Remember all those putts that Padraig Harrington holed on the final nine of the PGA Championship at Oakland Hills? Meet Dr. Paul Hurrion, a bio-mechanics expert who is Harrington's putting coach. In the world of golf instruction, he's become the next big thing. He serves as a putting guru for half a dozen other European tour players and also has his own signature line of putters available from GEL Golf.
I thought I might learn something about Harrington or putting, or both, so I called his office in London. Here are some highlights of our conversation:
SI: I'm surprised there aren't more guys like you who analyze putting, considering what a big part of the game it is.
Paul Hurrion: "It's a very good thing for me. I don't want to point a finger at the PGA, but in the UK, our PGA manual was maybe two inches thick on how to teach golf -- 200-plus pages on golf and you're lucky if there are four pages on putting. It has changed a little, but there hasn't been a systematic approach with grip and posture and alignment. It's more about feeling comfortable, and comfortable isn't always optimal."
SI: How did a former cricket player like yourself get into analyzing putting?
Hurrion: "I've always liked golf. I played mostly cricket and other athletics, but I had a bad injury so I started playing more golf. I got down to scratch about the time I got my Ph. D. I was interested in how the ball reacts to the putter face. We developed software so we can analyze movements. You know how you see a ball hit with a driver in super slow-motion, and the ball compresses and the face caves? I did the same thing with a wedge and sand irons, and when I did it with a putter, I went, geez, hold on a second. I had to check to make sure the camera was correct. The ball was on the putter face for a second. I did a study for Yes Golf when they came out with their C-grooved putter. Grooves do work; they have an impact. But how you're holding the club has far more influence over the ball than the grooves, or even the putter. I'd say it's 90-percent user, 10-percent club."
SI: So if I'm putting poorly it's my fault.
Hurrion: "No question. Professional golfers are great at disassociating. It's not them. It's always the putter or the green or the spike marks. But when you look at the numbers, it comes down to you, I'm afraid."
SI: What did you think of those putts Padraig holed on the last three holes of the PGA? Two of them were pretty difficult. If he misses those, Sergio Garcia still wins.
Hurrion: "Definitely. I think Padraig one-putted eight greens on the back nine, had 26 putts for the round. That's what we have worked to do, take the manipulation out of his stroke. If you've got any manipulation on that stroke, whether it's body or hands, it's not good. When it comes down to that moment of impact, about half a millisecond, there's not much room for error, I'm afraid.
"That back nine, once he got that look in his eyes, he was clearly in the zone, totally focused on what he was doing. We just worked so diligently on setup and posture and the club fitting him. He's not thinking about that, he's solely into reading the putts, trusting the line and letting it go. The great testament to me was last year at Carnoustie. He never even went on the putting green during the week. He was so happy with his putting he was like, leave it alone, just hit a couple of putts and go to the tee."
