Think I suddenly understand the putting stroke....

I just finished Stan Utley's book, The Art of Putting. I was auditioning two putters, White Hout Tour Rossie and SC Studio Style 1.5. Obviously the Rossie is a SBST putter, and the SC an arc stroke putter. Utley's grip and stoke feel much more natural. With the arc stroke my ball went where i wanted and aimed....the club does not open up a large amount but toes does open on back stroke, closes on follow thru. Hopefully this was not a freak golf accident, 1 putts and 2 putts with well rolled balls. IT stinks that it took so long to understand my putting stroke..sure added lots of confidence to this 13 handicapper..put cash in my pocket both days at club with boys...shoot 81, 83..anybody else have an discovery like this?

i had a semi-revelation sort of like this, but not quite, it didn't come from reading anything, strangely enough it came just from watching a golf tournament, i was watching the match play tournament and noticed how relaxed geoff ogilvy looked when he hit putts, so the tuesday after i was practicing on the range and decided to go to the putting green with the only thought was to consciously exaggerate a light putter grip and keep my arms hanging as much as possible. i know you're supposed to do that but it was easier said than done. this allowed me to do two things: first, i had better feel of the clubhead and it was easier for me to judge how hard to hit putts and my speed was a LOT better, and it allowed the putterhead to naturally release, whereas before i was keeping my grip pressure a bit tense to try and keep the putterhead square. i was holing putts from everywhere on the practice green, and if they didn't go in, they stopped right next to the hole, i decided to go play 18 holes to see if it was the real deal, and my first 5 holes i had 5 1-putts in a row, all for par, all from 10 feet away or more, and i shot 76 from the tips, which is my best score to date. it came from the oddest of places, but i too now understand my putting stroke.

lol.. i need this discover too!!!

congrats on your discovery.. i was putting today and practicing a different grip and perfecting my ball placement and distance from the ball.. i also held my elbows out more than usual to get my hands out of the stroke.. one thing i read is that w/ the utley/arc stroke, its more forgiving to the ball being placed off center in the path and will still find the hole.. where the sbst is there is more "un-natural" movements involved to keep it on plane..

congrats.. what kind of key tips were you focusing on?

In general, I'm trying to keep hands nuetral..i was not feeling Utley's grip before...now after two days feels real comfy.I continue you to work on a light grip, relieve tension in forearms I'm trusting the line i choose and having a good tempo back and through the ball....On practice green I over emphasis the turning of forearms in swing just to get muscle memory. Now its just a matter of getting touch on putts..been practicing alot on rug, not the same as real green. I was was always pretty talented in the chipping area, this might be the missing key

What position do you keep your elbows? Are your arms straight (elbows extended) or do your elbows have a slight angle in them?

I was experimenting with a little elbow hinge today practicing and it seemed to help my shoulders rock and initiate the stroke.

i have a slight angle to my elbows....as i take putter back the right elbow seems to collapse a bit as i swing through left elbow seem to collapse slightly.... I game a 35" putter so i'm not bent over...i try to keep my eye just inside of my target line

Stan Utley on putting...that makes me laugh

Stan Utley on putting...that makes me laugh

Why ?

I was skeptical too...but after reading the book...trying what he says..it worked for me...now it may not be for everybody, but my putting was in a hole and this lifted me out of it

Stan Utley on putting...that makes me laugh

Why ?

Well, the Master's and the US Open are arguably the two most difficult putting venues on the PGA Tour...how many Master's and US Open Champions has he taught?

I was skeptical too...but after reading the book...trying what he says..it worked for me...now it may not be for everybody, but my putting was in a hole and this lifted me out of it

I read the book also, well, its more of a guidance, the final result is up to you, you can make angle changes a bit to fit you. Buy honestly I wasnt that impressed of the results, PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT :man_in_love:

Stan Utley on putting...that makes me laugh

Why ?

 

Well, the Master's and the US Open are arguably the two most difficult putting venues on the PGA Tour...how many Master's and US Open Champions has he taught?

 

 

That's like saying Pete Carroll is a lousy football coach becuase he never won a Super Bowl.

Its all a matter of what helps you..... you can improve based on the advice of a top 50 teaching pro or you can improve on advice from a friend you play in a foursome with every weekend. You take advice, you see if it works for you, Utley's advice seems to work for me......If i ever pick up the SC Studio Select....I want need putter help...it will putt the ball in the hole on its own.

Stan Utley on putting...that makes me laugh

Why ?

 

Well, the Master's and the US Open are arguably the two most difficult putting venues on the PGA Tour...how many Master's and US Open Champions has he taught?

 

 

 

That's like saying Pete Carroll is a lousy football coach becuase he never won a Super Bowl.

Actually using your logic then we would be saying that Stan Utley is a lousy coach for Pro's but a good college coach. Good try though.

Get a couple of players who win the Master's and the US Open and then we can talk about being a good putting coach. As a person, Stan is one of the nicest guys I have ever met. But his results speak for themselves and the results aren't elite.

Stan Utley on putting...that makes me laugh

Why ?

 

Well, the Master's and the US Open are arguably the two most difficult putting venues on the PGA Tour...how many Master's and US Open Champions has he taught?

 

 

 

That's like saying Pete Carroll is a lousy football coach becuase he never won a Super Bowl.

 

 

Actually using your logic then we would be saying that Stan Utley is a lousy coach for Pro's but a good college coach. Good try though.

 

Get a couple of players who win the Master's and the US Open and then we can talk about being a good putting coach. As a person, Stan is one of the nicest guys I have ever met. But his results speak for themselves and the results aren't elite.

 

Yah, what he did for Sergio was pretty much useless. All he did is win a Players Championship and compete for both the PGA and British. Same for Jay Haas and Rocco. The guy has proven results. I am not sure what you are trying to say. That he has nobody who has won a US open? How about Peter Jacobsen? He uses Utley and won an open.

Dude, if you don't like his method, don't use it. But don't be an "Expert" when you don't have the proof to back it up. That is just dumb.

The Masters and the US Open involve more than just putting. It's somewhat shallow to say that because his students haven't won either of these tournaments, that he isn't a quality putting coach. While I'm not a big fan of his, Garcia had a pretty good year last year after working with Utley. The Players isn't a slouch of a tournament...

If the Utley style works for the OP, then so be it. Happens to work for me also.

Stan Utley on putting...that makes me laugh

Why ?

 

Well, the Master's and the US Open are arguably the two most difficult putting venues on the PGA Tour...how many Master's and US Open Champions has he taught?

 

 

 

That's like saying Pete Carroll is a lousy football coach becuase he never won a Super Bowl.

 

 

Actually using your logic then we would be saying that Stan Utley is a lousy coach for Pro's but a good college coach. Good try though.

 

Get a couple of players who win the Master's and the US Open and then we can talk about being a good putting coach. As a person, Stan is one of the nicest guys I have ever met. But his results speak for themselves and the results aren't elite.

 

 

 

Yah, what he did for Sergio was pretty much useless. All he did is win a Players Championship and compete for both the PGA and British. Same for Jay Haas and Rocco. The guy has proven results. I am not sure what you are trying to say. That he has nobody who has won a US open? How about Peter Jacobsen? He uses Utley and won an open.

 

Dude, if you don't like his method, don't use it. But don't be an "Expert" when you don't have the proof to back it up. That is just dumb.

I never claimed to be an expert. Read the whole thread.

I have ZERO issues with the OP using Stan Utley's methods. I was asked a direct question and I answered it.

I do have the proof to back it up, you just don't like what the facts are telling you. But by all means, don't let the facts get in the way of your good story. You might want to sit out the next few plays.

Many of us on the forum are not, i repeat NOT paid professional golfers. I'm an amateur golfer that loves the game and wants to improve. Some feel Utley's methods have no substance. Before reading the book I had a very Un-neutral putting grip. Now it feels like my hands, arms and shoulders work in unison. Is he Butch Harmon, No, is he Hank Haney, No. He obviously has had some success in the realm of short game and putting. I benefited and I'm improving. Now here is my next question...now that I have a comfortable putting stroke and grip, will the feel be that much different when i go to pick up a SC Studio Select compared to my Studio Style. When i hit putts with the insert on the Style...its a great soft feeling, how will Select compare?

Do you mean will if feel soft off the face or do you mean will your putting stroke feel funny?

Will there be better feedback of the face of the Select compared to the Style

Inserts tend to "deaden" the feel off the face...

So is the overall feel much better on a none insert SC such as the Studio Select???

Depends on the insert

Padraig won two majors with an insert putter last year ...

Studio select feels a bit hard/?harsh compared with terryllium and other insert putter , however with a pro V1 it may not be that distinguishable .

As I recall, Utley advocates letting the elbows flex slightly in the backswing and follow through. Do you do this?

There is a slight bending of the elbow on back swing (right elbow) and a slight bending of left elbow as I follow through...It feels very natural in the stroke, or should I say the kinesiology of the arm movement through my stroke....before with my SBST stroke, i felt that there was tension in my forearms. I don't feel that tension any more

Stan Utley on putting...that makes me laugh

Why ?

 

Well, the Master's and the US Open are arguably the two most difficult putting venues on the PGA Tour...how many Master's and US Open Champions has he taught?

 

 

 

That's like saying Pete Carroll is a lousy football coach becuase he never won a Super Bowl.

 

 

Actually using your logic then we would be saying that Stan Utley is a lousy coach for Pro's but a good college coach. Good try though.

 

No, not really. Carroll coached in the NFL and at lower levels, but only had his success below the top rung which would be the NFL. Utley has had success with Peter Jacobson in the Senior U.S. Open, which would also be a lower level.

To say you need to coach someone who won a U.S. Open or the Masters is just ridiculous. It's not even a good try.

I would continue to try and explain the logic here, but apparently explaining logic to a guy whose handle is "krustyburger" seems like an exorbitant waste of my time.

i had a semi-revelation sort of like this, but not quite, it didn't come from reading anything, strangely enough it came just from watching a golf tournament, i was watching the match play tournament and noticed how relaxed geoff ogilvy looked when he hit putts, so the tuesday after i was practicing on the range and decided to go to the putting green with the only thought was to consciously exaggerate a light putter grip and keep my arms hanging as much as possible. i know you're supposed to do that but it was easier said than done. this allowed me to do two things: first, i had better feel of the clubhead and it was easier for me to judge how hard to hit putts and my speed was a LOT better, and it allowed the putterhead to naturally release, whereas before i was keeping my grip pressure a bit tense to try and keep the putterhead square. i was holing putts from everywhere on the practice green, and if they didn't go in, they stopped right next to the hole, i decided to go play 18 holes to see if it was the real deal, and my first 5 holes i had 5 1-putts in a row, all for par, all from 10 feet away or more, and i shot 76 from the tips, which is my best score to date. it came from the oddest of places, but i too now understand my putting stroke.

Light grip, loose arms! Thats exactly the conclusion I came to this week at the putting green. Putts were rolling consistently. It was great.

Good to hear you are having some success with Utley's method.

Here's to making all our 10 footers

If you're going to learn from a pro or guru's putting style...forget Pelz and Utley. Why not use Tiger's putting grip and style instead? It's simple, fundamentally sound, and is used by the best putter in golf. Who would you rather have putting on your scramble team- Tiger or Utley? But seriously, I've studied Utley's techniques, read the books, tried them, but moved on to adopting and getting comfortable with my own version of Tiger style putting. Why not emulate the best putter ever for technique, and then work on improving your line, distance, and feel? Classic neutral putter grip. Square eyes, stance, shoulders, hips, and knees. Fairly upright posture to see the line better. Eyes slightly inside or over ball. Relatively symmetric back and through arc with a classic toe-weighted putter. Square putter face. Shaft pretty close to straight up and down, using the true loft of the putter. Light grip with soft wrists and hands. Solid head and eyes position during the stroke. Two tee drills on practice green. Tiger lays down the fundamentals in his book and various magazine contributions. In fact, why not chip like Tiger too? Most PGA pros actually chip more like Tiger, and definitely not like Utley or Pelz. Even Phil doesn't chip like his short game coach, Pelz. Mr. Pelz has killed so many player's short games it's not even funny. Utley has confused many more golfers than he has enlightened. Sorry to offend any Utley diehards. Don't know if there any more Pelz followers...