0809PuttLikeaChamp

In association with GEL Golf

enjoyed Colin’s form at the Majors this year: he has provided a steady stream of income via ‘shorting’ his FP (Finishing Position) through his somewhat lackluster performances. Luke Donald is the other European “Gun” who will be absent in Kentucky—in his case through a persistent wrist injury.

The American Team

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Euro Harrington Westwood Garcia Stenson Karlsson Jiminez Rose Wilson McDowell Hansen Poulter Casey

Outright Pick: Margin of Victory: Top Scorer:

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If Donald’s unavailability is inconvenient for Europe, Paul Azinger’s most notable injury victim is considerably more significant. Tiger Woods’ heroics at the U.S. Open cost both him and the American Team dearly. Although he remains USA publicly lukewarm about the Mickelson Ryder Cup, privately Tiger Cink is known as a fierce patriot Perry and warm team-mate. His Furyk d isa st rou s pa r t nersh ip Kim with Phil Mickelson under Leonard Curtis Hal Sutton’s stewardship Weekley aside, Tiger has a strong Campbell matchplay record and can Stricker single-handedly turn the Holmes course of a ga me bot h Mahan directly and by inspiration.

The pairing of Tiger Europe Europe by 0.5 or 1 point and Jim Furyk in recent US : Furyk or Cink Ryder Cups has been very Euro: Garcia successful and would have been first on Azinger’s team sheet for the fourballs and foursomes formats.

Make no mistake, the U.S. will miss Tiger…

In his absence, the top half of the automatic eight qualifiers (Azinger changed the U.S. selection criteria in 2007, allowing him four wildcards), has a steady but unspectacular feel. The frustratingly flakey Mickelson is still undoubtedly world-class on his day, while Jim Fuyrk, Kenny Perry, Justin Leonard and Stewart Cink have enjoyed solid seasons and will provide leadership for their younger partners.

But further down the list the doubts must be creeping into Captain Zinger’s mind. He can hardly have been thrilled that Ben Curtis’ admittedly strong performance at the USPGA Championship knocked Steve Stricker out of an automatic qualification berth. I suspect Curtis, Anthony Kim and the unwittingly charismatic Boo Weekley will all prove too inconsistent to contribute greatly to the US tally.

Azinger’s new selection freedom may just backfire. The unique pressure and stress felt by all Ryder-cuppers (Davis Love III reported he could literally hardly get the clubhead past horizontal on his first Ryder Cup swing) is commonly magnified for the Captain’s picks.

Gnawing uncertainty about the merit of their place can plague even the most experienced

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golfer, especially if the selection is a controversial one. Zinger has stated his selections were based on latest form but then immediately made this a back-handed compliments by admitting that “nobody really jumped off the page” in recent weeks. His final selections include three rookies: Steve Stricker, Hunter Mahan and J.B. Holmes, in addition to Chad Campbell, who will earn a third appearance despite being woefully ineffective in his first two. I believe Zinger has taken a major gamble with these selections and is one I’m willing to take on. In choosing these young studs, he has overlooked both the older generation options of Rocco Mediate and Woody Austin who have the personality and fire to inspire both the team and spectators alike.

Investment Opportunities: Stay Alert!

For the sportingly minded, the Ryder Cup presents some attractive betting opportunities.

But it is a contest where a punter must be ultranimble in order to capitalize. By staying glued to the TV, it is quite possible to notice players entering both hot and cold streaks. At the K Club in 2006, Stewart Cink and Darren Clarke were both obviously ‘in the zone’ for attentive punters. Most services offer ‘betting in running’, which allow instant investment when you spot either a hottie or a nottie.

In terms of outright bets, playing the underdog has been astonishingly profitable over the years. In 2008 however, I believe the Euros have been rightly established as favourites and will deliver, although at untempting odds.

Betting on the margin of victory must be purely for fun and while two out of the last three Euro triumphs have been by record margins, I believe the match will revert to the usual achingly close conclusion. A small punt on Europe to win by one point or less might provide some value.

The final popular ante-post betting market is “Top Point Scorer”. This often throws up some surprise winners but I do believe it can be usefully narrowed down. Discard the elder statemen of both teams (Perry, Jimenez etc) who are unlikely to play more than three matches and hone in on the in-form, energetic and fit squad members. Sergio Garcia is a worthy ‘jolly’ for the Europeans but for value it might pay to focus on the Americans where I can see both Fuyrk and Cink being asked to play all five possible matches. An investment on either to be ‘Top American Scorer’ could be profitable.

“What about Phil?,” I hear you ask. “Energy and fitness” I reiterate. From what we hear about the many events and banquets held during Ryder Cup week, chances are Phil will be Phul.

Instruction

How to Putt Like a Champion Dr Paul Hurrion

The 5 putting keys Padraig Harrington used to dominate the greens of Royal Birkdale and Oakland Hills will help you putt like a major winner too

P

adraig Harrington becoming the first European to win the PGA Championship since 1930 was a tale of three putts: a 12-footer for par on the 16th to tie, a 10-footer at No.17 to take the lead, and a 15-foot putt at the end placing him in the history books. Majors are all about putting under pressure, and Padraig and I have worked hard to build a stroke that eliminates manipulation and promotes trust, no matter what the situation. Here are the five keystones Padraig uses every time he steps into a putt. They’ve made him one of the game’s elite putters, and they’ll help your game, too.

1.Set Your Foundation

Standing correctly to the ball is the centerpiece of my putting instruction—get this right and the rest of the keystones fall easily into place. Your

goal at address is to establish a posture that allows your shoulders to rock in a pendulum motion without any need for excess hand action or other compensations that won’t hold up under pressure.

Copy the positions below:

Dr Paul Hurrion is a biomechanics expert and putting coach to some of golf's biggest names, including Padraig Harrington.

He is also the designer of GEL Golf's Paul Hurrion Signature range of putters.

• Tilt forward so that the top of your back is parallel to the ground. Set the handle over the ball.

• Flex your knees slightly, with your weight even over your heels and toes.

• Check that a line drawn up the shaft runs through your right forearm.

• You know you’re standing the correct distance from the ball when your left hand sits underneath the top of your back.

• Place 55% of your weight over your left foot and 45% over your right. Sole your putter so that it sits directly under the center of your chest.

Happy Punting!

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Putters…

Square

Closed

2.Get Square at Setup

Open

The direction your putter face points at address largely determines where the ball will go, so it ’s vital that you set your blade per fec t ly square to the line of the putt. Don’t look only at your putter’s sweet spot when aiming—use the lines created by the heel and toe to make sure you’re pointing it in the right direction.

• Use the alignment aid on your putter as well as the heel and toe sections to aim the putterface at your target.

• A closed putter face at address will cause you to miss left or to make stroke adjustments that are difficult to time.

• Even a slightly open putter face at address can cause you to miss your intended target to the right by several feet.

3.Re-create Address at Impact

Just like it did at address, your putter face should make a right angle with your intended line, both 2 inches before and 2 inches after impact. If you’re off here you’ll put either hook or cut spin on the ball and it will roll offline.

This is especially true on slow greens where the thicker grass amplifies the effects of sidespin.

• Set your putter face perpendicular to your intended line at address and make sure it’s perpendicular just before, during and just after impact.

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Even if you nail the five keystones, they won’t do you much good if you don’t have the right equipment. If you’re like most amateurs, your putter is either too long or too short, which hinders your ability to sole the club flat on the ground at address – an absolute must. If the toe of your putter lifts up when you sole it on the ground, the face will point left of where you think you’re aimed, setting you up for an automatic miss. Furthermore, many putters on the market don’t make it easy for you to take advantage of the five keystones. I’ve recently designed a specialty line of flatsticks for GEL putters (www.gelgolf.com) that bring them all together.

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4.Make an Upward Strike

Your ball comes off the face with the perfect amount of forward spin when you swing your blade up at a 1-degree angle through impact. Of course, this is impossible to get exactly right, but if you set up correctly, then your strike will take care of itself. The key is to play the ball an inch ahead of where your stroke bottoms out—do this, andyou’ll strike it at the correct angle. And where is this spot? An inch ahead of the spot on the ground that is directly beneath the center of your chest.

• The loft of your putterface at address cannot be increased more than 1 degree at impact or the ball will “hop” off the putterface with zero forward spin. The ensuing roll is impossible to control.

• Correct ball position gives you a slight upstrike and the optimal amount of forward spin.

5.Putt with Rhythm

Great putters stroke the ball with a free-and easy movement. To copy this rhythm, make a fluid transition from your backstroke to your forward stroke. Don’t rush this part of your swing! You want to almost pause your clubface at the end your backswing, then smoothly accelerate into impact. To further promote better rhythm, match the length of your backstroke to the length of your forward stroke. This motion allows you to hit the putt with the right speed without jerking your hands forward or decelerating through impact.

• Match the length of your backstroke with the length of your forward stroke for better tempo and rhythm at any distance.

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• MORE TIPS Dr. Hurrion’s putting keystones are based on years of research. Learn more about his high-tech approach at www.quintic.com.

• SQUARING DEVICE Most of the putterhead is made from aluminum, giving you a softer feel (good for keystone #5) .We pair this light metal with heavy tungsten in the heel and toe sections, creating a higher MOI for less clubhead twisting.

Find a straight 8-foot putt on the practice putting green and...

1. Line up your putterface so that it points straight at the hole. Once you can do that consistently...

2. Make the putt. Once you can do that...

3. See how consistently you can roll the ball into the cup. From eight feet you should be able to make 10 in a row. Once you get to that point...

4. Try the putt from 4 feet and 16 feet. Your tempo stays the same—only the length of your stroke should change.

This system makes any putt a straight 8-footer, hit with either a longer or shorter stroke. The only variable is your read, and with a reliable stroke, you can give that part of your putting game the attention it deserves.

The GEL Sedo II, part of the new Hurrion Signature Range

• ROLL MODEL Our special face grooves are set at an angle that imparts the optimal amount of forward roll to your putts (which is the function of keystone #4). Run your thumb down the face and you’ll feel the grooves; run your thumb up the face and it feels perfectly smooth.

• CONTROL CENTER We use a shaft designed to go into an iron head—it’s heavier and has much less torque than a standard putter shaft. This means the putterhead won’t twist as much on mishits, helping you lock down keystone #3.

A unique aiming line tells you when you have the putter pointed in the right direction when your eyes are in the right position, satisfying two keystones (#1 and #2) at the same time.

Putting It Together…

Great putters like Padraig, to borrow a phrase thrown around Tour practice greens, “really get into their putts.” By that I mean they read the green to establish an ultra-specific target and then turn all of their attention to getting the ball to that spot. Compare that to how you approach putting, where your reads are typically of the “I think it goes right” variety. Your goal should be to develop a stroke that you don’t have to worry about, so you can devote more time to judging slope and break. Here’s how we got to that point with Padraig: WWW.HKGA.COM

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