The golfing world continues to wonder at the 21-year-old phenomenon. It’s a matter of great curiosity to find out what makes Jordan Spieth click.
Agreed, he is a good putter, but certainly not the best in the world. He is actually No 8 on the PGA Tour stats for Strokes Gained – Putting this year.
His driving distance is a mere 291 yards. That would be more than 30 yards behind the likes of Rory McIlroy and Dustin Johnson every time he tees off. On the PGA Tour, 76 players hit it longer than him and 85 players are more accurate off the tee.
And Spieth does not have the most potent iron-play either, as he finds only 68.06 per cent greens in regulation. That makes him 49th in the list of GIR found this year.
Despite stats that would make a world No 50 worried about his game, the Texan has won both the majors to be played this year, is No 1 on the FedEx Cup standings and is on the verge of dislodging Rory McIlroy as the No 1 player in the world if he wins this week.
So, what makes Spieth such a champion?
The only answer I can come up with is his amazing ability to simplify everything. He just doesn’t like complicating matters – whether on a golf course, or away from it. That’s particularly hard for someone his age, but Spieth seems to have mastered the art.
Most of the information passed on between him and his caddie Michael Greller are as simple as ‘190 yards, pitch it at 175 and keep it 10 feet left of the flag’. Nothing complicated, and Spieth delivers almost on the mark everytime.
– GALLERY: Ten players to watch at The Open
– VIDEO: Spieth aware of major challenge
– VIDEO: Rose and Oosthuizen prepare
– Open: Fowler must improve to catch Spieth
He has worked with Australian coach Cameron McCormick for all his life, and revealed yesterday another nugget about how they like to make life simple when the pressure of a tournament is intense.
The Cameron method is ‘aim small, miss small’. What he encourages Spieth to do during pressure situation is pick up smaller targets and aim for it. So, instead of aiming to hit the middle of the fairway, try something more specific like aim for the tree next to the left fairway bunker. Once you do that, the misses are going to be smaller as well.
Even away from the golf course, Spieth likes to keep things simple. He still likes to go to the school of his sister Ellie, who is a child with special needs, and raise funds for them. He even filled in for their grandparents on the Grandparents Day in the school because they could not make it to the school.
Jordan Spieth is last to leave Old Course on Monday evening. He’s 21. He could go this whole week without sleep & never get tired.
— Kelly Tilghman (@KellyTilghmanGC) July 14, 2015
Another big plus for Spieth, as both Nick Faldo and Tiger Woods pointed out, is his keen sense of observation. He tends to pick up things on the golf course – stuff like swales from where it would be difficult to his the next shot, or spots where he can bale out easily on difficult greens.
And finally, there is a kind of single-mindedness in him that reminds us of his golfing idol, Ben Hogan.
When asked to describe Hogan yesterday, Spieth said: “I think of him being the guy that would head to the right side of the range so his back is to everybody else, focused on his own game, focused on himself and how he’s playing the course.”
By playing John Deere Classic last week, he once again showed how he likes to do his own things. No amount of criticism could make him change his mind. Once he believes in something, he just puts his heart, mind and soul into it.
So, do not be surprised if the quest for a calendar grand slam is a successful one. Spieth believes he can. You can rest assured he will find a way.
