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  • Golf Digest:  fixed Charles Barkley’s ’sh—y swing’
  • Hundreds of combined starts on PGA TOUR, PGA TOUR Champions and Korn Ferry Tour
  • One PGA TOUR victory – 1989 Chattanooga Classic
  • Holds record for the fewest putts (6) per 9 holes on the PGA TOUR
  • Three victories on the Korn Ferry Tour
  • Two-time All-American at University of Missouri
  • Won 1988 and 1989 Missouri Open and 1986 Kansas Open
  • Golf Digest’s 50 Best Teachers in America and Best Teachers in Your State (Arizona)

About Stan

Stan Utley, one of hottest golf instructors and short game specialists in the business, is currently ranked 14th on Golf Digest’s list of America’s 50 Greatest Teachers.

“It’s an honor to be on that list, and be recognized in that group because the list is determined by many, many [1,500] golf professionals voting,” he said.

Utley explains that although “getting paid” appears to be the defining feature of a golf instructor, the beginning of his “golf teaching” career began much earlier with playing partners such as his father through simply “telling him what I thought.”

“If you’re playing golf with your buddies and you tell them what you think,” he said. “I’m calling that golf teaching.”

Utley’s “official” instruction career came into focus in 2002 after years of giving advice to professionals.

“My peers were other pros,” he said. “I was always giving them tips and advice on their short game because they admired what I did. My short game stood out on tour.”

This reality helped Utley recognize that he “felt better about me, while I was helping other people.” And that it “became obvious I was better at teaching, and that it should be the direction I should focus on.”

The two-time All-American at the University of Missouri turned professional in 1984, and in 1989 posted his one-and-only PGA TOUR win at the Chattanooga Classic. He went on to win three more championships on the Korn Ferry Tour (’93,’95), and to date, Utley holds the PGA TOUR record for the fewest putts – 6 – in nine holes.

Utley’s list of current and former students includes Jay Haas, Sergio Garcia, Joaquin Neiman, Scott Langley, Bill Haas, Scott Piercy, Paige Mackenzie, Amanda Blumenherst, Kevin Streelman, Darren Clarke, Brandt Jobe, Rocco Mediate, Alex Noran, Inbee Park, Paul McGinley and many more.

With a passion for watching people “light up” when they improve, Utley begins each session with a series of questions to better understand every student’s playing history and goals. He then shares proven techniques for shooting lower scores in an effective and understandable way.

He is the author of four golf instruction books with Golf Digest’s Matthew Rudy – The Art of Putting, The Art of the Short Game, The Art of Scoring and The Art of Sequencing Your Swing.

Contact Stan today:  Lessons@StanUtley.com, StanUtley.com.