Of course, there’s the mastery of the game, especially at age 22.

There’s his consistently personable manner, whether dealing with fans, fellow competitors, the media, or whomever.

And there’s the “wiseness beyond his years” that he exhibits.

But, with him ascending to the No. 1 spot in the world rankings with his runner-up finish at the PGA Championship on Sunday, it brought to mind yet another reason to take a shine to the young Texan.

Hale Irwin, the World Golf Hall of Famer who grew up in Boulder and went on to win three U.S. Opens and a record 45 Champions Tour events, covered a wide range of topics when he put on a short-game clinic and answered questions from AJGA players and others in early June at CommonGround Golf Course in Aurora.

One of the things Irwin touched on is pace of play, and how being too deliberate can hurt your game. That’s where Spieth’s name came up, unsolicited. More on that in a moment.

Irwin noted that, unlike most top players you see nowadays, he personally doesn’t use a line on his golf ball to line up his putts. In fact, Irwin said he tries to have as much of the blank side of his ball facing him as possible when he strokes his putt.

In contrast, many high-level players now obsess over making sure that the line on their ball is pointed exactly in the right place when preparing to putt. Several years ago at the CGA Match Play, a contestant who advanced deep into the bracket was so carried away with the process that it wasn’t at all unusual for him to slightly adjust his ball — while marked — up to five times for a single putt. Put down the ball and carefully align it, back off to check the line, adjust the ball, back off to check it again, adjust the ball again, check it from the other side of the cup, adjust the ball again, check it one last time from behind the ball, and possibly tweak the ball alignment yet again. And then, on top of that, he was deliberate — to put it nicely — once he actually got over the ball to take a stroke. It was all spectators could do not to out and out yell, “PUTT IT ALREADY.”

Irwin, with little question the most successful tour player to be produced by Colorado, recalled that during his teenage years he experienced something that led to him to become a quicker player, most notably when putting.

“I felt I was taking too much time,” he said. “And I felt like I was losing my feel for that putt. So I told myself, ‘Look up twice on every shot, on every putt, and go.'”

Irwin knows full well that young aspiring athletes tend to emulate the best players, no matter what the sport may be. And with what Spieth has accomplished this year — two wins, a second and a fourth in the major championships, matching Tiger Woods’ 2005 performance for best major season by a player since Woods’ three-win year in 2000 — he’s the man for the time being.

And Irwin likes something about Spieth besides his playing ability, per se.

“Jordan Spieth — he’s a nice young man to copy what he’s doing — he gets right up (to the ball) and goes at it,” Irwin said. “Sometimes the longer you take, the more doubt that can creep in, the more negative thoughts that can creep in. If you’ve got that line and you’ve got that feel, get after it.”

Here’s a video of Spieth’s routine over putts: CLICK HERE.

Maybe, just maybe, the approach of Irwin, Spieth and other players who don’t dilly-dally will catch on, and we’ll have fewer of the five-hour-plus rounds that drive many golfers nuts. And players who seem to think slower is better might find a slightly quicker, more committed rhythm would actually serve their golf game best.

You shouldn’t hold your breath, of course, but at the very least it’s encouraging that Spieth sets a better example than many tour players and other elite-level golfers.
  

There are two types of slow players–the “slow golfer” and the “inefficient player.” My definition of a slow golfer is one that takes a significant amount of time to play a stroke and is very deliberate. They pace off their yardage from a sprinkler head only to then use their range finder or GPS unit to see how accurate the number is, followed by throwing blades of grass in the air to make sure the wind is not “swirling”. Then they stand in back of the golf ball to visualize their shot, taking numerous practice swings to “get a feel” for it, only to then stand over the ball for an additional 30 seconds with a series of shuffles and wiggles until they finally begin to swing. And when they eventually get to the green they have to look at their first putt from three angles, and then four on the second putt. Heaven forbid there’s a third putt!

Most golfers who are perceived as “slow golfers” actually are “inefficient players”–they actually take very little time to hit their ball when they are ready to do so, but it is all of their inefficient habits between shots that slow down play. Here are my three tips to everyone to help speed up play without changing your shot routine.

1. Play when ready. When you are out playing a casual round or in a stroke play competition, play “ready golf”. Many golfers feel that the person furthest from the hole must play first and you cannot play out of turn. This is only true in a match play competition. Generally, if there are two players ready to play, the one furthest from the hole should be first out of courtesy. There is no penalty in stroke play for playing out of turn, unless the players are doing so to give another an advantage. So if you are riding in a cart and you get to your ball first, and the walker in the group who is further from the hole has not got to his ball yet, go ahead and play.

2. Play your ball first, then help search. Helping players in your group search for their errant shots is certainly a way to keep pace moving along. But help with the search after playing yours (if it is clear ahead for you to play). You’ll be surprised how much this helps over the course of the round.

3. Play a provisional. When you think your ball may be out of bounds or lost outside a water hazard, declare and play a provisional ball. The intent of this Rule (Rule 27-2) is to help speed up play because if your ball is out of bounds or lost outside a water hazard, the player’s only option is stroke and distance. Players are always very hesitant to play a provisional, whether because of embarrassment or some other reason, but I have always felt it would be more embarrassing to have to walk back to where you last played with the group behind you watching. I have also always thought of a provisional as an opportunity to correct what you did wrong.

These are just three of many ways you can speed up play without changing your shot routine. Hopefully you will practice and share these during your next round of golf– It will make the experience much better for you and all of the other players on the course.