Jordan Spieth cracks his driver the night before the Masters starts

This is slightly unsettling for the defending Masters champion. At some point on Wednesday, Jordan Spieth cracked the face of his driver. That happens and these pros have just about every resource at their disposal when it comes to equipment. His club provider, Titleist, was on the spot with a new one by Wednesday evening.

The technology advances in modern equipment have made it that such a switch should not have too great an impact on a player. In prior eras, it would take weeks, if not months, to find a suitable replacement. Now things are much more interchangeable -- you can pop a new clubhead on there easily and go.

But the one that cracked just a day before the start of the Masters was Spieth’s baby. He had been using it for two years, a stretch that was, well, moderately successful if you’ll recall. He told Golf Channel’s Tim Rosaforte that he liked this one even better, but we really won’t know much until he actually puts it in play and has to start moving the ball off the tee at Augusta.

It was odd to see Spieth, who has a morning tee time on Thursday, out on the range so late Wednesday night with his swing coach Cameron McCormick. And this was after he’d spent the afternoon in the lighthearted and informal par-3 contest. Now we know why they were all set up, with both McCormick and a TrackMan launch monitor closely watching. That would be extremely alarming at such a late stage but it obviously was not swing-related. He wanted to get some cuts with the new driver, make some adjustments and get a little comfort before he wakes up on Thursday.

Modern equipment may mitigate such a loss, and Spieth says he’s happy with the new one. But then there’s this item from the last time his driver cracked, via Doug Ferguson of the Associated Press in September of 2014:

Jordan Spieth revealed at the Tour Championship that he has been looking for the right driver for the last four months.

He said the driver he had used the last two years cracked on Wednesday of The Players Championship, where he shared the 54-hole lead with Martin Kaymer. He said he has tried a couple of new heads and can’t seem to get the right combination. And he said he hasn’t had time to try the latest driver from Titleist.

Spieth, who makes his Ryder Cup debut next week, said he has lost 20 percent in driving accuracy since May.

Everything sounds fine and it may well be nothing, but there are better ways to go into the Masters.

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