Quintic Ball Roll v3.4 The Launch Monitor for Putting
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Introduction The putter… the most used club in the bag but the most overlooked part of the average golfer’s practice. Golfers around the world are using the technology available in todays market to help analyse and improve their golf swing. Technology has transformed golf tuition and club fitting, offering golfers three dimensional frame by frame swing analysis, high speed video and precise spin rates and launch angles that apply to the golf ball after impact. However, when it comes to putting, rather than analysing what our putting stroke and the ball are doing in detail, we simply opt to buy another putter with little more than hope (as well as what it looks like, brand name etc) as to whether it will truly improve our putting performance. How the putter and golf ball interact is crucial for success on the greens…
Quintic Ball Roll Technology The brains behind the Quintic software is Dr Paul Hurrion. Paul’s passion for golf has led him to specialise in putting biomechanics analysis and consultancy, assisting European Tour Professionals, holding PGA accredited Putting Clinics and being an invited Member of the Titleist Performance Institute’s Advisory Panel. He is probably best known for his work since 2002 with Padraig Harrington. Paul has also worked with many other top Tour Professionals including Rory McIlroy, Lee Westwood, Paul McGinley, David Howell, Danny Willett, Oliver Fisher, Robert Jan Derksen, Darren Clarke, Henrik Stenson and Oliver Wilson.
Quintic Consultancy Ltd specialises in Premier Sports Biomechanics Video Analysis Software, Sports Biomechanics & Performance Analysis Consultancy. It is through our extensive biomechanics consultancy and constant liaison in the fields of elite golf performance analysis and coaching that our Quintic Ball Roll software has evolved.
Our latest Quintic Ball Roll software and hardware system has been designed to meet the various needs of our wide range of clients including Club manufacturers, Teaching professionals, Universities, Research and Development and of course the golfer themselves. It is this unique contact that allows us to produce easy to use, market leading putting analysis software that specialises in the performance of the golf club and ball during impact.
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What is Quintic Ball Roll Software all about? Quintic Ball Roll software utilises a high speed camera (up to 360 frames per second) tracking the golf ball for the first 16 inches (roughly 40cm) of the putt and the putter head, both pre and post impact. The software then automatically provides all of the information you need regarding the putter and ball, both graphically and numerically, in a way that was formerly only available in full swing analysis software for irons and woods. Following a simple calibration procedure (right or left handed golfers), the Quintic software can be used indoors in a controlled putting studio or outdoors on the putting green with the same degree of accuracy. There is also an option to measure just the ball performance, a new feature for May 2014.
Quintic Ball Roll v3.4 software instantly shows: • Impact Club Speed • Shaft Angle • Attack Angle • Face Angle & Face Rotation (including the amount of Face deflection as a result of impact!) • Dynamic Lie (change from Address position) • Impact Ratio • Impact Ball Speed & Ball Speed during the first 16 inches of the putt • Launch Angle & Vertical Bounce • Skid, Backspin & Roll (Angular rotation & revolutions per minute) • Hook or Slice Side Spin • The point of Zero Skid / Time to Zero Skid • Push & Pull • The average of up to 21 putts including the range & standard deviation, for easy comparison of putters and putting technique. • Create a PDF summary report.
Quintic Ball Roll v3.4 – Free 21 Day Trial Version
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To use the FREE 21 Day Trial simply:
• Download and install the program – QuinticBallRollv3.4Setup.exe from the website: www.quinticballroll.com (Link on Home Page). • Click ‘Save’ followed by ‘Run’ and follow the directions on the screen to install the Quintic software. • Once the install shield wizard is complete click ‘Finish’. • A new icon has been created on your desktop called ‘Quintic Ball Roll v3.4’. • Double click on the icon. • Click on “Register later” to access the program for up to 21 days. • Open the example files via the “Yellow Folder” icon in the top left hand of the window. • Choose from one of the three sample folders, Inside Ball&Club / Outside Ball Only / Robot Ball&Club and then select an example putt. Please ote : Outside Ball Only – you will need to Set Putter Analysis – Off (via Help menu) to view these particular putts. • The selected putt will load into the Quintic Ball Roll v3.4 program. • View the statistical analysis of both the putter and ball data. • View the frame by frame movement of the ball and putter.
The FREE 21 Day Trial Version of the Quintic Ball Roll v3.4 program has a number of sample putts you can view and analyse. In addition there are three example putting sessions collected from two European PGA Tour Players, along with data from the Quintic putting robot. To access the information, click on the Summary Tab, click on the yellow folder to open the pdf file from the three example folders.
(Please ote : It is not possible to film and record your own putting strokes within the FREE 21 Day Trial of Quintic Ball Roll v3.4 software).
Think how you would use Quintic Ball Roll?
• Putter fitting and recommendation • To aid putter sales • For analysis and coaching of putting technique • Increase the price of your putting lessons • Detailed analysis with statistics and graphs to back up your observations
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Button Functions:
• Underneath the main video image, on the left are Play, Pause, Reset and Scroll Bar . These buttons enable individual frames to be viewed (with composite turned off). It is also possible to scroll frame by frame by clicking on the arrows on the scroll bar, or 10 frames per click (inside the scroll bar). • Frame Number : Please note ‘Impact’ is always between frames 1 2 • Putter Trajectory, cross hairs and line drawing from the club head markers. • Snail Trail, 1 50 frames following the trajectory of the four club markers. • The Ball icon will put a red circle (with a red crosshair) around the ball showing you the current frame. You can use this feature to accurately locate the impact position of the putter face and golf ball. • The Marker icon will put the 3 X's on the dots of the ball for the frame you are on. You can use this feature to see if it missed a dot in any of the frames. • The Roll icon turns on and off the green line through the two dots indicating skid and roll. • The Composite icon switches you between seeing all the balls (every third image) or just one ball in a single frame. • Centre of the Ball trajectory shows you the vertical bounce of the ball. • The Loop icon, when active, will continually loop the video when in ‘Slow Motion’ play mode. • The Camera icon enables the user to create a single jpeg image of the current screen. It is possible to copy, save or print the screenshot. • The Video Camera icon enables the user to create a frame by frame video file of the current putt. It is then possible to copy or email this video to your client, and it can be played in our Free Quintic Player software. (Please ote: due to the exceptionally high quality of these video files, exports may have to be out through a file converter to compress them before they can be sent via email. Please contact Quintic for recommendations on file converters). • State – Putt Analysis 100% frames valid (This means all of the recorded frames and markers have been correctly identified) • Right Hand / Left Hand Putt. • 364.52 fps – Actual Recording Speed of the USB3 Camera. • First Bounce at 3.41inches : The distance the ball has travelled in the air before making its first contact with the ground. • It is possible to create your own company logo (Top Right hand corner of the screen). Please email [email protected] for instructions of how to do this.
Main Page Results:
• Impact Club Speed: the velocity of the club head at impact. This is a very simple tool for determining if the golfer is swinging the golf club consistently. Have a person take ten putts of the same distance. If, for example, the results show a range of more than 0.5 mph on a fifteen foot putt then there is likely to be an issue with pace control for that golfer. Factors to consider would be tempo, length of backswing and through swing, along with the amount of acceleration of the club head prior to impact.
• Pre- Impact Speed: Constant , Accelerating/De-Accelerating , Accelerating/De-Accelerating : The acceleration of the putter is classified by the Quintic software as constant, acceleration and deceleration. Quintic also categorises them in green, amber and red. In a pendulum stroke the speed
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around impact should be constant ( Green ) – there should not be any acceleration or deceleration of the putter head. When the putter accelerates, the ball position again becomes a significant factor for pace control. In the example putt below we can see the club head is accelerating through impact. (Red ). The velocity graph for this putt shows how there has been a 0.1 ms 1 increase in club head speed during the last three inches before impact.
Causes of too much Acceleration
• Too short a backswing, leading to a rapid acceleration during the downswing • Poor Tempo / Rhythm • Manipulation of the club with both lead and trail wrists – poor shoulder movement • Incorrect ball position – the ball should be position at the bottom of the arc
Quintic have found that good long distance putters will maintain a constant ( Green ) or at very least a gradual acceleration ( Amber ) through impact. The image below is a constant velocity (no acceleration or deceleration) prior to impact.
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• Shaft Angle: In the example putt below we can see that the shaft is leaning backwards 2.74 degrees from the vertical. This in combination with a positive attack angle (0.83º) means that the ball has been struck on the up stroke which creates a dramatically increased launch angle of 4.60 degrees. Despite the club having 2 degrees of static loft, the impact dynamics cause the ball to become airborne for the first 3.77 inches. The ball launches over 0.2 inches in the air! The ball then bounces for a further 4 inches after contact and continues to bounce after 16 inches. This significantly increases the time the ball takes to get to Zero Skid (27 inches) and makes distance control extremely difficult for the golfer. Is the consistency of the green the same? Will the golf ball jump on any spike marks within the first 3.77 inches? However, more importantly the surface of the green the ball lands upon will dramatically influence its final position. For example, does the ball land on a down slope, up slope, side slope or even into or down grain?
Causes of the Shaft Leaning Back
• Incorrect Ball Position – the ball is too far forward in the stance. • The wrists become too active – they flip through impact. • Incorrect putter design (static loft) for your style of stroke.
Do you actually know the static loft of your putter? The majority of golf professionals unfortunately don’t!
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In some cases, players like to have a forward lean on their putter shaft – Phil Mickelson for example. With a 6 degree shaft lean at impact, he requires a combination of positive attack angle and static loft of the putter to create a positive launch angle (1 degree) of the golf ball. It is also possible to create a positive 1 degree launch angle of the golf ball with a negative shaft angle (leaning backwards at impact). What would be the static loft of the putter in this instance? Remember, we don't want a negative attack angle, as this will trap the golf ball into the ground, create large over spin values and potential bounce even higher after being driven into the ground. Also it is worth pointing out, a player’s address position and impact position maybe different! (a forward press for example). Quintic Ball Roll v3.4 measures either the shaft angle at impact relative to the vertical or the shaft angle at address relative to impact – it is your choice. Causes of the Shaft Leaning Forward
• Too much weight on the front foot. • Ball too far back in the stance. • A large forward press at address. • Incorrect putter design for your stroke.
• Attack Angle: The putter can be swung from one pivot point (a single pendulum, typically the anchoring of a belly / long putter) or it can involve multiple pivot points making it a double or even triple pendulum. A single pendulum action allows the player to control the stroke directly from one pivot point. This will ensure a consistent 'Attack Angle', with ball position the only variable as to whether it is struck on the upswing, downswing or the bottom of the arc. With a long putter, this pivot point will be the anchored ‘butt’ end of the putter; and with a shorter putter, the effective pivot point will be positioned somewhere on the upper trunk. When a golfer manipulates the putter with wrist break and /or elbow movement then a double or even triple pendulum effect is created through the additional pivot points at the wrists and elbows. In the majority of putting actions this scenario is complicated by lateral motion of pivot points caused by
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golfers allowing their bodies or legs to move. All of these variables affect the 'Attack Angle' of the putter at the point of impact. Ideally, we are looking for consistency, however, ideally Quintic would recommend an Attack Angle of between 0.5 – 1.5 degrees. Any negative 'Attack Angle' will create a descending blow and an inconsistency in the launch angle. The below example is 2.72 degrees at impact.
• Face Angle: A putter face that is 2 degrees open at impact will miss the hole from 5 feet! For a putt to go in at 8 feet the angle of the face needs to less than 1 degree open or closed. Increase the distance to 15 feet and the putter face needs to less than 0.5 of a degree open or closed. Can you tell the difference between 1 degree closed or open to your target line?
Quintic undertook a study to explain which is the more influential and by how much? To download the article please click here : A Rolling Brief http://paulhurrion.com/wp content/uploads/2012/07/GFI111_Inst.Putt_.pdf Interestingly, our study proved that Face Angle at impact accounted for as much as 90 92% of the starting direction of putts (centre strike with a two degree dynamic loft at impact). The question, then, is how does this translate into making or missing putts? The Push / Pull data below shows the angular margin for error within which a putt will still succeed.
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