of them have favourite Tour players whose progress they will follow assiduously. One of these keen amateurs said to me once that being privy to these methods we use to help Tour players was akin to an extreme form of memorabilia-collecting… but instead of having the ball David Howell used to hole out and win the BMW, or the glove Padraig was wearing when he won The Open, he had the very technique, mind-set or drill that was in use, and not mere equipment.

“It’s probably the only acceptable form of super-athlete-stalking there is,” he says – almost smiling.

Avoiding injury is also clearly a key consideration. For Tour golfers, injury actually means more than just discomfort, it’s a loss of earnings. The vast majority of the world’s 65 million golfers, though, aren’t professional golfers. But the sheer number of players over 55 whose physicality is more prone to strain and damage makes injury at this level just as important.

It is through a comprehensive understanding of the body’s mechanical characteristics that biomechanists know what a body can and can’t, or should and shouldn’t do.

Understanding all the physiological stuff is one thing. But it’s an entirely different matter discovering the best hardware and software possibilities that are available to turn it into diagnostic, explanatory and remedial reality.

The use of video cameras to capture images of athletic motion is very important. The human eye can only separate a maximum of ten to twelve images per second. When it comes to analysing athletes’ techniques, even the coach’s practised eye cannot extract all the necessary details in a live sporting situation. The way that video cameras work is by creating the illusion of motion by ‘tricking’ the human eye. They play 25 flashing still pictures each second (fps). As the eye cannot separate those pictures, we perceive continuous movement.

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. Quintic also has the capability of capturing four live video images simultaneously, allowing for still further potential for kinetic comparisons.

More and more athletes, coaches, scientists are using video feedback as a coaching aid. Video can help athletes to understand the basic fundamentals of a specific movement, and these images are used to assist coaches in their task, as the athlete’s performance can be repeated afterwards and slowed down during critical phases.

By comparing performances of previous movements, or even other athletes, the Quintic biomechanical software enables the user 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.

And your point is…?

Golfers are extremely vulnerable. No seriously.

A lot of club golfers come to the game late in life and a strange metamorphosis occurs the first time they walk into the pro shop at their new golf club.

Imagine a successful professional man. He could be a surgeon, company director, stockbroker or Formula one racing driver. Supremely confident in his own sphere of expertise, he is putty in the hands of a PGA pro (or his 17 year-old assistant perhaps) and is entirely reliant on the advice he is given. This is widely known among the entrepreneurial community.

There is virtually a gadget for every one of those 65 million golfers, costing anything between a few Euros and thousands of dollars they can cure your slice, enhance your confidence, stop the shanks, yips and DTs, align your stance, help read the greens, make you drive further, chip more accurately… all geared to lower your handicap and make you a better golfer. Golfers pursue lower handicaps like a knight after the Grail and will pay loads for any and every chance to make it happen.

Most devices have only the kind of research behind them that comprises likely profits after 12 months’ trading (if they last that long). Even well-meaning golfers who ‘have an idea’ are arguably on the prowl to be behind the next big thing in golf.

The work carried out by Dr Paul Hurrion and Quintic Consultancy is grounded in proven academic fact and tested application of physics. He personally is cagey about when his training products will be available, partly because this sort of commercialism is not his primary area of expertise. Also, it’s partly due to the fact that on most occasions when he sits down to apply himself to refining the product, he’ll get another urgent summons from his client list of PGA players who need his consultancy… there aren’t enough hours in the day…

We all look forward to Paul finalising the designs so we can benefit from the science… what will that be worth to us golfers?

Carnoustie Open Winner Praises Advances in Sport Science Golf Technology

August 20th, 2007 | Biomechanics Consultancy, Golf Biomechanics, Putting Biomechanics, Quintic Video Software

At the 136th Open Golf Championship held at Carnoustie, Scotland in July, the winner Padraig Harrington was generous in acknowledging the value of the application of new technology by University of Chichester graduate, Dr Paul Hurrion to his game performance. Paul Hurrion, who comes from Warwickshire, began his undergraduate studies at the University of Chichester in 1990 and after successfully gaining his BSc in 1993 he continued with postgraduate study under the supervision of Biomechanist Dr Rosemary Dyson and the now Professor Emeritus of Sport Science Tudor Hale. During this time Paul was often to be seen playing at Goodwood golf course and reached a 2 handicap.

On completion of his PhD thesis Paul was awarded his doctorate degree in biomechanics analysis of sport. He developed and applied his integrated knowledge of golf and biomechanics when given the opportunity to coach golf in Dubai for about a year before his graduation in 1997.

The experience in Dubai acted as a spur to his efforts to develop coaching tools using a high technology approach utilising the advances in rapid data processing and the miniaturisation of solid-state high speed cameras and computer technology. Commercialisation of the developments of his company Quintic Consultancy Ltd (www.quintic.com) resulted in the sport science products being used worldwide to record and analyse sport performance in coaching and competition applications.

Dr Paul Hurrion is now a leading international Biomechanist and his advice has helped many golf tour professionals and teaching professionals to understand and modify their ‘putting’ action to the benefit of their own scores and/or their teaching abilities. Paul’s expertise in golf has been acknowledged with membership of the Advisory Board for Biomechanics at the elite Titleist Performance Institute (TPI) in San Diego, USA.

Paul also maintains an ongoing relationship with the Biomechanics Department of the University of Chichester through various research and consultancy projects.

“If you take your putting seriously then a visit to the Quintic Putting laboratory is a must. Dr Paul Hurrion’s biomechanical and hi-tech approach to this ‘game within a game’ is unique…The use of the lab’s camera, computer and analysis software, together with Paul’s knowledge, will demonstrate to you things the human eye misses…”

Padraig Harrington

 Article: Chichester Observer 20/08/07 & University of Chichester Website: http://www.chiuni.ac.uk/services/news/newsarticle.cfm?articleId=729

Padraig Harrington wins ‘The 136th Open Championship’

July 23rd, 2007 | Biomechanics Consultancy, Golf Biomechanics, Putting Biomechanics, Quintic Video Software

Congratulations Padraig… what a day!

Exciting to the point of gut-wrenching!!

A superb last round of four under par 67 took Padraig into a play-off with Sergio Garcia for the Open Championship. Four birdies and an eagle three on the 14th hole left him one shot ahead playing the fearsome 18th hole but two visits to the water seemed to have put paid to his chances of winning a first major. But in a dramatic finish Garcia lipped out for par and a four hole play-off ensued. Like a man spared the death penalty, Padraig played superb golf to leave himself with a four foot putt for the title. He holed it, (straight in the middle) to become the first Irishman to win the title in sixty years and has now won all three play-offs he has contested this year.

Harrington’s victory, his first Major Championship success in his 37th attempt, saw him become the first European born player to win The Open Championship since Scotland’s Paul Lawrie triumphed at Carnoustie in 1999 and only the second Irishman in history to lift the Claret Jug following Fred Daly’s triumph at Royal Liverpool in 1947.

The 35 year old Dubliner picked up the first prize of €1,106,617 (£750,000) to move top of The European Tour Order of Merit – where he ended last season – and up to sixth on the Official World Golf Ranking, his highest ever placement.

“I think it will take a long time to settle in what I have achieved today,” he said. “The emotion of it, I couldn’t believe it. I know it was only a short putt to win in the end but as it was rolling into the middle of the hole I’m thinking, I’m the Open Champion! It was amazing, incredible to see that putt drop.”

“Always my goal was to win more than one Major and if I crossed the threshold and won one, as I have done now, I always want to win more. I’m going to celebrate like it’s the pinnacle of my career but I’ve got other goals to move on with now. I’m certainly going to enjoy this one though now, and for the foreseeable future. Forever actually.”

There’s no substitute for building a solid putting stroke that won’t break down under pressure and I (Dr Paul Hurrion – Quintic) can’t imagine any more pressure than Padraig was under several times late on Sunday. Dr Paul Hurrion was personally mentioned in his speech, we at Quintic are very proud of what he has achieved, all those hours upon hours, late nights, hitting balls beyond midnight have all paid off, congratulations once again.

First of many Padraig !?!

*His 12th European Tour International Schedule victory in his 260th European Tour event as a professional.

*His first Major Championship victory in his 37th Major Championship appearance.

*Becomes the first European-born player to win a Major Championship since Paul Lawrie at The 1999 Open Championship also at Carnoustie – a gap of 31 Major Championships.

*This victory beats his best previous Major Championship performances of fifth in the US Open Championship in 2006 and tied fifth in the 1997 Open Championship, 2000 US Open Championship, 2002 Masters Tournament, and 2002 Open Championship.

*Wins The Open Championship in his 11th appearance.

*Third consecutive first-time Major Champion, following Zach Johnson (Masters Tournament) and Angel Cabrera (US Open Championship). First time this has occurred since Phil Mickelson (2004 Masters Tournament), Shaun Micheel (2003 US PGA Championship) and Ben Curtis (2003 The Open Championship).

*Second victory on The 2007 European Tour International Schedule, following the Irish Open.

*Third victory of 2007, following the Irish Open and Irish PGA Championship last week.

*Fourth time in his European Tour career he has recorded multiple victories in the same season.

*Gains an exemption into The Open Championship until the age of 65.

*Gains a five year exemption into The Masters Tournament, the US Open Championship and USPGA Championship.

*Gains a place in the 2007 PGA Grand Slam of Golf, joining Johnson and Cabrera.

*Gains a place in the 2007 WGC – Bridgestone Invitational and HSBC World Match Play Championship.

*Gains a place in the 2008 HSBC Champions.

*Extends his European Tour exemption until the end of 2017.

Titleist ups the ante on its Performance Institute

June 5th, 2007 | Biomechanics Consultancy, Golf Biomechanics

Biomechanist and MD of Quintic Consultancy, Paul Hurrion has been invited to join the Biomechanics Advisory Panel of the Titleist Performance Institute (TPI).

The TPI was born out of an ongoing search for knowledge about bodies in sports motion. Morphing out of a private facility that was created for the benefit of Titleist staff players worldwide, the public side of the TPI was first opened in 2004.The TPI was born out of an ongoing search for knowledge about bodies in sports motion. Morphing out of a private facility that was created for the benefit of Titleist staff players worldwide, the public side of the TPI was first opened in 2004.It is one of the most technologically advanced golf evaluation facilities in existence focusing on swing efficiency, physical conditioning, and custom equipment fitting. It combines industry leading experts, state of the art technology, and world class facilities to enhance the performance and physical well-being of golfers of all skill levels. You’d find that a good deal of what is discussed and debated by the members of the Institute is over the heads of most club golfers, but it’s meat & potatoes to professional athletes for whom the game is a livelihood.There are eight people in total currently consulting just on the TPI biomechanics panel – each with discrete disciplinary skill-sets and in different sports. The idea is that physiological & biomechanical aspects of all sports have information that can be applied to golf. Considering that this will involve processing vast amounts of data to extract valid components, an exhaustive degree of knowledge is needed. “We met Paul through Padraig Harrington and knew that he was doing research on shoes and motion analysis of elite athletes,” explains Dr Greg Rose of TPI. “We look for advisors that can help direct us in each discipline and we try to get experts from different sports that may have great information that we could apply to golf. We definitely try to get advisors who don’t think the same so that we can get great discussions on each topic. “We try to meet at least once a year, we pose monthly questions to discuss and debate through email, we all write articles to post on our website, and we will try to publish 6-10 research papers over 12 months from the group.” 2007 and 2008 are going to be very busy years for Paul Hurrion. As demand among PGA players and management grows for Hurrion’s one-to-one consulting time, Quintic itself is poised to launch a range of very special training aids under the Quintic brand. Designed, packaged and priced to have appeal among the broadest range of golfers, these training aids are distinguished by their simplicity and instant feedback. Paul Hurrion and the Quintic team have amassed a vast body of work on the complexities of the professional athletes’ sporting performance. An innate knowledge of this data firstly enables a biomechanist efficiently to target a problem or an opportunity for performance improvement. Secondly, it makes it possible to identify accurately the common problems of most golfers and crucially, the quickest and most effective cure. “At its purest level, yes, biomechanics is probably deathly dull to men and women who simply love the game of golf and always want to play better,” says a sanguine Paul Hurrion. “The point is those people don’t have to bother with exhaustive analysis of their game because we’ve done that. For those that are interested the facts and figures, we can gladly discuss these, otherwise they can just benefit by our research… and play better golf.” The TPI will be a Shangri-La for serious golfers, irrespective of the brand of club they swing. They’ll sell truckloads of very worthy Titleist gear off the back of it, but that’s a given and no secret. What is perhaps a more closely guarded secret is just how coveted a place is in this particular school. Greg Rose : “We are a private facility – used mainly by our professional Titleist staff players worldwide (almost 8,000 players in total). We do offer 35 fantasy camps called ‘experiences’ each year – where 6 amateurs will come in for three days and we treat them like they are Adam Scott for the week. We charge $7,500 per person and it is usually sold out well in advance!”

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