Jordan Spieth's spectacular 2015 season now looks like a fluke that is unlikely to ever happen again

[Patch]

I don't follow the PGA that much, and I don't have an interests in breaking down others' golf swings. Not much of a PGA stat person either. 

I can say this for JS. If I were at a tournament he was in, he'd be the one I would spend the most time following around. 

[Broke100Once]

I may need glasses after all the eye-rolling I did at that piece.  You can cite all the stats you want, but I look at the fact that Spieth won two events in 2016 and was one terrible hole away from winning the Masters.  True, Spieth hasn't really looked himself in recent months, but I haven't seen anything that would convince he that his game has somehow severely dropped off.  If there's anything psychological to it, I bet he just needs to get back to Augusta and put in another good showing to really put his 2016 choke behind him, and he'll be fine.  Wouldn't shock me at all if Spieth wins the 2017 Masters, either.

Was 2015 a 'fluke' in the sense that Spieth probably isn't going to win two majors in a year again?  Sure.  Of the very short list of guys who have ever had two-major years, it's a much shorter list of guys with multiple two-major years in their careers.  It's ridiculous that we're suddenly writing golfers off for not stringing together huge year after huge year; we're spoiled by Tiger, who was a once-in-a-generation type of icon and maybe the best ever.  Why penalize Spieth or others for not being Tiger?  That's an absurd standard to live up to.

Spieth has eight wins and two majors under his belt and he's still just 23 years old.  Hell, even if Spieth did suffer some Duval-esque collapse of his game, he's already had a massively successful career that almost any PGA golfer would kill to emulate.

[Spitfisher]

Mayb Spieth should spend more time over his ball, talked to his caddy more, slow things down a bit...........

 

 

 

(god help us no!)

[Ron]

On 9/23/2016 at 7:39 PM, newtogolf said:

Dominating season after season is something that very few golfers have done and the ones that did have gone down as the very best in the game.  Spieth isn't Tiger or Jack and the golfers he's playing against are a lot better than the guys Jack and Tiger played against when they dominated.  

 

Well stated.  It's strange how editors allow these guys to write the same old garbage that all poor sports writers put out to try to justify their existence or create interest from uninformed readers.  Most of us who participate on golf forums play golf.  We all know how tough this game is.  We should keep that in mind when we read nonsense like this.

[Scotsclaff]

Spieth will never win another major,told you guys in April.

 

[Mop Bucket]

37 minutes ago, Scotsclaff said:

Spieth will never win another major,told you guys in April.

 

That's an exaggeration. He's obviously shown that he has the potential to compete but he struggles with consistency month to month. I think everyone who watches golf underestimates just how rare it is to have back to back seasons as the likes of Tiger, Jack, or Arnold- especially in a field as talented as it is in 2016. I'm a huge believer that these past few seasons have been some of the best tour golf ever played in the history of the game, especially when it's looked at in terms of depth. Week to week, it's really anyone's tournament to take, and it hasn't always been like that.

[Natural Patrick]

3 hours ago, Scotsclaff said:

Spieth will never win another major,told you guys in April.

 

Would you like to put some money on that ?

[Database Head]

20 minutes ago, Natural Patrick said:

Would you like to put some money on that ?

Not a smart bet IMO.  Just for the fact that Spieth plays so well at the Masters.  I would take that bet on all the major excluding the Masters.  No one in their right mind would bet against Spieth at the masters, 2nd, 1st and 2nd place finishes in his last 3 attempts.  Just saying.....  I believe he will win another Major, @ the Masters.  

[ChrisP]

FAR too early to call the kid a fluke. However, I think the Masters did some damage to the kid and I'm not sure it can fully be repaired. Even though he won Colonial he just didn't look the same after that Masters. He'll win another major, but I don't think he'll have the career he could have had he won last April. I think there's some mental scarring there that will always be around. Hope I'm wrong on that because I like the kid and am pulling for him. He's good for golf and a class act.

Edited September 26, 2016 by ChrisP

[boogielicious]

21 hours ago, Spitfisher said:

Mayb Spieth should spend more time over his ball, talked to his caddy more, slow things down a bit...........

 

 

 

(god help us no!)

He is painful to watch now. He twitches more than Keegan Bradley and after Na's speed round, he is now the slowest player IMO. I like Jordan, but COME ON MAN! Hit the BALL!

[newtogolf]

59 minutes ago, boogielicious said:

He is painful to watch now. He twitches more than Keegan Bradley and after Na's speed round, he is now the slowest player IMO. I like Jordan, but COME ON MAN! Hit the BALL!

Yeah, he's overloading himself with information and it's making him second guess everything.  

I'm in no way comparing myself to Spieth but I notice when I try to over analyze a situation to hit that perfect shot I usually hit one of my worse shots of the round.  My best shots come from knowing what club I need to hit, being confident with the decision and walking up and hitting it with minimal thought.  

[natureboy]

4 hours ago, newtogolf said:

Yeah, he's overloading himself with information and it's making him second guess everything.  

I'm in no way comparing myself to Spieth but I notice when I try to over analyze a situation to hit that perfect shot I usually hit one of my worse shots of the round.  My best shots come from knowing what club I need to hit, being confident with the decision and walking up and hitting it with minimal thought.  

Quite possibly. But it might be a necessary part of his learning process so that he goes through these analyses in the moment, gets some results (good and bad) and down the line becomes more decisive and confident with his options.

I think a lot of that is what used to go into the expected seasoning of new players on tour who typically didn't win until their 30's. He started out strong and maybe now has to do some remedial work - possibly returning full circle to his original instincts, but with some better ideas  of how to save rounds and grind it out when his game is off?

[ChrisP]

9 hours ago, boogielicious said:

He is painful to watch now. He twitches more than Keegan Bradley and after Na's speed round, he is now the slowest player IMO. I like Jordan, but COME ON MAN! Hit the BALL!

And this is why I'm worried that Masters scarred him pretty bad and he may not be able to truly get over it. He's a very mental guy. He thinks too much. And when you think too much, you allow bad things to creep into your head. Like I said, I hope he can overcome that Masters. He's a good kid, a very classy and mature kid and I'm pulling for him. I hope he can return to where he was in 2015. He's good for the game.

Edited September 26, 2016 by ChrisP

[70sSanO]

It is impossible to know how well or poorly the rest of Speith's career will go.  Anyone making predictions that Speith's year was a fluke are probably basing it on their own personal opinion of Jordan.  I will say he has a polarizing demeanor that puts people on the fence.

While the Masters meltdown was monumental, the reality is Speith has not had the number of chokes that DJ has had, most recently yesterday.  And I don't think too many are ready to call DJ's US Open win a fluke.

John

[zero]

He's so young, just wait and see. He has tremendous talent and resources at his disposal. 

Edited September 27, 2016 by zero

[boogielicious]

14 hours ago, ChrisP said:

And this is why I'm worried that Masters scarred him pretty bad and he may not be able to truly get over it. He's a very mental guy. He thinks too much. And when you think too much, you allow bad things to creep into your head. Like I said, I hope he can overcome that Masters. He's a good kid, a very classy and mature kid and I'm pulling for him. I hope he can return to where he was in 2015. He's good for the game.

I hope he recovers. When he plays well, he is fun to watch.

[RussUK]

29 minutes ago, boogielicious said:

I hope he recovers. When he plays well, he is fun to watch.

Thats the mark of a great player, overcoming defeat. I was once told " in order to become a winner you must learn how to lose". He'll bounce back, he's only a youngster!

[Buckeyebowman]

On 9/23/2016 at 7:39 PM, newtogolf said:

Dominating season after season is something that very few golfers have done and the ones that did have gone down as the very best in the game.  Spieth isn't Tiger or Jack and the golfers he's playing against are a lot better than the guys Jack and Tiger played against when they dominated.  

 

And even Jack and Tiger had their "slumps"! At least that's what the media called them. After all, they need stuff to write about, or they could fall into a slump as well!