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On the Road with Optimal Events

Oct 112012

Optimal was on the road recently, delivering two events with our eAcademy Events system. The system comprises our standard eAcademy package with a custom-built web player.

Optimal were at The Mere Golf Resort with International Sports Management, showcasing our system to some VIP guests. The following week, we attended the De Vere Charity Golf Day at Oulton Hall Leeds.

At both events, we designed and built custom email notifications and video players to the event organiser’s specifications. Swings were captured during both days and then analysed by PGA professionals, providing each event guest with a detailed analysis of their swing and how they can improve their technique in the future.

From an event organisers point of view, the draw of a swing analysis from a PGA professional enables them to create a number of additional opportunities to display branding and promotional material to their guests. This can be in the form of pre/post-roll video adverts, links and/or images on the site.
Along with the promotional opportunities, in the months following an event, organisers can send further promotional material alongside items such as a Pro’s tips.

In essence, the eAcademy Events system allows an event organizer to capture all of the guests’ key information to ensure that the event’s message is viewed by the guest on more than one occasion. This is driven by guests’ interest in, and desire to improve, their golf swing.

Click the example of an event email below to see how an event attendee views their analysed swing, company branding and video adverts:

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Fedex Cup a good build up for the Ryder Cup

Sep 262012

Brandt Snedeker won the Fedex Cup by winning the final event in the four-week series.

The win at the season-ending Tour Championships meant that McIlroy was pipped at the post.

McIlroy who won the previous two tournaments was the undisputed favourite going into the final event but come Sunday, had to stand by and watch as Snedeker ran away with the Tour Championship and the $10 million dollar Fedex Cup prize.

In previous years, the Fedex Cup has never quite delivered, with golf tournaments played with the $10 million jackpot already decided and overly-complicated points systems which no one understood.

However, this year the tournament has come of age with players such as Lee Westwood planning their schedules to give them the best opportunity to take the lucrative prize. Despite these improvements, the Fedex Cup will be quickly forgotten with the 2012 Ryder Cup just days away. With the two strongest teams ever selected and many players finding recent form, the Ryder Cup is sure to be unmissable viewing.

The Ryder Cup matches begin on Friday at Medinah Country Club, Chicago. With foursomes and fourballs to be played on the first two days and 12 singles matches on Sunday.

At Optimal, we wish Team Europe every success and look forward to watching the stories unfold.

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Ernie Els sympathises with Adam Scott after his dramatic triumph at The 2012 Open

Jul 232012

The Open Championship ended with groans from the crowds as Adam Scott bogeyed his last 4 holes to miss out on a playoff by one stroke.

An ending that no one could have predicted, Scott was on cruise control with a four-shot lead with four holes to play and seemed in utter control. Scott’s nearest rival was the gentle giant, Ernie Els, who birdied the 10th, 12th and 14th to become Scott’s nearest rival. When Ernie left a birdie putt short on the reachable Par 4 16th , his race seemed to have been run, Scott could afford to bogey the 15th and 17th , the two closing holes that played into the wind and would finish with shots to spare.

Scott bogeyed the 15th but an unexpected three putt on the 16th meant that Els still had a chance. After the shock of the 16th , Scott composed himself and hit a sensational drive into the 17th fairway. Whilst waiting for the green, Scott heard the roughs from the 18th green as Els birdied the final hole to get within one.

Scott’s lead had been slashed and Scott had to finish par, par to win. A loose second into the rough at 17 meant Scott had to par the last to make a playoff.

Scott chose a 3 wood from the tee, which will undoubtedly be analysed over and over again as it unnecessarily brought fairway traps into play. Sure enough, Scott found a fairway pot bunker, meaning his second would have to be hit out sideways. Scott failed to get up and down from some 150 yards and the Claret Jug was snatched from his grasp.

Els, who seemed more shocked than anyone, admitted he was hoping for a playoff at best, but instead was able to walk from the putting green as a four-time Major champion with his second Open title.

Els was the first to sympathise with Scott, saying he would be back to win majors in the future. However, winning tournaments for the pair may not be as easy, due to the putters they use.

The “belly” putter has relit Els’ career and Scott was in the doldrums until picking up the broom handle at the beginning of last year. Els, joins Keagan, Bradley and Webb Simpson as recent Major winners who all anchor their putters. Peter Dawson from the R & A says that the issue “is firmly on the radar” but states there has been no final decision on the issue.

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Countdown to The 2012 Open Championship, Royal Lytham & St Annes

Jul 182012

With The Open beginning tomorrow, the players have all had the chance to see the new-look Lytham course. Stretched in length and with more bunkers added, it was always going to be a tough test but with the damp summer we’ve had so far, the thick rough is grabbing all the headlines.

After Tiger’s first practice round, he described it as the toughest he has ever faced, saying “It’s just that you can’t get out of it. That bottom six inches, in some places is almost unplayable.” Defending champion, Darren Clarke, said to expect lost balls despite spotters and spectators adding “There’s a really huge premium on accuracy this week. There’s no chance coming out of this rough at all.”

Other players are looking forward to the challenge: Westwood, who is yet to win a major, believes the course suits him, saying that major championships are “the ultimate test, and every aspect of your game has to be strong.”

With the previous 2 majors of the year going to surprise winners, Bubba Watson and Webb Simpson, predicting the winner at The Open is practically impossible. There are more contenders than ever in this championship but you can be sure that the eventual winner will be playing their ball from the shortest grass, most of the time.

It wouldn’t be right to leave without a quick mention of the man who won two of Lytham’s 11 Open Championships, Seve Ballesteros. A 19-year-old Seve came second at Lytham in 1976 and three years later, lifted the Claret Jug and was dubbed the “car park champion”. In 1988, he returned to lift the Claret Jug for a third time, his second at Lytham. Seve will be missed at the Championship but you can be sure that his memories will not be far from the hearts and minds of the golfers and spectators alike.

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So just how important is putting?

Mar 212012

We all know how important the putter is when it comes to playing good golf. Ask yourself the question: Do you believe the putter to be the most important club in the bag, or is that space reserved for the driver? This is something that is often argued between coaches and golf analysts alike. Whatever your answer, without the help of your putter a good round of golf is next to impossible.

When I was in Portugal recently with the English Golf Union, I spent some time with Graeme Leslie from Golf Data Lab. We discussed the putting/driving conundrum at length and in his opinion putting was by far the most influential aspect of the game. I put it to him that for low handicap amateurs and professionals I would agree, but for the majority of club golfers my personal opinion is that the putting comes second behind driving the ball. This interesting debate continued for some time...

Regardless of the outcome it is worth noting that there is a far better way to analyse your putting performance than looking at your putts per round. Instead Graeme prefers to look at the total footage holed over the course of the round. Graeme prefers this stat because it is not influenced by how well you hit the ball. For example if you are playing well and you hit lots of greens in regulation, then you are more likely to face lots of long putts with only a slim chance of one-putting. On the contrary if you miss the green you should be able to chip the ball relatively close to the hole, thus giving you a much better chance of one-putting the hole.

Therefore a sloppy round of golf from tee to green can dramatically reduce the number of putts you have in the round. However, by looking at the total footage holed there is less influence from other aspects of the game. Graeme says there are too many combination stats in golf and that it makes it difficult to really assess where your weaknesses lie. Golf Data Lab has devised a system that eradicates these combination stats and allows you to see the exact strengths and weaknesses of your game.

One of the other interesting facts Graeme and I discussed was how many more putts are missed to the right of the hole than the left. This was of great interest to me as I have had many conversations with David Lee over the design of the Gravity putters. These putters have a slightly closed face and so when used in conjunction with an arc stroke the ball is trapped on the face and released on line.

The majority of golfers use an arc stroke and this is true for both amateurs and professionals. Some have a subtle arc, whilst in others it is clearly visible. Either way when a standard straight faced putter is used the ball is likely to miss to the right. You often see players on the putting green fighting with their straight-faced putters. Anyone who you see with the toe of their putter in the air is inadvertently closing the face to stop the ball leaking to the right. The only problem with this is that it reduces the loft of the putter and compromises the quality of the ball roll. This can even be seen with many of the touring professionals on your TV screen.

I have been battling with a friend to invest some time and have a putting lesson with me for a while now … he finally gave in recently and I am delighted to say his putting has since improved.

"I've had one putting lesson with Andrew and I now have a clear understanding of where I have been going wrong. Andrew gave me a series of drills to practice and I cannot quite believe how much my putting has improved in such a short space of time. I know it's just the start and I am looking forward to my next lesson and to reap the rewards on the course over the coming season." Trevor Tiger Thompson (handicap 9)

So if you feel you are fighting with your putter or you simply want to improve your technique then please get in contact. We can start work before the season begins and you can start to reap the rewards on the course.

Original Post: So just how important is putting?

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