A COACH who advises some of the biggest names in golf has invented a hybrid club that promises to revolutionise the game worldwide. International putting 'guru' Harold Swash from Birkdale has combined his two most successful ideas to create his latest precision putter - named 'Emma' after his 14-year-old granddaughter. The hybrid features a 'tail alignment' piece - which Harold invented 40 years ago - and a 'c-groove' club head - currently being used by some of the world's most successful players. Together Harold, 70, says they help minimise backspin and produce a smoother, more accurate strike. The retired engineer will demonstrate the putter for the first time to the public at this week-end's 'Golf World' festival in Southport. Already Harold's company Yes Golf has a backlog of 20,000 orders for the club, which comes in three lengths at around £140-160 each. Emma gained recognition after top pro Ignacio Garrido used it during his race to first place in the Volvo Professional Golfers Association championship last month. Harold says the club is also being used in practice by international greats like Paidrig Harrington, ranked number four in the world. Darren Clarke gave Emma a test run when he shot 66 in last week's British Masters' and is hoping to use it in the US Open which started yesterday in Chicago. Although he never reached professional standard, Harold was banned from amateur tournaments after he won his third amateur championship, the Lancashire seniors' 15 years ago. He was declared a professional by the Royal and Ancient Golf Club in St Andrews, the governing body of amateur golf, because of his reputation for teaching putting and winning tournaments.." Harold moved to Merseyside from his home in Birmingham 42 years ago and joined the exclusive Hillside golf club near Southport where he developed the idea for his first putter, the 'branding iron' in 1971. HAROLD'S PUTTING TIPS 1. The blade of the putter needs to be square to the target at both the address and the strike. 2. The blade must be square to the path of the stroke through the hitting area - so as not to put a side spin on it. 3. Strike with a slight upstroke - not dissimilar to as if you were rolling a rubber tyre across a yard with a tangential strike. 4. Every putt is a straight putt, but success depends on how hard you hit it. The best way is to have a smooth acceleration when you make the strike. 5. Remember every time you take two putts on a green, you've just missed one. Eighteen putts per round should be your target! Harold will give top putting advice and launch his new coaching CD at Golf World from 11.15am until 11.30, and from 2.30pm until - 2.45pm on both Saturday and Sunday. | 
News RSS Feed