Jay Don Blake shares emotional story about Titleist Bullseye putter he's using in his 500th PGA TOUR start

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Jay Don Blake, winner of the 1991 Farmers Insurance Open and 1980 NCAA Individual Championship, is making his 500th PGA TOUR start this week in his home state at the Black Desert Championship. Blake grew up in St. George, Utah, in a trailer park just down the road from the site of the new TOUR stop.

In his Wednesday press conference – with his family sitting stage left – Blake spoke with nostalgia, emotion and humor of his return to the PGA TOUR. Along with an appreciation, pride and remembrance of his late parents, who will bear more than just a memory in Blake’s mind this week.

In remembrance of his father, Blake is using a Titleist Bullseye “Deep Face John Reuter Jr. Design” original putter, which was gifted to him by his father more than 50 years ago.

“I grew up in the ages when what they call a Bullseye – Acushnet Bullseye putter was kind of a popular thing when I was a kid,” Blake said. “So to have one of those was kind of a neat thing to have. I've had a few of them, and I just remember my dad giving me a putter, and that's it, a Bullseye … The putter is probably, I think, 52 or 53 years old that I've got. I just seen it sitting in the corner. I always keep it right there … Every time I putted with that thing, I felt like I putted pretty exceptional. I've been debating whether I put it in play or not. I mean, it's nice that I feel comfortable with the putter, but it's a remembrance of my father.”

Designed by John Reuter Jr. during the mid-1940s, the original John Reuter Bullseye putter was revolutionary at the time. Until that point, most putters were built with the shaft joining the club at the heel of the putter head. The most famous putter of this style was Bobby Jones’ Calamity Jane.

Reuter Jr. wanted something that felt more like a pendulum. The Bullseye putter was the first of its kind, as Reuter Jr. moved the shaft axis point closer to the center of the putter head. The change reduced the twist effect from hitting the ball and led to a more forgiving putter. Acushnet Company (which runs Titleist) bought Reuter Jr.’s company in 1962, but his innovation is seen to this day. The design is far-reaching, still used in the professional game to your local miniature golf.

The reverse side of Jay Don Blake’s Titleist Deep Face John Reuter Jr Design Bullseye putter. (GolfWRX)

A top down view of Jay Don Blake’s Titleist Deep Face John Reuter Jr Design Bullseye putter. (GolfWRX)

A look at the face of Jay Don Blake’s Titleist Deep Face John Reuter Jr Design Bullseye putter. (GolfWRX)

A look at the sole of Jay Don Blake’s Titleist Deep Face John Reuter Jr Design Bullseye putter. (GolfWRX)

Blake will use the putter this week at a venue where his history at the Black Desert Resort long outlasts the golf course itself.

“When I first came out [to Black Desert] and played for the first time … I pretty much kind of took in awe of what the golf course presented; the lava rock and the beautiful green grass and the sand traps,” Blake said. “I knew in the back of my mind that I just grew up just down the road a little ways. It wasn't until I think about the second time I played, I had a little bit more time to kind of stand up on some of those little lava rock peninsulas and look a little deeper down the valley where I grew up in a trailer park. And standing there I'm thinking, I possibly probably stood on this same peninsula when I was a little kid. Used to come up in this valley right here, and there wasn't anything out here, just the lava rock and sagebrush and a few rabbits that I was chasing around.

“Every time I've played the course now, it's a moment that I look that way, and I miss my parents. I had a great support team with my family and my parents, especially my mom. She would take me to all the junior tournaments growing up, and St. George didn't have a whole lot of junior events in this area. We always had to go up north into Salt Lake and participate.

“We'd drive north evening time and slept in the car a few times. And in the morning we'd get up and freshen up in some gas station where we could stop and get prepared, get my golf clubs out, go play a junior tournament that day, and then drive back home. We did that for a few years. Having that support, and then it carried on to the PGA TOUR, where I can still see my mom walking the golf course right with me. She was as proud of me as what I am of her. Just this dream scenario. Everybody kind of wishes their parents can live as long as they can and enjoy moments like this, but I'm just very grateful that they gave me the opportunity. I look down that valley every time.”

The gold-colored Bullseye putter still shows all of the dents, dings and scratches from its 50-plus years of use and will emit some of the same memories for Blake this week in Utah. Each scratch is like its own memory of his father, and as Blake makes his trek around Black Desert this week, he’ll be carrying the putter, and all of that nostalgia with him.

"I know a lot of guys have looked at me like, ‘What do you got there?’" Blake said. "Some people haven't even seen a putter like that. I'll enjoy it, and all this stuff is going to be a lot of good memories. It's a good thing to remember my dad for.”