Opinion & Analysis
Hank Haney believes Jordan Spieth has the yips, but this is why he’s entirely wrong
Speaking to ESPN.com, Tiger Woods’ former coach Hank Haney pulled no punches while discussing his reasons behind Jordan Spieth’s lack of form, blaming his current state on a case of the “yips.” Talking to the broadcaster, Haney stated that
“When I watch him putt, he visibly has the yips. You watch his hands on short putts and there is a tremor in there. I don’t care if the putt goes in or doesn’t. He was center cut on his first putt at the Ryder Cup. But his hands were shaking. He had to miss more short putts than anybody on Tour.”
Although Haney’s take will go unnoticed by many, who have had the prevailing opinion that Spieth’s issues are all green-related drilled into their heads, the view is in fact at best uninformed and at worst lazy. The Texan’s putting has not been the issue since the first part of 2018, yet the belief in the golfing world that Spieth now has the yips has grown legs like a fine Bordeaux.
The reality is that over his previous 32 rounds, or last eight events on the PGA Tour if you like, where strokes gained statistics are recorded, Spieth has gained strokes over the field with the flat-stick in seven of them.
An even closer study, concerning form within the ‘yip range’, i.e. inside five feet, shows that in the same period Spieth is currently one of the best. Entering this week’s Sony Open, the 25-year-old sits eight in the 144 man field for strokes gained putting inside five feet. Not too shabby for someone with the yips, right?
Extending that view, in his last nine events, Spieth stands 26th in this week’s field in strokes gained putting from 5-10 feet, and an impressive sixth from the 10-15 feet range. While in the overall picture, the three-time major champ sits 18th in this week’s field for strokes gained putting over the same period.
The view that Spieth has acquired and currently has the putting yips is an uninformed take that is surprising to hear from such a successful swing coach as Hank Haney.
Instead, Spieth’s current issues look to revolve around his long game, having lost strokes to the field in six out of his last eight events off the tee. A problem which Spieth acknowledged as much this Wednesday while preparing for the Sony Open.
“Last year I was really off with the putting the first half of the year; that started to get better and then the swing got off.”
Another reason for his winless streak looks to be from his long-distance putting. In 2015, when Spieth dominated, his putting from 15-25 feet was off the charts. The Texan made an inordinate amount of putts from distance in that period, while in his last 50 rounds, Spieth sits a lowly 133rd in this week’s field for strokes gained putting from 15-20 feet and 113th from 20-25 feet. To say his form on the greens from those ranges has been off in recent times would be fair, while to say that Spieth has the putting yips would be obtusely inaccurate.
Spieth’s putting has not been an issue since May, and the American has already acknowledged that his stroke was off for the opening months of 2018. Yet the false narrative that he can no longer putt that is still banded around by so many talking heads in the world of golf today is both baffling and insulting.
To these people, including Haney, let me refer to what the man himself had to say while he was responding to questions this week over the current state of his game.
“I know what’s wrong with Jordan Spieth, and I know what’s right with Jordan Spieth.”
The constant and lazy criticism of Spieth’s putting, since he isn’t holing everything he looks at currently, appears to have killed any of the joy that the 25-year-old once portrayed while competing at the grandest stages. Golf’s freewheeling golden boy from 2015 now looks closer to resembling Atlas from ancient Greece than ever before; the Titan forced to hold the entire world on his shoulders for eternity.
Though we may not be in ancient Greece now, Spieth is a Titan in the world of golf, with more wins on the PGA Tour than any other player in the last 30 years before the age of 26 besides Woods, and is too talented and intelligent not to discover how to throw off the shackles of whatever is ailing him on the course.
Spieth’s task, however, would be much easier to achieve if those with the platform stopped wrongly persecuting the three-time major champion for his performance on the greens.
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My golf learning began with this simple fact – if you don’t have a fundamentally sound hold on the golf club, it is practically impossible for your body to execute a fundamentally sound golf swing. I’m still a big believer that the golf swing is much easier to execute if you begin with the proper hold on the club.
As you might imagine, I come into contact with hundreds of golfers of all skill levels. And it is very rare to see a good player with a bad hold on the golf club. There are some exceptions, for sure, but they are very few and very far between, and they typically have beat so many balls with their poor grip that they’ve found a way to work around it.
The reality of biophysics is that the body moves only in certain ways – and the particulars of the way you hold the golf club can totally prevent a sound swing motion that allows the club to release properly through the impact zone. The wonderful thing is that anyone can learn how to put a fundamentally sound hold on the golf club, and you can practice it anywhere your hands are not otherwise engaged, like watching TV or just sitting and relaxing.
Whether you prefer an overlap, interlock or full-finger (not baseball!) grip on the club, the same fundamentals apply. Here are the major grip faults I see most often, in the order of the frequency:
Mis-aligned hands
By this I mean that the palms of the two hands are not parallel to each other. Too many golfers have a weak left hand and strong right, or vice versa. The easiest way to learn how to hold the club with your palms aligned properly is to grip a plain wooden ruler or yardstick. It forces the hands to align properly and shows you how that feels. If you grip and re-grip a yardstick several times, then grip a club, you’ll see that the learning curve is almost immediate.
The position of the grip in the upper/left hand
I also observe many golfers who have the butt of the grip too far into the heel pad of the upper hand (the left hand for right-handed players). It’s amazing how much easier it is to release the club through the ball if even 1/4-1/2″ of the butt is beyond the left heel pad. Try this yourself to see what I mean. Swing the club freely with just your left hand and notice the difference in its release from when you hold it at the end of the grip, versus gripping down even a half inch.
To help you really understand how this works, go to the range and hit shots with your five-iron gripped down a full inch to make the club the same length as your seven-iron. You will probably see an amazing shot shape difference, and likely not see as much distance loss as you would expect.
Too much lower (right) hand on the club
It seems like almost all golfers of 8-10 handicap or higher have the club too far into the palm of the lower hand, because that feels “good” if you are trying to control the path of the clubhead to the ball. But the golf swing is not an effort to hit at the ball – it is a swing of the club. The proper hold on the club has the grip underneath the pad at the base of the fingers. This will likely feel “weak” to you — like you cannot control the club like that. EXACTLY. You should not be trying to control the club with your lower/master hand.
Gripping too tightly
Nearly all golfers hold the club too tightly, which tenses up the forearms and prevents a proper release of the club through impact. In order for the club to move back and through properly, you must feel that the club is controlled by the last three fingers of the upper hand, and the middle two fingers of the lower hand. If you engage your thumbs and forefingers in “holding” the club, the result will almost always be a grip that is too tight. Try this for yourself. Hold the club in your upper hand only, and squeeze firmly with just the last three fingers, with the forefinger and thumb off the club entirely. You have good control, but your forearms are not tense. Then begin to squeeze down with your thumb and forefinger and observe the tensing of the entire forearm. This is the way we are made, so the key to preventing tenseness in the arms is to hold the club very lightly with the “pinchers” — the thumbs and forefingers.
So, those are what I believe are the four fundamentals of a good grip. Anyone can learn them in their home or office very quickly. There is no easier way to improve your ball striking consistency and add distance than giving more attention to the way you hold the golf club.
More from the Wedge Guy
- The Wedge Guy: Golf mastery begins with your wedge game
- The Wedge Guy: Why golf is 20 times harder than brain surgery
- The Wedge Guy: Musings on the golf ball rollback
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As the Florida swing comes to an end, the PGA Tour makes its way to Houston to play the Texas Children’s Houston Open at Memorial Park Golf Course.
This will be the fourth year that Memorial Park Golf Course will serve as the tournament host. The event did not take place in 2023, but the course hosted the event in 2020, 2021 and 2022.
Memorial Park is a par-70 layout measuring 7,432 yards and features Bermudagrass greens. Historically, the main defense for the course has been thick rough along the fairways and tightly mown runoff areas around the greens. Memorial Park has a unique setup that features three Par 5’s and five Par 3’s.
The field will consist of 132 players, with the top 65 and ties making the cut. There are some big names making the trip to Houston, including Scottie Scheffler, Wyndham Clark, Tony Finau, Will Zalatoris and Sahith Theegala.
Past Winners at Memorial Park
- 2022: Tony Finau (-16)
- 2021: Jason Kokrak (-10)
- 2020: Carlos Ortiz (-13)
In this article and going forward, I’ll be using the Rabbit Hole by Betsperts Golf data engine to develop my custom model. If you want to build your own model or check out all of the detailed stats, you can sign up using promo code: MATTVIN for 25% off any subscription package (yearly is best value).
Key Stats For Memorial Park
Let’s take a look at several metrics for Memorial Park to determine which golfers boast top marks in each category over their last 24 rounds:
Strokes Gained: Approach
Memorial Park is a pretty tough golf course. Golfers are penalized for missing greens and face some difficult up and downs to save par. Approach will be key.
Total Strokes Gained: Approach per round in past 24 rounds:
- Tom Hoge (+1.30)
- Scottie Scheffler (+1.26)
- Keith Mitchell (+0.97)
- Tony Finau (+0.92)
- Jake Knapp (+0.84)
Strokes Gained: Off the Tee
Memorial Park is a long golf course with rough that can be penal. Therefore, a combination of distance and accuracy is the best metric.
Total Strokes Gained: Off the Tee per round in past 24 rounds:
- Scottie Scheffler (+0.94)
- Kevin Dougherty (+0.93)
- Cameron Champ (+0.86)
- Rafael Campos (+0.84)
- Si Woo Kim (+0.70)
Strokes Gained Putting: Bermudagrass + Fast
The Bermudagrass greens played fairly fast the past few years in Houston. Jason Kokrak gained 8.7 strokes putting on his way to victory in 2021 and Tony Finau gained in 7.8 in 2022.
Total Strokes Gained Putting (Bermudagrass) per round past 24 rounds (min. 8 rounds):
- Adam Svensson (+1.27)
- Harry Hall (+1.01)
- Martin Trainer (+0.94)
- Taylor Montgomery (+0.88)
- S.H. Kim (+0.86)
Strokes Gained: Around the Green
With firm and undulating putting surfaces, holding the green on approach shots may prove to be a challenge. Memorial Park has many tightly mowed runoff areas, so golfers will have challenging up-and-down’s around the greens. Carlos Ortiz gained 5.7 strokes around the green on the way to victory in 2020.
Total Strokes Gained: Around the Green per round in past 24 rounds:
- Mackenzie Hughes (+0.76)
- S.H. Kim (+0.68)
- Scottie Scheffler (+0.64)
- Jorge Campillo (+0.62)
- Jason Day (+0.60)
Strokes Gained: Long and Difficult
Memorial Park is a long and difficult golf course. This statistic will incorporate players who’ve had success on these types of tracks in the past.
Total Strokes Gained: Long and Difficult in past 24 rounds:
- Scottie Scheffler (+2.45)
- Ben Griffin (+1.75)
- Will Zalatoris (+1.73)
- Ben Taylor (+1.53)
- Tony Finau (+1.42)
Course History
Here are the players who have performed the most consistently at Memorial Park.
Strokes Gained Total at Memorial Park past 12 rounds:
- Tyson Alexander (+3.65)
- Ben Taylor (+3.40)
- Tony Finau (+2.37)
- Joel Dahmen (+2.25)
- Patton Kizzire (+2.16)
Statistical Model
Below, I’ve reported overall model rankings using a combination of the five key statistical categories previously discussed.
These rankings are comprised of SG: App (24%) SG: OTT (24%); SG: Putting Bermudagrass/Fast (13%); SG: Long and Difficult (13%); SG: ARG (13%) and Course History (13%)
- Scottie Scheffler
- Wyndham Clark
- Tony Finau
- Joel Dahmen
- Stephan Jaeger
- Aaron Rai
- Sahith Theegala
- Keith Mitchell
- Jhonnatan Vegas
- Jason Day
- Kurt Kitayama
- Alex Noren
- Will Zalatoris
- Si Woo Kim
- Adam Long
2024 Texas Children’s Houston Open Picks
Will Zalatoris +2000 (Caesars)
Scottie Scheffler will undoubtedly be difficult to beat this week, so I’m starting my card with someone who I believe has the talent to beat him if he doesn’t have his best stuff.
Will Zalatoris missed the cut at the PLAYERS, but still managed to gain strokes on approach while doing so. In an unpredictable event with extreme variance, I don’t believe it would be wise to discount Zalatoris based on that performance. Prior to The PLAYERS, the 27-year-old finished T13, T2 and T4 in his previous three starts.
Zalatoris plays his best golf on long and difficult golf courses. In his past 24 rounds, he ranks 3rd in the category, but the eye test also tells a similar story. He’s contended at major championships and elevated events in the best of fields with tough scoring conditions. The Texas resident should be a perfect fit at Memorial Park Golf Club.
Alex Noren +4500 (FanDuel)
Alex Noren has been quietly playing some of his best golf of the last half decade this season. The 41-year-old is coming off back-to-back top-20 finishes in Florida including a T9 at The PLAYERS in his most recent start.
In his past 24 rounds, Noren ranks 21st in the field in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee, 30th in Strokes Gained: Around the Green, 25th in Strokes Gained: Total on long and difficult courses and 21st in Strokes Gained: Putting on fast Bermudagrass greens.
In addition to his strong recent play, the Swede also has played well at Memorial Park. In 2022, Noren finished T4 at the event, gaining 2.2 strokes off the tee and 7.0 strokes on approach for the week. In his two starts at the course, he’s gained an average of .6 strokes per round on the field, indicating he is comfortable on these greens.
Noren has been due for a win for what feels like an eternity, but Memorial Park may be the course that suits him well enough for him to finally get his elusive first PGA Tour victory.
Mackenzie Hughes +8000 (FanDuel)
Mackenzie Hughes found himself deep into contention at last week’s Valspar Championship before faltering late and finishing in a tie for 3rd place. While he would have loved to win the event, it’s hard to see the performance as anything other than an overwhelming positive sign for the Canadian.
Hughes has played great golf at Memorial Park in the past. He finished T7 in 2020, T29 in 2021 and T16 in 2022. The course fit seems to be quite strong for Hughes. He’s added distance off the tee in the past year or and ranks 8th in the field for apex height, which will be a key factor when hitting into Memorial Park’s elevated greens with steep run-off areas.
In his past 24 rounds, Hughes is the best player in the field in Strokes Gained: Around the Greens. The ability to scramble at this course will be extremely important. I believe Hughes can build off of his strong finish last week and contend once again to cement himself as a President’s Cup consideration.
Akshay Bhatia +8000 (FanDuel)
Akshay Bhatia played well last week at the Valspar and seemed to be in total control of his golf ball. He finished in a tie for 17th and shot an impressive -3 on a difficult Sunday. After struggling Thursday, Akshay shot 68-70-68 in his next three rounds.
Thus far, Bhatia has played better at easier courses, but his success at Copperhead may be due to his game maturing. The 22-year-old has enormous potential and the raw talent to be one of the best players in the world when he figures it all out.
Bhatia is a high upside play with superstar qualities and may just take the leap forward to the next stage of his career in the coming months.
Cameron Champ +12000 (FanDuel)
Cameron Champ is a player I often target in the outright betting market due to his “boom-or-bust” nature. It’s hard to think of a player in recent history with three PGA Tour wins who’s been as inconsistent as Champ has over the course of his career.
Despite the erratic play, Cam Champ simply knows how to win. He’s won in 2018, 2019 and 2021, so I feel he’s due for a win at some point this season. The former Texas A&M product should be comfortable in Texas and last week he showed us that his game is in a pretty decent spot.
Over his past 24 rounds, Champ ranks 3rd in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee and 30th in Strokes Gained: Total on long and difficult courses. Given his ability to spike at any given time, Memorial Park is a good golf course to target Champ on at triple digit odds.
Robert MacIntyre +12000 (FanDuel)
The challenge this week is finding players who can possibly beat Scottie Scheffler while also not dumping an enormous amount of money into an event that has a player at the top that looks extremely dangerous. Enter McIntyre, who’s another boom-or-bust type player who has the ceiling to compete with anyone when his game is clicking on all cylinders.
In his past 24 rounds, MacIntyre ranks 16th in the field in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee, 17th in Strokes Gained: Around the Green and 10th in Strokes Gained: Total on long and difficult courses.
MacIntyre’s PGA Tour season has gotten off to a slow start, but he finished T6 in Mexico, which is a course where players will hit driver on the majority of their tee shots, which is what we will see at Memorial Park. Texas can also get quite windy, which should suit MacIntyre. Last July, the Scot went toe to toe with Rory McIlroy at the Scottish Open before a narrow defeat. It would take a similar heroic effort to compete with Scheffler this year in Houston.
Ryan Moore +15000 (FanDuel)
Ryan Moore’s iron play has been absolutely unconscious over his past few starts. At The PLAYERS Championship in a loaded field, he gained 6.1 strokes on approach and last week at Copperhead, he gained 9.0 strokes on approach.
It’s been a rough handful of years on Tour for the 41-year-old, but he is still a five-time winner on the PGA Tour who’s young enough for a career resurgence. Moore has chronic deterioration in a costovertebral joint that connects the rib to the spine, but has been getting more consistent of late, which is hopefully a sign that he is getting healthy.
Veterans have been contending in 2024 and I believe taking a flier on a proven Tour play who’s shown signs of life is a wise move at Memorial Park.
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B.F. Skinner was one of the most important psychologists of the 20th century, developing the foundation of the development of reinforcement, and in doing so, creating the concept of behaviorism. In simple terms, this means that we are conditioned by our habits. In practical terms, it explains the divide between the few and far between elite instructors and college coaches.
To understand the application, let’s quickly review one of B.F. Skinner’s most important experiments; superstitions in the formation of behavior by pigeons. In this experiment, food was dispensed to pigeons at random intervals. Soon, according to Skinner, the pigeons began to associate whatever action they were doing at the time of the food being dispensed. According to Skinner, this conditioned that response and soon, they simply haphazardly repeated the action, failing to distinguish between cause and correlation (and in the meantime, looking really funny!).
Now, this is simply the best way to describe the actions of most every women’s college golf coach and too many instructors in America. They see something work, get positive feedback and then become conditioned to give the feedback, more and more, regardless of if it works (this is also why tips from your buddies never work!).
Go to a college event, particularly a women’s one, and you will see coaches running all over the place. Like the pigeons in the experiment, they have been conditioned into a codependent relationship with their players in which they believe their words and actions, can transform a round of golf. It is simply hilarious while being equally perturbing
In junior golf, it’s everywhere. Junior golf academies make a living selling parents that a hysterical coach and over-coaching are essential ingredients in your child’s success.
Let’s be clear, no one of any intellect has any real interest in golf — because it’s not that interesting. The people left, including most coaches and instructors, carve out a small fiefdom, usually on the corner of the range, where they use the illusion of competency to pray on people. In simple terms, they baffle people with the bullshit of pseudo-science that they can make you better, after just one more lesson.
The reality is that life is an impromptu game. The world of golf, business, and school have a message that the goal is being right. This, of course, is bad advice, being right in your own mind is easy, trying to push your ideas on others is hard. As a result, it is not surprising that the divorce rate among golf professionals and their instructors is 100 percent. The transfer rate among college players continues to soar, and too many courses have a guy peddling nefarious science to good people. In fact, we do at my course!
The question is, what impact does all this have on college-age and younger kids? At this point, we honestly don’t know. However, I am going to go out on a limb and say it isn’t good.
Soren Kierkegaard once quipped “I saw it for what it is, and I laughed.” The actions of most coaches and instructors in America are laughable. The problem is that I am not laughing because they are doing damage to kids, as well as driving good people away from this game.
The fact is that golfers don’t need more tips, secrets, or lessons. They need to be presented with a better understanding of the key elements of golf. With this understanding, they can then start to frame which information makes sense and what doesn’t. This will emancipate them and allow them to take charge of their own development.
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Charles Panco
Jan 15, 2019 at 7:41 am
The “journalist” is completely wrong. Stats are entirely different from the yips. Perhaps the “journalist” should leave his desk and Google in order to discover facts on his own before writing such articles.
jim
Jan 12, 2019 at 8:06 pm
When Jordan was winning regularly,he would pick his club,line up his shot and hit it.Now it takes him forever to hit his shot.I really think he’s thinking too much.
Patricknorm
Jan 12, 2019 at 3:15 pm
Hank Haney is correct because; Hank did have the yips; with his driver. I knew Lance Armstrong was dirty I too took EPO. So those of you giving Haney such negativity, he knows from where he comes. In fact the same could said for Rory Mcilroy who used to make everything but know struggles on the greens.
My take is that things came so easily for Spieth and McIlroy that now that they have grown into their bodies , there are adjustments and these young guys are trying to figure it out.
frank cichon
Jan 13, 2019 at 3:08 am
I have been saying for the last 18 months that Rory has the yips. I am not sure that Rory made everything he looked at when he was winning. As for Jordan he had 2-2 1/2 years of making just about everything he looked at. No one can sustain that for any length of time. I think that Rory had success because his game what GOOD…DISTANCE and great iron play and the putting
was (as the saying) goes just par for the course. If Rory wants to win all the majors he MUST putt better (his wedge play is fair to good at best. Rory MUST get a world class caddy that can control the 6 inches between the ears and one that CAN read greens, because IMO Rory is poor at reading greens.
Scheiss
Jan 12, 2019 at 2:13 pm
He’s laying pipe now that he’s got a woman and every guy goes thru that slump due to lack of energy from too much humping. That’s all it is
Ernie Happala
Jan 12, 2019 at 12:54 pm
You leave out the one stat that blows up your article, under 5 feet in 2018, way to make the numbers match your opinion. I am not a fan of Haney, have personally argued with him at a PGA Summit, but to completely ignore that stat is a slap to the face of a lot of passionate and intelligent members of GOLFWRX. Maybe it’s your opinion that is incorrect, present your argument with ALL the statistics and let the reader decide, leave the slanted journalism to CNN and Fox…
James Glenn
Jan 12, 2019 at 3:40 am
Having the yips, and missing putts — as Haney implied clearly — are not mutually inclusive. No-one can miss the hole from two feet on tour greens without something happening. Speith stopped holing an ungodly percentage of putts from 15-25 feet and thuan he became a mortal once more. He’s a hell of a player, but something is indeed going on inside of 5 feet there.
I’m a PhD in Sport Marketing and an amateur golfer that plays off of +4 — I think I’m just as qualified to weigh in as someone with a bachelors in Sports Journalism.
Brad
Jan 12, 2019 at 2:30 am
pretty ignorant to think this writer thinks he knows more than hank. people don’t like it when people speak the truth and hank does just that. he has done endless studies on the yips. the yips is seen as the word you don’t say in golf, no tv commentator will ever say it. its not a death sentence like many people think, it can be over came and jordan looking at the hole is already one unconventional way of doing it. hank is a huge jordan spieth fan and people don’t like to hear the truth like it is.
Scratchscorer
Jan 11, 2019 at 10:22 pm
Hank Haney is wrong. Jordan is struggling with the long game and putting better than 3/4 of the best players in the world. Only someone desperate for attention would claim he has the yips. His ‘hot take’ should be ignored entirely.
AggOwl
Jan 11, 2019 at 4:28 pm
Evidently the author doesn’t understand Haney’s point. “You watch his hands… there is a tremor… I don’t care if the putt goes in …. his hands were shaking”.
Haney as one of the most successful and respected teachers, ever, is giving an opinion of the mechanics he sees in the stroke. The author uses data and statistics to dispute Haney’s opinion of the mechanics and has totally missed the point.
Obee
Jan 11, 2019 at 6:33 pm
Exactly. Read one of my responses below. I literally cannot hit a put with ONLY my right hand without my right hand spasming out of control as I approach impact. With NOTHING on the line, on a practice putting green.
If I turn my hand into the “claw” grip with that hand, VOILA, tremor gone.
There’s something strange going on, and science is only beginning to understand it.
Mike C
Jan 11, 2019 at 6:44 pm
Do you see a tremor? I think Haney is the only person who can see his hands shaking.
Brad
Jan 12, 2019 at 2:33 am
would he not be one of the most qualified to do so ?
Bra
Jan 13, 2019 at 7:28 pm
I believe a doctor would be the most qualified to diagnose a tremor.
Haney is getting older and likely can’t see as well as he used to. To my much younger eyes, I can’t see a “tremor” or shaking when Speith is putting, and I’ve checked out several recent videos of his putting. In fact, his hands look steady eddie.
ButchT
Jan 11, 2019 at 4:24 pm
Thanks, Gianni. It is good to see thought provoking articles – whether I personally agree with them or not. If you did not have a degree in sports journalism, some here would be criticizing you for that! Disagreeing with someone in a civil manner is pretty much a thing of the past.
Roy
Jan 11, 2019 at 3:54 pm
Poorly written – with the exception of distance putting there is no pre/post comparison. Current performance alone offers no proof as to whether he does or does not have the yips. Its like saying “I cant be an alcoholic, I work 40 hours a week” . If I used to work 60 hours a week, maybe Im drinking in the free 20 hours a week now???
Jerry
Jan 11, 2019 at 3:38 pm
Spieth has been yipping his driver under pressure. When he won at Hartford he pulled his drive dead left on both 17 and 18 barely stopping before the water (I believe he even tried using a 3 wood.) He then pulled his drive dead left again on 18 in the playoff and luckily hit a tree and stopped him from going in the water. He was fortunate that he then hit his second shot into the bunker and holed out from the bunker. It sure looks like he yipped his tee shots.
Prut
Jan 11, 2019 at 2:26 pm
3-foot putts have always been Spieth’s nemesis. Even when he was making everything outside 10 feet he was missing short ones.
Ernie Els
Jan 11, 2019 at 2:09 pm
It’s hard to putt when you have snakes in your head”
Haney and the golf ‘shrinks’ won’t help.
Should spend as much time with fellow Texan Ben Crenshaw as he cab
PGA Pro & Board Certified MSc Therapist
Jan 11, 2019 at 2:05 pm
Haney ain’t never been right. Screwed more players up than he ever fixed & should have been DISBARRED & SUED for malpractice for what he did to Woods – instead of teaching him a couple of obviously needed changes to stop tearing up his body halfway through his career (He actually knows nothing about functional human anatomy – especially AFTER INJURIES HAVE OCCURRED) but instead tried to make visible changes to say “look, I fixed TW” NO little tweaks on grip & takeaway that ruled the planet for 10 yrs – stuff he hadn’t thought of since he was 5 – were what that man needed.
Haney is a made up guru of caca but a great marketer
Jeff
Jan 11, 2019 at 2:02 pm
Don’t bring fine Bordeaux into your garbage article. It deserves better than that.
Dlamb
Jan 11, 2019 at 2:00 pm
Haney trying to remain relevant in a world that has forgotten him!
Jerry G
Jan 11, 2019 at 1:56 pm
If you did not know, Hank has the yips, especially an unusual case of driver yips, so anyone whose short game or putting goes south has the yips in Hank’s view. First, it was Tiger, now it’s Jordan. I wonder what Jordan said about Hank at a cocktail party that got back to Hank.
You know what happens? Tiger or Jordan change a technique, gain more confidence, etc. IOW, they overcome and the so-called yips OR the lack of confidence misdiagnosed as yips, goes away.
Hank must have felt lignored for a while, and needed to see his name in the limelight again.
A. Commoner
Jan 11, 2019 at 1:26 pm
Shabby journalism. Grade of D minus on this essay.
Rob
Jan 11, 2019 at 1:14 pm
I think he’s lost confidence, some of which dates back to Birkdale when he took way too long on the 4th RD 13th and probably took an improper drop. He was given leeway by the official because of who he is. I think he knows that and it’s bothering him. BUT his real prob is his awful grip on full shots, you can’t make putts if you are too far from the hole !!!
Stephe Pearcy
Jan 11, 2019 at 1:14 pm
I believe it is not putting that’s Spieth’s issue unless you believe that unreal putting performance from long range was going to be the strength of his game. Physics pretty much dictates that no one is going to be able to consistently sink long range putts so, if he was counting on that, he’s in trouble. But I don’t believe he is and, since the statistics say his putting is not the problem, I believe Spieth knows exactly where it is – the long game. And, he’ll get it back, though dominating now, with the many, many superior players coming into the game, with be very, very difficult.
Dave
Jan 11, 2019 at 8:18 pm
+1. It will be hard, but he can scrape it as well as anyone. Unlikely to putt like 2015, but grinds in majors pretty damn well for someone so young.
Mrs Haney
Jan 11, 2019 at 1:03 pm
Hank is right…..again.
Funkaholic
Jan 11, 2019 at 1:35 pm
Haney is an idiot.
golf golf golf
Jan 11, 2019 at 2:58 pm
Truth
Dave r
Jan 11, 2019 at 12:52 pm
Most people making comments on here never had the yips I’ve had the yips lasted for 2years and I could not even pull the putter back to start a stroke ,they are not fun . Short putts are the hardest putts to make because you should make them never had a problem with long putts. This young man will figure it out he is probably the best long and lag putter out there . Mr Haney has his points and should just leave it at that no need to say anything about the problems unless he is asked by Jorden. Mr Haney is a good teacher and should stick to teaching not reporting.
Tom
Jan 11, 2019 at 12:47 pm
Haney is a wacko….nuff said!
Vance
Jan 11, 2019 at 12:41 pm
Only Jordon can say if it’s the yips or not. What are the yips? Fear of failure. Some observations, Jordon was maybe the best putter ever from 25-foot range, it was not going to be possible for him to continue that stellar putting forever. Jordon said that he could tell when another player was struggling with his putting as they followed the ball rather than keeping their head still. Jordon is following the ball. I do believe if he is going to win any more majors, he better start knocking those wedges stiff, the 25 foot putt days are over.
Obee
Jan 11, 2019 at 5:07 pm
The yips are “fear of failure.” Thanks, Doctor.
Have you ever had them?
Here’s how wrong you are: I’ve had the yips for 20 years. I had no idea how to cure them all that time. I would listen to people like you who minimized them and I would carry on. But I always had them, even when I was playing my best.
Then one day I read an article about how putting with the claw can completely remove them for some people and I tried it. INSTANT CURE.
I cannot putt a ball with my bottom (right) hand only without my hand spasming so bad that it’s visible to the naked eye. I realized this one day when trying to putt with only one hand (a drill that some instructors recommend). It was hilarious. I literally could not hit a single put, regardless of length, without my hand spasming prior to impact.
A year later, after adopting the claw, I thought I’d try it again with just one hand. Maybe my brain had been re-wired. Tried it with my hand in a “normal” position and it was like I got electrocuted, spasm city. Grabbed the club with my right hand in the “paint brush” position (the “claw grip that I use”) and VOILA. I can putt one-handed with no yipping.
There is something very, very real happening there that has NOTHING to do with fear.
Wes
Jan 11, 2019 at 6:58 pm
AGREE!! This is dead on accurate!
24Linc
Jan 12, 2019 at 9:58 pm
Totally agree. There are “yips” and there are yips. If you have the real yips you can’t putt, chip or full swing without spasming sometimes even when you are not under pressure. Yes pressure makes it worse but doesn’t not cause it. It’s a miscommunication from the brain. You can retrain it but takes a lot of effort or you can use a different grip, motion etc to trick your brain.
dixiedoc
Jan 11, 2019 at 12:26 pm
Yips or no yips he just looks twitchy all the time. Never settled or confident. He didn’t use exhibit those qualities
MR Common Sense
Jan 11, 2019 at 12:22 pm
JS does not have the yips. Spank haney is an idiot in this regard. Although I respect him and what he’s done, he’s wrong here. When Jordan starts looking at the hole again, he’ll make EVERYTHING, just wait.
Obee
Jan 11, 2019 at 6:31 pm
Anybody who putts cross-handed and THEN resorts to putting while looking at the hole has had the yips. JS has had, and will continue to struggle with the yips until he does something to overcome his current bout, he will continue to suffer.
If he starts looking at the hole again — if he starts making everything again — it will be because looking at the hole calms his yips.
Most of you people who don’t have, or never have had, the yips just do not get it.
Watch Mackey Sasser, Steve Sax. Rick Ankiel, Chuck Knoblauch, Markelle Fultz — all from other sports.
The yips are a thing. They happen. Nobody wants them, they come unbidden. They are not caused by “poor mechanics” or “caring too much.” Find a few friends who have suffered. Talk to them. Learn a bit.
Jose Pinatas
Jan 11, 2019 at 12:02 pm
Yippie dudda, yippie yie eh……. Speith can’t make a putt from 3 to 5 feet,,,Hey..
TheCityGame
Jan 11, 2019 at 11:39 am
You are cherry picking statistics. 5-10 feet? 10-15 feet? The yips affect people on short putts and last year Spieth was 128th on putts inside of 5 feet.
2019, it’s still too early to tell. We’re still at a stage where the top guys are at 100%.
Obee
Jan 11, 2019 at 5:11 pm
Hey, bud, they also affect people on long putts and uphill putts sometimes. I’ve had both kinds over the years. More so the longer ones than the short, actually.
Jolonda
Jan 11, 2019 at 11:35 am
The last paragraph states that Spieth’s task to play better will be much easier if his performance on the greens will stop be criticized. That is false. Spieth playing better has nothing to do with what Haney or anyone else says. That is simply up to him to fix whatever ails him and perform better. That being said, I do agree that Jordan’s real issue is that he hits a lot of offline and strange shots for someone of his caliber—it is his ball striking from distance that lets him down.
GMatt
Jan 11, 2019 at 11:29 am
I think I’d trust the opinion of an experienced golf instructor over the opinion of a hack sports reporter (with a bachelors degree in sports journalism yet) who probably doesn’t even play. Hank may be a Douche Bag at times but I’d say he probably forgot more about the golf swing than Gianni has ever learned…..
John
Jan 11, 2019 at 11:49 am
I agree. As someone who battled the yips for the best part of 30 years, I recognise the affliction in others. Spieth himself might not want to admit it but his putting stroke today isn’t anywhere near as assured as it was a few years ago. As the old saying goes: ‘There are lies, damn lies and statistics’ and, no matter what the stats say, Spieth is no longer winning because he isn’t holing out as well when it matters. Gianni is obviously a Spieth fanboy and, like all fanboys, refuses to acknowledge what is glaringly obvious to others.
Obee
Jan 11, 2019 at 6:35 pm
Amen, brother. Same here.
Obee
Jan 11, 2019 at 11:20 am
Yes, he has the yips.
It is baffling to me that so many people (the overwhelming percentage of them who have NEVER had them) are so unwilling to even consider that a tour pro might have them. He exhibits literally everything I would associate with the yips last year.
But the most telling thing: The hands trembling, as Haney mentioned. He’s not my favorite guy to listen to either, but he’s 100% right.
Can Spieth get over them? Absolutely, but he’s going to have to make a change, and a pretty big one. If this continues, look for him to go to the claw.
Nick
Jan 11, 2019 at 11:13 am
he dropped from 39th to 123rd in strokes gained: putting in 2018.
Prime21
Jan 11, 2019 at 10:55 am
Hank is just moving on to the next “victim” so he can stay relevant. Didn’t Hank say Tiger had the chipping yips and that he’d never recover from them & once you have them they never go away? How’d that theory hold up? Just teach Hank, it’s what you’re good at, leave the commentary stuff alone.
Funkaholic
Jan 11, 2019 at 1:38 pm
The Hank Haney project says otherwise, this fraud rode Tiger’s coattails to fame and has never proven he was capable of teaching anyone.
d lamb
Jan 11, 2019 at 2:03 pm
exactly!!
Brian McGranahan
Jan 11, 2019 at 10:41 am
The simple fact that his yips are visible and he missed more short putts than any player on tour last year means more than bs stats. You can still make a putt with a yip, Its going to get worse if he doesn’t do something.
HLC
Jan 11, 2019 at 11:31 am
Hi Hank!
Brian
Jan 11, 2019 at 4:27 pm
LOL.
Obee
Jan 11, 2019 at 7:13 pm
Yep.
Wyatt
Jan 11, 2019 at 10:37 am
Yips are about what your hands do when the adrenaline is pumping, like on the back nine on Sunday, not what you do the other 63 holes of the tournament. That said, if you want to look at stats, it seems pretty clear that 1) Spieth has never been particularly exceptional inside of 5 feet and 2) last year was a low point for him. Putting Inside of 5′ and Three Putt Avoidance are pretty easy to check. I believe that Haney actually could help Spieth become a great short putter, and I think we all know that nerves do not age like a “fine Bordeaux.”
The flaw in the article is trying to use such a small statistical sample size to discredit Haney. If we want to use the author’s logic, Jason Day is now a terrible putter because he’s currently 224th in Putting Inside of 5′.
Obee
Jan 12, 2019 at 12:59 pm
Yips have VERY little to do with adrenaline.
John
Jan 11, 2019 at 10:14 am
Hank Haney is an insufferable idiot when it comes to golf commentating. He needs to stick to instruction, coaching, and teaching. All he ever does is bash Tiger because he got dumped all those years ago. He drones on an on during his painful Sirius XM show about the yips this and the yips that. I change the channel whenever he comes on now. He also turned into a snake oil salesman, pushing his “voodoo” pain cream. Looks like the end of Hank.
dat
Jan 11, 2019 at 10:56 am
Agree. He is hard to listen to on that program and doesn’t do himself any favors. It is all post-Tiger hate which is fairly old at this point.
Vas
Jan 11, 2019 at 11:47 am
Hank sold his soul to cash out on Tiger Woods, and now years later, he seems to be regretting that decision. Oh well. That said, if you watch Spieth closely, it’s pretty clear he gets flinchy at times. I’m not going to say he has the yips yet, but he’s certainly on that road unless he fixes something. The dude made a lifetime’s worth of chips and putts in like 5 years… that cannot possibly continue going forward. Also, he hits more foul balls than any other elite professional I can think of. I’ll always be a fan of his because he’s a great dude, but I’m not betting on him this year.
maxi kerr
Jul 18, 2022 at 7:02 am
I always have an e/w bet on his matches since 2020, and I’m so frustrated at his collapsing from good positions at the end of the 72 holes. Again at St Andrews 2022, he missed what should be easy little putts and scuppered my dosh.He is definitely going through some sort of crisis in his game and I’m sure it would be pointless for us to try and solve his problem. Saying that he seems an ok lad who like the rest of them has made staggering amounts of money for playing a game that most people have to pay for.
Jerrry G
Jan 11, 2019 at 1:50 pm
Correct – HH is unsufferable.
Paul
Jan 11, 2019 at 10:08 am
Haney worked with Mark O’mera for years, who had the yips admittedly. I think he knows what the yips are and what they look like .
Brad
Jan 12, 2019 at 2:40 am
finally somebody who speaks the facts
Jerry G
Jan 13, 2019 at 1:16 pm
No, Haney admitted he has the yips and has written articles on dealing with it.
Travis
Jan 11, 2019 at 9:51 am
He missed an incredibly amount of 2-3 footers last year where the ball didn’t even touch the hole. In these strokes there was a noticeable flinch of the hands. You hold a BA in Journalism when Hank Haney has coached the greatest players of all time, including Tiger Woods. I’m not defending Haney as the greatest teacher ever or anything like that, but ti call his criticism “lazy” is just plain ignorant and disrespectful. Spieth had a horrendous year last year on the greens and he very well could have a serious problem with his nerves, confidence, and physical putting stroke.
Wes
Jan 11, 2019 at 9:51 am
I’ve seen Jordan twitch on putts. Look at the 16th hole from Pebble in the final round in 2017. He yips it, but it goes in. This article is so lazy and uninformed. You can have the yips and still be making putts, at least for a short period.
carl
Jan 11, 2019 at 9:20 am
He got married, and there are lots of examples of getting married ruins your game. Bye bye Jordan
d
Jan 11, 2019 at 11:26 am
Yeah….Jack Nicklaus certainly suffered, dumb comment.