The Art of Putting: The Revolutionary Feel-Based System for Improving Your Score by Matthew Rudy and Stan Utley (2006, Hardcover)

If you read Pelz putting/short game bible, this is also good information to have along with it. It shows there is a different way to putt than what pelz teaches and it may work better for you. Pelz is straight back and straight through, this is more of a natural putting stroke, having a "screen door" effect. I really like the way grip and swing path is presented in the book. It also discusses how your equipment and swing should go together. My stroke didn't match my equipment... I like both books, although they sometimes contradict one another. Pick what you like and try it out! I already putt better, and as soon as I can really spend some time on it, look out Tiger (okay, Tiger's safe, but look out to my golf buddies - they are going to lose some money!!!)

I want to like Stan Utley's putting technique. After a little trial period my putts were running true to the line and felt great coming off the putter, although often a little long on distance. But then I became less consistent and I've been tinkering in an effort to get it right.

I think it's hard to learn a "feel based" technique from a book. Actually, it's only a slight exageration to say that Mr. Utley only devotes one paragraph - from the bottom of page 41 to the top of page 42 - to the actual mechanics of the stroke. There is plenty of description on grip, set up, and philosophy though.

Readers might be disappointed that there's a lot of filler in this book. Some of it is autobiographic and some is about players that he's coached. I can't really complain about this. It's an easy read and he comes off as a very likable guy.

Bottom line is, I like the book and I'm hoping to make this stroke work for me. But a personal lesson from Stan would certainly be an improvement over the book.

I love the simplicity that Utley brings to putting. I used to putt left hand low, but the yips crept in and I needed drastic change. I tried Pelz, Michelson and finally Utley. His back to basics has helped me enormously.