Gary Player stuns golf fans with wild claims about Jordan Spieth and Seve Ballesteros

Gary Player has stunned golf fans with two extraordinary claims about both Jordan Spieth and Seve Ballesteros during a video withThe Golf Supply, which you can watch at the bottom of this article. 

Player, 89, first raised eyebrows in the video when claiming Spieth is the "best golfer in the world" only to have been "taught the wrong thing" so that "he just can't hit the ball." 

Spieth of course won three major titles between 2015 to 2017 and during that period became World No.1. 

Despite winning 13 times on the PGA Tour, the Texan has yet to win on the circuit since the RBC Heritage in April 2022. 

Spieth has now slipped to the 51st rung of the world ladder and he's not only missed out on this week's BMW Championship, the second FedEx Playoffs event, but he's also missed out on the US Ryder Cup team at Bethpage next month. 

Nine-time major champion Player labels Spieth's downfall a "tragedy" and blames it all on poor teaching under his coach Cameron McCormick.

Let's start with Player's comments about that, before telling you what he said about both Spieth and Ballesteros. 

"There is a tremendous lack of knowledge with golf," Player told The Golf Supply. 

"I would say in America today the golf pros that are teaching know less about golf. 

"They have all the equipment and the technology but they are teaching golfers to do this at the top, but you can’t once you do that you are gone. 

"Jack Nicklaus won majors for 25 years, I won majors for 20 years, [Arnold] Palmer won for six years because he was shut."

Player then took aim at Spieth. 

"What they are doing, they did it with Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler," he continued.

"Now those two guys. Jordan Spieth I think is the best golfer in the world but in my opinion he was taught the wrong thing. 

"And he just went downhill. He went downhill.

"If you had a man like Ben Hogan teaching Jordan Spieth he would be the best in the world. He’s such a competitor, such a wonderful man. 

"A wonderful guy for golf, the best short game, best course management but he just can’t hit the ball. That is a tragedy."

Player then turned his attentions to late great five-time major champion Ballesteros, who he considers "wasn't even a 10-handicap" when he first played with him at Royal Troon. 

"Do you know who knew the least about the golf swing?" asked Player.

"Ballesteros," he answered himself. 

"I played with him at Troon as a young man, and he wasn’t even a 10 handicap. 

"He had no idea what he was doing. No idea.

"But he had the greatest feel of any man that ever lived. 

"He was so good from 50 yards in – he was as good as anybody that ever lived. 

"I don’t know who the best is, but he was as good as anybody. But hitting fairways? All over the place.

"If you don’t have the knowledge, you’re limited. You’re very limited."

Watch the full video here:

What do you make of Player's comments?

Tell us what you think on GolfMagic Facebook