Dear Scott,
My fee for speaking would be nominal at most, probably gas money plus a coke and hot dog.
My thoughts about Stan Utley are that his method is unnecessarily complex, especially with the forearm rotation. His method was taught to him by an old man in Missouri over 25 years ago, when Utley was a teenager. The method is not substantially different from the method taught by George Low in the 1960s and 1970s, which is probably indirectly where the old guy in Missouri learned what he taught Stan circa late 1970s. George Low's book (with Art Barkow) was published in 1986, but apparently Stan hasn't ever read it. The only real difference between the method of Low and that of Utley is that Utley adds forearm rotation to the gating stroke path, adds a serious forward-press that requires adding loft up to 6 degrees on the putter so it can be removed by the forward press, and adds hitting down on the ball, all changes ill-advised in my view.
He basically believes that the putting stroke "naturally" arcs or gates around the feet like the full swing, and he also believes that golfers' heads move too much in a straight-back, straight-thru stroke. He doesn't seem to worry much about the complexity of his technique or the problems it creates with ball position and consistency. The bottom line is I think his method works pretty well for him after 25 years of honing and yearly fix-ups, works okay but not great for Jay Haas, has some temporary benefits for anyone, and is just too complicated and fragile for almost all golfers. I also don't think, flat out, that it is as good, reliable, accurate, or consistent as a well-learned shoulder stroke that leaves the arms completely out of the stroke motion and that minimizes path, timing and ball position complications.
With regard to Utley's reputation for putting prowess on the Nationwide Tour, I'm sure he's quite good, but he also misses many, many greens in regulation. He's one of the lowest-ranked golfers for GIRs. This means his first putts are usually shorter than players hitting the green from 150 yards out, since he's chipping on from 20-30 yards out after missing the green with his approach shot. In general, his poor GIR play means he typically has 4-5 putts a round that are inside 8 feet when for a better GIR player these 4-5 putts are 20-30 feet. So he gets about a 15-20% leg up in the stats due to poor iron play. His best 2003 finish was to blow a huge final round lead on the Nationwide Tour and drop to 3rd with terrible putting over the final four holes.
Utley's method is difficult to learn and easy to lose. Apparently, Utley has been getting used to this method for 25 years, so I don't think it's highly recommended that the average golfer put in that much time, and even the astute pro wanting to benefit from Utley's method has to be willing to spend a considerable period of time to "make it his own." Jay Haas took about two years working with this method before it really kicked in for him, even though it appears not to be working all that well for him now. About once a year, Utley loses his precise sense of setup, which is critically necessary to use a gating stroke with consistent accuracy, and he takes a tune-up trip to Rob Akins in Memphis to let him spot his setup flaws and try to get back to his method. (I guess this should tell anyone that unless they want to lose the system once a year, they should try something simpler.) Jack Nicklaus had a similar experience with george Low's (simpler) version of the gating stroke in the 1960s -- he tried it but couldn't maintain it because he kept losing the "feel" for how the stroke worked. George Low's highest-profile student, Arnold Palmer, saw his putting skills evaporate in 1974, never to return.
For the past two years I've been receiving every online mention of Stan Utley in the news. I can state that well over 90 percent of his favorable press repeats the same thing -- Jay Haas, old guy, credits his extended career to Utley. The earlier mentions of pro students of Utley have all faded after a short life in the press -- Craig Stadler, Peter Jacobsen, Jeff Sluman, and Pat Bates. Craig Stadler has abandoned Utley's method and has since published his own book that touts a putting method directly opposite of Utley's. Peter Jaconsen is a very mediocre putter at best, and according to Utley, even after working with him, Jacobsen remains far removed from being a good putter. Both Stadler and Jacobsen mostly benefited from Utley's chipping instruction -- Jacobsen especially -- and not Utley's putting instruction. Pat Bates told me in Greensboro this October that he was having a very poor year putting, and that he has not adopted Utley's methods. Jeff Sluman told me in Greensboro last year that he quit Utley's method in favor of something simpler. Right after taking a lesson from Utley (and giving Utley favorable press about it), Sluman missed five of six cuts and dropped the experiment. There was no press about that. Jay Haas has not been a good putter lately, and has gagged in a few tournaments due to poor putting, including at the UBS Cup and the Ryder Cup. Utley had a high-profile presence at the Ryder Cup but didn't catch any blame for the American team's awful putting performance.
Haas missed the cut in a Greenville SC (hometown) Nationwide Tour event in 2001, and Utley offered to show him some putting tips. Haas had good success by July 2001 and continued working with tley over the next 2 years, when Haas said it "kicked in" for him at the Bob Hope in January 2003, where he stumbled down the stretch to lose in a playoff. Since 2003, Haas' putting has slid south, especially in the Ryder Cup, where he and Utley generated a lot of pre-event press that didn't work out too good. Here's the press about Haas.
US rebounds for lead at UBS Cup -- Hoch, Couples, and Strange have very good putting days, Haas and Stadler not so hot -- misplayed balls cost ROW a point, The Herald News, MA, 20 Nov 2004
Franklin Templeton Shootout 1st round: Jay and Bill Haas have a slow start in best-ball with a couple of three-putts -- John Daly's redneck putter head falls off, The News-Press, FL, 12 Nov 2004
Jay Haas fades in final round -- "My putter just went south toward the end of the round. I just had no touch, no feel.", Electric New Paper, Singapore, 8 Nov 2004
Jay Haas fades with poor putting -- 3-putts 16th from 26 feet, Amarillo Globe News, TX, 8 Nov 2004
US needs new approach to Ryder Cup -- Jay Haas and others haunted by all the missed putts, Charlotte Observer (subscription), NC, 21 Sep 2004
Langer's captain's picks pay off -- outplay American captain's picks Stewart Cink and Jay Haas -- top putters don't get it done, Charleston Post Courier (subscription), SC, 19 Sep 2004
Captain's picks for good putting -- Stewart Cink and Jay Haas -- get thoroughly outplayed by Europeans, San Luis Obispo Tribune, CA, 19 Sep 2004
A flurry of missed American putts, ESPN.com, 19 Sep 2004
US needs to putt better to win Ryder Cup -- Jay Haas: "If you look at the tapes of past Ryder Cups, you see the team that wins is the team that makes the 6- and 8-, 10-, 12-footers consistently.", Florida Today, FL, 15 Sep 2004
Stan Utley hanging around Ryder Cup in case Jay Haas' putting needs fixing -- "Things hold up if you understand what you're doing. It helps to understand your cause-and-effect. Golf is so complicated that when someone tries to fix himself, it doesn't work.", Detroit News, MI, 15 Sep 2004
Jay Haas' putter falters in final round -- Craig Stadler: "Jay missed some early putts and after the 12th hole I pulled away a little bit.", Grand Forks Herald, ND, 6 Sep 2004
Jay Haas feels positive about putting, Ryder Cup chances -- getting back into rhythm of just looking at the putt and letting it go -- not lingering, CBS Sportsline, 10 Aug 2004
Jay Haas fluffs a very expensive birdie putt inside 2 feet at Riviera's final hole and loses valuable Ryder Cup points, Boston Globe, MA, 21 Feb 2004
Haas at Hope - close but no cigar as two birdie putts slide by on last 2 holes; Tom Pernice - 5 lip outs costly, North County Times, CA, 26 Jan 2004
Rejuvenated Jay Haas has been working on his putting with Missouri's Stan Utley, St. Louis Post Dispatch, MO, 7 Apr 2003
Jay Haas at 49: "I was never an unbelievable putter." New York Times, 27 Mar 2003
Insider: Resurgent Haas ready for next step - Putting helps make 2003 his best year ever at 49, FOX Sports, 5 Mar 2003
Golf Digest - May 13, 2003
Better Than Ever: "After missing the cut two years ago in a Nationwide event in Greenville, Haas sought out Stan Utley a pro considered a putting guru by his peers, for a lesson. Utley's simple concept of swinging the putter on an arc, and keeping the putter square to that arc...clicked with Haas -- that and Utley's belief that "age has nothing to do" with good putting."
PGATOUR.COM - February 3, 2003
Approaching 50, Haas Shows PGA TOUR Prowess: "Over the past two years, he (Haas) has been working diligently on his putting with Stan Utley, a PGA TOUR player who has his own golf consulting business and is a specialist around the green." "The work paid off at the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, where Haas repeatedly rolled in clutch putts and got up-and-down when needed." "...he ranked fourth in both putts per round and putting average in the 90-hole marathon."
GolfWeb Wire Services - July 21, 2001
Haas' Tweaked Putting Stroke Gets Results in First Round: "I hadn't been putting terribly, but I just hadn't made anything," Haas said. "A lot of two-putting, master of the two putts from 18 feet." So he went to Utley, who changed his grip, tweaked his motion and switched his ball "along with a lot of secret stuff I can't give out", Haas cracked. Haas made 9 birdies in the first round.
Clearly, 2003 was Jay Haas' big year for putting and his scoring average cracked 70 for the first time, but he also was not very good hitting GIRs once he started working with Utley (he slumped bigtime in that stat in 2002-2003). When you miss a lot of GIRs, your putting stats "look" real good. Looking at all Haas' stats, I'm not sure his putting performance really changed all that much. Here's Haas' Putts per GIR and his Putts per Round stats for 2004-1986 (19 years), with an additional earlier set of Putts per Round stats for 1980-1985 (6 years):
2004 T40 1.758 --- T60 28.82 -- GIRs 47th -- Scoring 70.05 -- Money 27th
2003 T26 1.745 --- T12 28.37 -- GIRs 116th -- Scoring 69.91 -- Money 15th
2002 29 1.745 --- T13 28.38 -- GIRs 156th -- Scoring 70.61 -- Money 98th
2001 T40 1.751 --- T51 28.81 -- GIRs 39th -- Scoring 70.40 -- Money 92nd
2000 T116 1.786 - T111 29.19 - GIRs 161st -- Scoring 71.94 -- Money 144th
1999 T105 1.790 - T97 29.20 -- GIRs 114th -- Scoring 71.19 -- Money 60th
1998 T48 1.770 -- T55 28.97 -- GIRs 94th -- Scoring 70.78 -- Money 56th
1997 T30 1.765 -- T97 29.25 -- GIRs 27th -- Scoring 70.35 -- Money 57th
1996 T26 1.764 -- T66 29.24 -- GIRs 21st -- Scoring 70.40 -- Money 36th
1995 T7 1.751 -- T18 28.87 -- GIRs 73rd -- Scoring 70.18 -- Money 16th
1994 T42 1.776 -- T68 29.30 -- GIRs 32nd -- Scoring 70.32 -- Money 25th
1993 T112 1.806 - T141 29.80 - GIRs 19th -- Scoring 70.32 -- Money 26th
1992 T36 1.769 -- T39 29.07 -- GIRs 36th -- Scoring 70.02 -- Money 20th
1991 T61 1.775 -- T71 29.26 -- GIRs 20th -- Scoring 70.78 -- Money 84th
1990 T27 1.776 -- T87 29.36 -- GIRs 106th -- Scoring 71.24 -- Money 89th
1989 T41 1.769 --- 26 28.88 -- GIRs 117th -- Scoring 70.94 -- Money 54th
1988 T59 1.776 -- T75 29.38 -- GIRs 37th -- Scoring 70.42 -- Money 20th
1987 T43 1.787 --- 98 29.69 -- GIRs 13th -- Scoring 70.88 -- Money 37th
1986 T70 1.804 -- T86 29.78 -- GIRs 36th -- Scoring 71.24 -- Money 45th
1985 --------------- T127 30.02 -- GIRs 66th -- Scoring 71.92 -- Money 69th
1984 --------------- T124 29.92 -- GIRs 18th -- Scoring 71.47 -- Money 45th
1983 --------------- T76 29.70 -- GIRs 15th -- Scoring 71.15 -- Money 23rd
1982 --------------- T99 29.96 -- GIRs 9th -- Scoring 70.91 -- Money 13th
1981 --------------- T83 29.98 -- GIRs 34th -- Scoring 71.25 -- Money 15th
1980 --------------- T152 30.38 -- GIRs 6th -- Scoring 71.34 -- Money 35th
His first full year as a pro was 1977, so these are pretty much all the stats for his career. His top finishes on the money list have been 1981 (15th), 1982 (13th), 1995 (16th), and 2003 (15th). He finished 27th in 2004. His last Tour win was in 1993, 12 years ago. His 9 Tour wins have been:
1978 Andy Williams-San Diego Open Invitational.
1981 Greater Milwaukee Open, B.C. Open.
1982 Hall Of Fame, Texas Open.
1987 Big "I" Houston Open.
1988 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic.
1992 Federal Express St. Jude Classic.
1993 H.E.B. Texas Open.
These stats show that while Haas did well with putts per GIR in 2002-2003, he's basically been at the same level (20th to 40th) since at least 1987, and his best year was 7th in 1995 with 1.751. He appears to have had a minor putting slump in 1998-1999, but his best putting in 2002-2003 of 1.745 is not significantly better than his stats prior to the slump. it looks to me that Utley basically helped Haas "plug a leak" in his game for two years.
Jay's son Bill Haas recently blew his chances at Q-School with poor putting. Needing two birdies to secure his card, Bill had 8 birdie putts in the last 9 holes and missed them all.
35 Players Qualify to Play PGA Events -- Canada's David Hearn squanders six shots and drops to the cut line until coming up with two of the biggest putts of his career -- a 15-foot par save on the 17th and a 40-foot birdie from the fringe on the final hole -- Bill Haas misses birdie putts on 8 of last 9 holes to miss card by 2 -- Bob Burns 3-putts last hole to miss card by 1, Durant Daily Democrat, OK, 7 Dec 2004
A couple of 3-putts and Bill Haas misses the cut at JDC, Quad City Times, IA, 11 Jul 2004
Wake's Bill Haas wins Hogan Award -- looking to NCAA Regionals -- Coach and Uncle Jerry Haas: "We could all putt better.", The State, SC, 12 May 2004
U.S. Amateur Notebook Haas' bid for Amateur crown comes away with a huge Oh - costly 3-putt for Haas, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 23 Aug 2003
I've previously described Utley's technique for putting on the FlatStick Forum:
Stan Utley's TGC Show,
and
Stan Utley's Approach to Putting
A couple of years ago, I offered to show Stan a few things about putting that he doesn't seem to know, but he didn't respond.
Thanks for asking. By the way, I'll be teaching the German PGA at their annual meeting in Munich for 2005.
Cheers!
Geoff Mangum
Putting Theorist and Instructor
Geoff Mangum's PuttingZone
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