Hi Geoff
Hope you are keeping well, sorry i missed you at the putting seminar in Sheffield and the problems you had with the visa.
Anyway ive finally taken up your invitation to add our product information to the forum.
Although at the moment we work primerily on the putting aspect of the game, we do have some new additions for next season that will incorporate the full swing too.
We initially came up with the Eclipse putterball as a means to get people over the ball aim line in a constant body,head and eyes position.
It was in fact a very cheap and effective fitting tool, that worked in the same relationship as an eclipse of the sun and moon.
Then we added a secondary disc to the origional product, turned it on its side and it became a face square at impact trainer too( similar to the 2 balls stuck together , but not as expensive.)
Although this isnt a perfectly balanced item it still gives instantaneous feedback if you hit the plastic disc rather than the ball.
We also developed the Eclipse pro trainer which is a highly engineered prototype that takes alignment and posture fitiing to the next level. It incorporates many innovative features and the machined tollerances prove that it cannot lie - even though on occassion your eyes dont believe what they are seeing.
Now that the final tesing has been completed, we are ready to begin full development of the home version ( hopefully in time for christmas)
What people will instantly notice is the lack of rails, wires and clamps for the putterhead and shaft to run up and down( it works purely on optimising your stance ,posture and allignment to make the stroke happen in a natural motion relative to the positions created. It is purely lines and arcs and face angles relative to each)
The wider the arc the larger the tangent the ball can come off at, if the putter face is open or closed at impact.
This also applies when people stand too far inside the line - then ball position and tempo of stroke have to be exactly the same or you will produce inconsistancies
All we do is create a picture of allignment and set up, which (once the putter has been fitted ) provides a jig around which you can acurately set up each time.
So far from over 6500 people of all golf levels inc tour pros we have an average reduction in putts per round of 3.9.
This is falling as the sample increases but needless to say if we achieved the same with a driver we would probably sell over 100000 in a week.
Many people often remark that putting isnt sexy, but it is the place where the extremes of emotion visibly occur in all players at all levels.
If you do all that you can set up wise to put a good stroke on the ball on your intended target line, then thats all you can realisically do.
I am away at most of the European tour events and at the Open, but will try to respond to any questions as quickly as possible.
Thanks again for the invition Geoff
Hope to see you again soon
Shaun Womersley
Eclipse Golf Systems
We only have the putterball information loaded up at the moment.
After the Open and German masters we should be able to make everything live.
The pro trainer has changed a small amount and the product has then taken all these features an incorporated them into the home version.
What i can tell you is the pro trainer ball locator arm is deeper which allows you to more acurately allign the putterface.
These models due to the engineering tollerances will only be available in a limited number.
We have 2 top companies wanting to use it for its intial function, which is a putter fitting tool - which as a clubmaker is very exciting for me.
The home version is a plate format but still features everything, and 1 other feature - but has the potential to add other aids to it too if required.
Then we added a secondary disc to the origional product, turned it on its side and it became a face square at impact trainer too( similar to the 2 balls stuck together , but not as expensive.)
Although this isnt a perfectly balanced item it still gives instantaneous feedback if you hit the plastic disc rather than the ball.
Is this portion of the product available for retail purchase? I was not able to access any product throught the website just the introduction.
We are currently in the process of confirming all our worldwide distibutors, if they arent available in time then i would be able to send out direct if required.
We are based in the UK so shipping to most parts of the world would be via Royal mail airmail small packets
Carriage for 1 putterball would be £3.50 plus the putterball which is at £5.99
Payment can be made via paypal too to eviewom@hotmail.com
Can you upload a picture of the product. Again, I am interested in the secondary disc to the origional product.....turned it on its side and it became a face square at impact trainer too( similar to the 2 balls stuck together , but not as expensive.)
So you hit the ball gizmo with the putter ... the ball skids ... hits an imperfection in the grass ... wobbles and rolls off line ... so what do you learn from that "feedback" ... that the grass surface is chaotic .... ???
it really is quite simple and the grass or carpet really doesnt make too much difference.-
we recommend this drill should only be used over 2 to 3 ft max for this drill.
The aim is to try to hit the ball- it is a proper golf ball so im not sure why this should skid? - it will only wobble off line if hit incorrectly - you dont learn anything about the grass, if you felt the ball/face contact and it rolled online then the face was square at impact on that putt.
What you are trying to achieve is the feel off the ball, which only occurs when the putterface is square at impact,you have approx 1 mm of tollerance between the 2 surfaces
If you hit the disc you feel and hear the plastic sound and the ball will spin off at a tangent to the line.
If the putterball is then placed upright you add the smaller dull disc uppermost.
This then creates an eclipse around the ball when looked from above.
Placing your head and eyes close to or on the aimline
It can also be used as a reference point when fitting someone for a putter - to do this you have to follow a particular routine which puts you in the best postion around your putter.
This is an adaptation, ideally the putter should be fitted to you , but even though the adaptation is a compromise it can still work
cost is £5.99 i believe shipping to Canada is approx £3.00
Sorry I misinterpreted the use of your golf ball with the two discs on either side. Your website doesn't go beyond the video and there is no explanation of the product. Is it under construction or is there something wrong on my end?
As for the squaring of the putter to the Eclipse putterball, if there is about a 1 mm. clearance between the disc and the centerline of the ball, I calculate about a 2º clearance, but not taking into account ball compression upon impact reducing the clearance. What deviation from square impact is tolerated?
From your explanation I surmise that the Eclipse putterball is only intended as a diagnostic tool and not a training gizmo.
yes you are right with the degree of clearence - it maps out at 1.5 to 1.7 deg inc compression - one reason for the slow controlled short putt.
unfortunately many players stand so far inside the line,move their head, or body, that they approach at 5 deg plus into the ball.
It was the cheapest, simplest way to convey two very important factors
that the putterface should be square or as close to square at impact to the intended line
and that the eyes should be on or as close to the aim line as possible.
The diagnostic part relates to incorrect putter length and position over the ball that most people have , but i also believe that attaining these positions then enables the player to square the face more consistantly- so it has dual function.
We also have an eclipse pro putting station which allows for a full stroke on a ball (without discs)
This is currently in use on the european tour to great effect.
It doesnt use rails, clips wires or anything that attaches to the putter head or shaft.
Congratulations Shaun ... interesting gizmo that Eclipse putterball, and it seems to solve several problems involved with putting stance positioning and putter fitting too. Do you have a US Patent on it and if so what is the Patent Number?
I am always skeptical of golf gizmos, but I admit I am fascinated by your invention. Obviously you have tested it for utility with good golfers and developed a usage method. My feeling is that it may be an excellent diagnostic tool for better golfer, but it may be of doubtful benefit for recreational golfers with a very inconsistent putting stroke. The Eclipse putterball would only frustrate hacks and not really help them improve .. other than confirming that they are clumsy.
Better golfers will be able to take advantage of the Eclipse putterball because their putting stroke is rather consistent ... and if they are off, they are consistently off .. and they will be able to retrain themselves with the restriction discs.
Since you are a club builder, you have a better understanding of fitting putters to players. Looking directly over the ball seems to me to be a nebulous but good sounding advice .... but I sometimes wonder how men with potbellies or busty women can be forced into such a putting stance. You do seem to suggest that with toe-weighted putters the eyes should be inside the putting line if I understand the Midas website explanation.
If you have mapped the Eclipse putterball during impact for the 1.5 - 1.7º allowable putter face deviation, do you consider this to be the maximum deviation reasonable for good putting ??
p.s. Can you give us a sneak preview of your Eclipse Putting Station too .. ??!!!
