Before he was a three-time major champion, Jordan Spieth was a standout athlete in the sport-rich landscape of Dallas, Texas.
His parents were both collegiate basketball players, and Spieth was encouraged to try his hand at every sport available to him.
Spieth was the ultimate multisport athlete in high school. He played quarterback on the football field and point guard on the hardwood, a natural leader in both.
Golf was a seasonal pursuit for Spieth at the time. He would hang up the clubs as soon as the school year began, playing only in the summer months. He asked his parents if golf could be his only sport, but they wanted him to diversify.
There’s a good reason for that, as there was one sport where his talent was particularly strong, and it wasn’t golf.
Jordan Spieth could have been a D1 pitcher in baseball
Spieth was a highly touted left-handed pitcher in baseball. He’s a right-handed golfer but was taught to throw left-handed by his father, a college baseball player.
Reports say his arm wasn’t particularly powerful, but the way he moved the ball through the air and simply outthought the batter meant he was a standout star in the sport.
Spieth’s mother, Christine, once said, “I have no doubt that he would have played D1 baseball if he had continued to play in high school. He is a ‘team’ player first and foremost.
“That is why he loves the team events (Walker Cup, Ryder Cup, Presidents Cup). I think playing team sports helped him develop leadership skills, too.”
Judging by his ability to play quarterback and point guard, this is undoubtedly true. It’s almost a shame that Spieth is forced to go it alone on the fairways rather than as part of a team in a locker room.
Why pitching left-handed helped Jordan Spieth develop in golf
By throwing left-handed on the pitching mound, Spieth turned his body the opposite way to his golf swing. But that gave him a massive advantage for years to come.
He was able to balance his body during the golf he played over the summer, building strength and flexibility on both sides to avoid wear-and-tear injuries.
This is known as the Big Break Theory, which says that a person’s body can only accelerate to where it knows it can decelerate. So by training strength on both sides, Spieth’s body can swing harder and faster.
So by teaching Spieth to pitch left-handed, his father helped him develop his swing speed from an early age.
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