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

[Wally Fairway]

14 hours ago, Buckeyebowman said:

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!

Yup - I'm sure there were those who wrote something similar about Tiger after his 1998 season. After bursting onto the PGA tour in late '96 winning 2 events, then winning 4 in '97 including his runaway Masters victory there were huge expectations. 1998 happens, no majors only 1 win on tour .... oh well 96/97 were great but they must have been a fluke.

Now I'm in no way saying that Spieth will challenge Tigers record; but it is too early in a 23 year olds golf career to predict the future
(okay what I'm really saying is "Haters gonna hate"

[DaveP043]

2 minutes ago, Wally Fairway said:

Now I'm in no way saying that Spieth will challenge Tigers record; but it is too early in a 23 year olds golf career to predict the future
(okay what I'm really saying is "Haters gonna hate"

I think more to the point...

Writers gotta write (if they wanna get paid)

[Missouri Swede]

On 9/22/2016 at 11:55 PM, Database Head said:

He also checks his left elbow out like the classic chicken wing, I can't believe he will ever be good at ball striking with that swing.  It doesn't appear as much on his woods, but mid irons and most certainly his wedges the left elbow creates that 90 L after impact. 

Like this?

[natureboy]

5 hours ago, Missouri Swede said:

Like this?

Hah, I was thinking the same thing when I saw that pic go up on the landing page.

[Database Head]

We saw Jordan's hybrid/iron striking in action today and it wasn't pretty.  He went into the drink twice and that little rant on the par 3 was ridiculous.  He's all short game with a touch of drive.  He is bottom of the barrel in iron striking.  

[Gunther]

10 minutes ago, Database Head said:

We saw Jordan's hybrid/iron striking in action today and it wasn't pretty.  He went into the drink twice and that little rant on the par 3 was ridiculous.  He's all short game with a touch of drive.  He is bottom of the barrel in iron striking.  

Lol, yes, truly bottom of the barrel.  C'mon chief, watch a little golf sometime.

[CarlSpackler]

17 minutes ago, Database Head said:

We saw Jordan's hybrid/iron striking in action today and it wasn't pretty.  He went into the drink twice and that little rant on the par 3 was ridiculous.  He's all short game with a touch of drive.  He is bottom of the barrel in iron striking.  

I suppose you could do better...

[Hardspoon]

39 minutes ago, Database Head said:

He is bottom of the barrel in iron striking.  

Admittedly, it's not his strength (87th on Tour in SG-Approach), but "bottom of the barrel" is a bit of an exaggeration.

[Jeremie Boop]

1 hour ago, Database Head said:

We saw Jordan's hybrid/iron striking in action today and it wasn't pretty.  He went into the drink twice and that little rant on the par 3 was ridiculous.  He's all short game with a touch of drive.  He is bottom of the barrel in iron striking.  

You seem to be a bit harsh on Spieth. Is there any reason in particular for that? He certainly has had his struggles, but to say he has "bottom of the barrel" iron striking is pretty off base. He's not the only one who had a bad outing at the Ryder Cup, and I'd venture to say his overall performance wasn't even that poor. Now, is he living up to the hype that was generated in 2015? No, but not many players do live up to the hype of a hot season. He's still a very solid player or he wouldn't have made the team.

[natureboy]

3 hours ago, Hardspoon said:

Admittedly, it's not his strength (87th on Tour in SG-Approach), but "bottom of the barrel" is a bit of an exaggeration.

Well said. His SG approach ranking this year is quite a bit below his performance in other years. Season long was still the 6th best in SG from tee and on approach total. Lost form toward the end of the season.

Clearly the OP is a Spieth hater for some reason and can be counted on to point out all his shortcomings with regularity.

[boogielicious]

8 hours ago, Jeremie Boop said:

You seem to be a bit harsh on Spieth. Is there any reason in particular for that? He certainly has had his struggles, but to say he has "bottom of the barrel" iron striking is pretty off base. He's not the only one who had a bad outing at the Ryder Cup, and I'd venture to say his overall performance wasn't even that poor. Now, is he living up to the hype that was generated in 2015? No, but not many players do live up to the hype of a hot season. He's still a very solid player or he wouldn't have made the team.

I would say mid irons and short game are his strength. Off the tee he has struggled and on long approach shots. He is just a bit off this year.

[eich41]

One thing I think has contributed to Spieth's struggles (relatively speaking) this year, is simply burn out.  He plays a REALLY full schedule.  By my count, he's had about 3 weeks off this year, two of which were spent on the Bro-cation heard round the world.  Outside of that he's played every week including a trip to Asia.

 

I know he's young, but that still turns into a grind and can affect your overall performance.  

[newtogolf]

I see Spieth as a classic over achiever.  He out works his competitors to make up for relatively inferior genetics.  When one part of his game isn't failing him, he can grind his way to victory by using his short game and putting.  

Part of his problem is he has such a strong work ethic and sets such a high standard for himself that it takes a great toll on his mind and body and he compounds the problem by working even harder to overcome it when he really just needs to take a break.

I hope he takes a long break from golf and finds his passion for golf again so it's not so much like work out there for him.  His caddie needs to do a better job managing him mentally as well, he's getting to be too neurotic on the course and his pre shot routine is looks like Keegan Bradley, which is not a good thing.  

[eich41]

35 minutes ago, newtogolf said:

I see Spieth as a classic over achiever.  He out works his competitors to make up for relatively inferior genetics.  When one part of his game isn't failing him, he can grind his way to victory by using his short game and putting.  

Part of his problem is he has such a strong work ethic and sets such a high standard for himself that it takes a great toll on his mind and body and he compounds the problem by working even harder to overcome it when he really just needs to take a break.

I hope he takes a long break from golf and finds his passion for golf again so it's not so much like work out there for him.  His caddie needs to do a better job managing him mentally as well, he's getting to be too neurotic on the course and his pre shot routine is looks like Keegan Bradley, which is not a good thing.  

Agreed wholeheartedly and that's what I was alluding to above with the schedule as well.  Spieth is the antithesis of a Rory McIlroy or a Dustin Johnson.  Both Rory and DJ have a tremendous amount of natural ability.  That's not to say they haven't worked to get where they are, but they were definitely born with some physical tools that make the game "easier" for them.  They also seem to lack the drive to really reach their full potential.  Both Rory and DJ appear to be content to be "one of the best" rather than the best.  And both appear to be enjoying the lifestyle that comes along with the fame and fortune.  I don't fault them for that, just pointing out what I see...

 

Spieth is the opposite.  He doesn't have their natural ability, but he works his ass off and grinds.  He's driven to try to be the best golfer, rather than being content to be one of the best.  Hell his 2015 would be a GREAT career for almost any PGA pro.  But he's still out grinding a full schedule and trying to get better.  You don't see him jetsetting around the world and hooking up with young starlets.  I don't think that makes him a better person than others, but it certainly would explain why he would get burnt out.  

[Gunther]

Spieth just enjoyed the fruits of his 2015 season by jetting off to China, Dubai, then Singapore.  They were great opportunities for him and he took advantage of them.

His off season schedule will be much lighter this year, which will give him time to straighten the driver out, pack on 3 or 4 more pounds of muscle and probably pick up another 5 yards.

Wouldn't surprise me in the least if he had 4 or 5 wins next year with a major or 2.  He is the real deal.

[Degenerate GC]

6 hours ago, eich41 said:

Spieth is the opposite.  He doesn't have their natural ability, but he works his ass off and grinds.  He's driven to try to be the best golfer, rather than being content to be one of the best.  Hell his 2015 would be a GREAT career for almost any PGA pro.  But he's still out grinding a full schedule and trying to get better.  You don't see him jetsetting around the world and hooking up with young starlets.  I don't think that makes him a better person than others, but it certainly would explain why he would get burnt out.  

I agree somewhat, but natural ability comes in all flavors. Some have brains, some brawn, some finesse.  I think you hit it that Jordan's work ethic is good, but I think his discipline is lacking.  This shows in that fact that he can't bring himself to rest up.  But it's too soon to say 2015 was a fluke.  Did he catch lightning in a bottle for 52 weeks? I would love to Fluke at something so consistently.  He's had a come back to reality slump season, but I also think he's trying to work on some striking issues that were mentioned before.  He's 23 and will still be training his body.  DJ has a win on tour in 9 straight years, with his first major this year -- but we call that consistency.  Jordan has a multiple win season with multiple majors, and if he doesn't do it again its a slump.  He has 20 years ahead of him, if he gets some discipline we'll be seeing him hoist up hardware for years. 

[CCC]

Jordan Speith is a young one. He has a future. A good one.