Can You Really Blame Jordan Spieth for Chasing Distance?

In a recent interview David Duval revealed that back in 2015 he had cautioned Jordan Spieth against chasing distance.

“When we got done talking at the end of the year in 2015 after that historic season he had, one thing I said and cautioned him and hoped he wouldn’t do was chase distance. He came back in 2016 saying he was trying to find 5 or 10 yards in the offseason and I was like: ‘oh boy.’ “

While the statement is understandable, taking a glance at this week’s 54 hole leaderboard it’s certainly not hard to understand why Jordan would want to get some more length off the tee.

Notice anything when you look at that list? All of these guys (with the exception maybe of Paul Casey) absolutely bomb the ball. 

The top of the leaderboard reads like a “Who’s Who” of PGA TOUR driving distance leaders and it reveals the fact that guys who are able to shorten the course just have an easier go of it, especially in Majors.

Even the low man on that totem pole, Paul Casey, is no slouch when it comes to distance, currently averaging 303.7 yards in the average driving distance category.

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So while distance isn’t everything, it quite easy to imagine how a guy like Spieth, who was at the top of his game back in 2015, would want to squeeze out some more distance to keep pace with guys like Brooks and DJ, as well as young guns like Champ and Morikawa who continue to take PGA TOUR driving distance stats to new levels.

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