Spieth's Attitude

[aussiegolferer]

Heard he was a club thrower and absolute hothead in his younger days. Wouldn't mind seeing that again!!!

[GungHoGolf]

#prayformikegreller

 

#caddieslivesmatter

[Cwing]

When you win its easy. When you don't .........

[thug the bunny]

Heard he was a club thrower and absolute hothead in his younger days. Wouldn't mind seeing that again!!!

 

I have seen some vid of him in his early days. He had tantrums.

 

But, what brought him success was exactly the ability to mature and level out, to manage his game and his emotions. But, like a genetically programmed OTT reverse pivot slapper who through intense effort and practice has developed a decent sequence and plane, but under duress you can still sometimes see that monster coming out, Jordan still has that tendency just under the surface.

[Mr. Grumpy]

He is 3 inches shy of putting a 6 inch divot in almost every green lately.. His tantrums are like what all the cool kids are doing...

[Barfolomew]

In Feherty interview Day talks how difficult the pressure is and how it even gave him vertigo at US Open...... just cause you're callin out a dude doesnt mean you think he sucks or you don't like him in fact the opposite is true....

 

Funny thing is when the pundits on TV kept saying last year that he doesn't seem to have any real weaknesses I didn't understand why they weren't calling out his hyper reactions and how it might bite him in the butt.....but winning sure hides a lot and they act desperate to put someone on a pedestal!

[4thand11]

Well at least he doesn't just wander around with the dazed smile of a lobotomy patient all the time, like Kuch.

[BenHoganSlam1953]

What human doesn't get irritated when the bounces aren't going his way or he just isn't hitting the ball where he's looking ? How does this make him different than any one else ?

You know how it works. Perfection is the key. Show emotion (but not too much), be passionate (but only in the way I like it), be vocal (but only approved speech), be a free thinker (but not too free - we wouldn't want to offend anyone)...

 

I thought we were discussing golf, not marriage.

[BenHoganSlam1953]

I think we're just noticing someone who is feeling a lot of pressure due to extremely high expectations. I don't mind the showing of emotions at all. People who are criticizing him for this are probably the same people who didn't like Jose Bautista launching his bat into the air during Game 5 of the ALDS.

 

Plus, like many have said already, if I tell myself to "eff off" during a tournament, I can only imagine what a tour pro must want to say when that kind of $$$ is on the line. Not to mention there is no "perfect athlete" just like there is no "perfect person". He's human, which makes what he (and Rory, and Jason, and on and on) so much more amazing.

 

I curse with the best of them - and that's just an average day on the job, but with kids around - I shut it! It's not that hard if one cares about the little ones ... of course, some of them can likely teach me a few new choice words :angry22: if I ask. I think he is just burned out - exhaustion makes tempers fly and patience is short.

[MtlJeff]

He acts like a 21-22 year old would when things don't go his way. It makes sense because that's literally how old he is....being a superstar pro doesn't change that. Tiger had near perfect etiquette as a youngster but that's also because his dad probably beat him with a kendo stick if he was out of line from the age of 3.

 

My wife thinks i am one of the calmest people around now (i am 34) and when i was 22 i had a bad temper too. Some people just need to grow out of it.

 

Looking at the other aspects of his game and interviews etc....i would bet he does

[norge5]

What I don't like about it is the sense of entitlement he shows. It seems like he feels the universe owes him a perfect shot every time.

 

Not sure if serious.

 

Not sure why you are not sure.

Yes, very serious.

The way he reacts when he hits a bad shot is exactly like that, like he has a right to hit only perfect shots and like some entity does not respect that right. He even gets his fits when he hits it on the green, hole high, but 40 feet right of a left hand hole location.

Please enlighten me how you would describe that in any other way than I did.

Maybe you could describe how you are supposed to react? What faces do you want him to make? You are making a lot of assumptions about what's going through his head. Maybe he demands more of himself than others. I'm watching a clip of his press conference at the masters right now, nice kid.

[thug the bunny]

He acts like a 21-22 year old would when things don't go his way. It makes sense because that's literally how old he is....being a superstar pro doesn't change that. Tiger had near perfect etiquette as a youngster but that's also because his dad probably beat him with a kendo stick if he was out of line from the age of 3.

 

My wife thinks i am one of the calmest people around now (i am 34) and when i was 22 i had a bad temper too. Some people just need to grow out of it.

 

Looking at the other aspects of his game and interviews etc....i would bet he does

 

Jordan is very articulate in interviews. He shows maturity and sober thinking and gives great insight into how he played a round and how he approaches the game, etc.

But on course in real time the 16 yr old still emerges..

[bscinstnct]

[Titleist 670]

His attitude doesn't bother me too much, I just feel bad for his caddie sometimes. Why? It must be hard to act like every bounce that doesn't go Jordan's way is the worst bounce he's ever seen.

[Hoot151]

What I don't like about it is the sense of entitlement he shows. It seems like he feels the universe owes him a perfect shot every time.

 

Not sure if serious.

 

Not sure why you are not sure.

Yes, very serious.

The way he reacts when he hits a bad shot is exactly like that, like he has a right to hit only perfect shots and like some entity does not respect that right. He even gets his fits when he hits it on the green, hole high, but 40 feet right of a left hand hole location.

Please enlighten me how you would describe that in any other way than I did.

 

I wasn't sure if you were mocking the typical attitude towards anyone under 30 as being 'entitled', or if you were really being that old guy who wants kids to get off your lawn. The comment about "it seems that he feels", which is about as biased conjecture as you can get, could be perceived as sarcastic if one had the perspective that he's a 22 year old kid with the responsibility of representing a financial portfolio that would make most CEO's piss their pants. So yes, I thought the comment was so biased that it could possibly be sarcastic.

[fr0sty]

I noticed at the SHO where upon missing a putt Spieth berates his caddie with something along the lines of "I TOLD YOU IT DIDN'T BREAK TO THE RIGHT!".

I found this quite funny, since if Jordan actually believed the putt would break less why didn't he simply play the putt that way?

It's very easy to blame others for your shortcomings, and I am starting to see some of that in Spieth. I have a feeling that this player-caddie relationship wont last forever. I could be wrong though, since Bubba still has the same guy on the bag, and he's about 10x worse than Spieth.

[braincramp52]

He's pressing more so he's getting aggravated easier.

 

This^

[HackerD]

I noticed at the SHO where upon missing a putt Spieth berates his caddie with something along the lines of "I TOLD YOU IT DIDN'T BREAK TO THE RIGHT!".

I found this quite funny, since if Jordan actually believed the putt would break less why didn't he simply play the putt that way?

It's very easy to blame others for your shortcomings, and I am starting to see some of that in Spieth. I have a feeling that this player-caddie relationship wont last forever. I could be wrong though, since Bubba still has the same guy on the bag, and he's about 10x worse than Spieth.

 

I saw that but I wasn't sure he was berating his caddie, although he could have been. Maybe he just said to him "IT DIDN'T BREAK TO THE RIGHT. AAAARGH!!". Venting not berating. Maybe.

[dciccoritti]

I'm not a Spieth fan but he's Jordan Spieth, not Retief Goosen. Let the kid be who he is. I love his youthful exuberance and the expectation he places on himself to play the best golf that's ever been played. It's going to be fun to watch him grow and mature, but for now I'm really enjoying the fire and passion he brings to the game.

[Roadking2003]

Over the last few tournaments I can't help but notice that Spieth has had a little bit of an attitude problem. We know he always talks to his ball a lot and the back and forth with his caddy has been featured on all the broadcasts, but is this a different issue? My questions is, has he always been this way? I have a few theories. One is that the he played so well last year that it didn't get a chance to show itself. Another is that I was giving him too much of a benefit of the doubt as the new young gun on the scene. He is under a tremendous amount of pressure to stay on top and regain the #1 ranking, maybe the pressure is getting to him.

 

For me I think it started when he threw his caddy under the bus earlier this year (I know they win together and lose together) and last weekend I felt he was constantly complaining about the bounces he got and the lies he was left with.

 

 

I think you are nitpicking. But maybe he is just being to honest and expressive. He is only complaining about himself and not the course or the tournament or the fans or the officials.

 

BTW, I missed the "threw his caddy under the bus" thing. Please elaborate.

[BounceBackBogey]

If you are just seeing this from Spieth now, then you have not been paying attention to him before last year. Spieth has always been whiny on the golf course. Of course this really comes out when things aren't going his way. I remember a couple years ago at the President's cup, he was really talking down on himself and mopping around because he was playing really bad in his match. I don't blame him, golf is a tough game. I do think he would be better served trying to stay more composed but some people just need to get it out of their system and that is how he does it right now.

 

To me, it does come off a little childish and spoiled but that is just my opinion. I think in time, he will mellow out some.

[ElJefe26]

He acts like a 21-22 year old would when things don't go his way. It makes sense because that's literally how old he is....being a superstar pro doesn't change that. Tiger had near perfect etiquette as a youngster but that's also because his dad probably beat him with a kendo stick if he was out of line from the age of 3.

 

My wife thinks i am one of the calmest people around now (i am 34) and when i was 22 i had a bad temper too. Some people just need to grow out of it.

 

Looking at the other aspects of his game and interviews etc....i would bet he does

 

I pretty much agree with this post, with one exception. Tiger could go Vesuvius well into his thirties.

 

Your point about youth is well taken. Like you, I am very calm...now. I had a major temper into my 30s, even. On the golf course, I played by one rule--if my club flew further than my ball, then the related shot did not count. I actually shaved some strokes that way. :D Today, the same shot that formerly resulted in a helicoptered club elicits a chuckle and a shrug of the shoulders. And that isn't suppression of anger; the anger just is not there.

 

Young Mr. Spieth will be fine. I'd like to see him react a little bit better, but it isn't all that bad as it is, and he's 22 years old.

[avrag]

What I don't like about it is the sense of entitlement he shows. It seems like he feels the universe owes him a perfect shot every time.

 

Not sure if serious.

 

Not sure why you are not sure.

Yes, very serious.

The way he reacts when he hits a bad shot is exactly like that, like he has a right to hit only perfect shots and like some entity does not respect that right. He even gets his fits when he hits it on the green, hole high, but 40 feet right of a left hand hole location.

Please enlighten me how you would describe that in any other way than I did.

 

I wasn't sure if you were mocking the typical attitude towards anyone under 30 as being 'entitled', or if you were really being that old guy who wants kids to get off your lawn. The comment about "it seems that he feels", which is about as biased conjecture as you can get, could be perceived as sarcastic if one had the perspective that he's a 22 year old kid with the responsibility of representing a financial portfolio that would make most CEO's piss their pants. So yes, I thought the comment was so biased that it could possibly be sarcastic.

 

 

You are correct, of course it is conjecture.

I hear what a person says, I see facial expressions and body language, and with this information, I form an opinion about what the person thinks and feels.

It is what humans do. Until the Vulcans teach us the Vulcan Mind-Meld, this is our only way to do it.

 

Funny thing is, I would never get the feeling that Rickie Fowler or Brooks Koepka or Tony Finau or Emiliano Grillo feel entitled to good shots. How come?

I don't even feel this about Patrick Reed, and he is as confident and as ambitious as they come and can also be a hothead at times. But in a different way.

I don't know if you have noticed, but all of the players I mentioned are under 30 as well.

[ratspros]

What I don't like about it is the sense of entitlement he shows. It seems like he feels the universe owes him a perfect shot every time.

 

Not sure if serious.

 

Not sure why you are not sure.

Yes, very serious.

The way he reacts when he hits a bad shot is exactly like that, like he has a right to hit only perfect shots and like some entity does not respect that right. He even gets his fits when he hits it on the green, hole high, but 40 feet right of a left hand hole location.

Please enlighten me how you would describe that in any other way than I did.

 

That's why he's Jordan Speith and you're on the internet complaining about him. It is no where close a sense of entitlement as it is a sense of expectations. He expects to hit shots great each time, anything less is unacceptable. Not because some entity doesn't respect that but because he failed his own expectations of the shot he wanted to hit.

[Roadking2003]

That's why he's Jordan Speith and you're on the internet complaining about him. It is no where close a sense of entitlement as it is a sense of expectations. He expects to hit shots great each time, anything less is unacceptable. Not because some entity doesn't respect that but because he failed his own expectations of the shot he wanted to hit.

 

Good post. There is nothing about Spieth's actions or words that would indicate he feels entitled. He complains about HIMSELF and his failure to hit the shot he wanted to hit. There is NO entitlement attitude at all.

[ExTrumpet]

I noticed at the SHO where upon missing a putt Spieth berates his caddie with something along the lines of "I TOLD YOU IT DIDN'T BREAK TO THE RIGHT!".

I found this quite funny, since if Jordan actually believed the putt would break less why didn't he simply play the putt that way?

It's very easy to blame others for your shortcomings, and I am starting to see some of that in Spieth. I have a feeling that this player-caddie relationship wont last forever. I could be wrong though, since Bubba still has the same guy on the bag, and he's about 10x worse than Spieth.

 

If I'm looping, my guy has never hit a bad shot. Anything less than perfect is an anomaly. I don't want even a HINT of doubt in my guy's thinking. He IS perfect and the bad bounces were the caddy's fault, the grounds keeper's fault, the weather's fault, etc. And the best caddies know and accept this.

[BlackDiamondPar5]

 

That's why he's Jordan Speith and you're on the internet complaining about him. It is no where close a sense of entitlement as it is a sense of expectations. He expects to hit shots great each time, anything less is unacceptable. Not because some entity doesn't respect that but because he failed his own expectations of the shot he wanted to hit.

 

Best post of the day.

[avrag]

That's why he's Jordan Speith and you're on the internet complaining about him. It is no where close a sense of entitlement as it is a sense of expectations. He expects to hit shots great each time, anything less is unacceptable. Not because some entity doesn't respect that but because he failed his own expectations of the shot he wanted to hit.

 

Good post. There is nothing about Spieth's actions or words that would indicate he feels entitled. He complains about HIMSELF and his failure to hit the shot he wanted to hit. There is NO entitlement attitude at all.

 

So you have never heard him shout "What?" or "How did that bounce that way?" or something similar?

I don't often do, but there are times when I feel like I want to pick a fight on the internet, especially, if it's getting personal, like you did.

Has Spieth already reached the sort of worshipping like Tiger, where it is impossible to say anything negative about him without the fans coming out and insulting anybody who dares to say something even remotely critical?

You know absolutely nothing about me and about the standards I strive to achieve in my own job. But I have never been one who needed external motivation.

I totally understand putting oneself under the biggest pressure and not being satisfied with results, if they don't meet one's own expectations. But I firmly believe that very single one of the top players does that, perhaps with the exception of Rory. And still you don't see them act like Spieth that often. And that's the main point I have said over and over again.

I don't mind cursing, I don't mind club slamming, I don't mind the nonchalant toss of a 3 iron into the pond. As long as it is a singular reaction to a singular bad shot, and with singular I mean once per round, or even once per nine holes. That's something completely different than bitching over every shot which did not come out as desired for a whole round.

 

Oh, and if he has to complain about a dozen shots each round which did not turn out as expectated, perhaps it is time to cut down the expectations, perhaps he is not as good as he thinks.

Have you ever played with somebody who complains about the outcomes of his shots all the time and hits more than one or two or three shots per round which prompt him to do this? I have, and it is not fun. And when that happens I usually think "Get used to it, because that seems to be your normal quality of play."

[MtlJeff]

 

That's why he's Jordan Speith and you're on the internet complaining about him. It is no where close a sense of entitlement as it is a sense of expectations. He expects to hit shots great each time, anything less is unacceptable. Not because some entity doesn't respect that but because he failed his own expectations of the shot he wanted to hit.

 

Best post of the day.

 

I don't think Spieth's "outburts" are bad at all for a guy his age, but I don't think that simply wanting something badly and having high expectations is a reason for a tantrum either. I took that post as more of an insult to the other poster then a defense of Spieth.

 

If a high ranking executive wants a CEO job and doesn't get it, he can't just go and destroy his office, and then say "who are you to judge me, I have high expectations of myself, that's why I'm an executive and you're not"

 

People of any standing should try and hold themselves to standards of behavior

 

Again, this is NOT in reference to Spieth. Just the general idea that a pro should be able to react any way he wants due to high expectations. Why wasn't it fine for Sergio to spit in the cup or helicopter clubs into the water. There are limits

 

 

[MidwestGolfBum]

I noticed at the SHO where upon missing a putt Spieth berates his caddie with something along the lines of "I TOLD YOU IT DIDN'T BREAK TO THE RIGHT!".

I found this quite funny, since if Jordan actually believed the putt would break less why didn't he simply play the putt that way?

It's very easy to blame others for your shortcomings, and I am starting to see some of that in Spieth. I have a feeling that this player-caddie relationship wont last forever. I could be wrong though, since Bubba still has the same guy on the bag, and he's about 10x worse than Spieth.

 

If I'm looping, my guy has never hit a bad shot. Anything less than perfect is an anomaly. I don't want even a HINT of doubt in my guy's thinking. He IS perfect and the bad bounces were the caddy's fault, the grounds keeper's fault, the weather's fault, etc. And the best caddies know and accept this.

 

This. Exactly this. I caddy for a buddy and vice versa when we are in big tournaments (US Open quali and similar) and one doesn't make the cut or isn't playing well at the time. It's well known that we do no wrong when playing and it's obviously something the guy carrying the bag and helping you out did. It makes you feel like you didn't do anything wrong, makes it easier to forget, and let's that bad shot not linger which is exactly what it's for.