Jordan Spieth on U.S. Open Rough: Around the Greens It’s Wicked

Rough is always a story at U.S. Opens, but this week, some of it is Kikuyu, a kind of turf that’s half octopus and half grass. It’s found at Torrey Pines and Riviera Country Club, to name just two west coast courses where it is used.

This week’s grass salad also includes some Bermuda, some rye and a bit of fescue, according to Justin Leonard on Golf Channel. But it’s the Kikuyu that provides headaches.

“Around the greens, it’s wicked,” Jordan Spieth said about the conditions at Torrey Pines. “Spotters are going to have to really be on their game.”

It’s not just the height and composition of the grass that’s problematic, it’s also the mowing pattern.

“Even that first cut, on 12 and like 14 are the two that come to mind, even the first cut is mowed into you,” he explained. “You’re not really advancing more than a 7-iron for a lot of those lies.”

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However, the USGA took pity on golfers left of the 12th fairway, where the rough, according to Spieth, is not as high and might allow second shots to reach the green. That second shot on the 501-yard par four is into the ocean breeze and uphill, never a good combination.

This year, Spieth comes into the U.S. Open with a game that is currently emerging from a black hole of golf, if you will. A place so dark that many golfers don’t emerge from it, ever. Many, including Golf Channel’s David Duval, have suggested Spieth’s issues came as a result of chasing distance because Spieth told him in 2015 that was what he wanted to do.

Unfortunately, as people chase distance, they become less accurate. And Spieth has never been a consistent center of the fairway guy in the first place. Michael Greller probably needs to carry a machete to find some of Spieth’s drives.

However, after a four-year victory drought, Spieth finally found the winner’s circle at the Valero Texas Open. But even he says, that doesn’t prove he’s back (a phrase he hates, by the way). It just shows improvement. But improvement is better than being so far down the rabbit hole that you can’t see light, and that’s where he was.

After four or five months of improving performances and a victory, he has confidence back, at least partially, and thinks he’s doing well from tee to green.

“Putting and chipping has been pretty solid here and there, a little bit streaky, but I feel like I’ve been moving the right direction with the flatstick as well,” he noted. “I’ve just been sticking to the game plan.”

According to an article in Golf Digest and also on golfdigest.com, Spieth has reverse engineered his swing starting at impact and working backward from there. His guru, Cameron McCormack, said he is working on a backswing that is more vertical and a downswing that’s flatter.

In addition, Spieth had a hand injury that caused him to use a weaker grip for a while, which produced flares right. He’s now healed, and the grip had been modified to a slightly stronger position.

That’s a lot of changes to make and learn, which is perhaps why it has taken so long to see improvement.

So, should Spieth be fancied this week at the U.S. Open? Probably not. He has the mentality for really grinding it out, though. So, if he should return to the lucky bounces Jordan Spieth that annoyed his competitors and enthralled millions of fans, his head will at least be in the right place. But it’s likely that his long game still has too many errors in it for a U.S. Open victory.

Spieth is in the all-Dallas, all-Texas threesome, playing with Will Zalatoris and Scottie Scheffler. They tee off at 1:25 PM off the 10th on Thursday and 7:40 AM off the 1st on Friday. Golf Channel starts at 9:30 AM and continues to 4 PM on Thursday and Friday, then switches to NBC from 4 to 7 PM on Thursday and Friday. In other words, it’s nearly wall-to-wall coverage, and there’s even more on Peacock

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Jordan Spieth on US Open Rough: Around the Greens It’s Wicked

By Kathlene Bissell | Jun 15, 2021

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