July 2010, London; GEL Golf UK has rolled out two new GEL Fitting Centres at opposite ends of the country, one at Royal Blackheath Golf Club just outside London and the other at the Aspire Golf Centre in Aberdeen, Scotland bringing the total number of Centres in the UK to a 13 locations.

GEL Golf, manufacturers of GEL Groove Putters, launched its first Centre in conjunction with renowned sports biomechanist and putting coach Dr Paul Hurrion last June, following the conviction that for the best results on the greens, putters need to be specially-fitted to the individual golfer.

To this end, Hurrion developed a unique fitting procedure, equipment and drills specially for the GEL Fitting Centres using the biomechanical and practical principles he uses when fitting Tour players. Over the past year Hurrion, best known in golf for coaching the likes of Padraig Harrington, Rory McIlroy and Lee Westwood, has been imparting his knowledge and teachings to PGA Professionals all over the country as GEL Fitting Centres have been established.

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“Amateurs are more than happy to spend hundreds of pounds on a new driver and having one correctly fitted at the expense of their putter despite the well-known fact that on average you will use your putter twice as much as any other club in the bag,” says Billy Fife of Aspire Golf Centre, Aberdeen (www.aspiregolfcentre.com).

“For this reason, it is hugely important to have a putter that is individually fitted, to obtain the correct loft, lie and length of the club, to ensure that the set-up position at address is correct in terms of eye position (using a GEL Mirror) to see the ball “straight” over every putt  and to maintain balance using the ProStance. By combining this procedure with Paul’s putting drills, golfers can shave several putts off their round every time,” concludes Fife.

The GEL Fitting Procedure costs just £25 making it one of the best investments a golfer can make to assist his putting stroke.

"Our new GEL Fitting Centre has enabled to us to offer a superior service to our customers which has directly increased both our sales, the number of lessons we are giving and the value we can add to those lessons," says Matt Johns, head professional at Royal Blackheath (www.londonputtingacedemy.com).

"GEL's attention to detail combined with Dr Hurrion’s undoubted teaching methods and his Quintic Ball Roll Software, enable us to prove to the customer the huge benefits of a fitted putter.  Added to this we can give help golfers improve their putting by practising Hurrion’s skills tests which provide significant results," says Johns.   

Further information can be found by visiting www.GELGolf.co.uk where a full list of all GEL Fitting Centres can be found.  

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For media information, please contact Helen Heady of Heady PR, on behalf of GEL Golf, on T: + 44 20 8789 0900 or M: +44 7966 491 509 or E: helen@headypr.co.uk

Notes to Editors:

GEL Fitting Centres:

Hurrion, who first linked up with GEL Golf in 2008 to co-design the GEL Paul Hurrion Signature Range of Putters, developed the unique fitting procedure, equipment and drills using the biomechanical and practical principles he uses when fitting Tour players.

Each GEL Fitting Centre benefits from the use of his specially-designed GEL equipment which comprises a fitting tool, mirror and ProStance aid as well as the Quintic Ball Roll Software designed by Hurrion, to ensure the highest level of customer care.  www.quinticballroll.com

In addition, Hurrion provides the PGA pros with nine of his putting drills that come with the mirror for them to teach their clients whilst the full range of GEL’s revolutionary groove putters, including those co-designed with Hurrion, are available for testing at all of the new Centres.

GEL Golf:

Hong Kong-based golf technology company, GEL Golf’s original range of GEL Groove Putters was launched onto the international golf market in January 2007 at Orlando. Produced in a plated black SQ Nickel finish, the six models (Jade, Emerald, Opal, Diamond, Sapphire and Ruby) with distinctive blue and yellow colourways all feature an aluminium putter face insert, which is softer and more responsive than the stainless steel face inserts of other grooved putters. Tour professionals were also consulted during the design process which resulted in manufacturing the GEL putters with larger, heavier and more balanced heads, to encourage an even smoother and more rhythmical putting stroke. GEL putters retail at around UK£120.

In 2008, GEL Golf launched the GEL Paul Hurrion Signature Range in collaboration with Dr Paul Hurrion. This range includes eight models (Rego, Sedo, Sedo II, Scindo, Pondera, Ora, Vicis and Quasso) which all feature larger inserts to maximise the sweet spot and the incorporation of tungsten perimeter weighting on either side of the putter head to move the centre of gravity higher up the putter shaft. This heel-toe distribution spreads weight through the putter and so increases the MOI leading to improve resistance to twisting on off-centre hits. To complement the putter weighting, Hurrion has used a True Temper S400 iron shaft that is slightly heavier than a standard putter shaft to further enables the weight to be distributed more evenly throughout the putter. The combination aids stability during the stroke and reduces torque if the ball is hit out of the toe or heel at impact. GEL Paul Hurrion Signature Range putters retail at around UK£185.

GEL Golf has already celebrated six Tour victories around the world. American Bryan Saltus was the inaugural winner when he secured the 2007 Johnnie Walker Cambodian Open on the Asian Tour with a GEL Sapphire putter. In May 2008, Taiwanese Hsu Mong-nan won the Omega China Tour’s Shanghai Championship with a GEL Jade putter and in September that year American Tom Stankowski captured the Canadian Tour Championship in Ontario using a GEL Emerald putter.

GEL secured its first European Tour win when American Anthony Kang clinched the Malaysian Open title in February at in Kuala Lumpur with a GEL Rego. Four months later, China’s Chen Jian secured GEL’s fifth victory using a GEL Ruby putter in the Luxehills Golf Championship on the Omega China Tour. Becky Brewerton of Wales recorded a stunning six-shot victory in July 2009 at the Ladies Open de Espana to hand GEL Golf its sixth Tour win and its first on the Ladies European Tour.

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