Does Jordan Spieth have the yips?

[DannyDips 100]

On 1/28/2019 at 3:44 PM, RickyBobby_PR said:

Jordan hasn’t really changed much from inside the 10’ range. He’s not making nearly the amount of putts in the 20+’ range like we are used to.  

He has/had a setup issue and from what I understand it has to do with what eye is dominant and if his setup/alignment is off so is his putting.  He tried to fix it last year with his coach and they got it somewhat straightened out.

hes a good example of how that part of the game affected other parts 

I think I had heard the same exact thing about it being an alignment issue. Last weekend he basically tore up the easier North Course on Thursday for a -7 and was E the last three rounds on the harder South Course. From what I watched it looked like he sprayed his tee ball all over the place. His 2019 stats seem to back that up, Shots gained putting (0.262) and Shots gained approach the green (.137) are the only areas where he's gaining strokes on the field. 

I'm hoping he's getting it figured out and with anything like the yips that might be more mental than physical, a good dose of good play will wipe all those bad mental thoughts out. Confidence kills doubt. 

[Charli 912]

Spieth stinks... that is all. He’s beyond the yips. 

[Kenny B 23,197]

He is next to last in putts from 4 feet;  misses more than 1 out of every 4 putts.  

IF he makes the weekend, he is over par on Sat and Sun.  

Can't be him; must be time to fire Greller or McCormick.  

[sixcat 3,577]

"Nothing is as good as it seems, and nothing is as bad as it seems.  Somewhere in-between lies reality." ~Lou Holtz~

I think Spieth is closer than the numbers suggest.  He has a mind that is constantly going.  He needs to get back to shutting his mind off and letting his game come to him rather than trying to force the action.  When he does that, the results will follow.

[bardle 2,187]

They didn't show much of him today. But what they did show was him missing putts in a big way. I mean missing 5 footers and leaving 3 ft comebacks, It wasn't even close. I'm not sure what's going on with him but it's not getting better week to week...they didn't show any of him from the tee or fairway so I'm not sure about that part of his game. 

[tony@CIC 16,773]

10 hours ago, bardle said:

They didn't show much of him today. But what they did show was him missing putts in a big way. I mean missing 5 footers and leaving 3 ft comebacks, It wasn't even close. I'm not sure what's going on with him but it's not getting better week to week...they didn't show any of him from the tee or fairway so I'm not sure about that part of his game. 

I think he's lost all confidence and is now questioning every chip and putt. He needs to step away for a while and spend some time with a sports psychologist. 

[bens197 5,872]

He’s getting married. Different priorities.

He’ll be back.


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[tony@CIC 16,773]

5 minutes ago, bens197 said:

He’s getting married. Different priorities.

He’ll be back.


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They got married last November. Honeymoon and holidays are over! I know he'll be back then question is how long it'll take. 

[Shankster 25,559]

It will take 10 years.

[Kenny B 23,197]

2 hours ago, Shankster said:

It will take 10 years.

Nope.  The average length of a marriage in the US is 7 years.  

[GB13 7,775]

11 minutes ago, Kenny B said:

Nope.  The average length of a marriage in the US is 7 years.  

+3 years to finalize the divorce... 10 years

[Kwoodfield 84]

I think we expect too much from guys like that each year. He’s been hot and cold, not the only player to do it. But putting has definitely hurt him of late.


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[Kenny B 23,197]

2 hours ago, Kwoodfield said:

I think we expect too much from guys like that each year. He’s been hot and cold, not the only player to do it. But putting has definitely hurt him of late.
 

I know players go hot and cold, but except for a couple of tournaments last year, he has been cold for more than a year.  It was supposedly "an alignment issue".  There's more going on; maybe physical, maybe mental... probably both now.  I'm not sure how he gets back, except by winning a tournament.

[Charli 912]

But to answer the original post... this is no longer the yips. Yips don’t last this long. 

[Kenny B 23,197]

1 hour ago, Charli said:

But to answer the original post... this is no longer the yips. Yips don’t last this long. 

I posed the question last year because Spieth was struggling. He's still struggling. I don't know if Spieth has the yips, but yips have ruined careers.  Hogan had them.  Yips are why Johnny Miller gave up the game.  Tom Watson was a terrible putter from short range for years.  He has said that the yips probably cost him at least one tournament a year for 10 years.

When Spieth came out on tour, he was a reasonable short-range putter; not great, but adequate.  Something changed in late 2017-early 2018.  Whatever it was, it has caused him to lose confidence.  He's missing four-footers, and he's not lipping them out; the ball doesn't hit the hole.  He can't win a tournament only making 3 of 4 four-footers.

[Charli 912]

Yips is just an excuse at this point. maybe he just stinks at short putts. Was never good and everyone just overlooked it because he was winning. Now it’s affecting the win column and it looks worse. 

[RickyBobby_PR 4,838]

9 hours ago, Kenny B said:

I posed the question last year because Spieth was struggling. He's still struggling. I don't know if Spieth has the yips, but yips have ruined careers.  Hogan had them.  Yips are why Johnny Miller gave up the game.  Tom Watson was a terrible putter from short range for years.  He has said that the yips probably cost him at least one tournament a year for 10 years.

When Spieth came out on tour, he was a reasonable short-range putter; not great, but adequate.  Something changed in late 2017-early 2018.  Whatever it was, it has caused him to lose confidence.  He's missing four-footers, and he's not lipping them out; the ball doesn't hit the hole.  He can't win a tournament only making 3 of 4 four-footers.

It’s not the yips and it wasnt the yips. His problem is mental from tee to green. It started with not making putts and now he struggles with the driver and irons.

if he could get out of his head and play care free he will be fine. Just look at his last 8 holes last week where he made par on every hole after a disastrous start to the round 

[fixyurdivot 8,512]

11 hours ago, Kenny B said:

Something changed in late 2017-early 2018

Cupid's arrow took him from the penthouse to the outhouse.  This sudden change aligned with his engagement and his game not been right since.

[Kenny B 23,197]

3 hours ago, RickyBobby_PR said:

It’s not the yips and it wasnt the yips. His problem is mental from tee to green. It started with not making putts and now he struggles with the driver and irons.

if he could get out of his head and play care free he will be fine. Just look at his last 8 holes last week where he made par on every hole after a disastrous start to the round 

Yes, it started with not making putts, but why did he start missing putts in the first place?  That was not mental. I agree it became mental when he struggled with the rest of his game, but something started the decline in putting.  What causes a decline in 4 foot putting percentage from 95% to 80%?  It's a poor read, poor alignment, poor speed, or poor stroke.  

[RickyBobby_PR 4,838]

1 hour ago, Kenny B said:

Yes, it started with not making putts, but why did he start missing putts in the first place?  That was not mental. I agree it became mental when he struggled with the rest of his game, but something started the decline in putting.  What causes a decline in 4 foot putting percentage from 95% to 80%?  It's a poor read, poor alignment, poor speed, or poor stroke.  

He said he had an alignment issue related to his dominant eye and being right handed putter. He just hasn’t got that right and he wasn’t making the long putts as often and that put pressure on his short putts. He talked about this a few times last year