If the old adage in golf is true that you drive for show and putt for dough, a brand new facility at the Essex Golf Academy could help local players boost their fortunes on the green.

Former BMW PGA Championship winner Simon Khan and ex-European Tour professional Paul Curry were on hand to officially open a new mechanised putting green which has been installed at the Academy at the Essex Golf and Country Club in Earls Colne.

Academy professional Warren Sargent said the Zen green is the only one of its kind in the county and one of only a handful in the country and will provide a unique way to teach the art of putting to golfers.

He said it works with hydraulic mechanisms giving individual and adaptable contours to the putting green so players can learn how to read greens on the course more effectively than on regular teaching surfaces.

He said: “Putting is mostly taught on a flat surface, but you can’t teach how to putt angles, which you can with this.

“You can adapt it so to the stage that the slope is uncontrollable so people can learn the proper way to deal with slopes.

“It’s all about getting people to understand how to putt better by making the ball work how they want it to on the green.”

The Essex professional said the unveiling date had been chosen to coincide with the first year anniversary of the death of his father, Stan Sargent, who he said was a wonderful putter and would have appreciated the benefits that it offered to players.

Warren has offered a free one-hour lesson on the green to local players.

People should send him a text at 07888 828760 by December 12 and he will pick one at random to receive the lesson.