Lexi needs mental help….

[OBbogey5]

15 hours ago, nova6868 said:

 

Please take your little spat to private messages, we are here to look at BRUTAL YIPS   😅

 

 

 

Aside, Shows again that the TV views can be deceiving — those straight on views from behind and forward make two or three footers look like 6 inchers 

[Abh159]

The true question is... If you had to choose between Lexi or Will Z to make a 3 footer to save your life, do you go with cremation or a traditional burial? 🤣

 

 

Edited June 27, 2022 by Abh159

[8602081]

10 hours ago, kwcsports said:

I really like Lexi and I hope she gets it figured out. Good luck to her going forward. 

 

I agree..

She's one of my fav players.. I want her to do well. 

She needs to overcome the mental aspect of the game..

 

I think she could easily be dominate player in LPGA, once she figure out the issue..

 

[Ghost of Snead]

4 hours ago, jt2gt said:

She definitely does not subscribe to the Faxon method of continuous motion and maintaining movement in the putter, feet, head and hands.  Not saying she needs to keep it all moving but she basically does the exact opposite on all fronts.  She sets up and then makes that posture move and freezes everything...you can feel the tension through the TV screen after that little lower back/butt posture move she makes.  

 

Exactly why she should see Faxon and start with her setup 

[tbowles411]

8 minutes ago, 8602081 said:

 

I agree..

She's one of my fav players.. I want her to do well. 

She needs to overcome the mental aspect of the game..

 

I think she could easily be dominate player in LPGA, once she figure out the issue..

 

It's hard not to be a fan, but it's just agonizing to see her miss 3 footers, especially when they count.  You find yourself cringing almost willing for them to go in.

[golfortennis]

So, I could be completely wrong about this(my wife says I usually am), but did Thompson play any other sports growing up, or was she all golf all the time?  My personal opinion is that you get your short game touch from playing other sports.  For someone as seemingly athletically gifted as she is, her short game is far too mechanical.  She almost seems to be the type of kid who hit a million balls on the range, maybe did a bit of short game work, but never really learned to feel the short game.  She qualified for the USWO at 12 ffs, so she never really had to worry about it.  Can't help but think playing tennis or some other sport would have helped her develop a feel that, IMHO, is difficult to get just from being at the range all day.

 

Is she a bit of a DJ or Nick Kyrgios in tennis, where they play their sport because their talent allows them to make a lot money relatively easily?  Is she trying to win more other people than for herself?

[ClarkGrswld4]

Sadly has to be known as the biggest choker in golf history, it just continues to happen. Everyone watching knew it was coming too.

[stormbringer]

I would skip Dr. Bob or Faxon and book some time with Langer.  Nobody has battled the yips like he has.  I would also highly recommend a mid or long putter (not anchored of course).  She is way to talented to keep putting like this when it matters. 

[OBbogey5]

Something else that gets little observation is the amount of talking she does right after a shot. I mean, her caddie is earning his money out there. He’s been a good sport in eating it up too.
 

Pre shot, she gets loaded up with information, looks like the usual wind direction and distance to landing target. Over the ball she’s raring to go, then sometimes at contact her feet do completely weird things and the “Lexi Lean” is all too strange. But it’s right after she sees the result, she’s talking away explaining away to her caddie. It’s a lot of verbal description on what’s up. I just think her mind is racing and she needs to tell someone about it. It’s a bit much. Granted, she does this on sub standard shots, and the worse the shot, the more she’s evaluated to discuss.. but,,, I lost my train of thought 

[elwhippy]

I love Lexi but she is a bottler of the highest order. 

[golfortennis]

7 minutes ago, elwhippy said:

I love Lexi but she is a bottler of the highest order. 

 

What on earth does that mean?

[1t2golf]

1 hour ago, golfortennis said:

 

What on earth does that mean?

 

UK term for choking.

[Tanner25]

Well, she has missed em when it counts. But, she must be putting well to always be in contention. 

[golfortennis]

44 minutes ago, 1t2golf said:

 

UK term for choking.

 

Thank you.  The bottle part had me thinking something else for a minute....

[Cwebb]

1 hour ago, Tanner25 said:

Well, she has missed em when it counts. But, she must be putting well to always be in contention. 

 

She leads the tour in greens in regulation

[Yuck]

Bright Side,  very few people on the planet are talented enough to choke to a 2nd place finish in a major.  Ask Greg.

[Playmaker88]

I said yesterday what Woodriff just mentioned....the constant nervous laughter after obvious screwups is REALLY telling of something in the head....I see this from NO other tour player....PGA or LPGA.

[Avidswampthing66]

22 minutes ago, Playmaker88 said:

I said yesterday what Woodriff just mentioned....the constant nervous laughter after obvious screwups is REALLY telling of something in the head....I see this from NO other tour player....PGA or LPGA.

Then there’s Jordan Speith…but that’s a whole other can of worms 

[gioreeko]

I'm basically the same as her. I'll put together some good rounds, and be a few over par with 4 or 5 holes to go. I put too much pressure on myself and pretty much choke down the stretch. It's the same struggles as her, chipping and putting. I have started to use the Paul Runyon palms up grip though, and changed my pre stroke routine to where I take a few strokes above the ball and stay loose, and really focus on the part of the ball I'm going to hit. I never look back at the hole after that, and just go. I've made way more birdie putts lately, and rarely 3 putt. I'm wondering if a change of grip and routine may be the answer for her? It's so hard to watch her at the end of big tournaments. 

[hammergolf]

14 hours ago, Golfingfanatic said:

to me this is sort of a chicken v egg situation. Is it the stuff between the ears that affect technique or is it poor technique that messed with her head over time? 

Completely agree, if it was a technical thing it would effect all her putts and short game. She simply tightens up under pressure. This past week was bad, but the US Open was sooo hard to watch. When she hits back to back short iron shots 20yds short when she had the lead isn’t technical, that’s 100% mental.

[hammergolf]

7 hours ago, golfortennis said:

So, I could be completely wrong about this(my wife says I usually am), but did Thompson play any other sports growing up, or was she all golf all the time?  My personal opinion is that you get your short game touch from playing other sports.  For someone as seemingly athletically gifted as she is, her short game is far too mechanical.  She almost seems to be the type of kid who hit a million balls on the range, maybe did a bit of short game work, but never really learned to feel the short game.  She qualified for the USWO at 12 ffs, so she never really had to worry about it.  Can't help but think playing tennis or some other sport would have helped her develop a feel that, IMHO, is difficult to get just from being at the range all day.

 

Is she a bit of a DJ or Nick Kyrgios in tennis, where they play their sport because their talent allows them to make a lot money relatively easily?  Is she trying to win more other people than for herself?

She’s been nothing but 24/7/365 golf since she was a little girl. Not to mention, in my opinion playing other sports tends to make someone stronger mentally.

Edited June 28, 2022 by hammergolf

[Rapidcat]

She was also home schooled, I wonder what impact that has (if any)?

[Zitlow]

"Expect to make the putt and you're likely to make it, expect to miss the putt and you're likely to miss it" Sun Tzu 

[Argonne69]

9 hours ago, Cwebb said:

 

She leads the tour in greens in regulation

 

...and is 3rd in scrambling at 67%. She obviously doesn't handle the pressure situations, but day to day she's still got game on and around the greens.

 

[MelloYello]

3 hours ago, Argonne69 said:

 

...and is 3rd in scrambling at 67%. She obviously doesn't handle the pressure situations, but day to day she's still got game on and around the greens.

 

 

...and she's 7th in strokes gained putting!

 

What instructor would even want to take up the challenge of Lexi Thompson's major woes?! When a player comes in and shows you great ball-striking, great scrambling and great putting...what can you do?!

 

In reality, I think it's a lot of scar tissue. Combine bad memories with worrying about what the crowd thinks and it's a recipe for distraction. 

 

As others have pointed out, it's clear she's nervous and you feel as though she's expecting something bad to happen on those short ones. To me, that signals she's not playing her own golf in those moments. 

 

IDK what could be said to her. I know for me, it helped to acknowledged that the tricky short ones were actually hard. Once I acknowledged that (for me) those tricky short putts were the hardest shots in the game, I felt more grounded. I stopped worrying about what others said. It doesn't help to hear "those are easy" or "it's all mental."

 

She's been able to do it in normal tournaments but not yet in a major. So what? Keep trying. There's no magic fix. 

[woodriff]

11 hours ago, gioreeko said:

I'm basically the same as her. I'll put together some good rounds, and be a few over par with 4 or 5 holes to go. I put too much pressure on myself and pretty much choke down the stretch. It's the same struggles as her, chipping and putting. I have started to use the Paul Runyon palms up grip though, and changed my pre stroke routine to where I take a few strokes above the ball and stay loose, and really focus on the part of the ball I'm going to hit. I never look back at the hole after that, and just go. I've made way more birdie putts lately, and rarely 3 putt. I'm wondering if a change of grip and routine may be the answer for her? It's so hard to watch her at the end of big tournaments. 

Yup. Faxon is the key for mechanics. 
In competition at our home club I always hooked on the same par 5 into trouble. It was a pre determined thinking. My teacher took the driver out of my hand and had me hit a 5 wood. Gave me a completely different perspective on the hole. 5 wood then a hybrid. Changed the hole into a par or birdie for me. 
I think every player is different, but with Lexi every thought changes from 50 yards in. I was never a great putter but had good mechanics and I knew that all I needed to put well was practice. 
Zalatoris and Mayfair have controlled their strokes and do the same thing on every stroke. They repeat and repeat the bad stroke time after time and have had success. 
Lexi has tried a number of things, but I still believe a standard grip, and stroke would show benefits. 

Edited June 28, 2022 by woodriff

[bodmanza]

19 hours ago, OBbogey5 said:

Aside, Shows again that the TV views can be deceiving — those straight on views from behind and forward make two or three footers look like 6 inchers 

Too true, I always did think this was 10-12" but now see it was a bit longer. Still brutal to watch.

 

As a fellow golfer who plays choose your adventure with the putter face, I can empathize. Except I don't practice hours every week on it, I suppose.

[khalespace]

Everyone wants Lexi to play well, even the Koreans, because a tour dominated by Koreans will not do well in the long term. Hope she can improve her mental strength and close out more tournaments.

[Playmaker88]

13 hours ago, Avidswampthing66 said:

Then there’s Jordan Speith…but that’s a whole other can of worms 

OMG....don't get me started on Jordan Spaz...it DRIVES ME CRAZY listening to his running commentary after EVERY errant shot or missed putt....if I was his caddie, I'd have to be on some pretty good dope.  It all seemed to start on that arrant tee shot at the British Open that ended up over a hiil down by the porta potties...I still can still picture him running around like he lost his head and he was looking for it.

Edited June 28, 2022 by Playmaker88

[OrangeGravy]

2 hours ago, MelloYello said:

 

...and she's 7th in strokes gained putting!

 

What instructor would even want to take up the challenge of Lexi Thompson's major woes?! When a player comes in and shows you great ball-striking, great scrambling and great putting...what can you do?!

 

In reality, I think it's a lot of scar tissue. Combine bad memories with worrying about what the crowd thinks and it's a recipe for distraction. 

 

As others have pointed out, it's clear she's nervous and you feel as though she's expecting something bad to happen on those short ones. To me, that signals she's not playing her own golf in those moments. 

 

IDK what could be said to her. I know for me, it helped to acknowledged that the tricky short ones were actually hard. Once I acknowledged that (for me) those tricky short putts were the hardest shots in the game, I felt more grounded. I stopped worrying about what others said. It doesn't help to hear "those are easy" or "it's all mental."

 

She's been able to do it in normal tournaments but not yet in a major. So what? Keep trying. There's no magic fix. 

She hasn't a normal tournament for years either.  It's not just a major thing, it's a golf thing. She's expecting to choke. 

At this point, everyone knows she's gonna miss the critical putts or chips/pitches. She knows everyone expects it and she knows we know, that she knows.