Jordan Spieth: “Best way to prepare for next week is to win this week.”

Every player has a different approach to preparations for major championships. Jack Nicklaus never played the week prior to one. Neither did Tiger Woods. Phil Mickelson likes to play beforehand. Jordan Spieth is adopting the Mickelson method prior to this year’s Masters.

At the Valero Texas Open, he was asked about the differences between last year’s November Masters and the ones he’s played in April. The first thing Spieth mentioned were the damper, slower conditions that all golfers found at Augusta National last fall. It allowed them more leeway with shots, he thought, than in April.

“It was still a phenomenal golf course in unbelievable shape with its own unique set of challenges with how soft and fast the greens were,” Spieth said.

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The way he played was different though. In November, he said he was able to hit some shots he doesn’t expect to see again, like hitting a 5-iron to the 11th green and having it stop. He also hit more club on many shots because the fairways were not fast.

“I kind of looked at last November as just a bonus, like a bonus Masters,” he added.

Spieth’s game is still in transition from being at the depths, which he has experienced in the last four years since winning the British Open. However, like many past champs, he admits that something special happens when he drives into the Augusta National property.

“Drive down Magnolia Lane, for me it’s like, ‘It’s go time,’” Spieth said. “Regardless of form, regardless of if you just won or if you’ve missed the previous cut, it really makes no difference to me in my confidence level when I pull into Magnolia Lane.”

AUGUSTA, GEORGIA – APRIL 02: A view down Magnolia Lane prior to The Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on April 02, 2021 in Augusta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /

While Spieth wants to get into contention this week, his overall plan is to lessen the number of balls hit prior to the Masters and to concentrate on technique.

Perhaps one of the advantages he has, even though his ball striking is not where it was from 2015 to 2017 just yet, is that he is such a good putter. Unlike other tournaments, Augusta National does not allow greens reading books. So, it’s all the player’s ability to read and feel the greens, not the ability to read a greens book.

“You just kind of have to recognize which side of the green to which pin is a bad miss,” he explained. “If it’s playing soft, if you get rain and Augusta’s playing soft, I think it requires a little bit less of the course knowledge.”

When on the property, being a past champ, he said, was more about bragging rights than anything else.

“Great food, same lockers. I mean, I get to share a locker with Arnold Palmer, that’s obviously a perk,” Spieth pointed out. “I mean, there’s no special juice they give you up there that makes you play better or anything like that.”

However, he did note that it gives him a chance to bump into some of the greats of the game. Sometimes they give pointers or advice. For instance, who wouldn’t want a golf tip from Jack Nicklaus? Now, there’s a distinct advantage of being a past champ. Also as past champ, he can probably play the Masters for another 30 or 40 years, which is the best perk of all.

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