Hogan once took a 7 iron out of his bag,because he said there was no 7 iron shot on the course for him,you know how precise Hogan was ;but Phil ain't no Hogan.If he gets too smart at the Masters it could cost him.Remember when he tried to retool his swing for distance and all the crazy things he did just for the sake of distance;he lost his game,only when he went back to his old philosophy and game did he win the Masters and P.G.A.
I think it's a pretty cool idea for him to carry two drivers. It seems to me that his game is based more on feel, so if anyone can use different drivers, of different lengths, it's Phil. His game is more art than science, so he can create different shots better than most players.
I wonder what club he took out of the bag to accommodate the extra driver. It might have been a wedge, since he had trouble on Saturday on 18 at the BellSouth, when he seemed to be in between clubs on his fourth shot, and put it in the water. If he did, in fact, take a wedge out of his bag, it may be even tougher at Augusta, with all the delicate shots the players face around the greens.
Wasn't one driver Neutral whilst the second is going to be a Draw variant. I think its an interesting idea. And for those hole that curve around in that direction, then for him its a great Idea & if he pulls it off, we may see more pro's & even armatures trying that idea.
Not sure how sound the philosophy about loosing a wedge is. I'd more than likely do without my 3 Iron. I can live without a 5 wood quite easily, as for me my 21" utility for me fills the 3 Iron & 5 wood slot very nicely. Then I'd probably be able to loose an 8 or a 9 iron. But wedges to me are so important, they are the clubs I would use to get into the green once I've driven down a fairway.. But Wouldn't contemplate loosing a wedge.
But Phil knows his game & what he can do with his clubs & what is needed to go around that course. So I'm sure he's thought it out.
Last edited by Cernunnos : April 4th, 2006 at 08:38 PM.
His average greens in regulation put him at 6th on the tour prior to BellSouth. Because of this one tournament he's jumped up to number one which is a big jump just for one tournament. That doesn't mean he'd score better (but obviously he did ) but he was able to reach greens and give himself more chances to birdie or better, even without the scoring wedge.
If I were to take two drivers it would be to acount for differnt wind conditions, maybe a lower lofted lower cc driver for windy conditions. Though I can really understand choosing a driver with differnt deflections. Wonder if they will produce a Fade Driver as well as a draw driver.
If I were to take two drivers it would be to acount for differnt wind conditions, maybe a lower lofted lower cc driver for windy conditions. Though I can really understand choosing a driver with differnt deflections. Wonder if they will produce a Fade Driver as well as a draw driver.
That's just a normal driver for the rest of us hacks.
Wasn't one driver Neutral whilst the second is going to be a Draw variant.
I remember the announcers saying one was for draw, the other for a fade. The Golf Channel later showed Phil hitting from different tee boxes with right and left doglegs.. The drivers did what they were supposed to do. Pretty amazing stuff. Oh, one driver was 45", the other 44". Don't remember which one though. I can't wait to see all this in action at Augusta!
It's not that he "needs" two drivers. He wants his swing to be normal and let the clubs do the work.
I found some Phil talk... taken from yahoo sports news....
One driver is an inch longer, and allows him to hit a power draw that moves from left to right. The other driver allows him to hit a controlled fade, the shot Mickelson relied heavily on when he won the Masters two years ago.
"There are a number of holes where you can move the ball left-to-right and have it be very effective," Mickelson said. "I can hit a little controlled cut on the holes where distance isn't as big of a factor. And I can use the draw driver and get a little extra pop on some holes. It's nice having that little extra punch."
"I used the internal weighting to take the left side out of play so it draws, and I use the other driver to take the right side out of play," Mickelson said. "So now I just play with half the trouble."
With a 14-club limit, that means he'll have to take another club out of the bag.
Mickelson says the sand wedge is out of the rotation -- he still has a lob wedge, gap wedge and pitching wedge. With the extra driver, he said he would take out the 3-iron or 4-iron, or perhaps the 7-iron or 8-iron, depending on the conditions
Do I see something new for the regular joe in the near future??
Looking at his stats this year, he has to be a big contender this week.
Phil really is playing as well as I've ever seen him play. He had a very similar run during the first half of 2004.
But Phil has never led the TOUR in either Scoring Avg. or Greens In Regulation. He is currently at the top in both categories and is ranked third in Putting Avg. Those are lethal combos, folks.
I wonder what club he took out of the bag to accomodate the extra driver.
It was his Gap Wedge. Phil has traditionally carried three wedges, but he has begun to use his 9-iron more often around the greens and is flighting his lob wedge a tad differently as well.
It's one thing to experiment with the 2-driver theory on a course that you basically own, but I think there's much more risk involved when you're playing a course that (1) doesn't penalize you for missing a fairway like the other majors, and (2) has challenging greens that put a premium on accuracy. But then again, Phil doesn't seem to shy away from a good gamble. LOL....
Phil's snakebite on the last hole during the 3rd round ended up not being a factor obviously. But the BellSouth isn't a major, which in and of itself is enough of a difference to exaggerate the smallest inkling of indecision at Augusta. Unless Phil pulls a Tiger-2000 like performance, he's not going to have a 12 stroke cushion going into the final round. And given his propensity to take unneccessary gambles, where an exact wedge could be the difference between making a par save and taking a double, I just don't understand the logic.
But... he knows his game better than we do. I suppose we will see just how well this experiment works out soon enough.
That's just a normal driver for the rest of us hacks.
The odd thing is the Mickl' knows how to shape a shot. Most of us just have the one drive shot at our disposal. OK the draw clubs were designed for those who slice balls as a corrective measure. but its like with the R7 you can set up, if you are any way consistent in your shots with said drivers, then having a driver you have set up or can set up to correct something or produce an effect you wouldn' normally achiev is a good idea.
I think I would need to improve my consitency of shot a lot more yet to even think about it, but I'd guess a lot of lowere handicap club golfers may start experimenting with just that idea, especially on courses where certain particular holes curve in the oposite direction to where they would normally shape a ball.
I remember the announcers saying one was for draw, the other for a fade. The Golf Channel later showed Phil hitting from different tee boxes with right and left doglegs.. The drivers did what they were supposed to do. Pretty amazing stuff. Oh, one driver was 45", the other 44". Don't remember which one though. I can't wait to see all this in action at Augusta!
Me too, will be interesting to see the theory put into action. I'm betting a lot of players have briefly thought of the two driver thing in a fit of madness for a few moments & then dismissed the idea as something that would get them laughed off the course & all the way back to the clubhouse. the Mickl' could change all that this week.
April 4th, 2006, 07:03 PM
) but he was able to reach greens and give himself more chances to birdie or better, even without the scoring wedge.
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