| PGA European Tour Mercedes Benz Championship - Putting Instruction Review |
| Sunday, 14 September 2008 | |
|
A reduced field for the Mercedes Championship at the Gut Lärchenhof Club didn't stop the putting green being a busy place this week.
I spent some time with Darren Clarke on Tuesday. Darren is still
enjoying his new Callie putter with prototype weighted shaft, which he
feels has helped improve his stroke. We worked on a few others aspects
of his set up and technique and used the high speed camera for some
feedback during the session. Check out the video of Darren below.
On both Tuesday and Wednesday I spent some time also with David Howell. I measured David on the SAM Puttlab so as to specifically analyze his stroke and give his some direction and feedback for his practice. The data raised a fitting issue that was affecting his alignment so we made up a new putter for David at a different spec. To view David at work during the session follow the link to the European Tour Weekly section of the website www.europeantour.com Stuart Appleby also picked up a new putter this week, a Tracy 2, the same model he won 3 times with on the US Tour. Mads Vibe Hastrup also picked up a Callie with a prototype weighted shaft similar to Darren Clarkes that he will test in practice. The new weighted shaft has generated some interest from the players and can really help a players technique through the unique weighting and balance of the club. On Wednesday I also spent met up with Maarten Lafaber and Ollie Fisher. Both players were analyzed using the SAM Puttlab from which we were able to assess their progress. During the practice days also I spent some time with Alex Noren, getting him on the SAM Puttlab and high speed camera and giving him some drills to integrate into his practice. Next week its the Ryder Cup and I will be looking forward to watching HSPSE pupils Oliver Wilson and Henrik Stenson in action. The next event I will be at will be the British Masters at the Belfry the week after Valhalla.
|
